Snobby Staff in Luxury Retail Stores

Snobby staff in luxury retail stores

Descriptions of the marketing phenomenon

The salespeople of luxury brands(e.g. Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton) in Hong Kong are often criticized for their snobby attitude towards customers. Sometimes they would even insult the customers in a subtle way, questioning whether they can afford the luxurious item. For instance, a salesperson may tell the customer to buy the cheaper handbag when the customer is considering an expensive one.

The puzzle

Why are the salespeople of luxury brands treating their customers with such a rude attitude?

Why is this puzzling?

It is the rule of thumb in marketing that the salespeople have to treat their customers politely and keep them happy in order to boost sales. This is true for any other brands other than those luxurious ones--if the salespeople are rude, the customers would be unsatisfied with their shopping experience, discouraging them from purchasing and would even harm the brand image. The management of luxury brands must be aware of such behaviour of salespeople and the possible consequences. However, why would such phenomenon occur consistently with no sign of decrease in sales in the luxury brands?

Why the issue is important in general?

Other than advertisements and commercials, salespeople are one of the most important factor in marketing and most of the company put focus on staff training to create a friendly corporate image. This applies to many other retail stores targeting the mass population. Rude salespeople can easily drive customers away with the unpleasant shopping experience. The luxury brands, however, put effort in the other way round and has displayed a possible “rude” alternative in the shopping experience.