Retailers and their customer service - good and bad.

[550BC]

Received fantastic service at the Rick Owens store in Paris today. They even opened the store one hour early just so my friends and I could shop because we all had early flights. Barbara rocks.

Yeah Barbara is probably one of the few I met with such great service, always having a good time there! Ambie at the RO London store provides good service as well, but I prefer Barbara, Jean and Henri are also very kind always good conversations while there

[Faust]

in general i would agree, but this 'potential' can be very close to zero in some cases, and as a store manager you absolutely develop a sense of this. fashion- and design students being a case in point - no one is thriftier and better at 'showrooming' than they are, and their sense of entitlement can be unbelievable.

i can just imagine how many polimoda-kids go to PNP to "appreciate their favorite designers" (a.k.a. loiter) and then move away from firenze without ever having bought a single item in the store. it is one thing going in to a store to just browse, it is another to use for pure "convenient" entertainment, messing up the visual merchandizing and distracting both staff (who need to keep an eye on all persons in a store, regardless of what they are doing) and customers.

in retail, there is definitely something to be said for ABC analysis, even if the lady in question may or may not have been too explicit in voicing her thoughts in this particular situation.

It could be as you say, but, conversely, I think e-commerce can also spawn loyalty to a shop where you simply received good customer service before regardless of geographical location. Great customer service has never been as valuable as it is today.

[a bag of it]

Bottom line on this discussion is that employers should be kind and respect customers regardless of their intentions because being negative certainly doesn't help make a sale or promote your business. I recently took a stroll down Newbury St. in Boston wearing shitty beat up timberland boots, jeans, and a t shirt because I had just finished doing some volunteer work planting trees. I spent some time in Riccardi and Alan Bilzerian. The staff in Alan Bilzerian were fun and sociable and had no issues letting me try on several M.A+ items >$2000. The customer service there was amazing and made me actually made me want to go back and spend money there. They even let me try on another customer's M.A+ that was there for alterations to compare sizes since they only had one size in stock. Riccardi on the other hand was almost the opposite. I was stared down the entire time I was in the store and the SA acted as if I was wasting their time by asking to try on some things. I had several questions about sizing and I was not impressed with the vague answers like "it doesn't really matter" when asking about how certain pieces should fit. I will be back in only because they are the only store in the city that carries julius and BBS, but I am much more willing to spend money at Alan after experiencing that level of customer service.

On another note, does anyone want to share their experience dealing with Zam Barrett? I recently purchased some items from the sample sale and during the purchase process he was great and responded very quickly. After confirmation that he received payment, I haven't heard back from him about shipping and it's been 10 days now since payment was sent. I sent a couple more pm's which have not been responded to and his account shows activity as recently as this morning. Looking at the visitor messages on his page, it appears I am not the only one experiencing this.

[Shucks]

that's not the "bottom line" just because it's ur opinion. and if i had handed in my stuff to a store for alterations and the store let other customers try my shit on, i'd be furious.

[magic]

that's not the "bottom line" just because it's ur opinion. and if i had handed in my stuff to a store for alterations and the store let other customers try my shit on, i'd be furious.

Seconded. Surprised to hear that too.

[guardimp]

On another note, does anyone want to share their experience dealing with Zam Barrett?

I have bought some stuff from both his web-store and on the forum. It takes a longish amount of time to get items from him, normally stuff gets to me quicker from other countries. I usually expect to get stuff from him 2-3 weeks after I buy it. I feel like it is well worth the wait.

[stagename]

Seconded. Surprised to hear that too.

Because the stuff you buy in stores has never been tried on before? ;) Pre-purchase contamination, post-purchase contamination ... I'm just pulling your legs guys don't go ballistic on me ..

Seconded for the ZB experience. Had a few mishaps here and there but the result is always well worth it and Zam is a gentleman.

[Dorje]

On another note, does anyone want to share their experience dealing with Zam Barrett? I recently purchased some items from the sample sale and during the purchase process he was great and responded very quickly. After confirmation that he received payment, I haven't heard back from him about shipping and it's been 10 days now since payment was sent. I sent a couple more pm's which have not been responded to and his account shows activity as recently as this morning. Looking at the visitor messages on his page, it appears I am not the only one experiencing this.

Sounds familiar...

I think Zam is a better designer than retailer, but he tries and his stuff is worth it imo.

[magic]

Because the stuff you buy in stores has never been tried on before? ;) Pre-purchase contamination, post-purchase contamination ... I'm just pulling your legs guys don't go ballistic on me ..

Its two different things. Do you like someone enter your house without any permission?

[zamb]

On another note, does anyone want to share their experience dealing with Zam Barrett? I recently purchased some items from the sample sale and during the purchase process he was great and responded very quickly. After confirmation that he received payment, I haven't heard back from him about shipping and it's been 10 days now since payment was sent. I sent a couple more pm's which have not been responded to and his account shows activity as recently as this morning. Looking at the visitor messages on his page, it appears I am not the only one experiencing this.

my friend

no need to worry.
your stuff is on its way to you so it should arrive to you soon
I am not available friday evening sundown to Sat evening sundown as I observe sabbath
Please when you make a purchase, and you need the tracking information
Always email Kymoya at: tracking@zambarrett.com and she will take care of you

I will send you a message tomorrow as I am at home now

[upsilonkng]

it's hard to believe most people here are siding w/ the cranky old lady. I think most retailers know that there's some sales u earn and some sales that are given to u, it can't always be given, but what u do w/ any potential customer is part of what separates u from someone who is employed to someone that is unemployed. Also if u treat people that aren't giving u money like an annoyance u really aren't that great a person, or someone who loves their job or a people person and eventually people(that would be us) will find out and take their money elsewhere.

Having said that I have bought something from them, years ago and the dude, the main guy was cool. all email though never walked in the store.

I think it is funny that she was right in her approximation , that u are a student and if u have money left over from ur dad u may or may not spend it there, most likely u will wait for the sales at luisa and order online... but that's beside the point, she should be nice to anyone that walks in the store she works/owns whatever.

[nomemorial]

On the note of PNP, I had the opportunity to go this afternoon and received truly fantastic service. The associate was happy to provide size and fit recommendations (and an offer for further assistance with such, as I had mentioned I was from the USA and traveling), while showing a sincere and genuine commitment to the quality of the products in the store. He allowed me to try on a beautiful Layer-0 leather jacket simply so I could feel the material and continued to discuss the craftsmanship of the item with my fiancée and I. The positive experience continued in the women's shop as my fiancée browsed and tried on two garments, both which the associate was more than happy to assist with and comment on. Everyone was warm, welcoming, and conversational about more than just the garments being purchased -- I had such a pleasant experience I may drop in once more tomorrow to see if I missed something in my first visit before I leave the city.

[Faust]

I am glad they pay careful attention to what StyleZeitgeist members say about them.

[Rommel]

Just wanted to share my experience with Zam Barrett.

He's very quick with answering questions and even made some alterations for a sample sale/spring cleaning item! I made payment, checked in a couple weeks using the tracking email, got tracking within a couple days. Fast shipping to Canada and well packaged, no issues

Pants are incredible. As others have repeatedly said, the design, details, construction, materials I'm very impressed with. Definitely interested in purchasing more items in the future.

[a bag of it]

Wanted to follow up on my last post about ZB. The package arrived today, no tracking was ever provided even after emailing the tracking email. Zam also never sent a message as he said he would (in the above post). Most importantly, he sent me the wrong item (coated pants instead of regular). Also, the measurements provided seem to be inaccurate and the size 48 actually fit smaller than the 46 even though the provided measurements indicated otherwise. The construction quality on the pants appeared to be very high. However, there was an issue with the fly not lining up correctly on one of the pants. Overall I am quite disappointed with the whole experience, especially after hearing such great things from all of you guys.