Retailers and their customer service - good and bad.

[Law]

depends on what kind of level of service you want, here in Japan I like having an SA with me to talk to about collections, CCP speculation, construction, design inspiration, talks with the designer, personal friendly talk, etc. I expect to be greeted by the store when I walk in (atelier took this a level further by knowing who I was) and I expect to be shown what they have that could interest me or something Idk, it's like walking into someone's curated space, you have a more compelling experience and learn more about something if your SA has that level of expertise.

the issue for me is when I know more than the SAs, that's not fun for me.

I hear you and that's perfectly reasonable. Many SA's will entertain that, regardless of whether you purchase anything or not, simply because they're passionate about fashion and clothing in general; in a manner which goes above and beyond that of just a job for them, they'll talk for hours with you. Problem is, I'm sure a lot of these sales clerks do in fact indulge certain clientele in this manner, but it's reserved for the regular spenders. As they can't muster up the enthusiasm for somebody they rightfully or wrongly perceive to be a tire kicker.

[TriggerDiscipline]

Problem is, I'm sure a lot of these sales clerks do in fact indulge certain clientele in this manner, but it's reserved for the regular spenders. As they can't muster up the enthusiasm for somebody they rightfully or wrongly perceive to be a tire kicker.

The thing is you can have a very positive experience with a business and then wish to return later or overall think, damn the SAs are passionate let me look into these brands, or like for example if they have a decent business model you could as an SA show a more introductory brand with a lower price range than something more expensive without comprehension to someone who is new (e.g. 500USD tees), versus not mustering up the energy with potential customers and then losing a customer and that is how you garner a reputation.

every store has their own way of doing it.

If I was running a store and my employee didn't show effort with every walk in then I would not want that person working for me and I am sure store owners would feel the same. If you come to Japan I am sure that the SAs would go out of their comfort zone to try to speak english to you despite not being able to speak english.

I am not sure of european service but from my online interactions I have nothing major to complain about.

[TriggerDiscipline]

But I feel that since the stuff I'm purchasing is so heavily discounted I'll excuse the above mentioned retailers for the long wait time (even though it really shouldn't justify it).

me too

I will tell you when I get my LNCC.

[Law]

The thing is you can have a very positive experience with a business and then wish to return later or overall think, damn the SAs are passionate let me look into these brands, or like for example if they have a decent business model you could as an SA show a more introductory brand with a lower price range than something more expensive without comprehension to someone who is new (e.g. 500USD tees), versus not mustering up the energy with potential customers and then losing a customer and that is how you garner a reputation.

every store has their own way of doing it.

If I was running a store and my employee didn't show effort with every walk in then I would not want that person working for me and I am sure store owners would feel the same. If you come to Japan I am sure that the SAs would go out of their comfort zone to try to speak english to you despite not being able to speak english.

I am not sure of european service but from my online interactions I have nothing major to complain about.

I think you'll find that with places like Atelier for example (at least when I was there), that you'll get that impeccable friendly and informative service, because they have zero (I'm guessing) walk in traffic, since their location is hidden away and only visited by the "ordained" so to speak. Therefore it's probably understood that you will generally know the brands they carry already and have an affinity for them by owning/wearing them. So in that sense, therefore since you've made the effort to visit the store off the beaten path, that you're either pretty interested (or will be) in purchasing something.

On the other hand, places like IF will have consistent walk through traffic and I'm going to venture a guess a lot of that walk through traffic won't be "informed" clientele. Therefore arguably people who will never have heard of most of the brands, which will inevitably lead to a lot of browsing, tire kicking and the mundane "Who is this brand? why is it so expensive" ad infinitum. It probably gets a little tedious and wears thin after awhile for the sales clerks I'd imagine, hence the reason they probably adopt that cold standoffish approach. They probably don't want to get pulled into that. They'd rather leave you to your own devices to look and then leave, knowing that the person probably won't purchase anything. That's why the ice breaker approach sounds like a good route to go, let them know you're "one of the boys" (or girls)

[TriggerDiscipline]

I think you'll find that with places like Atelier for example (at least when I was there), that you'll get that impeccable friendly and informative service, because they have zero (I'm guessing) walk in traffic, since their location is hidden away and only visited by the "ordained" so to speak. Therefore it's probably understood that you will generally know the brands they carry already and have an affinity for them by owning/wearing them. So in that sense, therefore since you've made the effort to visit the store off the beaten path, that you're either pretty interested (or will be) in purchasing something.

On the other hand, places like IF will have consistent walk through traffic and I'm going to venture a guess a lot of that walk through traffic won't be "informed" clientele. Therefore arguably people who will never have heard of most of the brands, which will inevitably lead to a lot of browsing, tire kicking and the mundane "Who is this brand? why is it so expensive" ad infinitum. It probably gets a little tedious and wears thin after awhile for the sales clerks I'd imagine, hence the reason they probably adopt that cold standoffish approach. They probably don't want to get pulled into that. They'd rather leave you to your own devices to look and then leave, knowing that the person probably won't purchase anything. That's why the ice breaker approach sounds like a good route to go, let them know you're "one of the boys" (or girls)

It wouldn't be hard to spot someone wearing brands and adjusting attitudes accordingly, either than that I can sympathize with what your saying.

[nvsnli]

I find it a bit strange that you would have to "woo" a shop to get friendly treatment but oh well.

Was just thinking the same.
Map to find it, secret ice breakers to get service etc.

[newp]

Was just thinking the same.
Map to find it, secret ice breakers to get service etc.

Some certain shops are indeed really hard to find. Ironically enough most of them are mordor.

[round]

Edit:

security guard at IF is really nice, still dislike every other young employee.

[mikemikemike]

has anyone shopped at playmaino.it?
i was looking at some items but can not seem to find if they are a legit seller or not.

[vtlynch]

has anyone shopped at playmaino.it?
i was looking at some items but can not seem to find if they are a legit seller or not.

does not look legit to me. if you look up the website in the web archive it used to be a website for a graphic designer. ive seen a pattern of this recently, domain expires and a fake ecommerce site it set up in its place to take advantage of existing SEO.

They also dont use HTTPs on their checkout, which means its insecure.

https://web.archive.org/web/20140107223648/http://playmaino.it/

[mikemikemike]

thank you. looking at the archive and browsing the site more it is very off. prices are all over the place (sometimes sale price higher than regular list) items miss labeled.

[Arkady]

Not the right place to ask, but (cost of repairs)*1.5 is fair if you're keeping the jacket IMO.

[CAD]

thanks Arkay! you're always here to help!

i appreciate your help and i'll delete my message of course.

[Nickefuge]

Grilled is now charging 6%. Do you think this will regulate their fast-paced
cop-flip marketplace?

Hello,

As a member of our community marketplace, you are a huge part of what makes Grailed great. Grailed just turned 2 years old, and thanks to you we've grown to become the premier destination for buying and selling menswear online. However, with that popularity comes some very real costs. In addition to handling our growing traffic, we work hard to prevent fraud, assist you during transactions, develop new features, and most importantly, attract more buyers and sellers to the site. For example, we recently released the Grailed iOS app and redesigned the Grailed website.

We exist to serve you. In order to keep doing that well, starting tomorrow we will begin charging a small sales fee for newly posted items. It bugs us that eBay charges 10% (plus PayPal), has additional hidden fees, and then even shows ads. Our goal is to be as low as possible while still constantly improving the marketplace. We think we'll be able to do that with just 6% (plus PayPal). This will only apply to items posted after 12pm Eastern Time on Friday, February 5th. All current items, and those posted before that time, will continue to be free, even if they are sold weeks or months from now. That means today is a good time to post anything you've been meaning to sell.

Now that we're out of Beta we'll be able to bring you even more improvements, even faster. To protect you against fraud and make the marketplace as safe as possible we are now offering Grailed Buyer and Seller Protection on top of PayPal's Protection. If PayPal unfairly sides with the other party you can file a claim with Grailed and we will help you recover any lost funds (see the About page for more details). And, we have many more new features lined up, including Binding Offers, an improved international shipping system, and selling directly from the iOS app.

Thanks so much for being a Grailed user. Remember, we're always here to help with anything you need. Stay tuned for a big event this Tuesday.

-Grailed Team

[Nomadic Planet]

probably nothing really new but had a flawless transaction buying from Seven Helsinki

love those guys!!