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Personal Stylist Leeds - Personal Shopper Leeds - Image Consultant - Arash Mazinani

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Are You Being Served? The Decline of Customer Service

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Slightly different slant on this week’s post, I’m focusing on shopping and customer service. The reason being I’m a fan of the new Mary Portas TV show ‘Secret Shopper’. For any of my International readers or those of you that have not seen the show let me explain. Basically Mary Portas has decided that the customer service on Britain’s high street is at an all time low so has decided to go undercover to find out how terrible it is. Each week she picks a different retailer, so far she’s done fashion and furniture stores, then works with them to try and improve their customer service and actually help the customer. Some of the idea’s she comes up with are pretty cool. But this got me thinking about my own experience in retail and the customer service I have received/given when out shopping.

When I first started working for a fashion retailer, River Island, I remember being told to greet everyone at the door. So I did… then I remember my supervisor saying “wow, you actually did greet every single person”. However, when I think about the service I generally receive from high street fashion stores it generally sucks. In fact it sucks even more since the recession hit. Usually my experience goes something along the lines of this…

Mary Portas

Walk into the store and head upstairs….Now I don’t know why but most fashion retailers feel that men should have to work further, but it’s all good I have no issue with that. I’m then usually greeted by loud cheesy club music, bright lights and boring fixtures. I’ll scan the room and usually find hardly any staff on the shop floor. You’ll usually get a person ‘guarding’ the fitting rooms and also a cluster behind the tills. You may have the misfortune of having to rummage through displays that have been destroyed by other shoppers, I don’t know about you but I always try and put things back neatly. If you do find something you like/want to try on then the changing rooms are usually boring. When you make a purchase you’re generally ignored and then have your purchase flung at you.

This is not how it goes down in every fashion store but a lot of the major high street fashion retailers work like that. The designer stores aren’t all that cracking either, while I’ve not experienced it myself I have heard many a bad story about really unhelpful staff.

I guess I’ll explain where I stand on the matter as I’ve been at both sides of the till so to speak. First of all I’m going to start with the retailers, it was highlighted in the TV show that they don’t give enough training to their staff. I agree, other than at Harvey Nichols where the training was decent I received hardly any ‘fashion’ training at River Island. I mean you wouldn’t buy a car from someone who didn’t really know anything about cars?

I remember in my Interview you just had to reel off three of the current trends, which doesn’t constitute as ‘knowledge’. So the majority of staff are starting work potentially with little knowledge about fashion and then never receiving any training on it. I also think that they should be a bit more rigorous in their interviewing in terms of matching the personality of the candidate to their role. I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve met people in retail who just don’t like working with people.

I also think shops tend to look scruffy fast and a lot of them look the same with the same lighting and fixtures.Yeah you may find a lick of paint here and there or some funky looking wall paper but the way the clothes are displayed are generally dull. I recently visited a Hollister store in Birmingham and was really impressed. It was basically like walking into an old house, it was kind of dark inside but then bright spot lights illuminated key pieces. It worked really well and the staff seemed pleased that I had walked in. I think some stores need to be more creative with their whole approach to retailing. Especially as online retailers are taking a chunk of the profit pie now.

Great customer service is all well and good but do people actually want it?

I know from my own experience some times people just want to be left alone when shopping they don’t want to be talked to or bothered. A great example is the store lush that sell handmade beauty products. I like to do my own thing when it comes to shopping and while I don’t mind engaging with the sales assistants, I do prefer to be left alone. Whenever I go into lush the girls in their are crazy, the first thing that jumps in my head is “these girls must be on commission”  as they’re all up in my face as soon as I step through the door. To some people they may think that’s good customer service. I’d much prefer a more relaxed vibe where I can leisurely browse and ask someone for help if I need it.

Lush

I’d love to hear where you stand on the customer service debate?

 

Also I’d love to hear about any particularly good or bad experiences with stores?

Let me know your thoughts by commenting below.

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Hints That Will Help you Find your Shopping Style

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My girlfriend inspired me to write this post. Well that’s probably not entirely true, she actually gave me the idea. It’s a bit more fun than previous articles I’ve done and is a light hearted look into different types of shoppers. Hopefully you’ll be able to relate to one of the types that I’ve identified. If you don’t and feel you fall into a mixture or a totally different type then feel free to let me know your shopping style by commenting below.

As I said before this is a light hearted look into different shopping styles, I have my own opinion on the best way to go about shopping but this is not the post that I’ll be exploring that.

  • Cool & Calculated – I have to admit this is my preferred shopping style. This type of shopper is usually quite efficient. They know what clothes they have in their wardrobe and they know what needs up dating. They have a clear idea of what they want before they go out and where they might find it. While browsing anything they do find that they like the look of they instantly figure out how they’d make it work with the other items in their wardrobe. Before buying anything they try items on usually in a couple of sizes to determine the best fit. Generally this type of shopper gets in and out with what they want with out wasting much time.
  • Unconfident – This type of shopper is quite often undecided when trying to make a purchase. They may not have much of a budget so what they do buy needs to count. This along with a lack of confidence in identifying how new clothes will fit into their wardrobe, often sees them struggle to make a purchase. On the other hand they may often buy something with out really thinking how it will work with what they already have. Choosing to think about it later, which can often result in them returning their items.

  • Impulse – I’m pretty sure everyone is aware of what impulse shopping is however, I’m going to cover it anyway. The impulse shopper generally buys things on an impulse, duh. This impulse may come from the excitement or buzz that they get when buying or shopping. Personally, even though I’m generally a cool and calculated type of shopper I do get a feeling of excitement when I’m around big name designer brands. A lot of shops are geared up to make you make a snap decision and buy an item with stimuli such as bright lights and loud music. If you’re an impulse shopper you’ll buy on a whim if something jumps out at you that you like but you may not have any need for.
  • Internet Shopper – I love the internet and I think it’s awesome that you can have access to vast amounts of brands and products. One thing that discourages me from shopping online for clothes is not knowing the fit and not being able to try things on. But for many the sheer choice and relative ease of internet shopping is a deal breaker. Internet shoppers could be a mixture of any of the above as really it’s just a different platform. As I mentioned the lack of the ability to try on clothes means that internet shoppers are generally confident buyers who know what they like and what fits them well.

I know those mentioned are merely scratching the surface of different shopper types. You can also be a mixture of different types depending on the situation. I’d love to hear some of your combinations or shopper types. Also let me know what type of shopper are you?

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5 Tips to Help You Survive the Sale Season

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Back in my student loan days I used to be really eager to hit the shops after christmas for some sale shopping. Now I’m a little bit more cautious when it comes to sale shopping. Don’t get me wrong I love to pick up a bargain as much as the next person but having worked in retail for a good number of years I no longer feel inspired to rush out as I once did. However, you may have some christmas cash burning a hole in your pocket right now and want to take advantage of the discounts seem to be on almost everything. So I thought I’d put together a little post on helping you out during the sale season.

  • Don’t rush, shopping can be addictive for some people because of the endorphins that are released when spending wads of cash. Don’t let the discounts blind you, just because it has 50% off does not mean you instantly need it or it will be a valued addition to your wardrobe.
  • One of my readers prompted me to do this post as he believes it’s not worth shopping during the sale as it’s all old stock. He is right, retailers discount last season’s stock to make way for up and coming spring summer collections. But sales can still be a great time to shop. Men’s fashion is not as fast paced as women’s so trends tend to stick around a lot longer. Having said that you can never go wrong sticking to classic pieces, you get a huge chunk off the retail price and get an item that you’ll still be wearing in 5 years time.

  • If you really want to stay ahead of the game and want to invest in something that is fashionable then you need to do a bit of prep work before hand. By this time of the year the spring summer fashion shows have already been and gone. However, it maybe worth seeing what’s on trend for the up coming spring summer, I’ll come to why in my next point. You will also start to find pre fall collections surfacing on the internet. Have a look what’s cropping in these collections and use this knowledge to get a discounted fashionable piece  a year in advance.
  • Usually it’s the current winter stock that goes into the sale and you’ll probably find up to 70% off as it gets towards the end of January. However, I know in particular some designer department stores also bring back the previous spring summer stock. This will start from around 70% off and eventually go down to around 90%. Again, do your homework and look out for trends that have carried over and classic items. I used this very trick one year to bag my mum a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes for £30!

  • Finally, set yourself a budget. I’ve seen people walking around with arms full of clothes before that they probably don’t need. Just because your credit card survived christmas doesn’t mean you should kill it at the beginning of the new year.

If you do choose to go sale shopping this year I hope you have fun and find some of these tips useful. Let me know how you get on or if you’ve already found some bargains by commenting below.

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Top Tips that will make your Christmas Shopping Easier

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Anyone that follows me on twitter will know that last Friday I went bowling followed by Nandos with some of my close friends. After eating we were all sat chatting when one of my friends brought up christmas shopping. He expressed how much he hates navigating the high street at this time of year and pointed out he would be doing all his shopping online providing there was no snow forecasted. I can see his point but there is still something about hitting the high street and actually looking for presents that you don’t experience through online shopping. Last year I think I bought half my presents online and half on the high street. So far this year I haven’t bought anything online.

What if you dread hitting the high street?

I’m going to go through a few of your options hopefully by utilising them you’ll be able to take some of the stress out of shopping.

  • Online – There is no doubt about it that the internet has revolutionised shopping. However, I still tend to find it is better when you know what you want to get. While it is a hassle free way of shopping you also have to consider delivery timescales. So if you know what you need to buy the internet is a good option providing you allow plenty of time for delivery. This leads me onto my next point.

  • Planning – I enjoy shopping as much as the next person but at this time of the year it can get a bit rowdy. That’s why I suggest you never go out with out a plan of action. Such military precision may seem laughable, but believe me when you’re wandering aimlessly stuck behind a bunch of people all doing the same an entire day can end up being a waste. If you plan what you need to get and where you need to go you can be swiftly in and out. If you do this for as many presents as possible you’ll then have more time if you do need to shop around a little.

  • Start Early – It goes without saying the earlier you start the less stressful your shopping experience will be. As of writing there are only 11 days until christmas so I know I’m a bit late with this one. Now when I say early I’m not one that advocates starting in summer but if you at least start in November you should be finishing just as the shops start to get to their busiest.
  • Budget – I love giving presents, possibly even more than receiving them. But at christmas it is easy to get carried away and end up with a credit card bill headache to start the new year. I already mentioned planning is key to successful shopping but so is knowing your budget. Set aside a budget for all your christmas shopping and stick to it. It will help you plan what you’re going to buy as you’ll know how much you have to spend.
  • Avoid Shopping Malls – Some people love shopping malls but expensive retail spaces scare off independent retailers. You’re more likely to find more unique, individual presents on the high street. People tend to flock to these malls for mass shopping trips so you can be rest assured they’re going to be the busiest places to shop during the lead up to christmas.

  • Shop during the week – Again it may sound simple but if you can get time off during the week make good use of it. Come the weekend the shops will be heaving.

Let me know how you have got on with your own christmas shopping by commenting below.

If you liked this how to guide why not subscribe and I’ll send you another one next week? You can subscribe by RSS here or subscribe by email by filling in your email address in the subscription box in the sidebar. You can also catch us on Bloglovin here.