GASP! Sorry your store got shut down…NOT

So I was procrastinating on the interwebz the other day and I came across something that really got to me.  An article taken from The Consumerist titled “We’re Sorry You Ever Came To Our Store & Wasted Our Precious Time,” writer MB Quirk describes a situation where a woman and her friends were shopping for bridesmaids dresses at an upscale Australian boutique called GASP.  After tiring of the salespeople’s prodding techniques, one of the girls, Keara O’Neil politely told them she would think about it even though she didn’t like the dress she tried on.  One salesperson, Chris, retorted, “With your figure I really think you should buy it.”

Oh, but wait, it gets worse….Both Quirk and Styleite’s articles indicated that as O’Neil was leaving, Chris instilled parting words making fun of her size 12 body and shouting, “I knew you girls were a joke the minute you walked in!”  In case this isn’t a bad enough example of both bad customer service and oppressive stereotypes, what happened following O’Neil’s visit only exacerbates the issue.

 O’Neil, like any logical individual (in my opinion), wrote a complaint to the store in regards to her inappropriate treatment.   The regional manager, Matthew Chidgey, responded and a slew of emails ensued.  The highlights from GASP’s initial response is below:

“Our product offerings are very, very carefully selected, so to ensure that we do not appeal to a broad customer base….This by default means that the customer whom is acclimatised to buying from “clothing for the masses” type retailers, is almost frightened by our range, sometimes we have found that this type of customer, almost finds our dresses funny, and on occasion noted comments such as ‘it looks like a dead flamingo’.”

“Our range is worn by A list celebrities to the likes of Kim Kardashian, Selena Gomez and Katy Perry to name only a few.”

“Chris’s only problem is that he is too good at what he does, and as I am sure you are aware, people whom are talented, generally do not tolerate having their time wasted, which is the reason you were provoked to leave the store.”

“I am sorry you feel upset by him, but he knew you were not going to buy anything before you even left your house.

So if you would like to do us any favours, please do not waste our retail staff’s time, because as you have already seen, they will not tolerate it. I am sure there are plenty of shops that appease your taste, so I respectfully ask that you side step our store during future window shopping expeditions.

Thank you for your enquiry.”

REALLY?  The link to the article with Keara’s initial email and Chidgey’s response is at the bottom of this post.  I encourage you to read them in their entirety so you know I am not taking this out of context.  (By the way, I find the dead flamingo part particularly enthralling.)

What I want to know is whether or not this is acceptable behavior?  I am not normally one to intervene in private enterprise and I suppose I cannot argue that businesses should or shouldn’t be made to treat customers a certain way.  In fact, if GASP continues to treat their customers like this, I’m sure they’ll be out of business soon.  They have already “decided” to close the store where this incident occurred.

But, why would any corporation’s business plan include treating their customers like shit?  I think real upscale designers (cough, that actually make all of their own clothes, cough) don’t need to parade around with this kind of attitude.  In many of my experiences, very nice stores are extremely nice and helpful to everyone, regardless of whether or not you spend $3,000 on a pair of socks.  I’d like to think that most stores realize that money is money.  Ten small purchases add up to one large one so no customer should be rejected.   This is not to say that anomalies do not exist nor does this mean I like the idea that I am a dollar sign to stores.  I think the fact that I am considered a number to a store is inevitable in a capitalistic economy but how I am treated is not predetermined.  When I interact with anyone, I think a basic level of respect should come into play.

 

In case you’re wondering if this is a hoax or some publicity stunt, not only did Chidgey publically state his letter is authentic, but GASP actually came out and said they’re glad the situation happened because now they have more exposure than ever.  Yeah, too bad it’s the wrong kind of publicity.  I know when I first read these articles, I looked up GASP’s website and wrote a lengthy (and strongly worded) complaint about the situation.  Normally, when I read things like this, I wouldn’t respond this way because you never know which side is the truth.  However, when the company defends its actions publicly, I don’t have a problem expressing my opinion.  So, enough of what I think.  What do you think?  Is this acceptable behavior?  What would you do if you were in either situation?

As promised, the rest of the email is here with Keara’s initial email:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/fashion/customer-complaint-email-and-response-by-gasp-clothing-goes-viral/story-e6frf8o6-1226151874005