Funny story with SA's at Macy's

lol what did she say once you pointed it out?

I'm 22 and SA's either think that I'm trying to steal the testers or that I'm looking for 1Million.

LOL. A ditzy moment for her I guess. Unfortunately, most S.A's are just normal (read: not fragrance enthusiasts) everyday people who are simply trying to make a living. Just like the majority of people I see in the shops, they have very little interest in their jobs. There aren't many of us around.. even less of us available or willing to work as S.A's!

Thanks for sharing. That gave me a laugh!

That is wonderful! A great story. It would make an excellent comedy sketch.

During the Holidays Macy's had Seasonal help that knew nothing about fragrances at all.....In my city I know the SA's that work year around and they know their stuff.....There are Macy's, Saks, Neimans and Nordstroms SA's that have many years in the business.....When I started my collection around 25 years ago the SA's the people that taught me the business.....There was no internet, facebook, Basenotes or anything else for that matter.....The business has changed and the bottum line is $$$$$!!! The new SA's now are just warm bodies.....This is sad for sure!!!
Gary

this?

All due respect to SAs who take the time to learn and demonstrate the necessary job skills they are supposed to, regardless what is allowed to occur by negligent managers

Can i try "deemmmall"?

I just went in to a fragrance shop by my place of work today. I noticed that they had Annick Goutal boxes and Creed boxes in their window. So, I just said screw it let me go and have a look. Upon walking in I noticed two women in their early forties chatting up some fat guy with thinning hair. It looked like they were trying to close him on a bottle for his wife. Saying " What exquisite taste he had" and " How lucky his wife was". I just kind of stood there and continued to browse through the bottles when one of the women yelled out " What are you looking for and maybe I can help you find it?" I walked to the counter and asked her if she had any bottles of Sables in the back since there weren't any on display. She repeated the name quizzically and then I had said Annick Goutal? She replied back all that she had were ladies perfumes... Ladies perfumes??? She had Himalaya?? Eau Duelle?? She said if I wanted she could try and order me this women's perfume.

I hate Macy's. I don't bother stepping foot in there because they don't leave you the f*ck alone! :-(
However, shops like Sephora and Nordstrom are worth checking out.

yes, i always feel hurried when they stand there waiting for my response to a fragrance! i should try nordstroms soon

+1

Anything at Macy's I can find elsewhere where I don't have to deal with the pushy and unfriendly sales people there...I don't shop at Macy's for anything, in fact.

id image that macys may have more trouble with shoplifters though, so that might be another reason for the overbearing sa's

Aren't all their fragrances behind the counter like everywhere else???

The main reason I dislike shopping for fragrances at stores is the SA's. I always get the impression that they're used car salesmen. I get this feeling a lot when I test out Creeds at Nordstroms. Everytime I go to the Creed section, I get attacked by an SA. I hate any feeling of pressure when shopping. Macy's is no better either.

It sucks because I really enjoy testing new fragrances, especially for free. But I guess it's not really "free" when there's an SA harassing me.

Agree. Cut these folks some slack. They are trying to put food on the table.

Apparently, We Came As Romans, you are only 16 and also can pronounce french words- a double whammy for the untrained SA. Pity them.

On behalf of the other SA's out there I apologize :} I am hoping this happened during the holidays when they hire anyone off the street and put them in frag's. If it is a regular employee, then they need to be shown the door... I actually really like seeing a young person at the counter who is interested in frags since it reminds me of what I would do when I was that age, although you seem far more advanced than I was at 16 and when I actually pay attention to them and share some insight with them they are really thankful. I hope your Macy's was in some backwater town and not a good city.. that would just be shameful. But yeah, great story to look back on but frustrating as hell at the time.. PLEASE tell me the lady was embarrassed when she realized she actually had Le Male

I must lead a charmed life. I rarely meet a SA who is not either knowledgeable or humorous, often both. Theft is a huge concern for most retail outfits, and fragrance is so portable. Once I have the opportunity to make it clear that I am serious about fragrance they typically relax and love showing me lots of goodies.

Part of the new training at the "big red star" store is that we are to greet every customer and interact with them...... so.. if it's the holidays and you have 6 fragrance models (the real used-car-sales-people) trying to get you to smell their stuff AND 3 or 4 SA's you might get greeted 10 times which is 9 times too many in my book... Sometimes it's hard to know whether you're talking to an actual employee or a model, look for a name tag from the store for the employees, hopefully the employee won't try to pigeon-hole you into a certain line only. BUT if there is a model there for a fragrance you are buying then THAT is when you want to be their friend cuz they can usually get you more goodies I realize I'm preaching to the choir here for the most part but just in case

Exactly what you just said but the only thing diffrent in your post is that they try to always sell me armani code.

Here in Madrid it's at Sephora where they stop you every two steps with a "can I heeeeeelp youuuu?". I remember the time when me and a friend were browsing through the Hermes and the Guerlains and this SA was shoving a One Million blotter before our noses. I was thinking: do you really think we give a damn about One Million?

Lovely post SteelerOpera- Belated Welcome to Basenotes!

When I test out fragrances at stores and have to deal with the SA's, I kind of feel like the Wayans brothers in this video clip:

+1 ...

THANKS I joined awhile ago, but it's now becoming an obsession, so hopefully I will be here more

You're probably right. Had they taken you a little more seriously I'm pretty sure they'd have pushed Le Male right from the start...

that's funny that you tried to one-up their attempts to push cheap, Jersey-shore-smelling frags by asking for LE MALE.

pot... kettle...

I have a theory that ubiquitous terrible SAs are a symptom of the fragrance industry's dishonest and manipulative marketing policies. I have a hope that as these policies begin to dissolve (right now, though it's slow going), knowledge about fragrance will increase and SAs will get better. crossin fingers

Just my 2¢ here, I think we need to differentiate between Sales Associates and Fragrance Models. 'Romans' encounter was with a SA who was just a complete moron I think the pushy, carsalesman-esque Fragrance Models can be even more taxing on consumers. Not that all FM's are that way at all, but they have goals and quotas they need to fill so sometimes they can lead ppl astray. I actually had to witness a couple that came in to smell Armani Code and before I could spray it on a card a FM from another company had swooped in and began showing and spraying 15 different frags for them...(I counted). They were not impressed with anything she showed them and still did not budge when the FM offered a full 3.4 oz Calvin Klein Man if they would just buy one of her products. (wise choice) Finally the wife pulled me aside and asked for the code so her husband could smell it. I sprayed, she loved it and when we walked over to him the FM saw what I had in hand and proclaimed "Oh that's too powdery for a real man" ... Needless to say they did not purchase a thing.

I've done both FM and SA and I really prefer being a SA so I don't have to limit myself with what I can show the customer, but the money is so much better as a FM.

I think most everyone here can tell a good SA within 20 seconds of talking to them and if they are bad just walk away, or have fun like I do sometime and just screw with their minds play the opposite game with them like this. The SA sprays something on a card and you say "Ohhh that's so..." and wait a second till they fill in the blank and respond with an opposite adjective. For example, they spray A*men, you go "oh that's so" they might say "Chocolatey" and you jump on their word and say "Light" and just watch their eyes bug out of their head

They spray Eternity Aqua and you say "OH! that's soo strong!" etc. Mind you I only do this when I am visiting a new town and the SA is a moron Cruel I know but sometimes we need to stir things up a bit

It disgusts me the way most adults treat youth. Don't put up with it.