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In a store, however, a sales associate tries to guess a shopper’s tastes in real time. Shout out to the people who can afford to shop at stores with a busines

In a store, however, a sales associate tries to guess a shopper’s tastes in real time. Shout out to the people who can afford to shop at stores with a business model that supports "sales associates" that actually do something besides take your money (or help unlock a dressing room) I can't remember the last time I was helped personally while shopping for clothing.

alexgmcm 8y ago
I don't shop at expensive stores but sometimes I get asked if I want help by an employee if they are standing around. I always say no though - it feels awkward.
- pbhjpbhj 8y ago
  My knee-jerk reaction is always to reject shop-assistant help, but recently I've had a couple of experience where the assistant instead offered advice about what I was looking at ("there are more of that style on such-and-such aisle", "this model has 2 hdmi inputs, if you need more I can recommend something", that kind of thing) which has made the assistant seem much more approachable and given them an air of knowledgeability that makes me feel they actually can help too.
  - exergy 8y ago
    Trouble is there are many people, me included, who would never just walk into a store and buy something. If I'm about to buy something (and there are no limits to how trivial that thing may be), chances are I've done some research online. Often it seems I know more of what to look out for than the sales associate, making the help moot.
- alexvoda 8y ago
  I wonder if this "coldness" towards the customer is an artifact of environment? Here in Romania, I feel it is only half of the time the case.I had plenty of helpful interaction with employees both being asked if I need help or directly going and asking for help. I also had plenty of unhelpful interaction with uninformed employees or uninterested employees. At least in the westernized countries I believe the more Mediterranean a culture the more helpful store employees try to appear (even though they may not actually be).
danaris 8y ago
A few years ago (4, I think?), I was shopping for pants at JC Penney after losing a bunch of weight, and a sales associate there came and was extremely helpful in finding some that actually fit my (still somewhat odd) body shape. I don't generally think of JC Penney as being a store high-end enough that most people would feel they can't afford to shop there...
- gowld 8y ago
  Commodity retail work is filled with regular people. Some people are friendly and fashionable, and some are not.
lev99 8y ago
The shoe stores where the shoes are on the wall instead of in isles with boxes underneath have very knowledgeable staff that are great. The price of shoes are usually the same as the stores that have shoes in isles with boxes underneath, with the exception that isle stores will have more discontinued models at a discount. I think it's a personal preference. The isle model requires less labor but the wall model uses less real estate.
Steve44 8y ago
A couple of years ago I took my 16 yr old son to Moss Bros to get a suit for collage, he's had some from Next but I wanted him to have that extra attention of having a suit fitted. No one came over, when I eventually went off and got someone they were do disinterested we gave up and left. I went to a small shop over the road where a slick haired, pot bellied, mahogany skinned but very suave Italian really looked after him and he got a got a lovely and perfectly fitted suit. It wasn't that expensive either, just over £200 I think. It was really sad to see what a great institution like Moss Bros had become, there are still shops out there but we need to ensure they can stay in business if we want that service.

alexgmcm 8y ago

I don't shop at expensive stores but sometimes I get asked if I want help by an employee if they are standing around. I always say no though - it feels awkward.

pbhjpbhj 8y ago
My knee-jerk reaction is always to reject shop-assistant help, but recently I've had a couple of experience where the assistant instead offered advice about what I was looking at ("there are more of that style on such-and-such aisle", "this model has 2 hdmi inputs, if you need more I can recommend something", that kind of thing) which has made the assistant seem much more approachable and given them an air of knowledgeability that makes me feel they actually can help too.
- exergy 8y ago
  Trouble is there are many people, me included, who would never just walk into a store and buy something. If I'm about to buy something (and there are no limits to how trivial that thing may be), chances are I've done some research online. Often it seems I know more of what to look out for than the sales associate, making the help moot.
alexvoda 8y ago
I wonder if this "coldness" towards the customer is an artifact of environment? Here in Romania, I feel it is only half of the time the case.I had plenty of helpful interaction with employees both being asked if I need help or directly going and asking for help. I also had plenty of unhelpful interaction with uninformed employees or uninterested employees. At least in the westernized countries I believe the more Mediterranean a culture the more helpful store employees try to appear (even though they may not actually be).

danaris 8y ago

A few years ago (4, I think?), I was shopping for pants at JC Penney after losing a bunch of weight, and a sales associate there came and was extremely helpful in finding some that actually fit my (still somewhat odd) body shape. I don't generally think of JC Penney as being a store high-end enough that most people would feel they can't afford to shop there...

gowld 8y ago
Commodity retail work is filled with regular people. Some people are friendly and fashionable, and some are not.

lev99 8y ago

The shoe stores where the shoes are on the wall instead of in isles with boxes underneath have very knowledgeable staff that are great. The price of shoes are usually the same as the stores that have shoes in isles with boxes underneath, with the exception that isle stores will have more discontinued models at a discount. I think it's a personal preference. The isle model requires less labor but the wall model uses less real estate.

Steve44 8y ago

A couple of years ago I took my 16 yr old son to Moss Bros to get a suit for collage, he's had some from Next but I wanted him to have that extra attention of having a suit fitted. No one came over, when I eventually went off and got someone they were do disinterested we gave up and left. I went to a small shop over the road where a slick haired, pot bellied, mahogany skinned but very suave Italian really looked after him and he got a got a lovely and perfectly fitted suit. It wasn't that expensive either, just over £200 I think. It was really sad to see what a great institution like Moss Bros had become, there are still shops out there but we need to ensure they can stay in business if we want that service.