Crockett & Jones NYC - Lousy Experience

This thread should make its wy to the head shed at C&J. Unbelievable - especially with a double dip recession. It's firing time!

Originally Posted by Bull

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My junior year, I worked at the two-story French Connection in Washington DC.

Honestly now? What I looked for was a guy with original style (this is when aviator sunglasses were coming into fashion, snugger-fitting pants, etc.) and a hot girlfriend. LOL. Truthfully. Those guys would drop insane cash. I made a beeline to this sort of douche and kept feeding him crap from our newest, most expensive lines until I got the credit card.

Just wanted to let you know the irony of you calling this guy a 'douche' while working at French Connection isn't lost.

Originally Posted by TRINI

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Just wanted to let you know the irony of you calling this guy a 'douche' while working at French Connection isn't lost.
+1 A good sales person helps every customer that walks through the door, since every person is a potential sale.

This appears to be quite a shift from when they were over above T&A or in their other shops

I went to the NYC shop several times and got impeccable service from the manager - Cynthia? - who knew the details of every model and was very helpful in trying on an endless number of pairs. I have a very wide forefoot and it can be a ***** to fit.

Regrettably, we learned that the 337 in a 10 is near perfect - that's an expensive insight.

FWIW, I received the same level of service when I visited the Jermyn store in London a year or so ago. Staff couldn't have been friendlier, patient, or helpful.

Probably only time I didn't have an absolutely stellar service experience was when I popped into their shop in Beverly Hills, but I chalked that off to the generic SoCal attitude thing...

Next time, insist that one of the sales staff fit you. After you are done tell them thank you as you now know what size to order from Pediwear or via telephone to Plal.

Originally Posted by Bull

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What did I look for?

Good question.

Depended on the store.

My junior year, I worked at the two-story French Connection in Washington DC.

Honestly now? What I looked for was a guy with original style (this is when aviator sunglasses were coming into fashion, snugger-fitting pants, etc.) and a hot girlfriend. LOL. Truthfully. Those guys would drop insane cash. I made a beeline to this sort of douche and kept feeding him crap from our newest, most expensive lines until I got the credit card.

Who is the type to drop crazy cash a store that charges many hundreds or thousands for shoes? Could be the old man in the bespoke suit and trenchcoat with the $5,000 briefcase. Could the this guy's wife. Could be anything. But there is definitely a type, all I'm saying.

When I shop for suits/shoes, I dress up a bit. Have to. No tie, but maybe a navy sportcoat, tailored khakis (slim fit, no break, 2-inch cuff), sloops/loafers (no socks), checked sportshirt, etc. The business-guy-on-holiday thingie. As was stated earlier in this thread, sure, you get guys in flip-flops buying Brioni suits. It happens. But I don't want to have to prove myself to get attention from a sales associate. I want to look the part so that I'm fighting them off. I've been on the other side of the equation, so I know how it works! Not endorsing the model, just explaining it from my perspective.

For stores like FCUK it's different. When you go into high end retail, this model doesn't work. Even if someone can't afford the items and is just browsing, perhaps they will be able to someday, and you know where they'll look when they do have money. Not at your store if you treat them like ****.

Originally Posted by imageWIS

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+1

A good sales person helps every customer that walks through the door, since every person is a potential sale.

Agreed. The best sales people treat every customer as if they were their best, making you feel comfortable to buy something. Ralph Lauren tends to have good sales people, especially at the Mansion. I find that nearly all the high end stores on Madison Avenue in NYC have great SAs.

Honestly though, there's nothing worse than an SA that gives you a feeling that you're not welcome. Brooks Brothers seems to be the most common offender in my case. I've been to many and they almost make me feel uncomfortable. I guess I'm not WASPy enough. I'm not sure...

Whenever talks about lousy SAs come up I have to mention the Zara in downtown Philadelphia. The SAs are the worst in the world and almost always seemingly gone out of their way to make me feel uncomfortable there. Assholes. They have some items I would buy if it wasn't for them.

I for sure agree that how a person is dressed makes a big difference in the way your treated when shopping. I don't think thats how it should be, but that is how it is. Certainly there are people buying Brionis in flip flops... but in most cases, this will not hold true. Any sales person is inclined to judge a person based on their attire. That being said, a good sales person will offer at least decent service to the worst dressed of people. They might not offer their best, but will offer something decent, in case you are in that odd percentage of well dressed people.

This is why I dress up when I shop high end stores, I'm not saying I like it, but it guarantees a better level of service while shopping. And when I'm dropping big money, I like good service

Originally Posted by musicguy

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Agreed. The best sales people treat every customer as if they were their best, making you feel comfortable to buy something. Ralph Lauren tends to have good sales people, especially at the Mansion. I find that nearly all the high end stores on Madison Avenue in NYC have great SAs.

Honestly though, there's nothing worse than an SA that gives you a feeling that you're not welcome. Brooks Brothers seems to be the most common offender in my case. I've been to many and they almost make me feel uncomfortable. I guess I'm not WASPy enough. I'm not sure...

Whenever talks about lousy SAs come up I have to mention the Zara in downtown Philadelphia. The SAs are the worst in the world and almost always seemingly gone out of their way to make me feel uncomfortable there. Assholes. They have some items I would buy if it wasn't for them.

I have the same experience with BB: just bad SA's all-around: uninviting, holier-than-thou, and utterly uneducated about the product they sell, to mention nothing regarding clothing in general. Ironically their MTM line is made by a Jew (Martin Greenfield), who is as anti-WASPy as can be. The last time I was in a BB was actually in Philly about 4 months ago and the sales people, who weren't helping customers, didn't even approach me, even after I spent a good 10 minutes looking around and actually trying a sports coat on and looking at how it fin in the mirror.

Originally Posted by bearsfan172

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I for sure agree that how a person is dressed makes a big difference in the way your treated when shopping. I don't think thats how it should be, but that is how it is. Certainly there are people buying Brionis in flip flops... but in most cases, this will not hold true. Any sales person is inclined to judge a person based on their attire. That being said, a good sales person will offer at least decent service to the worst dressed of people. They might not offer their best, but will offer something decent, in case you are in that odd percentage of well dressed people.

This is quite incorrect, especially in South Florida. People here purchase multimillion dollar mansions, Rolls-Royces and even Yachts wearing shorts and flip-flops. When shopping, or out in public one should be dressed for the occasion, to be sure, but in summer, in the year 2010 with the social and cultural norms of a 'relaxed' style in place, it is perfectly acceptable to dress casually in shorts while shopping during the hot summer months.

I really don't get it. At least since the seventies retail people with whom I have
have talked have complained that they no longer can tell who's going to spend
serious money in their upper Madison Ave shops. An example over thirty years
old is the guy in the cowboy boots and a denim shirt who drops thousands in one
of these stores. It still apparently happens. Frankly, it sounds like C &J and their
ilk recruit idiots. This rarely happens to me. I am however, of a certain age and
have gray hair and usually shop wearing something obviously expensive, like
a sportcoat, with jeans. They fall all over me.

Originally Posted by imageWIS

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+1

A good sales person helps every customer that walks through the door, since every person is a potential sale.

Except when douchebags who know nothing of shoes nor interest to buy them walk in asking for the salesgirl's phone number.

There are some real wackos around.

Originally Posted by upnorth

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Except when douchebags who know nothing of shoes nor interest to buy them walk in asking for the salesgirl's phone number.

There are some real wackos around.

I was obviously referring to people actually looking at the merchandise, not hitting on the employees.

I bought a pair of shoes there week before last and my experience in the store was not too bad. The follow up has not been good though. They were supposed to ship them to me to be received last week. By Monday I had not seen them so I called and Kevin, the 'Manager', told me his colleagues had dropped the ball and that they had not been shipped until this past Friday. The good news... they were coming second day air and I should have them by Tuesday. No shoes on Tuesday so I called Keven. His colleagues had again dropped the ball and sent them regular ground. I asked him for the tracking number and it revealed that they had not even been shipped until Tuesday. I can forgive mistakes but this borders on deceit. Not the kind of service I had expected, that's for sure.

They guy who now runs the store is a complete ass. The woman who did so when they were above T&A was competent and nice. Too bad. I take my business elsewhere.

^^ Sad to hear that. Sounds like the previous manager was a gem.

Originally Posted by whiteslashasian

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^^ Sad to hear that. Sounds like the previous manager was a gem.

She was, indeed, though I don't know about the current manager.