How to shop-- politely.
I work in a concept boutique for a designer denim brand (which will remain unnamed for professional reasons, but you could easily take an educated guess) and while I love what I do, there are some days that can be beyond frustrating. Some people just simply do not know how to shop in boutique, higher-end retail environment politely.
Coming from the other side of the fitting room curtain, some points to consider:
1. Many higher-end shops keep their displays and racks sized, meaning smallest size to largest size. With table displays, we put largest size on the bottom and smallest size on top because it keeps stacks from tipping over. Do not walk into a store, grab the top size (usually an XS or 0) and proclaim, "Who actually wears this?!" because that is rude to other people in the store.
2. That said, if you want to unfold an item to see the full garment... please unfold the top one. Do not pull a bottom one just to "see it" because then it messes up the entire pile.
3. Never hang unwanted clothes on a fitting room hang bar. Most people don't know this, but the friction between the hang bar (curtain rod) and the curtain rings produces some sort of chemical reaction that makes what us retail-folk call "hanger gunk." It's a black oily gunk that will stain the clothes, leading to possibly hundreds-thousands of dollars in damage. Clothes hangers (the metal part) get it too, so make sure you always grab hangers by their wooden arch and you won't get the black film on your hands!
4. When leaving a fitting room, never leave items on the floor. EVER. You can treat your clothes at home however you want, but clothes that you haven't paid for yet do not belong to you. You can get light colored items dirty, dark colored items dusty or accidentally step on a garmet and damage it.
5. Get off the cellular phone. It's this weird phenomenon that happens every single day: some lady walks around our store talking on her phone and doesn't even look at a single item. She'll pick up and drop items back on the tables (which is rude, leave the nice folded displays alone people!) but never actually look at anything. Not to mention, we have to watch our merchandise at all times... so you're kind of forcing us to listen in on your conversation.
6. Know that when a store closes at a certain time, they would like to be closed at a certain time. Our store closes at 7pm Mon-Saturday. I cannot tell you how many rude people come in at 6:59pm and want to "browse" before their dinner reservations down the street at 8pm! We try to be polite and not kick you out of the store but some subtle hints: the manager counting receipts, SAs putting away the ladders, cleaning...
7. If you want something specific, just ask. There's a lot of hidden treasures within a store and I promise you the people that look at the merchandise 40 hours a week know more about what the store has than you do. We'll also edit for you... like, the stuff we don't show you is the stuff that wears out quickly or has some weird fit issue.
8. The staff usually does not set the prices, so being confrontational about them is not only rude... it's completely developmentally delayed logic. Same with telling us that you could make an item yourself. If you can make a pair of jeans that retail for $300... then why don't you?
9. Don't eat while shopping. Don't leave your beverages on or in displays... especially after you've left the store!
10. Always be as friendly to the staff as we are to you. Believe it or not, it pays to be nice... big time. We'll personally call you when that super expensive leather jacket goes on sale for 50% off... and we'll hold your size. We'll show you line sheets of what's coming in store within the next six months and call you as pieces come in. We'll track down items for you. Thirsty? If you don't want one of the standard bottles of water, I'll share my Diet Cherry Coke stash. Look up local restaurants in the area on my iPhone. Tell you about sample sales online... and we're more likely to make exceptions on the return policy for our most loyal clients. Treat us like the professionals we are, and we'll treat you like clients.
In all honesty, we don't work retail for the money. We work retail for the clothes and because we genuinely love helping people look better and feel better about themselves. When we're in a more polite environment, we can focus on our clients completely and be the best at our jobs.
Feel free to pass these tips along!
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