“I labored for a boutique retail retailer geared towards Maserati-driving soccer mothers. Somebody got here in with their 80-year-old sugar daddy, who stood and pointed at every little thing he needed her to put on and dropped $1,200 on outfits for her. She walked in together with her husband every week or two later like we didn’t acknowledge her from earlier than.”
“If we remembered anybody, it was the individuals who dropped 4 figures on clothes.”
2.
“I labored for Michael Kors, and the theft was unreal. Whereas working one evening, a gaggle of identified offenders got here into the shop and began grabbing purses whereas making it identified that workers couldn’t do something about it. They had been threatening anybody who even considered attempting to cease them, and clients had been frozen in concern. In spite of everything was stated and executed, they obtained away with 1000's of {dollars} in merchandise. I known as the mall police who known as within the metropolis police, however the thieves had been lengthy gone.”
“After I notified my supervisor, her first query was, ‘How a lot did they get?’ She by no means as soon as requested if everybody was OK, bodily or mentally. Her major concern was merchandise, which is insured and might be changed. I give up three weeks later.”
—39, Texas
3.
I labored in a high-end chain retail retailer for a very long time on a number of malls. Considered one of them fairly outstanding within the Philly space. I had just a few clients who would are available with their spouse, after which later, their mistress. Loads of Amex black playing cards (this was the early 2000s) and a weekly go to — and typically lunch — from Bam Margera and his then-girlfriend!!”
4.
“I labored for a really high-end luxurious division retailer for six years. Let me let you know each single individual, together with myself, is doing a little shady stuff. ‘Unintentionally’ marking down gadgets, hiding inventory, stealing, hooking up with different coworkers and shoppers within the again, coke within the becoming rooms, getting gadgets delivered to the unsuitable tackle on goal, and so on. The worst was we discovered our retailer supervisor was utilizing the shopper ebook to steal bank card numbers and obtained arrested. Nice designer clothes, although.”
—29, Las Vegas, Nevada
5.
“I labored for a high-end retailer for residence decor. The quantity of people that would start the decision with their job title was very excessive. It gave an air of ‘I feel I’m extra essential than you.’ And more often than not, they did act like they thought their 💩 didn’t stink. I used to be berated and threatened by many ‘attorneys’ about again orders or broken gadgets I had no management over, advised how ‘essential’ the order was, had folks asking in the event that they could possibly be bumped up within the order line as a result of they wanted it for a ‘VIP occasion,’ or another BS.”
“The corporate itself was fairly shady about manufacturing practices additionally. They abused the ‘made in USA’ label in that solely a part of the furnishings needed to be made within the US for them to have that label, and they'd get some elements from China, which actually pissed folks off once they found it on their items. I’m so glad I’ve lengthy since left that place.”
6.
“All the time be good to the affiliate displaying you footwear. I labored at a luxurious division retailer, and so many instances a colleague of mine would come to the again inventory room, not search for a shoe, and simply inform the client we didn’t have it as a result of 1) they didn’t assume they might find yourself shopping for it, 2) the client would return it inside every week, or 3) they only didn’t like them.”
7.
“Loads of ‘luxurious’ gadgets are made in Asia, however the manufacturers use loopholes that make it seem like it was made in Europe or within the US to present the phantasm it wasn’t mass-produced subsequent door to the Hole sweatshops. There was an enormous ruckus years in the past about some manufacturers getting purses made in India and solely getting them completed in Europe, nevertheless it was solely spoken about within the trade — by no means made it to the general public. Plenty of high-end ‘American’ jewellery is made in Hong Kong.”
“Designer manufacturers all have outrageous markups. They may promote at 80% off and nonetheless earn a living, however they not often have deep reductions as a result of they don’t need ‘the unsuitable type of folks’ shopping for, so unsold stock is normally destroyed.”
—Nameless, Toronto, Canada
8.
“A sugar daddy got here into our retailer along with his two ‘infants’ — they had been sisters, by the way in which. That they had gotten him drunk at lunch and went across the retailer choosing out garments, purses, and footwear. Anytime he would ask concerning the value of one thing, they might kiss his cheek and whisper issues in his ear to close him up. It was actually disturbing. Ultimately, he spent, like, $20K on them. Who is aware of what he did or how he obtained that cash. All of them seemed completely happy in the long run, so it labored out, I assume?”
—26, California
9.
“I labored because the assistant to one of many in-house private consumers at a high-end division retailer in Beverly Hills. A few of these extraordinarily rich shoppers wouldn't buy something in a dimension that was labeled something totally different than the scale they thought they had been of their heads. So, I'd be despatched to the alterations division with a number of couture gadgets that wanted their dimension tags ‘switched.’ I'd take them clothes in a dimension 8, and they'd take away the within tags and stitch in a brand new designer tag that may say it was a dimension 2 as a substitute — though the girl shopping for the garments was undoubtedly not a dimension 2. I used to be shocked that my boss made me do that, and I felt like I used to be committing some sort of fraud. Now, I simply look again and really feel sorry for these girls that wanted to be fed a lie with a view to purchase garments.”
—48, Los Angeles, California
10.
“I labored at Nordstrom in downtown San Francisco (which is now closing) within the designer part. A well-known information reporter got here in (who was married) with a youthful woman good friend and acquired her $3K in garments in about eight minutes. Nordstrom additionally has a ‘million greenback sellers membership’ for the gross sales associates that clearly promote over one million a 12 months; they get particular assistants to assist them promote. The busiest time was the anniversary sale the place skilled girls from all around the nation would make appointments at our retailer with these associates to return and decide up their garments or have them shipped out.”
“Prospects had been largely nice at Nordstrom, though I did have a person attempt to come to return a pair of footwear from 1993. And sure, I did it. However solely gave him the worth of what they’re value at present. Oh, and I met Michael Kors’s mother when she got here in to current a brand new line of his.”
—30, California
11.
“Noticed Christian Slater at an artwork retailer I labored at. One of many featured work was of him from Heathers. He stated he’d purchase it if I might give him a reduction.”
—34, Texas
12.
“I had a shopper who would purchase three of the identical merchandise — one for his spouse, the opposite two for his facet items. He stated he’d purchase the identical issues so he didn’t overlook who he gave which merchandise or get confused and blow his cowl. And there have been many, many of those guys who would do the identical. We additionally had lots of money purchases that normally nonetheless had drug residue on the payments.”
—39, Pennsylvania
13.
“I labored in a girls’s boutique in an prosperous space exterior of San Francisco. It was simple to differentiate the wealthy from the rich by how they handled our gross sales associates when the proprietor wasn’t round. Wealthy clients had been a few of the rudest and most unbearable folks I've ever encountered whereas working retail. I’ve had shoe bins thrown at me and full glasses of wine spilled on designer purses with out as a lot as an apology. In distinction, the really WEALTHY had been probably the most unassuming and appreciative.”
“We obtained lots of lonely housewives of tech millionaires (and billionaires) coming into our retailer recurrently simply to speak for an hour or two between spin courses and spa breaks. They had been an absolute pleasure.”
—30, California
14.
“I labored in a girls’s boutique in an prosperous space exterior of San Francisco. It was simple to differentiate the wealthy from the rich by how they handled our gross sales associates when the proprietor wasn’t round. Wealthy clients had been a few of the rudest and most unbearable folks I've ever encountered whereas working retail. I’ve had shoe bins thrown at me and full glasses of wine spilled on designer purses with out as a lot as an apology. In distinction, the really WEALTHY had been probably the most unassuming and appreciative.”
“We obtained lots of lonely housewives of tech millionaires (and billionaires) coming into our retailer recurrently simply to speak for an hour or two between spin courses and spa breaks. They had been an absolute pleasure.”
—30, California
15.
“I labored at a big luxurious division retailer within the UK, and the shoppers who didn’t have cash had been so impolite. We had just a few regulars who would are available and purchase the odd candle or designer jumper once in a while, and should you couldn’t bend every little thing to their whim, they might change into so aggressive it was unreal. The purchasers who would recurrently do massive orders with us or had been purchasing with us each day, nevertheless, had been a few of the nicest, most well mannered folks I’ve ever met. At some point, near Christmas, we had a household are available with their kids who proceeded to completely terrorize the shop. Once we approached them and advised them they wanted to manage their kids, they screamed that they had been spending some huge cash and didn’t must do something we requested. They spent round £200 on the most cost effective issues they may discover in retailer.”
“Our subsequent buyer got here in with kids, too, and one in all them broke a reasonably costly vase accidentally and proceeded to panic fairly a bit. She calmed him down whereas her different kids stood quietly toys. She insisted on paying for the harm (I knew it wouldn’t be a lot for her), however we advised her she actually didn’t must because it was an accident. She proceeded to purchase each single workers member a bottle of our greatest champagne (round £600) and wished us a Merry Christmas. I really feel prefer it exhibits you don’t get anyplace in life with out being good to folks.”
16.
“I labored at Rolex for precisely 30 days throughout busy season as their ‘ambassador,’ which means I used to be each gross sales individual’s gross sales assistant and the shop supervisor’s private assistant. Any time somebody would are available and sit down to debate a purchase order, it was my job to supply fancy espresso and glowing water; I’d then take down the order, run throughout the road to the boutique espresso store, minimize the road, and pay nothing (as a result of Rolex had a limitless tab arrange). After I wasn’t doing that, I'd be handed the boss’s Amex and automobile keys and advised to go purchasing for his vacation gifting with a imprecise path of ‘this high-end retailer, not more than this quantity’ (which was normally a pair grand).”
“Celebs and different well-known millionaires got here in a minimum of as soon as a day, and there have been at all times stacks of money — like an only-see-in-movies amount of money — within the again after massive gross sales.”
—30, California
17.
“There are demanding clients — particularly those who faux that they've the cash however don’t. Most of the repeat clients, particularly socialites, typically purchase costly outfits to put on to a fundraiser or main occasion and return them just a few days later for all kinds of wierd causes. These women can’t be seen in the identical outfit once more, so that they continually put on and return clothes. One time, a girl returned an costly designer gown and claimed that she hadn’t worn it, however was caught in a lie when the salesperson confirmed her an image of her in it from the society column of a newspaper. She was shocked and stated that she had forgotten what she had worn to that occasion. I’ve seen girls attempt on costly garments and throw them within the nook of the dressing room as a substitute of hanging the garment again on the rack or laying it on the chair within the room. There have been girls who would purchase the identical garment some other place on sale and return it to retailer to get a full value refund.”
“There have been at all times girls who ordered garments throughout designer truck exhibits and never present as much as pay for clothes once they arrive. And probably the most disgusting factor I witnessed was girls who would put on and return costly purses and/or clothes with stains on them and typically smelled like unhealthy physique odor. I’ve seen all of it!”
—Nameless, 50s
