Rejected at Cartier!

[Sundial]

Okay we hear all these stories about how people were treated badly at Tiffany''s, but in my few visits to their stores I have always encountered pleasant sales people. However I had a VERY unpleasant experience during my recent trip to Europe at Cartier. We had been out visiting wineries in Bordeaux, France all day and did not get back into the city until about 6:30. I had been told that all of the shops there close at 7:00 pm on Saturdays. Now I really wanted to get one of the infamous Cartier rolling rings as a trip memento and I wanted to buy it in France. I had already missed out in Nice when the Cartier store was closed for lunch. I made hubby sprint into town clutching a map all the way so that we could find the store before they closed. We actually got there at 6:45 and there were three staff members inside. Now you have to buzz them to let you in and when we did this they ignored it. Finally I waved and a young man came to the door. I told him that I wanted to purchase a ring and he informed me that they were closing at exactly 6:45 tonight!!! Then he proceeded to start chatting with his girlfriend who had just walked up. I told my husband that Cartier can forgot getting any of my business ever! We went from there to the Longchamp store to get a handbag for my daughter and they let me shop and even finish my purchase after the doors were locked.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI Sundial:

what sad treatment; their loss of course....but didn't Oprah have trouble in the Hermes store in Paris...wouldn't let her in either or something like that??

cheers--Sharon

 

[Kaleigh]

Oh that stinks Sundial, what were they thinking?? Their loss indeed.

 

[Cehrabehra]

grrrrrrr

just curious - were you speaking english? I hear they reserve their best ::cough:: manners for americans LOL

 

[Skippy123]

Sundial,
I am so excited you are back!!!! Gosh, I am sorry about that. That is awful.


Neighbor please us about your trip. . . I am dying to hear about the beautiful sites you saw.

 

[Sundial]

Sharon I remember reading about Oprah's experience with Hermes and I believe that happened right at closing time too. I do think it is kind of a French thing and yes Cehra I was speaking English which I'm sure didn't impress the clerk at all. At least they were nice at the Longchamp store! I know this is a whiny post, but I just had to get it off my chest!!! Give me Tiffany any time!

Thanks for the welcome back Skippy - check out my trip pictures!

 

[monarch64]

Aww, Sundial, so sorry to hear of your negative experience. More moolah in your pocket to come home with, I suppose...but still nothing will take away that sting of being turned away even before the store was set to close, yuck! I hope the rest of your experiences overseas have been better, and more fun so they overshado

w this bit of misfortune.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 6/15/2007 9:48:02 PM
Author: Sundial
Sharon I remember reading about Oprah''s experience with Hermes and I believe that happened right at closing time too. I do think it is kind of a French thing and yes Cehra I was speaking English which I''m sure didn''t impress the clerk at all. At least they were nice at the Longchamp store! I know this is a whiny post, but I just had to get it off my chest!!! Give me Tiffany any time!

Thanks for the welcome back Skippy - check out my trip pictures!

Yeah, well, you''d think a SALE would have impressed them.

I''m so sorry you had a bad experience. I just don''t get it when stores behave like this.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

HI, Sundial and welcome back! I''ll have to find your trip pictures! I am sorry to hear about this experience, too, but I think it is just a cultural thing. They are quite serious about their leisure time!

 

[Harriet]

Welcome back and thanks for the pics!
Boo to Cartier. It''s their loss, not yours. I got bad service at Harry Winston NY, so I bought my earrings from HW Vegas and had them shipped to NY. Boy, was that snippy SA pissed!

 

[risingsun]

Sorry to hear about your experience. There is simply no excuse for such rudeness

 

[Sundial]

If there was any way he could have pulled if off I would believe that my husband arranged things so that I wouldn''t spend too much money in Europe!!!

 

[kcoursolle]

bleh, don't feel bad they also turned down martha stewart once.

ETA: I think that was Hermes that turned down Martha actually.

 

[risingsun]

Would you consider going to a local Cartier for the Trinity, Sundial? You need your PS secret decoder ring

 

[Skippy123]

What about a blue nile rolling ring or ice.com?? I just found this one; I still don't know what size I am. http://www.ice.com/customer/product_detail.jsp?product=84730735&sourceID=nextag_01&srccode=cii_9324560&cpncode=07-27148379-2

Sundial, while in Hawaii I went to Tiffany's to look at Swing jewlery and it is soooo gorgeous!!! Very sparkly

 

[Stone Hunter]

Oh how nasty. I''m sorry.

 

[snlee]

Wow, I can''t believe Cartier treated you so rudely! Definitely their loss!

If you are still looking for a rolling ring, there''s also rollingring.com. Here are two recent threads with gorgeous rollings rings:

DIAMOND ROLLING RING HAS ARRIVED!
Another Rolling Ring...

 

[Sundial]

It is nice to see that there are some alternatives, but I really just wanted it as a memento from my trip. Skippy I''m glad you liked the Swing collection at Tiffany''s. I have been very happy with my ring and bracelet.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Sorry they were so rude! What a Shame!

 

[codex57]

Reading news articles about the French economy, I''d just chalk it up as a French work ethic thing and not as a personal attack. Same with the Oprah incident.

 

[phoenixgirl]

I agree it''s the work ethic. I remember asking someone what time the shops opened in a French town, and the person replied, "Oh, whenever the staff feel like it."

 

[Nicrez]

Date: 6/21/2007 7:38:25 AM
Author: phoenixgirl
I agree it''s the work ethic. I remember asking someone what time the shops opened in a French town, and the person replied, ''Oh, whenever the staff feel like it.''

Agreed. That''s why they close when they can. They have the highest employment benefits programs, best paid vacation schedule and work the least amount of hours.
"Life is meant to be lived" they say. Amen, that''s the place to do it! That''s why last time I was there, I took a trip specifically to shop because getting around and squeezing in shopping is not a good idea! I got to LV too late and just went the next day. I guess here we take for granted that not every shop is open late, and the UBER convenience we know is not the same around the world. I can buy underwear, a hairbrush, and milk at 3am and I have to say, it''s kind of nice!

But in Paris, shopping is an item on the itinerary, just like seeing Versaille. You need to take the time. And when you do, you take your time. You saunter, you get coffee outside, you eat, you saunter in some more, you buy, you sauter the streets. I guess that''s why Americans find the French rude. They don''t rush or hurry, whereas we are perpetually on fast forward!

Living in NY has made me almost hyperkinetic, but that''s why Europe is so fun. It''s slower and that was you can savor the time, just like you savor the food there...

 

[princesss]

Nicrez, that''s exactly why I fell in love with Paris! I love that it all closes whenever, and that shopping needs a whole day to itself. I found everybody to be so sweet and helpful while I was there...it was amazing.

Sundial, I''m sorry you had such a bad experience at Cartier! I''d be really frustrated, too. It''s too bad it turned you off of the whole brand...would you ever consider buying from a store in the US or elsewhere that didn''t treat you like that? (Sorry, a few years in retail has made me curious as to what will keep/lose a customer...feel free not to answer.)

 

[Sundial]

While I agree that the French have a different outlook about customer convenience than most Americans, I did arrive at Cartier before their official closing time and I did go on to complete a purchase at another French store (Longchamp) after I left there. Shopping was not my priority on this trip and I'm glad that I didn't rush back from a lovely day of sightseeing just so I could have the privilege of shopping at Cartier! Princess as far as buying from a Cartier store in the US, right now I am thinking not, but I might change my mind in time if they had something I really wanted and I was treated well at one of their shops.

 

[FireGoddess]

Sundial I''d probably have the same reaction as you - it''d turn me off the whole brand. It might be a cultural thing in European stores versus American ones, but at the end of the day you were a customer who wanted to actually SPEND $$ in there and came in before they closed. Stores are about customer service - they are a service industry, and to treat someone that way is rude no matter what country you''re in. I''m sorry this happened to you!

 

[Nicrez]

Not in the majority here, but I would like to add a point of view. Generally, I am easy going and only get upset when something is personal. Now, If you were not allowed in 15 minutes before closing, but someone else WAS, then I would be P.Oed. Sure you went to Longchamp and bought something, but it's not the same store. Just looking at the set up, the Longchamp store is larger, and all the items are placed on the shelves. They also often have many tourists and such who linger in the back area where they sell the EVER ANNOYINGLY POPULAR canvas bags that fold up. They are accustomed to the tourists popping in and out, staying later. They have no merchandise to put away. Don't get me wrong I ADORE Longchamp, but the clientelle is different. Buying at Longchamp is more an impulse buy than something at Cartier generally...

Cartier is not always ready for the last minute tourist. Most people going to Cartier plan on it to buy something pricey, or pop in for something. The Cartier staff in France I can not imagine to be all that down-to-earth, although personally I had no issue. These few employees are not indicative of a whole company. In NY they are likely trained to the fact that ANYONE can buy a client, from badly dressed socialite heiresses to the casual rapper or incognito software millionaire. People don't often wear their buying power on their sleeves in the US. I don't think it was personal, just a bit of laziness and considering they have to store all the items in the safe before they go home, a little pre-planning I suppose?

 

[Mara]

nicrez brings up good points, also who knows what ''practice'' is in france with closing...sometimes stores do have a policy where they don''t have to let you in after a certain time. it''s kind of like restaurants too. if they close at 10 does that mean if you come at 9:58 they have to seat you? i have had that happen and been told the kitchen is closed. technically they are still open but the kitchen can''t serve me anything. sure i hate it at the time but on the other hand i think okay i was pretty darn late.

thinking along the same lines, if cartier has to put items away, then maybe they factor that into their closing time. also in terms of a sale impressing them or not, they have no idea who is going to make a sale or not, they probably get a ton of lookie loos all day long. so i''m not shocked to hear they were in the middle of closing and maybe didn''t want to deal with letting someone in while they were doing that, and what are the chances the person knows what they want to buy or even plans to buy? also who knows maybe they have a policy that has to do with security, aka they can''t let someone in past a certain time? or was the bodyguard/entrance person there? if not maybe they can''t let you in either.

anyway just some random thoughts. i mean who really knows....it totally sucks that you were not able to get your ring esp after all that hassle to try to make it back, but i wouldn''t necessarily think badly of the entire brand or company based on the one experience. one thought is if this happened at GAP or something, would you never buy from GAP again? probably not, you''d just chalk it up to that particular store right?

 

[Kaleigh]

I know once we closed our doors to start the process of closing and putting the jewelry away, we were not allowed to open the doors for any reason. It was the insurance policy that stipulated this. Could be the reason why Cartier did the same, not sure?? I just remembered this and thought I'd pass it along. And sometimes depending which manager was there we would close a little early. Mainly when it was dead and nothing was going on.

 

[Mara]

Date: 6/22/2007 4:09:03 PM
Author: Kaleigh
I know once we closed our doors to start the process of closing and putting the jewelry away, we were not allowed to open the doors for any reason. It was the insurance policy that stipulated this. Could be the reason why Cartier did the same, not sure?? I just remembered this and thought I''d pass it along. And sometimes depending which manager was there we would close a little early. Mainly when it was dead and nothing was going on.

that is along the same lines of what i was thinking Kaleigh...like maybe once the process began there might be various reasons they couldn''t let people in. of course it could be debated they should be waiting til 7pm to begin the close process but yeah on the other hand, what are the chances someone would rush in etc. anyway sorry sundial you couldn''t get your ring!

 

[gailrmv]

I understand your frustration, but I bet that most people who arrive 15 min before closing don't already know exactly what they want... most customers in general take much longer to try things on and debate over any large purchase. They probably didnt want to stay past closing for just a possibility of a sale. I'm not saying it's right, but that's probably what happened. I'm sorry you weren't able to purchase the ring, I'm sure it would have been a lovely memento of the trip.

Nicrez, why do you find those canvas bags annoying? I like them! (actually I like Herve Chapelier much better, but they are similar.)