Your best and worst shopping experience

I'm apt to have a lot of stories once I get started, both re best and worst shopping experiences. Since this is a thread looking for the positives, I'll try to keep any negs succinct.

Back in a while.

One of the best experiences that I can remember was about six years ago, during the Christmas holidays. I went to Rich's, a department store that was eaten up by Macy's a few years ago, and spent quite a bit of money on exquisite ornaments for our first tree in the new house. The saleslady, a middle aged woman slightly older than myself, took the time to carefully wrap each ornament, about 25 or 30, separately in several layers of tissue paper. I didn't ask her to do it but once I realized what she was doing, it occurred to me how thoughtful it was and I thanked her. She told me that she treats her customers the way she likes to be treated and, well, I just appreciated her thoughtfulness and it made the experience very positive. A throwback to the days when salespeople took pride in what they did.

As far as negative experiences, I have stood at make-up counters and check out areas in various stores back in the 1960's, even the 70's in the more exclusive shops, and was ignored, looked over, and refused assistance on several occassions. It was racial, no doubt, that was the kind of **** that happened back then and it was utterly outrageous. Here, I was ready, willing and able to make a purchase, but they didn't want my money???

Mostly my shopping stories are bad (I hate shopping), but recently I found a perfect pair of tobacco brown ankle boots that were comfy and only 50 bucks. That made my day (if only I had found them earlier in the day).

I've had more bad than good experiences, and I usually hate shopping (I'm the born internet shopper), but one bad experience always will stand out, and it happened to be in my hometown in Munich.

I had a huge basket full of cosmetics and perfumes (I load up when I go there) and needed to buy some creme I just couldn't find myself. I looked around for a sales clerk but they are usually nowhere to be found, so I marched over to the register where several people were waiting, and ask the check-out girl politely if she could help me. Oh boy, did she start off on a tirade! Don't I see all the people waiting, don't I realize that she's working her butt off, she's all alone in the cosmetic department, everyone is sick, and don't I see how busy she is, and on and on she went.

She was actually yelling at me, and I was so flabbergasted, I didn't know
what to say at first, and all the people in line were starring at me. I finally
regained my senses, put the full basket on her counter and told her that
she'll be even more busy to empty the basket again and walked out.

---

The nicest experience I had at an antique store in Texas where I bought
very old Rosenthal china. They were so helpful and friendly, and just pleased that I was so interested in that particular china set. They needed to ship it to me to California, and although they packed everything very well and nothing was broken, the store had given me some extra plates and one soup terrine just in case something would break. I was so delighted, especially since the soup terrine was quite pricey.

I detest shopping and do as much of it as I can on-line. Woolrich as wonderful on-line support if you need it. KMart, Walmart, Sears and Macy's on-line support all suck badly.

I remember going through stores when I was at UCLA, on my way to the bus stop. No one treated me badly, but I didn't often stop, and I don't remember ever buying, I had no money but the bus fare, just walked through, thinking of eoe as I write this, re how I was treated.

After I graduated and began earning money, though not bales of it, I could shop in Westwood. Back then it wasn't a warren of tee shirt shops. It had a good china shop, a wonderful bookstore, excellent department store, and, in the later sixties, some nifty boutiques, boutique being then a new word.
So I have a generalized view that I liked the individually own shops with whatever eccentric owners and the diverse goods. All that is gone, or was last time I was there, probably 2005. Remembering, even the camera store was tip top...

Having owned an individualistic art gallery with a business partner in a seaport town that had weathered a mall and its challenge, I am more than ever for individually owned businesses recapturing the heart of old towns left by corportate-ville.

Our town in what I used to call north north, Eureka, was where Restoration Hardware started, and the first store is still there. Close by it is Sjaak's Belgian Chocolates, another individually owned and excellent store. My favorite bookstore, mostly used but some new books, is Booklegger's, owned, I think, by two women of great book discernment.
The old town is not a wealthy place, was not so long ago desolation row, not exactly gentrified now. I like it in its middle state, just wish it had some immediate city servicing shops like a hardware store and a pharmacy. As it is, it's directed to the odd or normal tourist.

I forgot, there's a wonderful kitchenware and cooking class place, name I forget right this minute, also owned individually. And then there's the Linen Closet, owned by two women who gave me a show of my art when I first arrived in town. They've moved and upgraded, always a good shop, now quite the elegant place. There's more there, but I'll stop, you get the idea. I'm all for individual efforts, whether by one person or a partnership.

I think it's appropriate to add that after the building next door to us burned down (aaack!) my business partner and I were hoping some interesting places would move in to the new shops that were being built saving the old frontage... and first on our list was a flower shop, no kidding.

On negative, my primal negative experience was again at a shop in Westwood, with a saleswoman, the same one, an older lady (yes, I can sympathize) zooming in on me as I entered with the 'can I help you' and following me with more 'can I help yous' despite my murmurs of no, and then No, and then NO, with eventually some sentence of I'll ask you if I require help. I liked the items in the store, which is why I still bothered, but sometimes I felt quite agitated about her.

Of course I know she was trying to earn a living. So now, these years later, I blame the store for her having to be so pesky more that herself.

I don't particularly like shopping, so I don't really have many GOOD shopping experiences.

A GOOD shopping experience is going online, fining exactly what you wanted, and getting it.


Bad shopping experience is Shopping during SALES...

Thank you all so much. And keep 'em coming, if you have any more.

Do you think the type of store makes a difference to the shopping experience .... meaning that if money if no object (just pretend) do small specialty stores beat the crap out of big box retailers for product selection, service and, uh, just more fun environments.

(My own prejudices may have been shown in the above statement.)

For instance, my last foray into Sears was for a sweater. In the deserted department, I couldn't find any staff to serve me so eventually I just took a garment to the doorway and waved the security tag in front of the theft detection thingamajig there. Then I asked the security guard who came running to find someone to help me, which he did.

I was also disgusted by the lack of basic housekeeping. Dust bunnies, products all mixed up on the racks, and some on the floor below the racks making friends with the dust bunnies. Stuff like that.

A good retail sales experience for me is when the salesperson knows their products, and can accurately describe their function to you. Then leave it to you to decide.

This isn't maybe exactly retail, but....I went to Whole Foods on Saturday. I usually only go in there for a few specific items, but I didn't need to buy many things this week, and WF is much closer to my house, so I thought I'd splurge.

Looking at the produce, I was confronted by the mushrooms; 20 different varieties that I knew nothing about, and costing $15 to $20 a pound. I asked one employee if he knew much about mushrooms. He didn't, but immediately called over someone who did. She told me, "I've tried them all" and went on to catagorize them into more manageable groups, and describing the tastes.
Then, when I thanked her, letting her know how helpful she'd been. she then left me alone to make my choice.

That's another big thing with me.....once I say "Thanks for the help" that means you can leave, please don't stand over me.

On the reverse side...Let's say I'm looking for pants....the salesperson asks if I need help, and I'll say "Yes, I'm looking for pants that have X and X, but don't have Y. Do you carry that?"

Then, they start looking though the rack you've just looked through. Once, when I had already reached my shopping tolerance for the day, this happened and I asked the clerk "Do you know if you have such pants, or are you just going to look through all of them the way I was already doing? Because if that's what you're thinking of doing, you're really not "helping" me. You can tell me if you don't know if you have them, you know."

She didn't know. Which is fine. I don't need help shuffling through a rack.

Like many other A2K posters, I'm a reluctant shopper. I don't mind spending money, but I do mind being assulted by the presence of hundreds of items that I don't like and don't want to buy. Shopping for clothing is particularly harrowing for me.

I have a college friend who loves to shop.

We've worked out a system. I huddle in the changing room, resenting the implacable reality of the three-way mirror-- while she's out on the floor, zipping through the racks--particularly the sales racks--looking for my size and colors.

I'll never understand shopping as a vicarious sport, but I'm deeply indebted for her help.

It's funny Noddy. You don't understand the joys of shopping and I don't get those of you (most of you!) who DON'T like shopping.
Go figure

Humm, I can't say that I've ever really had a good experience. I generally don't like to have to go shopping. The lines in the check outs are maddening, you have 30 checkouts and two checkers.... No one is ever there to help you.

Lets see if I can put this one nicely? I hunt...that means I incorporate the use of rifles, shotguns...etc, into this activity. When a woman enters a sporting goods store to make such a purchase, with cash in hand.... its in the employee's best interest not to insult her by asking her if she's sure she doesn't want to wait for the husband to come and help her make her pick or by insinuating that maybe she oughta rethink her choice because this gauge of a shotgun, vs. this gauge is more suitable for ladies.

When a woman says.."Let me see that Browning 12 gauge pump, yeah...the one with the Mossy Oak Breakup pattern,...24' barrell..." and has CASH IN HAND...you don't insult them.

You hand her the gun to see if it fits...she likes the feel...and then keep your mouth shut to see if she wants to make that purchase. I have been known to walk out and take my business elsewhere.

The one that comes to mind is shopping at an outlet store in Minneapolis when I was in late high school. This was a true outlet store, not the fake ones that Gap etc. have now (i.e. they make lines just for the outlet, etc.) It was the end of the line for new clothes that had been returned to stores or had never managed to sell, especially catalogue companies. Cheap, cheap, cheap stuff, from really cool brands. One I remember was "Tweeds" -- is that still around? In the late 80's I loved them. (Lots of silk and cotton and beautiful colors and sweeping skirts and such.)

So, I had hardly any money, yet could take $20 to this place and come out with a long super-soft corduroy skirt, a silk sweater, and a perfect cotton t-shirt.

Nirvana.

Service almost never makes a difference to me except in the negative sense -- overly pushy. I usually prefer to be left alone to do my own thing. Value is usually what makes me happiest when it comes to shopping experiences.

That said, I much prefer small, independently owned + cool places to giant chains; and the former don't always offer the best value.

My best and my worst both deal with high end camera stores.

For the best we have to get in the way-back machine and travel to the mid-70s. I got my first job in high school and it was right across the street from the city's high end camera store, Engler's. About half of each paycheck was spent at Engler's but that still didn't amount to a whole lot of money.

Sam was my "pusher". He was an older man who really knew his stuff. He always made sure I got first shot at any good used equipment that came in. He sold me floor models. He clued me in on the deals that could be had on recently expired film and paper. He taught me how to bulk load my film and saved cannisters for me.

I probably spent less in a year than most of their customers spent in a day but I have never been treated so well by the staff of any store. Sam ranks right up there as one of the defining influences in my life.


Now for the worst....

When I first moved to this city everyone recommended a certain high end camera store to me. I went in with a list of items to purchase - I knew exactly what I wanted.

I have never met a more arrogant, snobbish gear heads in my life. They rolled their eyes at my every item and tried to "upgrade" every decision I made.

I left without buying anything.

I did give them one more chance about a year later when I needed a specialty item. I was treated the same way.

I vowed never to set foot in their store again and I haven't.

HA!

If I won the lottery, I'd hire a personal shopper and say "Take my dimensions, here's the colors I look good in, and here's my lifestyle. Go buy me some stuff to wear."

Seriously eoe, what does it feel like to you when you're shopping? Where does the pleasure part come in? Can you describe it?

I can "get" the feeling of a high that some of those pathological shoppers get, but I know you're not one of them.

Well, I am a self-confessed shopaholic. I come from a family of shopaholics. Most of my friends are shopaholics. There's definitely a high involved in spending money and having money to spend. My father used to tease me about money burning a hole in my pocket when I was a little girl because I just loooooved to spend even then and yes he did spoil me. But with an adult resolve to curb my addictive tendencies, I do manage, unlike my cousin who owns over 200 pairs of shoes, to keep myself in check.

I've found that the best way to curb it is not to leave the house.

Just the other day I was in Pier I, looking around for something to purchase with a discount coupon I'd gotten in the mail and, believe it or not, there was nothing that I needed. Not another piece of glassware will fit on my shelves.

I left the store empty-handed and in shock.