As a bit of an antidote, I had the most wonderful experience in Anthropologie the other day. I was browsing and asked a sales clerk about a shirt. I think business was slow because she and her sales clerk friend looked a bit bored. Upon asking my question, she and her friend pretty much played dress-up with me four half an hour, complimenting my hair color and recommending cuts and other pieces I probably would not have noticed. I walked out with some great clothes.

I love Anthropologie's (at least mine) changing area. It feels like a cute little Victorian boutique.

Phoenix, good for you to post a positive! Bravo. I have never been to that store but now I am going to see if there is one in my area.

phoenix - I want to shop there now! I love their clothes too but WOW! - I would have to win the lottery!

I really can't grasp how people can be rude. I'm really aware of how my actions affect others and I never would intentionally be rude to anybody. I find it weird how some people can. I always go the extra mile when I'm at work. One time this woman came into where I was working looking for nice tiaras for her daughter, she couldnt choose and her daughter lived too far away to come look at them, so i took pictures of all of them, and emailed them to her to choose.

You know, I can't wait to lose weight simply to be able to wear what I want. I feel like I dress the way I dress not because I love it but because it's what I found that fit me right.

Sometimes it upsets me to read alllll these stories but then not hear anything about why some of you didn't DO SOMETHING about it!!!! I mean, why take that from these awful employees??? I'm a loudmouth, maybe too much so, but if I encountered the type of nastiness some of you had, oh my goodness I would let them HAVE it. Or at the very least send a long, well-written, detailed letter to the store and district manager.

I've worked as a mystery shopper for many years now so I know that the "higher ups" appreciate good customer service b/c these companies are paying people to come in and evaluate it! Based on the surveys I have to fill out, I now have MUCH higher standards for what service I should be recieving b/c I know what these companies are expecting from their own employees.

I am a letter-writing fanatic. And you can be sure that if I'm dissatisfied I write a long letter and send it to the right people (if the situation doesn't warrant an all-out words war right then and there)

These companies PAY MONEY to find out how their employees are doing. I figure I'm doing them a favor by writing them a letter and letting them know how I felt as a customer... they're getting that valuable information for FREE. (it is also nice when they sometimes right back and include a gift card or something like that as a thank you for writing and an apology...)

One of my very good friends is a famous oil baron's ex daughter-in-law (and she also has a royal title, but that's beside the point). She got somewhere in the neighborhood of a zillion dollars in the divorce, and this was back in the 1980s. But she literally dresses like a homeless person. She has the best time with rude sales people. Mainly because she really is one of those people who can buy the store if you piss her off. It is a hoot to take her anywhere.

May I add my gripe from the last week in here too? :)

I went into a shop, wound up needing some help having fabric cut, and went and found a girl in her early 20's to come help me. I stood there chattering away quite friendly about the project I was making up as I went along, and she didn't respond to anything I said to her. Finally I said something like "Can you hear me at all? I am just wondering because you are the third person I have spoke to in an hour who is not responding, and I am starting to wonder if there is something wrong with me or if I am mumbling. The young guy I spoke to at the gas station never replied at all or even looked at me, and the two girls I held the door open for when they left this shop ignored me too." Her eyes popped wide open, and she said "It's Monday." To which I replied something like "It is Monday, the start of the week, folks shouldn't be too tired to speak." Then she started talking about her generation, and how they really are rude. That broke the ice, and she actually did start chatting in a friendly manner after that, even making suggestions and coming up to me later on in the store to see if I was okay. I think she just needed a bit of a wake up call as to what she was actually doing in the store, that it was downright rude to be totally ignoring a customer who she was supposed to be helping and looking after. I felt good when I left there, and felt like she gave me good customer service...but not until I spoke up and said something to her. I don't think she was a bad kid per se, just that she needed a good nudging in the right direction. If I had not of spoken up to her, I would have left there angry and frustrated with the girl and probably vowing not to go to that location again. Instead, it ended on a pleasant note for both of us.

It really does pay to speak up when being treated poorly. I always figure that I am contributing to their pay cheque, not them contributing to mine. I pay them for good customer service, and should receive it. As a prior poster said too, writing to the manager or head of the company is a good idea if you have received bad customer service.

I always try to give people the benefit of doubt, you know maybe they had a really bad day, something is not good with their life and etc, so I start out nice and then if they are still rude, it's thank you but no thank you and I am out the door.

I'm with you Jade

Some of these stories people were definately outwardly rude and should have been talked to, but I also try to give the benefit of the doubt because I have worked retail so much.

I am currently a social worker, but being a sales associate gives me such an appreciation for people. I always tried to be nice and polite, but sometimes I got the most rude people in the world when all I was doing was asking if they needed anything. Also, while going to college I was taking 20 hrs, being in band, and going to work 30 hrs a week.....I was tired, still polite, but noticably tired. It's hard to always be very curtious.

On another note, I worked at one high name store that I won't mention that actually trained us to do our work and not focus on the customers. I was told by all of the managers and the store owner that the store needs to look perfect and if a customer needs me they will come and find me. My business is not to go to them because the store does not have time for its employees to be doing that. That is word for word. It's not a good business plan, but that's what I was told to do and I would get reprimanded for going to customers unless they came to me or were ready to check out.

Crazy crazy stores sometimes