About55

Chanel. Hermes. Dior.  For the first time, I joined my daughter, who recently moved her business operation to the Los Angeles area, in walking up and down Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive, the boulevard whose establishments can be seen in the background as paparazzi flash candid photos of celebrities going shopping in their off-time for magazines like People.

The elegance of beautifully displayed items within these stores was just what I expected.  Colors and window dressing were cleverly arranged to catch your eye. And the salespeople within their hallowed walls were as attractive and perfectly outfitted as one would surmise.

To set the scene, I will tell you that my daughter and I were well dressed and did not appear particularly tourist-like as we entered each store. So we waited to be fawned over, similar to what we’ve seen in movies. Something went wrong with this picture, however.

As we entered each store and approached salespeople behind gleaming display counters full of ridiculously priced merchandise, we noticed something was amiss.  For every five employees we encountered, three of them had their heads down with their thumbs and index fingers flailing wildly on tiny hand-held devices.  Yes.  They were immersed in texting, emailing or even chatting on their cell phones.  And as we made casual conversation regarding their wares as we stood directly in front of them, we were the last entities to get their attention. In one store, we even spied four employees stuffed into a tiny storeroom talking on their cell phones as we waited to be acknowledged. In another store, when I asked to test out some makeup, I was handed makeup and a few cotton pads to apply it myself.

We were crestfallen as we finally made our way back to the car.  My daughter, who has a highly successful ecommerce business and a room full of customer care personnel hand-picked for their affable, service-oriented personalities, asked what had happened along the way that retail stores would permit this to occur.  Were the store managers unaware of how rude this was or were they just not privy to what was happening? Did they not have rules governing the use of personal devices on a retail floor? Were these employees never trained in the art of customer service? Or do most customers simply no longer expect outstanding personal service? It was difficult for me to fathom that thought when stores like these sell pieces of merchandise that carry the price of a mortgage payment.

Then it occurred to me that this is the kind of impetus that causes so many people (like me) who go into a store to see something up close and personal and resort to ordering it online when they get home.  You get what you pay for.