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Really good stores and salespeople are magic and I totally buy into their illusion. I love going to the Gucci store it's kind of the pinnacle of service you ca

Really good stores and salespeople are magic and I totally buy into their illusion. I love going to the Gucci store it's kind of the pinnacle of service you can't get online. 1:1 salesperson follows you and helps pick out pieces and pull sizes, usually with sparkling water to take your time. As you mention you can build a relationship past one transaction. They always compliment: you look great, good fit, makes you look skinny, etc. Really good salespeople pick up on your style and provide actual good direction. Sometimes I'll get this is the last size we have in the US type tactic, which for most stores would be total BS to me right away but for them I almost buy it (Gucci does intentional small runs to sell out now it seems). The psychology of it works (for me at least) even if you know they're tricking you to spend more (less deceitful hard to describe, like massaging you with dopamine into spending more $)! That's the magic. I always go in with one specific item in mind that I researched online but never leave with just one thing... I recently saw that Intuit is now offering a live 'accountant' videoconference to fill out your turbotax. I wonder how far off we are from using some AR/VR and live person to facilitate more of this in person shopping service remotely.

crankylinuxuser 9y ago
I'm not trying to target you per se, but you did give an anecdote about it. Gucci is pure name. Their quality is better than average, but the price is nowhere reasonably higher than the average quality. Frankly, the money is wasted because someone stroked your ego with powerful psychology and manipulation. This is only slightly different than catering to "whales" the free-to-play markets, but just with a bit more customer service. Most "popular" products are the same way. They paid celebs to carry their product, or use their product. Frankly, who cares? The celebs are being paid, whereas you pay. If you have your name on my stuff, then I'm advertising your brand. You either gave it to me as swag, or you're paying me for it. The last choice, is it's a nonprofit and you're doing advertising to help them. Aside that, you're paying for the benefit of bolstering and proving their name further. Nope nope, and nope. Concierges? Sure, I understand having hand-holding assistance. Some people do need that, as many of us in IT are well aware of. But there is a difference between "I'm not sure if that would work for you", versus "You just look stunning with that hat on. That hat just works exceptionally with you! And that parfum - oh so elegant! (add more unintended shit to buy)"
- andrewjl 9y ago
  "add more unintended shit to buy" What exactly is wrong with that? A good portion of people who shop at a place like Gucci that don't do it for the utility and value for money, so neither of those two standards will apply to them.
  - yason 9y ago
    I think they do but not in the ordinary way. The only way to give people the signal "I have a five-thousand dollar bag" is to go buy a five-thousand dollar bag. The value is not in the bag but in the message of owning (and being able to own) one, addressed to a certain audience that is very sensitive to these signals and that also matters in your life. I'm sure Gucci bags have opened doors that other bags with a fraction of the price haven't so there's utility value, too. It just fits with goals and with social behaviour that isn't very common in regular people, not to mention engineers.
    - Godel_unicode 9y ago
      > with goals and with social behaviour that isn't very common in regular people, not to mention engineers. You think using brands to signal status isn't normal? You might consider counting cars with no badges, or going to a coffee shop and counting the literally glowing logos. As for engineers, have you never seen a sticker-bombed laptop? Never had colleagues who wear the conference shirt or carry the conference bag? What about collegiate hoodies? It's not a judgement on you if you truly don't care about brands or status signaling in any arena, but surely you recognize it's the rule not the exception.
      - hueving 9y ago
        None of those are apt comparisons because people don't pay for the brand signaling. Laptop stickers and conference shirts are free or dirt cheap. The logos you see in a coffee shop on electronics are side effects of purchasing the product. I would still buy an MBP without the lighted apple on the back because I'm buying it for it's utility and quality. Nobody would buy a Gucci bag without the logo. Social signaling through brands is not as common as you would like to believe. This can be seen by how many people buy clothes that are close to cost (Gap, Walmart, etc).

crankylinuxuser 9y ago

I'm not trying to target you per se, but you did give an anecdote about it. Gucci is pure name. Their quality is better than average, but the price is nowhere reasonably higher than the average quality. Frankly, the money is wasted because someone stroked your ego with powerful psychology and manipulation. This is only slightly different than catering to "whales" the free-to-play markets, but just with a bit more customer service. Most "popular" products are the same way. They paid celebs to carry their product, or use their product. Frankly, who cares? The celebs are being paid, whereas you pay. If you have your name on my stuff, then I'm advertising your brand. You either gave it to me as swag, or you're paying me for it. The last choice, is it's a nonprofit and you're doing advertising to help them. Aside that, you're paying for the benefit of bolstering and proving their name further. Nope nope, and nope. Concierges? Sure, I understand having hand-holding assistance. Some people do need that, as many of us in IT are well aware of. But there is a difference between "I'm not sure if that would work for you", versus "You just look stunning with that hat on. That hat just works exceptionally with you! And that parfum - oh so elegant! (add more unintended shit to buy)"

andrewjl 9y ago
"add more unintended shit to buy" What exactly is wrong with that? A good portion of people who shop at a place like Gucci that don't do it for the utility and value for money, so neither of those two standards will apply to them.
- yason 9y ago
  I think they do but not in the ordinary way. The only way to give people the signal "I have a five-thousand dollar bag" is to go buy a five-thousand dollar bag. The value is not in the bag but in the message of owning (and being able to own) one, addressed to a certain audience that is very sensitive to these signals and that also matters in your life. I'm sure Gucci bags have opened doors that other bags with a fraction of the price haven't so there's utility value, too. It just fits with goals and with social behaviour that isn't very common in regular people, not to mention engineers.
  - Godel_unicode 9y ago
    > with goals and with social behaviour that isn't very common in regular people, not to mention engineers. You think using brands to signal status isn't normal? You might consider counting cars with no badges, or going to a coffee shop and counting the literally glowing logos. As for engineers, have you never seen a sticker-bombed laptop? Never had colleagues who wear the conference shirt or carry the conference bag? What about collegiate hoodies? It's not a judgement on you if you truly don't care about brands or status signaling in any arena, but surely you recognize it's the rule not the exception.
    - hueving 9y ago
      None of those are apt comparisons because people don't pay for the brand signaling. Laptop stickers and conference shirts are free or dirt cheap. The logos you see in a coffee shop on electronics are side effects of purchasing the product. I would still buy an MBP without the lighted apple on the back because I'm buying it for it's utility and quality. Nobody would buy a Gucci bag without the logo. Social signaling through brands is not as common as you would like to believe. This can be seen by how many people buy clothes that are close to cost (Gap, Walmart, etc).