I’m writing this on the train on the way back from a weekend in London with my daughter and I was thinking about the different levels of service we received in various shops and what a difference it makes to not only the shopping experience but the day as a whole. We all know how irritating it is to have someone virtually pounce on you when you enter a store and then follow you round, but on the other hand it’s equally irritating to be ignored. I’m sure most of us have worked in a service industry at some point; even just as a Saturday or holiday job, so we know it can be difficult from the other side as well and some customers can be challenging.
However, there are so many beauty products around that it can be difficult to decide what you want/need and knowledgeable, helpful assistants can be a godsend. Therefore, as awards season is upon us, here are my winners (and losers) of the Adele’s Beauty Box prizes for best and worst service during my shopping trip on Friday 26th January 2018:
Most knowledgeable- Lixir in Liberty London.
I’ve been waiting to try the Lixir Vitamin C Paste and the Electrogel Cleanser and I wanted to know a bit more about the ingredients, so I was pleased when I saw the Lixir section in Liberty London. An assistant asked me if I needed any help so I asked what the concentration of vitamin C in the paste was. He didn’t know but found another member of staff who did. She was so knowledgeable and helpful and gave me lots of hints and tips. Obviously she had been fully trained on the products and answered every question I asked her. I purchased both products.
Most pleasant – Birchbox Carnaby Street.
My daughter had got us a couple of coupons for the Birchbox pop up shop, £10 to get a pick and mix of 5 products instead of £15. We were welcomed into the shop and explained we had coupons and they couldn’t have been more pleasant. There was no pushy sales effort just a couple of lovely staff members who made everyone in the shop feel like they were being looked after. We ended up buying a couple of packs of Keeome Face Masks and an Arrow Boost Colour Enhancing Lip Balm as well.
Most Helpful – Aesop Covent Garden.
My daughter suffers from eczema and has to be very careful with her products, but whilst in New York last year she bought a few Aesop products which haven’t caused any reaction. She couldn’t remember the name of the moisturiser she wanted to re-purchase but the staff were so helpful and found exactly what she was looking for, so thank you Aesop.
Least helpful – The Abnormal Beauty Company (The Ordinary) Covent Garden.
I don’t really want to award this but unfortunately the service in the Covent Garden store of The Ordinary left a great deal to be desired. I constantly rave about the products and was really looking forward to going to the store, but on entry I heard one of the staff members telling another customer (around my age) that The Ordinary products were no good for her and she needed the more expensive NIOD products, which is not true at all. The Ordinary products are working wonders on my more mature skin. I then had to interrupt a couple of staff having a personal chat to ask about when the caffeine eye product would be available in the UK only to be told they had no idea and returned to their chat.
What a difference in the way we felt when we came out of each of the shops above. I have contacted all of the shops to tell them of our experiences, I think we often complain about bad service but we should also give compliments when they are due.