So yesterday I went for a little retail therapy, and the first place I found myself was MAC, I had enough empties to swap for a free lipstick so I spent a few minutes deciding what I wanted and then waited for someone to help me. The three women that were working there all seemed to busy chatting to help me out, not even a glance, or ‘I’ll be with you in a minute’. So I thought rather than stand around, I thought I would go wait at the till, so I couldn’t make it any clearer.
By this point a few other people had come in and the staff had stopped their chatting and gone to help them, they all walked behind the till and still nothing. It was another five minutes before, anyone asked me if I needed any help, and even then I was greeted with the attitude of a wet mop!
If it wasn’t for the fact I wanted to Back 2 MAC I would of left after being ignored the first time. Later I went to John Lewis, and to really test the customer service I went straight to the Chanel counter, where one of the ladies working there was busy but told me, as soon as someone was available they would be over to help. Not even a minute had passed before I was offered help, and I asked to be colour matched and get a sample of the Vitalumiere Aqua foundation. The women who helped me couldn’t have been more helpful, she explained what the foundation would do, and checked what my skin concerns were, what I had been using. She didn’t pressure me to take my current foundation off, or buy anything. She wrote all the details down, told me if I needed another shade to come back and she would be glad to help.
So why the difference in service? I get that Chanel is more expensive, but MAC is still high end, and I don’t expect that the customer service should be non existent!
MAC if your listening (which I doubt you are) it’s all well and good teaching you staff to cover themselves in your products but how about teaching them some manners?!?
Have you had any bad customer service recently? When was the last time you got good service?
I've had fairly bipolar service to be honest - either excellent, friendly, helpful... or I don't exist.
ReplyDeleteBy complete contrast... a few years ago I was commuting between Brighton and London for job interviews, and popped into Selfridges to go to the Urban Decay counter. The girl there was utterly brilliant and really friendly, didn't pressure me to buy anything (I bought a shadow anyway!). Totally fab. Two weeks later I popped back in to look around, and she spotted me from out back, came off her lunch break, and came over to ask me how I was getting on with the shadow. Which she named. Now THAT is service!
That really is great customer service! The girl that works at my nearest UD counter is lovely and helppful, but she ALWAYS pressures me to spend more!
Deletex
My Top Two are definitely UD and Smashbox - always ended up having a good chat. :)
DeleteMAC staff scare the crap out of me. I haven't yet met one who wasn't marginally disinterested at best.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that!
Deletex
MAC staff really scare me too haha.
DeleteLaura xoxo
I just don't understand rude sales assistants, surely they must realise that the nicer and more helpful they are to a customer the more likely they are to get a sale!! I work in a shop and I like to think I'm always nice to my customers :) x
ReplyDeleteThats half the reason I find it so frustrating, I work with customers everyday, and I wouldn't dream of acting like that!
Deletex
I always get rubbish service in MAC too. It's shocking! I feel like writing a post on my own blog about it...I'll link back to this one!xx
ReplyDeleteacestacebeauty.blogspot.com
It's a bit hit and miss for me with MAC - it depends who's in there but there tends to be more hard to approach staff than friendly ones. My most recent trip wasn't great - I wanted to find a good blusher AND bronzer but the MUA had the idea I didn't know what the difference was and that you can't use both. Chanel on the other hand - regardless where I go always lovely and so helpful! xx
ReplyDeleteAre you talking about Leicester? In which case I am not surprised at all. I think it's the fact that it's debenhams as well. I don't even bother with their beauty points card thing cos their service is so frustrating compared to John Lewis!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis occasion was actually the freestanding store in Nottingham, the Leicester one I have completely given up on. The women there are awful. I used to shop there quite a bit and they are so unbelievably rude!
DeleteAnd I do find John Lewis has much better service throughout than Debenhams, no matter where I go. If I need matching to a foundation or something similar I always go to John Lewis, despite them being the only place not to have a loyalty card!
x
Actually, my mum noted that Debenhams doesnt have the best customer service, even though her friend works there (she is lovely and was named the nicest assistant three times in a row, which sparked a lot of jealousy from her colleagues :s). House of Fraser SA's are lovely, on the other hand, one of their Benefit assistants was so lovely to me, gave me a mini makeover and chatted to me about make up even though I didnt buy anything!
DeleteI find the same with HoF, Benefit for me is hit and miss, sometimes they're lovely and sometimes they seem intent on selling me more stuff I don't need, but again it depends on the store, Debenhams I avoid, but Boots always seems to be a bit better!
Deletex
Yesss! I find that they are so unhelpful and rude that I actually would much rather order things online than to ask them for anything!!!!
DeleteI much prefer John Lewis anyday. Once I asked at the Guerlain counter if they were thinking about stocking any of their whitening line because I have seen it before in Harrods I think, and the SA was telling me that she wasn't sure, but not in the near future. Then she remembered there was a last GWP promotional set that she had out back that was a whitening one and went out to get it for me, even though I hadn't bought anything!!!!!!!! <3 Nicest SA EVER!!!!
Here in Rome i always receive good help when going to MAC, just a couple of times they were so busy they didn't notice me.. but again, i work in the very center or Rome and so they do, i know what being stressed by having too many customers means.
ReplyDeletefew times i went there in non-busy hours and once i even got a free full makeup, from foundation to eyeshadow and i said from the beginning i wasn't going to spend a lot cause i had no money.
So well i have to give MAC staff an 8+ grade, i love them!
i hate terrible service! it makes or breaks a store for me xx
ReplyDeleteMy Blog: Boho Vanity
I tend to use the MAC counter in selfridges and you get a mixed bag. I never wait around more than 5 minutes and there is one paticular SA who dealt with me and my Mum 3 times in a month and she remembered us which was nice. Best service ever was a male SA in Harrods MAC. He was amazing, I bought a powder and a brush set (went in for the brush but it there was one of the LE brush sets) and it was when skin finish went from light/medium to light plus and he explained the change and I said I wasn't sure on my current foundation swatched me up with a different one and got me a massive sample and even stole the plastic pot from another counter for me cos they didn't have one, however while he served me I heard him tell off some other SA who were just chatting. Go ace SA!
ReplyDeletexx