Ignored by Macy's Snippy Sales Staff

I don't know where the Macy's stores are that you all are complaining
about, but the stores in the Memphis, TN area are different. Customer
service is excellent, and I've always been helped promptly and offered
help, if just shopping. Macy's does have managers on duty to whom you
can voice your complaints. PS, I don't work there!

Macys is not an upscale store. It sounds like it is attached to a
mall, not a freestanding store, so there are many other people dressed
just like you entering the store.

The store may have bad customer service, but it is not based on what
you wear, most people dont dress up to go the mall, that I know
anyway.

Here is a test for me, I am going to the mall, among a few other
stores today to look for a gift, I will wear jeans and a sweatshirt,
and some worn out converse hightops,and I will report back.


Good Day

I'm just ignored period at Macy's, no matter how I'm dressed, and I
don't notice them giving good service to anybody. Our Macy's seems to
be chronically understaffed. I feel like Macy's is a grocery
store--you just walk through the aisles and sort through the clothes
and then take your purchases to the counter when you're ready. There's
never anybody in the fitting rooms or on the floor.

Banana Republic is really bad about this, too. I absolutely refuse to
go in there any more. It's horrible when you walk in, dressed
casually, and nobody even says hello to you, and then a really
well-dressed person comes in and gets the royal treatment from the
whole staff. One time I went in and wanted to try on a dress. I asked
the lady if they had any size 14's because I didn't see any on the
display in the front of the store. She peered at me over the counter
and said, "We don't really carry plus sizes here." Wow. Okay. So I
went to the back and found 3 of those sizes on a different display. I
just find it crazy that people aren't more sales-motivated.

As a teen I worked for Tommy Hilfiger where I made $7 an hour with no
commission, so I had really no motivation to sell more beyond that I
was just a nice person and wanted to do a good job. I was really
friendly to everyone and was actually the top sales person in the
country during more than one period. All it took was being nice to
everybody... even people in jeans who didn't necessarily look like
they would spend a lot but ended up buying a lot of merchandise
because they felt good about the service.

While shopping at Macy's, on the way home I noticed that I had keft my
pedometer in the fitting room. I inquired at the register if found,
The clerk replied that she found it, but left it in the dressing room,
needless to say someone else took it. Upon returning I questioned the
clerk as to why she didn't keep it at the register or put it into lost
& found. She had no reply.
I feel that I should have received a gift certificate or some
compensation for the $25.00 loss, due to poor judgement on the part of
the clerk.

You really can not expect good service from companies that are going
bankrupt or that are planning on massive layoffs.

Macy's stock is down 60% this year, and that prob means that 60% of
the staff (if they are lucky) will be laid off after Xmas.

So who ever was rude to you will soon be getting their shoes at the
Salvation Army.

After New Years everyone in retail will be unemployed except for the
gun dealers, home security system dealers, and crack dealers.

I have never shopped at Macy's but this behavior happened to me at
Victoria's Secret several years ago.

When I was an optician we were told to offer all the extra crap that
you can get on a pair of glasses to everyone. The worse they could say
is no. Any sale is a sale.

I am going shopping today and I am not wearing nice clothes, it is
snowing and cold, I'm not ruining good shoes! =D Chances are I'll be
left alone.

My husband and I had exactly the same experience in the past at Macy's
at Sunrise Mall. We had gone in in response to an ad on kitchen
knives. We were in blue jeans, clean but not new and not ragge,
either. When we asked if someone could please tell us where the knives
mentioned were, we got a 'look' and then a vague 'over there' gesture
from one of 2 or 3 sales people hanging around a counter, chatting.
The knives we wanted were expensive even on sale, we had the $ to buy,
although we see no reason to not try to save money where we can, and
we might have stayed to look at some clothes, too, and but I am not
going to put up with attitude. My husband once had an identical
experience at a car dealership when he asked to see a car. He went to
a different place, bought the car and drove back to show it to the
manager at the first one. What a look on his face after he heard!
(remember 'Pretty Woman' when she went back to the store-oh, yeah!) He
turned and marched right off after the sales guy. I doubt the
conversaton was pretty.
Makes us wonder how Macy's are not one of the stores closing in these
times, becasue I have heard others relate similar experiences. DON'T
automatically figure people in blue jeans can't afford your goods.

As a former Macy's employee, I can tell you that this goes against
everything that Macy's associates are taught about customer service.
I'm sorry that you were ignored. Even if the associates were busy,
they could have and should have at least said hello and acknowledged
your presence (and cosmetics and shoe associates are commissioned at
Macy's, so by ignoring you they lost out on money).

One thing to do next time (or this time) is visit
www.macys.com/tellus. This is a website that is at the bottom of all
sales slips at Macy's, and associates are supposed to tell you about
and encourage you to visit this website. Go there for complaints and
compliments, and share your experience, with associate names if
possible. Not only does that website go directly to Macy's corporate
offices, the comments go directly to the upper management of the store
the comments are about, so something can be done to address it. I love
PlanetFeedback, but for Macy's, you'll get better results through
their own feedback site. Again it's www.macys.com/tellus. I know my
store managers actually contacted customers that left comments to
follow up.

I agree completely that they should help you out.
Maybe Macy's should consider a commission for employees in sales
departments such as shoes, cosmetics, etc.

In this case, there would be a financial motivator for the employees
to improve their performance.

I read an article years ago that talked about this very thing. Studies
have been done with the same result: the ones who are "better dressed"
get better service.

I'm not saying it's right or that I agree with the employees because I
don't. I think they do their store a disservice by ignoring those who
don't look the part of a big spender; in fact, one of my clients is a
multi-millionaire and regularly dresses in jeans and a t-shirt.

However, this letter is lacking some details on whether other
customers besides yourself were getting service or how the staff was
snippy and rude. But I'm also curious as to Macy's response, so let us
know what they say.

That's like going to Saks and expecting them not to be snooty!

& don't you think it's a little hypocritical to assume that THEY are
shallow enough to judge you by your appearance? For all you know,
they were incredibly busy or maybe they are just genuinely that
unapproachable!

Macy's is famous for unhelpful staff...nothing to do with what you're
wearing (although I have to say the last few times I've been there,
they've been better)

We have had the same thing happen to us, Yes at the mall. My husband
was in jeans and a t-shirt, I was in jeans, flannel and a baseball
cap. We were looked down on by several people working there. We were
looking at the Waterford Crystal. My husband got mad, went to an
employ and said we would like some help. Once we started talking and
the lady knew we knew what we were talking about, he attitude changed.
She was THEN very helpful.

I am with you, people working there look at WHAT you are WEARING.

I really believe you are jumping to conclusions. You have NO idea
that you were being judged or discriminated against, so this letter
turns from one possible explanation to a full-blown tirade with no
justification.

I agree with the other posters...more likely a case of employees
unhappy in their jobs. It is more than likely you would have received
the same treatment in a suit.

You have a valid complaint about being ignored, or treated poorly, but
to assume it is because you weren't upscale enough (at a Macy's in a
mall!) is ridiculous.

This is just how retail works. 20 years ago when I was entering the
office work world, I noticed a huge difference in the attention I got
when I dressed nicely for shopping (like, going after work or at
lunch) compared to Saturday, when I'd wear a sweatsuit (mainly just to
save time changing in and out of potential outfits).

Is that ideal? Of course not. But it's just human nature.

I didn't know that Macy's is considered "upscale"? It's one step up
from Target.

for some reason I am reminded of the scene in Pretty Woman when Julia
Robert's character was refused service in a Beverly hills store.

Are common for shopping in the mall. Macy's isn't an exclusive store,
though their prices may seem that way. I never bought anything there
unless it was on sale, because the regularly marked prices were higher
than elsewhere. Maybe that has changed.

My expectations have lowered over the years; I've come to expect no
service at all in a store like this. Sounds like an unhappy sales
CSR. I hope they speak to that person after reading your letter.

If a store is located in a mall, chances are that it is not high
class. I doubt that is why they acted that way. It was probably a
bad store with low/no morale and no training.

I hardly think of Macy's as an especially high class store. They're in
every mall I've ever been in, for crying out loud. Sounds like a case
of a few people unhappy in their jobs trying to make themselves feel
important by treating customers poorly.

Never apologize for being a customer unless of course you are the one
being rude, snippy and just downright nasty.
But you were not...the employees were.
Doesn't matter what you wear because people of all monitary classes
wear jeans and sweatshirts when shopping.

A suggestion would be to send a copy of this letter directly to the
general manager of that specific location also.
Let hhim/her know that you will be shopping at other stores that have
friendlier staff with less of an attitude.

Please let us know if you hear from Macy's...would be interesting to
see if they respond to this letter.

This always happens to me at Macy's- particularly in the cosmetics and
shoe departments which is funny because they are the only two where
one truly needs "help".

Vote with your dollars. I don't need to pay them to continually
mistreat me-

As a former Macy's employee I have to tell you, this is not the way
they train their employees. It sounds like either this store or this
department is poorly managed.