The London Lounge

Some young men may feel nervous about approaching a reputed tailor for discussions prior to making an order, perhaps feeling they may not be taken seriously and be dealt with impolitely. I have never had this experience myself; if one shows up neatly turned out and is polite, I have found the tailor and his staff are inevitably courteous and helpful.

This contrasts interestingly with the pompous attitude of staff at some brand-name boutiques. I would like to share this anecdote with you...

A friend from the Philippines was visiting Hong Kong some time ago. Her family are tremendously wealthy, but this lady eschews the big-hair-gold-chains-and-Hermes-scarf approach of some of her wealthy compatriots, and dresses in an understated but stylish manner. Out of interest, she entered a boutique of one of the world's largest luxury brand houses (I am sure you can guess which one), and asked one of the service personnel the price of a dress. The elegant Chinese saleswoman looked her up and down, took in the dark complexion and accent, mistakenly assumed she was a Philippine housemaid, and blandly told her "It's very expensive. You can't afford it", turned on her heel and walked away.

My friend, naturally miffed, approached another saleswomen and asked to speak to the Manager. A rather snooty male manager presented himself to ask what she wanted. My friend said "I would like to buy your store".
"You want to buy all the things in our store?" he asked incredulously.
"No," quoth she, "I want to buy the entire business. The stock, decorations, the concession, the staff, the whole lot" and handed over an American Express Black Card.

He gulped and stammered that he wasn't sure if this was possible.

"When this amount of money is involved, I am sure anything is possible." she said, coolly. "But, the first thing I will do once I buy your business is dismiss that ignorant woman over by the window, who refused me service five minutes ago".

Of course she did not buy the store, but hopefully the message was received loud and clear.

The marketing and PR departments of such RTW boutiques like to create a buzz by having "limited editions", "invitation only product launches", "invitation only shopping excursions" and so on, to convince the public that their products are rare and exclusive, and that they will only deign to give you access to their superior products if you are a certain type of person. By contrast, your tailor should always welcome you for a brief chat, even if you don't place an order that day, because this is how small business survives and thrives, from building lasting personal relationships with customers.

Have any of you any horror stories of sour customer service (at boutiques or tailors) to share? Any memories of the "Basil Fawlty of the Boutique"?

No tales of sourness, but I have happy memories of chatting for long periods to one of the older Savile Row cutters who never seemed to be a rush to get rid of me and was very happy to pull down his copy of Thornton's to see what further projects we could execute.
NJS

I think what you have there is an unfortunate anecdote of racial sterotyping, rather than a flat out indictment of how snooty 'brand name' boutique staff are. This is probably only made more likely by the, uh, social milieu that is Hong Kong high society.

On the other hand, it is worthwhile (I think) to consider that this experience is a perhaps not completely unexpected symptom of the world of brand name 'luxury' goods - where an undue amount of focus is paid to the veneer, while ignoring what may lie beneath.

It is an unfortunate incident. Sadly, it is not very rare. It also seems to occur more frequently in branches outside of the brand's home country. Not that I have done a comprehensive survey, but it appears to me that in many cases, shop floor staff in home countries have, in addition to the recognition that they are the brand's ambassadors, a certain amount of national / cultural pride in working for what might be one of the national institutions, as many of the major European brands are perceived to be. When they feel good about working for the brand as well as working for a national institution, the results are generally quite good. By definition, local staff of international branches lack the second motivator.

Of course, there are horror stories from shops in home countries as well.

It's been a stiff day here so I'd rather put in a word on the genial tailor side, to balance the many sour retail experiences that will no doubt be adduced.

Apart from the staff at Poole, and Edwin DeBoise of Steed, where I have actually had garments made, I must call attention to the wonderful manner of Joe Morgan of Chittleborough & Morgan, where I have only ever taken up space in the shop.

Mr. Morgan has the most amazing ability to be both brisk (in the sense of swift, light, and efficient) and at the same time utterly amiable and solicitous. I had engaged for Dean Girling to sell me several of the mild steel toe plates (fers encastres) they use for flush mounting in soles, so that I could have a local shoemaker (Perry Ercolino) retrofit them on some unworn C&J shoes (and future acquisitions). Dean was going to have the plates and screws sent to their showroom, in the Chittleborough & Morgan shop, so that I could pick them up while I was in London. As it happened I had occasion to be on the Row a couple of days earlier than expected, so I dropped in to see whether they had arrived.

Far from showing annoyance at being interrupted for such an irrelevance, Mr. Morgan was most welcoming and promptly pulled out his cell phone to call Dean to see what the status was. At this distance I don't remember whether the plates had arrived or whether I picked them up a couple of days later as originally planned, but I do remember Mr. Morgan's winning and helpful demeanor. He was also working in shirtsleeves, it being a warm day, and I recall him wearing perhaps the second most beautifully cut pair of trousers I've ever encountered. Altogether a superb testimonial for the best traditions of Savile Row and bespoke tailoring in general.

Any Chittleborough & Morgan customers among the members? Not sure I've seen any photos of work posted anywhere.

I guess we should never stereotype, just like one should not stereotype an understated Filipino in HK, we cannot generalize and say all high end luxury boutique staff are rude and judgmental. I believe I know the brand you are referring to, and yet once I went there (bought nothing) dressed very casually with my mother, I was offered champagne/water/juice whatever and was given a tour of the store.

Rude people are everywhere, I have met my fair share of them, but that is the fact of life. Maybe not much of an encouragement to you, but the service in HK has improved tremendously in the last 15 years. Once upon a time, if you weren't made out of gold, you will simply be ignored as dust in these places.

I really like clothes, like most of us on this forum. I've made a study of them. But it's only a hobby. When I walk into a shop, I expect the staff to know more about clothing than I do. I don't think that's much to ask. For many years now, I've been aware that when I walk into a boutique this is not the case. But my friends at Richard Anderson are not only genial, they have tremendous knowledge, and they're so enthusiastic about their business they like nothing better than to share it. What a pleasure it is to spend an hour or so talking about clothes with them!