With online shopping growing all over the world, we have to communicate with live people less and less. But for us perfumistas, a visit to a brick-and-mortar store often means a chance to try something new without spending money and accumulating even more samples that stay in our collections, dying a slow (but, hopefully, not painful) death of evaporation. But approaching a perfume counter or visiting a specialized store often means human interactions.
Saturday Question #238:
Do You Talk To Sales Associates?
Are you a “talkative” type who uses any chance to discuss your hobby? Or are you quick with a “just browsing” dismissal and get back to what you planned to do?
And if you do talk to an SA, what do you think is the best answer to their question: “Which Perfumes Do You Like?” Or, maybe, not the best, but what do you usually answer?
My Answer
For a long time, whether I talked to an SA depended mostly on my intent to ask for a sample. I considered “the talk” to be a currency I had to pay instead of spending money. And usually, it worked.
These days, I rarely want samples from department stores, so usually, I politely decline any help and just proceed with trying what I came there to try without even attempting to get anything from the visit other than a sniff test. Rarely, I’ll engage if the person seems bored and genuinely interested in perfumes, which doesn’t happen often.
I used to be annoyed by the question about what perfumes I liked and used a variety of answers that, in more or less polite form, meant “Leave me alone!” These days I feel much less confrontational, so I usually cheerfully share my 5-6 favorite notes (and 1-2 that I don’t like), which most of the time puts out their enthusiasm for finding which of the du jour “most popular” perfumes might interest me.
When I visit specialized stores, I try to set expectations immediately. On rare occasions when I plan to buy something (usually while traveling), I say so. Otherwise, I tell them directly that I’m there to see what lines they have and to try new perfumes, but I do not plan to make a purchase that day, except for samples if they sell them.
How about you?
Undina's Looking Glass 
Good question, Undina. Yes, I still talk to sales associates. And, as you mention I quite often do it to build up a good rapport in order to ask for a sample. But, even when I don’t have that intention I’ll strike up a conversation and answer their questions and ask my own questions, like what perfumes they like. Other times I may say I’m just browsing. I know quite a few of the sales associates in some of the local stores pretty well though, so it probably makes it easier to engage with them.
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I do talk to those SAs that are staying for years in stores that i frequent. But with those, I rarely even ask for samples because they probably know by that time that I rarely (if ever) buy from the stores.
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Hello,
I do. When I would visit my favourite perfumery I would definitely talk to them-they were incredible people who knew so much. But that place closed about six years ago. I still miss it.
I do have a place in Halifax where I can go, and the owner is so kind and knowledgeable-he worked with Roja Dove years ago in New York.
And I have one more SA at Holt Renfrew, who I shop with either over the phone or via text. He’s amazing and he understands fragrance. He sent me tons of Byredo samples. It’s quite a nice line-the scents are complex and they wear close to the skin. I bought De Los Santos-a slightly sweet wood scent, which reminds me a bit of Fille en Aiguilles. I’m not so keen on Byredo’s prices though-it’s a really expensive line.
Thanks for always making me think, Undina, and fellow respondents :)
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I’m conflicted about Byredo: there are 4 perfumes that I like a lot (and have bought decants of in the past), but with their prices and bottle design that I don’t like, I’ve never pulled the proverbial trigger.
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I so rarely have the opportunity to visit actual perfume boutiques that when I do, I definitely talk to the SAs. (Around here it’s quick stops at Sephora, Macy’s or Nordstrom where there usually isn’t anything truly interesting to me.) I will usually go for anything ambery, but am also intrigued by coffee, bright citrus, interesting florals – so I’ll let the SA suggest things even though I usually go in to a boutique with a sniffing wish list.
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Yep, those three in my area are also not extremely interesting in terms of new perfumes sniffing. I miss those times when I could spend 30 min easily at a Nordstrom’s perfume counter.
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This is an interesting Saturday question, Undina. I was lucky to be able to establish a great friendship with the business manager for a major French perfume house through Neiman Marcus about 15 years ago. Fortunately, she was a nose who knows. She would be able to tell you instantly what you were wearing without provocation, and hence, be able to make suggestions of perfumes you might also like. I found this to be invaluable assistance. I will honestly admit, that over the years, she has been right time and time again. She understands her customers, and always does her very best to make suggestions outside your normal preferences with the hopes of expanding your perfume awareness. I wouldn’t trade that relationship for anything in the world.
When I’m in other retail perfume stores, I will usually answer the question you posed with “Which perfumes don’t I like.” I’m pretty upfront about my perfume interests, and if the conversation goes well, even my blog. While I’ve had great experience with many SA at Barneys New York as well, nothing compares to my friend at Neimans.
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That’s wonderful to have a relationship with such a knowledgeable person. I usually don’t talk to the SA’s at regular dept. stores or Sephora unless I’m looking for something I don’t see on display and I want to test it.
I do talk to the SA’s at niche stores or at places like a Guerlain or Chanel boutique since I will likely want their assistance and maybe some samples. I found the SA’s at the main Saks store in NYC helpful. Of course they’re trying to sell their perfumes, but they were all nice and I only bought one bottle at one counter.
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It’s not always easy to connect with a truly knowledgeable SA, but when you do, it’s priceless.
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It sounds like a good relationship. I think though that I would not want to have something like that with any particular brand: I would feel obligated to buy something from them, and I don’t like that feeling.
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That’s just it, Undina. I have never felt that way, nor has that idea ever come into play. We discuss and sample all sort of perfumes from every brand imaginable.
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There aren’t any independant perfumeries within 100 miles of home so my IRL perfume shopping is at large department stores. The last time I was is Harvey Nichols & was potentially in the market, the SA on the concession I was interested in gave the 3 of us a disdainful look & immediately decided we held no interest for him & carried on chatting with a college. I asked for access to the fragrance I was interested in. He didn’t even meet my eyes! Just sprayed my wrist & turned away. I won’t be buying from his concession anytime soon.
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How rude! I hate it when people act like that.
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He lost out on huge potential sales. My daughter in law’s mum & dad are rather well off & if we had been treated well there would have potentially been sales of 3 wedding fragrances with accompanying bath & body products. All because we were in jeans & not blinded up.
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Blinged not blinded!
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I figured you meant blinged. :-)) I learned that SA’s judge people by their clothing when I lived in Miami. I went to an upscale store one Saturday and was looking at some dresses while dressed in jeans. Not only did no one help me, the store “loss prevention” detectives started following me around very obviously. I left and never returned to that store or to that Bar Harbor mall. Their loss!
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I find that appalling. I was thinking about it a while ago. Most SAs, even those who work in luxury departments, make less than most people who come to those stores, whether they can buy products in that store or not. So that attitude and snobbery is just stupid.
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Yep! You would think making a sale would be their aim not pissing people off.
Back in the 70’s & early 80’s I used to shop at a very well respected boutique in my town. The owner stocked very high end designers & people came from across the UK to shop there.
For home town girls she used to let us pay over 3 or 6 months, no interest. Rita & her team had the ethos that if you look after younger & local customers they will look after you.
That shop ran for over 50 years, only closing when Rita became too ill to do the fashion weeks & buyer shows. Her customers were loyal to the end
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It depends – in some places it’s clear that people are free to browse, in which case I’ll most likely do that unless I’m interested in something specific. In others where it’s the opposite, I’ll engage and tell them I want to try everything because the brand is new to me. I’ve tried making it a win-win by saying I generally like floral scents, woody but not too woody-ambery, but that hasn’t worked well because they respond by starting with a big white floral, usually neroli or orange blossom, and exclude anything ambery… so I tell them I don’t want to be too limited in notes as one could always be surprised, etc. At the end they’ll usually let me browse.
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That’s a wise approach. For me it’s always a balance because I don’t want them to spend time on me if I know that I’m not going to buy anything that day, but on the other hand, I might want to take something with me to decide if I ever want to get more. But if I do plan to buy something, I don’t want to be pushed either: unless it’s something I already decided on, I do not have to.
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It really depends on my mood and also how the store is set up. For stores where perfumes are pretty much in display cases, I have no choice. For the ones where the tester bottles are on open shelves, I’ll go to town. If approached, I will say I will ask for help when I need it regardless of what question I’m asked (rude, right?). At times though when I don’t feel like spritzing into test strips, I’ll ask for help; so far I have not been refused yet. The possibility of getting samples may be factor but of course that depends on store policies although I have managed to skirt that on some occasions!
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I prefer to spray myself because then it’s in my control how much to apply. Otherwise, more than once I was handed a paper strip that smelled of almost nothing. At that rate, they could have just showed me a bottle and expected it to be enough to make a purchase decision :)
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I was just in Las Vegas and went to the By Kilian, Guerlain, Diptyque and Frederic Malle where I engaged with the SAs who were all very nice. However, I didn’t make any purchases nor was I able to get any samples which kind of ticked me off.
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Las Vegas is notoriously bad with samples because they don’t expect the return customers. I was able to score some samples with a purchase, otherwise – no luck, even back in times when I would normally be able to get some elsewhere.
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It all depends on my mood. Ha! Ha! Sometimes I’m just browsing and don’t want to be bothered. Mostly, though, it’s good to chat with them to find out what’s new, what’s selling well, what isn’t. I call it market research.
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Love your approach! Next time I’ll tell myself that I’m doing a market research :)
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I haven’t been in a shop selling perfume for so long that I’m not sure how I would react these days. But based on my behaviour in a duty free lately I think that I wouldn’t engage in a conversation with SAs anymore for fear of being heavily sold to, when I know I have no intention of buying anything. It’s a while since I’ve even bothered sampling anything(!).
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