Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

I generally keep a list of crap I need, but often don't go shopping for 12-18 months. Then, when I do, bam-bam-bam buy-buy-buy. I'm the perfect customer. I go in wanting X,Y,Z you get it for me, I buy it, 20 minutes in-out. I've been doing some shopping over the past few days. One specific trip left me with some thoughts.

OK, this is edited from a chat, so please ignore formatting:

i think maybe this might be just for shoes but it's like these high end salespeople for shoes...

it's like they are almost lecturing you about shoe trees and how often to wear your shoes and all this [censored] and i'm like

WTF MOFO?
I AM [censored] BUYING A COUPLE OF PAIRS OF $300 SHOES AND YOU ARE A [censored] SHOE SALESMAN I DONT NEED TO HEAR A GODDAMN LECTURE ABOUT HOW I SHOULD BE TREATING MY SHOES

i mean generally here is what happens w/ me:
i get shoes
they are new and sweet
i treat them well get them shined often and take care of them etc then after a while they become a little old and i treat them less well cuz i am no longer in love w/ their brand-newness and i'm kinda into getting new [censored] anyway

so then i go to shoe store and shoe guy is like
oh, with this pair, if you want them to last longer, look better, you should take better care of them, like looking down on my shoe care regimen and i'm like <in my head>:

wtf
[censored] you man, i obv have bought $300 shoes before since I HAVE SOME ON MY FEET so obv i have heard this [censored] about how i should treat the shoes OBVIOUSLY I DONT GIVE A [censored] SO HOW ABOUT YOU STFU

and they are always polite but they have that little liek condescending - oh, you shoud really use some cedar shoe trees

WTF I HAVE 8 PAIRS OF CEDAR SHOE TREES
IN THE BACK OF MY CLOSET
FUCKWAD
AND A THING OF SHOE CONDITIONER TOO

today the shoe chick tells me
oh btw, from time to time you should sand the cedar shoe trees to get them to be more effective

WTF BITCH
LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING
SOMEDAY YOU CAN AFFORD $300 SHOES
AND WHEN YOU CAN
YOU DONT HAVE [censored] TIME OR INCLINATION
TO SAND SHOE TREES

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

i think someone needs a nap.

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

hahah cant believe i just wasted all that time reading about how you dont like people telling you how to treat your shoes.. kinda funny though

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

You obviously should immediately go into a posedown with the shoeman. Get right in his face with a most-muscular.

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

Not sure what I make of this rant/brag post. But, you seem pretty bent out of shape over it.

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

doublea,

If you look beyond the surface into the deeper meaning of this rant, it is really all about how ridiculous it is that certain types of salespeople actually look down on and sometimes even obviously consider themselves superior to their customers. Facets of this exist in various high-end/luxury sales situations.

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

o rly

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

[ QUOTE ]
doublea,

If you look beyond the surface into the deeper meaning of this rant, it is really all about how ridiculous it is that certain types of salespeople actually look down on and sometimes even obviously consider themselves superior to their customers. Facets of this exist in various high-end/luxury sales situations.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would think you would find this, in varying degrees, with any aspect of retail/fashion. I mean, the suit guys always seem kinda condescending.

But if you ever say to one of them, "Oh, I don't know, why don't you help me pick out something good?" They'll be your best friend.

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

funky,

This is not usually an issue w/ me because I usually just go in knowing what I want, ask them to get it, try it on, and buy it.

Occassionally some crap about shoe care lecture rubs me the wrong way, but mostly this is based on me seeing how condescending and smug a lot of these salespeople can be, especially to people who don't have the right "look" to them.

I get similarly annoyed when waitstaff at high-end restaurants act this way towards people to whom this is obviously a big extravagance and quite likely a special occassion.

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

Diablo,

Though you have neither the time nor inclination to sand your shoe trees, if you are buying $300 shoes shouldn't you have the cash money to pay someone to do it for you?

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

Diablo,

I think there is a fine line between these sales people being generally helpful and condescending. Many people think of these things as a major purchase, people like my dad for instance have the same dress shoes for years and years, these people may not know that you are an A Class Balla. But , since you are such a fine judge of character I'm going to trust you and say yeah, [censored] this condescending biatch.

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

Tron,

Have you seen the rates for live-in shoe tree sanders lately? Household staff is really expensive these days!

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

[ QUOTE ]

I get similarly annoyed when waitstaff at high-end restaurants act this way towards people to whom this is obviously a big extravagance and quite likely a special occassion.

[/ QUOTE ]

This pisses me off so much. I have seen waitstaff who seemed to be trying to embaress a customer.

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

[ QUOTE ]
and they are always polite but they have that little liek condescending - oh, you shoud really use some cedar shoe trees

[/ QUOTE ]

I, too, dislike condescending people.

[ QUOTE ]

today the shoe chick tells me
oh btw, from time to time you should sand the cedar shoe trees to get them to be more effective

WTF BITCH
LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING
SOMEDAY YOU CAN AFFORD $300 SHOES
AND WHEN YOU CAN
YOU DONT HAVE [censored] TIME OR INCLINATION
TO SAND SHOE TREES

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe you could sand a little between posts?

-J

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

JJN,

Posting is fun. Sanding shoe trees is not.

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

bro,
sounds like you have insecurities. its almost as if you want everyone to bow down to you because you are a 'big shot'. And when they don't you feel, not so big.

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

Diablo,

Next time I would advise you to stop in at the shoe shiner right before going into the shoe store to buy the new shoes!

Less stress = worth the $10!!!!

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

Wouldn't putting a sock on the shoe tree work just as well? I'm assuming a shoe tree is the wood thing that you put in them to help them keep their shape.

My shoes are white and have stripes on them, they're okay.

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

Diablo,

I think this is a similar problem you will face at more expensive restaurants as well. In my opinion, part of the problem comes from the fact that many of these employees assume that they SHOULD be sounding slightly pompous and stuffy, because that is one way to distinguish high-end service. In a sense, it is a viscious cycle, that these salespeople, hosts, etc. put on this act because that is what high-end places are "supposed to do"

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

add high-end clothes and apparel salespeople too

I was alone buying my g/f at the time some bag at holt renfrew and the salesperson (gay of course - gay people tend to be much more judgemental in this respect) was like "(in lisp of course) tssssss ummmm....I think that number is a little pricey for you"

WTF LIKE SERIOUSLY NO IT'S NOT TOO PRICEY DO YOU NOT LIKE MONEY YA SURE YOU GET YOUR SWEET DISCOUNT ON OVERPRICED SHTTY CLOTHES AND STUFF BUT I'M BUYING THIS FCKNG BAG FOR SOMEONE I EVEN HAVE CASH FCK YOU MAYBE I'LL BUY AND SELL YOUR ASS WHILE I'M HERE

"ya....I think I've got it....is cash alright?"

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

El D is a fantastic judge of character because his favorite Real World girl is Brynn from Vegas. \m/(^_^)\m/

Maybe we should start a thread about the most condescending employees. This list might be dominated by high-end clothing retail store employees and indie record store workers.

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

[ QUOTE ]
El D is a fantastic judge of character because his favorite Real World girl is Brynn from Vegas. \m/(^_^)\m/

Maybe we should start a thread about the most condescending employees. This list might be dominated by high-end clothing retail store employees and indie record store workers.

[/ QUOTE ]

or people that work at the Bay

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

pokerraja: Quite the opposite, in fact. I actually don't like it at all and feel uncomfortable being "served" too much. If I have a bag that is easy to carry, I'd rather just carry it myself, for example. Generally, if I can easily do something myself, I generally prefer to do that as opposed to being waited on.

However, when people are paying for something, I believe that they deserve to be treated in a certain manner, regardless of what the salesperson's impression of them is. It is just about being professional, not "bowing down" or anything.

grando: Exactly.

ed: Apparently sanding the cedar brings back the original magic properties of the cedar.

kipin: Good idea!

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

[ QUOTE ]
add high-end clothes and apparel salespeople too

I was alone buying my g/f at the time some bag at holt renfrew and the salesperson (gay of course - gay people tend to be much more judgemental in this respect) was like "(in lisp of course) tssssss ummmm....I think that number is a little pricey for you"

WTF LIKE SERIOUSLY NO IT'S NOT TOO PRICEY DO YOU NOT LIKE MONEY YA SURE YOU GET YOUR SWEET DISCOUNT ON OVERPRICED SHTTY CLOTHES AND STUFF BUT I'M BUYING THIS FCKNG BAG FOR SOMEONE I EVEN HAVE CASH FCK YOU MAYBE I'LL BUY AND SELL YOUR ASS WHILE I'M HERE

"ya....I think I've got it....is cash alright?"

[/ QUOTE ]

If this really happened, I hope you didn;t buy it. The play here is to show him the cash, then leave.

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

I hate salespeople, especially the condescending [censored] who work at high end places, I just tell them.."why dont u lemme pick what i wanna pick and when i need to pay for it, ill call u."

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

Why didn't you challenge these idiots to a HU NL10k match?

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

[ QUOTE ]
WTF I HAVE 8 PAIRS OF CEDAR SHOE TREES
IN THE BACK OF MY CLOSET

[/ QUOTE ]

I have never, in my life, owned 8 pairs of shoes at once.

Current rundown:

everyday tennis shoes (I wear these to work)
old, dirty tennis shoes (wear these to play sports)
black dress shoes
brown dress shoes
sandals

Before the fire, I had my army boots, which were the greatest workboots I ever owned. Even counting TWO pair of army boots, I don't approach owning 8 pairs of shoes.

Only women own 8 pairs of shoes or more.

Another gay El D thread.

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
add high-end clothes and apparel salespeople too

I was alone buying my g/f at the time some bag at holt renfrew and the salesperson (gay of course - gay people tend to be much more judgemental in this respect) was like "(in lisp of course) tssssss ummmm....I think that number is a little pricey for you"

WTF LIKE SERIOUSLY NO IT'S NOT TOO PRICEY DO YOU NOT LIKE MONEY YA SURE YOU GET YOUR SWEET DISCOUNT ON OVERPRICED SHTTY CLOTHES AND STUFF BUT I'M BUYING THIS FCKNG BAG FOR SOMEONE I EVEN HAVE CASH FCK YOU MAYBE I'LL BUY AND SELL YOUR ASS WHILE I'M HERE

"ya....I think I've got it....is cash alright?"

[/ QUOTE ]

If this really happened, I hope you didn;t buy it. The play here is to show him the cash, then leave.

[/ QUOTE ]

this doesn't get the g/f her gift, and me sexual favours

your line is subpar in every way [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

http://www.aseclub.net/gallery/album...2/Al_Bundy.jpg

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

I dont mind the whole toffee nose deal with high end stuff.

Ive kind of got a kigh disposable income, but look like a bit of a surfie at times, and If Im out buying a suit, or realy good jeans or something, why should I wear anything but boardies and a wife beater?

Its funny how their tune changes when the gold card comes out.

Having said that, Id reckon here in Australia, the posh arse behaviour isnt really tollerated as much, its probably much worse in the US.

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

[ QUOTE ]

I get similarly annoyed when waitstaff at high-end restaurants act this way towards people to whom this is obviously a big extravagance and quite likely a special occassion.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol. Not necessarily high-end, but I absolutely loathe when a waitor/waitress says "Is this your first time here??", when I'm sitting at Bennigan's or Outback or something. Yeah, I'm 27 years old. This is my first time out of the house. I've been saving for years for the opportunity to come blow $8 on a lunch. Which end of the fork do I hold!?!? PLZ HELP ME!!

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

I don't generally shop at high end clothing stores. The nicest places I'll usually go are Brooks Brothers or Polo, so I only partially understand what you're talking about. I think a lot of it comes down to an attitude that "to be respected I need to act like a pretentious jerk" which often times covers up for insecurities in the salesperson.

[ QUOTE ]
I get similarly annoyed when waitstaff at high-end restaurants act this way towards people to whom this is obviously a big extravagance and quite likely a special occassion.

[/ QUOTE ]

oh yeah. The best waiters are nice places are clearly the ones who understand the food/wine/etc, but also make you feel like you are a special table for them, and unerstand that he doesn't need to act like a jerk to be 'fancy'. When I ask a waiter for a wine recommendation, and he points to only the most expensive section on the list...well he just cost himself some money.

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

El Diablo,

I hate service people like you've described, and I find myself never going back to a store where I'm treated like this. Ditto for restaurants and waitstaff. Ditto for hotels and inappropriately aggressive bellstaff. I just smile, and I'm gone forever.

Clothing-wise, two places have never, ever disappointed me.

Nordstrom people are consistently courteous and never lecture.

The best of the best for clothing is Boyd's of Philadelphia. The people are top notch (like the store itself), most of them having been there 10 years or more. I've been going there for 13 years.

It's a place you can go to every 3 or 4 years, spend a few grand, and be fully outfitted for another 3 or 4 -- and when you go back, the salespeople will remember you 4 years later.

If you swing by Boyd's the next time you're in the neighborhood, you'll be very glad you did.

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

Just buy online much easier, dont have to deal with anyone then.

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

I used to sell high end shoes as one of my many jobs in high school. I can tell you the constant pushing for those care items may be due to bonuses. We didn’t get commission where I worked, but we got bonuses for selling those items. They kind of brand it into your brain that you need to tell these people that having these products are part of buying the shoe. I guess some people can push those products well, while others come off like the people you dealt with did.

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

Slightly offtopic, but potentially useful anecdote:

I had a similar experience at Bartolotta at the Wynn. I went there with 3 guy friends of mine. We are all in our 20's, quite well off, and dressed appropriately. But, we don't have the movie-star-son-of-a-sheik-big-balla look by any means.

Anyway, our server at Bartolotta treated us like a couple of teenagers that didn't belong there. The most egregious example is, when we were ordering and I asked for the lobster, he pauses, gives me this look, and says, "Sir, that's a hundred dollars." I was so flabbergasted by this and didn't know how to respond in the moment, so I kind of stammered and was like, "Ummmmm, yeah, uh huh... (And?)"

I (and my friends) really didn't want to make a scene, so we didn't say anything and just left a meager tip (thus probably confirming, in his mind, his suspicion that we were a bunch of cheap teenagers that didn't belong there).

As an aside, the other restaurants at the Wynn that I've been to, I enjoyed immensely - SW Steakhouse, Okada, and the Country Club.

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

[ QUOTE ]
Slightly offtopic, but potentially useful anecdote:

I had a similar experience at Bartolotta at the Wynn. I went there with 3 guy friends of mine. We are all in our 20's, quite well off, and dressed appropriately. But, we don't have the movie-star-son-of-a-sheik-big-balla look by any means.

Anyway, our server at Bartolotta treated us like a couple of teenagers that didn't belong there. The most egregious example is, when we were ordering and I asked for the lobster, he pauses, gives me this look, and says, "Sir, that's a hundred dollars." I was so flabbergasted by this and didn't know how to respond in the moment, so I kind of stammered and was like, "Ummmmm, yeah, uh huh... (And?)"

I (and my friends) really didn't want to make a scene, so we didn't say anything and just left a meager tip (thus probably confirming, in his mind, his suspicion that we were a bunch of cheap teenagers that didn't belong there).

As an aside, the other restaurants at the Wynn that I've been to, I enjoyed immensely - SW Steakhouse, Okada, and the Country Club.

[/ QUOTE ]
This kinda [censored] happens too often in the USA because people put up with it.
Last fall, when i got back to the USA, me and my boys went out to have dinner to talk about what every1 had been doing while i was gone, and we go to this really nice steakhouse.
I ask for a bottle of tequila, this is how the conversation goes.
Me : Id like to order a bottle of tequila.
Him : Ok, sure, what kind.
Me : U got Patron Anejo
Him : I dont know
Me : Ok how about you go find out
( I am already not happy cuz if hes gonna ask me what i want he should know if they have it or not)
Him : OK, i guess i can do that
(Comes back ...)
Him : We do have Patron Anejo but it is $200 a bottle, so u might wanna order something else
Me : Get your manager, im not having a condescending [censored] like you serving me.
(I might have been a little over the top, i just had a 19 hour flight)

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

[ QUOTE ]

I get similarly annoyed when waitstaff at high-end restaurants act this way towards people to whom this is obviously a big extravagance and quite likely a special occassion.

[/ QUOTE ]

few things make me want to hurt people, and this is definitely one of them.

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

Diablo,

Next time this happens, I think you know what you must do to that little PANSY who is even WORSE than MICHAEL JORDAN....JACKSON.....

Re: Thoughts on high-end shoe salespeople RANT
 

Sales people who attempt to make something special their job by painting themselves as some sort of subject matter expert basically suck. If I'm buying anything over like $200 I can pretty much promise you I've done a weeks worth of research and don't need your [censored] opinion or advice on things.