Chinese shoppers push back on ‘rude’ luxury retail staff

What happened High-end shoppers are pushing back against perceived “exclusionary” behavior from retail employees in luxury stores. Last week, a Chinese customer made headlines after making assistants at Louis Vuitton’s outlet in Chongqing’s StarLight Place shopping center count $84,000 in cash for two hours, before leaving empty-handed. The incident took place two months after the shopper initially accused the store’s staff of “stand-offish” and rude behavior. According to the almost-client, assistants snubbed her requests for water, rolled their eyes, expressed their impatience, and refused to show the shopper the brand’s new arrivals, instead directing her to old stock. After being “ignored” by the brand’s headquarters when trying to report the experience, the customer returned to the outlet to get payback by making employees count out 600,000 RMB (approx $84,000) in banknotes to pay for some clothes. After two hours of counting, the woman told staff, “We don’t want to buy anything now. We are leaving,” before taking away her money and exiting the store. For context, China's largest bank note is 100 RMB. Following the news, netizens flocked to support the customer on social media. “She wanted to make sure they counted every bit of respect they owe her,” one user penned on X (formerly Twitter), while another on China's Xiaohongshu said, “They sell luxury goods, but it does not mean they are luxury goods themselves.” The client has since deleted the post, and is believed to have corresponded with the brand. Jing Daily has reached out to Louis Vuitton for comment, but as of press time had not received a response. The Jing Take This isn’t the first instance in which arrogant behavior from retail employees has gone viral. In May this year, American TV personality Bethenny Frankel took to the internet to slam French luxury house Chanel after she was allegedly turned away from the brand’s Chicago store. The former Real Housewives of New York City star shared that she was denied entry at the door by a security guard and “treated like an interloper” after being asked if she had an appointment, to which she responded that she hadn’t. “I didn’t realize we’re not allowed to walk into stores anymore. I don’t have an appointment,” Frankel said in the clip. In a subsequent video filmed the following day, Frankel returned to the same store, this time dressed in full luxury attire alongside a Chanel purse. After being granted entry, she turned around and immediately exited the shop. “There are several ways to convey a message and this way was rude and elitist and exclusionary,” Frankel wrote in an Instagram post. “In business, first impressions are lasting. I would never want anyone to feel lesser than, particularly from a luxury brand making billions off of people buying into the hype.” Other disgruntled shoppers are sharing their experiences with rude luxury retail employees via online forums, such as Reddit. One Subreddit, titled “Do you ever experience bad sales assistants that are super judgy/rude towards you?” has accumulated numerous posts from users recounting their run-ins with staff at high-end stores, including Louis Vuitton, Cartier, and Selfridges. “Out of the countless times that I’ve visited an LV store in other states, I’ve only had one positive experience with a sales assistant. The others just had condescending and shitty attitudes. It’s like LV requires a prerequisite of shitty attitude in order to work there,” one commenter wrote. In China, similar stories are coming to light online; notably relating to one Miu Miu store where staff have been accused of treating customers crassly. The Chongqing incident has sparked widespread attention, highlighting ongoing tensions in luxury retail. But disputes like these aren’t just bad PR; they can also significantly dent sales. Numerous social media users have admitted to being permanently “put off” a brand by their unsatisfactory experience with in-store staff, instead opting to spend their money with competitors. After feeling judged by an employee in an unnamed luxury store, one netizen penned on Reddit that they “walked across the street to Prada and bought a wallet from there instead.” Luxury sales clerks are expected to undergo rigorous training in not just product knowledge, but interpersonal skills before hitting the shop floor. However, this training only sometimes translates into practice. As the luxury market grapples with a global downturn, controversies like these only intensify the pressure. As consumers become more selective over where they empty their pockets, feeling judged – or worse, slighted – by a retailer will only sway them to tighten their purse strings. The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.

Chinese shoppers push back on ‘rude’ luxury retail staff

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Published August 30, 2024

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Chinese shoppers push back on ‘rude’ luxury retail staff