Something on Customer Service

I have just been thinking recently about the difference good customer service makes to a shopping experience. I can specifically say that I've been thinking about it since my most recent visit to an Illamasqua counter. I've been twice now and received completely different service each time. I think I'm just going to gather my thoughts on customer service and share a few experiences with you. Before I start, I would like to point out that I've been the one *giving* customer service in the past, both in a supermarket and on a cosmetics counter. I don't currently work with the public, but you never forget the lessons you learn when dealing with customers.

Customer service is one of those issues that divides shoppers. Some people love to be left alone to browse, others will hate not being attended to and call it bad service. I generally like to be left alone to browse unless it is a brand I'm not familiar with. I'm perfectly happy to amuse myself at a MAC counter until I've picked out my products, but at a brand I'm less familiar with I appreciate someone being nearby to answer any questions I have. I do not like someone hovering next to me, it makes me feel as though they're watching in case I steal something (they probably are watching for that!) and I tend to leave without buying or looking at what I want to.

I've noticed high traffic brands such as MAC, Bobbi Brown and Nars fall into the "greet you and leave you to play" category. If you do need help then they're more than happy to give it, but they're not stood over you while you're shopping. Although I've noticed it is exactly like that at Bobbi Brown if you catch them while they're quiet. The more "prestige" brands such as Chanel, Dior, Armarni and the like tend to fall into the "stand on top of you while you browse" category. I'm guessing that's just how the associates are trained. I've never seen a Dior counter get the foot traffic of a MAC one so I assume they want to squeeze every penny out of the sale they can. In these cases I offer a simple "no thank you" to their constant offers of help. To me, in that situation, the bad service is ignoring the answer of the customer.

Location pays a huge part in the type of service you receive, I have noticed. Up in Lincolnshire we don't have many of the big name brands, just the usual Lancome, Chanel, Dior, YSL which are sold in places like Boots. Boots also sell brands like Revlon, Collection 2000 and L'Oreal. The type of customer here is not going to be the same as in Selfridges. I prefer the service given at my Dior counter in Lincoln to that of the counters I visit in London. I have gone as far as swatching at Selfridges then buying it at Lincoln while I'm waiting for the bus home.

I have noticed one of the largest factors in the type of customer service I have received is that of appearance. If you don't look like you can afford the brand then you get ignored. When I visit London I'm dressed up, I have make up on and I look like I can afford that Dior palette, or that Chanel mascara. Shopping in London is a huge treat for me, I want to enjoy every minute I can so I make sure to look the part. Up here, I have visited counters scruffy and smart and have noticed a huge difference in the service I receive. I sometimes visit the town centre if I finish work in time and always have a browse around House of Fraser. I'm not always my most smartly dressed after work, I don't always have make up on and my hair looks more like a bird's nest. Can I ever get any one's attention on the counters? Nope. But if I go and change before visiting the counters then I have no issues with getting served.

It disgusts me that this is the case. The people behind the counters would probably wet themselves if they knew how much money I can spend on make up in one go but because I'm not exactly dressed up then I don't get to spend anything! I don't bother going back to those counters. I had one associate look at me in that state and ask if I'd had a busy day at work. I went back to her every time I wanted something from that counter but eventually she left.

Of course, you get better service the moment you start spending the £££.

After that ramble, I thought I'd share some of the customer service I have received in the past. Some of it's good, some of it's not!

The staff at MAC are always pretty much the same, no matter which MAC I go to. I've noticed a lot of people complain that they always have to wait for service, this is true. But whenever I have been to MAC it has been insanely busy. I've always been greeted by someone though. During my last visit to London I visited the Covent Garden store which was absolutely packed out. I queued at the till and asked for a foundation match. It took 15 minutes, but I was never made to feel as though I was wasting time. It's best to ask at the till in MAC if you want something, usually everyone on the floor is serving someone. Unless you happen to stumble into a quiet MAC of course.

I've had polar opposites at Illamasqua. My first visit nearly turned me off the brand for good. I had only wanted to look at their new collection and buy one of the pigments but even after I had said no to every single product I was shown, I still wasn't taken to the till. I almost walked off without buying anything. After about my fifth "just the pigment please" I finally got to buy it. The brand does intrigue me though so I went to the counter again the last time I went to London and the experience couldn't have been more different. I wanted to try a lip gloss so I was sat down and it was applied. I was asked how I was enjoying London (I have "tourist" on a neon sign above my head), what shopping I'd done and where else I was visiting. I planned on buying a nail polish and I was asked if I'd like to try the colour first, only they loved my polish too much to cover it and everyone else on the counter had to be shown my nails. There was no pressure to buy, it was a much less forceful sale. They tried the polish on their own nails and I ended up buying the three items I had planned.

I do understand about sales targets, but surely annoying a customer almost to the point of walking away is just counter-productive?

I've always had wonderful service at the Shu Uemura Boutique on Neal Street. I've never been in while it's busy so that could be why. No one is ever pushy and they are always polite. Last time I went (where I bought a single lip gloss), the person at the till ran to the other end of the shop to open the door for me on my way out.

I have noticed several complaints about the service at Charles Fox. Mostly due to the fact you are left to browse without help. You do have to consider the type of shop you are in. Charles Fox is a theatre supply store in the heart of Covent Garden. I've seen people in brush belts, clearly in the middle of a job, run in, pay and back out again. It's a shop for pros. It assumed you know why you're in there and know what you're looking for. Whenever I have asked for help, they've always been willing to give it. When I've had questions at Charles Fox, the people there have always been very knowledgeable.

If you've made it this far then I'd love to hear any of your customer service experiences, both good and bad!