Guerlain snobs

[Texican]

So my wife and I are in Paris right now. I haven't experienced the stereotypical Parisian snobbery. Both my wife and I know a good bit of French and if you make an effort people are usually polite. I wanted to leave Paris not having experienced this stereotype but that is not the case after today.

My wife and I after much walking went into the Guerlain store. Now my wife was wearing blue jeans and tennis shoes and I was wearing khakis and a polo shirt. Still pretty well dressed for the typical American tourist. Well I dont know if we were just not dressed up enough for the occasion or if we smelt bad but they didn't help us at all. We came in and looked around for a bit and they just stared at us, no one willing to help. After asking a woman in french where i could find Derby, she just told me to go look upstairs.

Meanwhile, other people entered after us, obviously dressed for the champs élysées was immediately served. I was finally got furious and just walked out.

Meanwhile, at Creed on Pierre 1 de Serbie we were waited on hand and foot by a woman there who very nice, polite, and welcoming. And I was dressed in shorts and flip flops. And she loaded me down with samples and I bought nothing. I may go and get something after the tremendous service I experienced there.

Tonite we check out Parfums d'Nicolai.

 

[maxman]

My brother was at Fragonard and had a positive experience.
I don't know if they are in Paris or not.
They are in France somewhere

Your story reminds me of going to the Montblanc boutique in Banff.
I was actually looking to make a purchase (a leather case) and no one would wait on me.
I ended up buying it somewhere else.

 

[DukeGrad]

Texican,

I did love Guerlain. An old original Habit rouge fan.
Your message about your trip, is appreciated.
For the money we are paying, why does customer service, DECLINE.
Sorry it happened.

Nice day
Jimmy

 

[BingeAndPurge]

Guessing from Creed's facebook page, they seem like a pretty outward company. I'm glad your experience went well there. Don't they pop in here occasionally as well?

Hopefully Patricia's store treats you better than her family did.

 

[erickson]

I for one can totally do without any of the Guerlains!

 

[Evbo]

IMO, it shouldn't matter what you're wearing. You could be dressed in rags. As long as you behave civilly & don't act or smell like a bum, they should wait on you. So yeah, screw them. Sorry you had to experience that!

 

[joshmpdx]

Most certainly check out one of the Malle shops, and don't miss Montale either! both had exceptional customer service.

 

[mdove47]

Years ago when I was on Active Duty I went into a car dealership to put a down payment on a new car. One of the salesman there treated me like crap. I reached into my pocket and pulled out 1K in cash and said I was there to purchase a car but I would be taking my money elsewhere. He apologized profusely....I told him he could stuff it. That Monday I went into work and was talking to one of my buddies. Our civilian supervisor overhead me and asked what dealership that was and what the guy looked like. I told her. I heard her on the phone, she said who she was and said I need to talk to dad. When she hung up she said to me I could go back as the guy was fired and no longer worked there. I looked at her and she said to the effect that is my dad's dealership and he does not want salesman like that working for him. I did not know her dad owned the place, and did not mean for the guy to get fired, but sometimes the way you treat others comes back and bites you in the butt. No, I did not go back. Saved my money.

 

[braucast]

Definitively NOT and isolated case. I just chalk it up to the old fracophone way of treating customers.

 

[CHSeifert]

I think it depends on the shop and the manager of the shop.

Most people in this day and age will take anybody's money - but some still try to keep the high facade......sorry you experienced that.

With that said, if I would venture into a couple of the finer frag shops and clothing stores in Paris, I would avoid white tennis shoes at all costs.........

Compare it to golf clubs - most american golf clubs don't care how you dress these days, but the finer golf clubs - you have to wear proper length bermuda shorts or even regular length trousers and they don't accept tennis shoes, only golf shoes.

So I also think it's up to the customer to show a little respect - this goes both ways IMHO

I wouldn't visit Serge Lutens, Creed, Guerlain, Chanel & Dior dressed in white tennis shoes - just saying............

Just like I don't wear sneakers when I visit a strip joint......same thing.....

 

[KarlMaldensNose]

ISo I also think it's up to the customer to show a little respect - this goes both ways IMHO

I wouldn't visit Serge Lutens, Creed, Guerlain, Chanel & Dior dressed in white tennis shoes - just saying............

Just like I don't wear sneakers when I visit a strip joint......same thing.....

Ummm. Okay. You're entitled to your views, of course, but out of curiosity, what would you wear to a strip joint?

Back to the OP... Guerlain is overrated, anyway. I've smelled exactly two Guerlain fragrances to date that I've enjoyed -- Tonka Imperiale and Eau de Guerlain. Well, maybe LIDGE is okay, too. And Arsene Lupin Dandy is bearable. But the rest come close to making me physically ill. Chamade, Samsara, Nahema, Heritage, Jicky, Vetiver, Habit Rouge, Mouchoir de Monsieur... nasty, vile, overwrought, old man juice.

 

[Matt555]

Ummm. Okay. You're entitled to your views, of course, but out of curiosity, what would you wear to a strip joint?

Back to the OP... Guerlain is overrated, anyway. I've smelled exactly two Guerlain fragrances to date that I've enjoyed -- Tonka Imperiale and Eau de Guerlain. Well, maybe LIDGE is okay, too. And Arsene Lupin Dandy is bearable. But the rest come close to making me physically ill. Chamade, Samsara, Nahema, Heritage, Jicky, Vetiver, Habit Rouge, Mouchoir de Monsieur... nasty, vile, overwrought, old man juice.

Sandals...DUH! Just kidding

You think that Habit Rouge and Heritage is "old man juice?" I have to admit, I was hesitant to wear Heritage when I first sniffed it for the same reason (I even started a thread on it). I have since become a fan and have a large decant of it. I actually wore Habit Rouge today. If anything, I think it is a bit feminine.

 

[legrandfromage]

I don't think that this has anything to do with being in Paris or any other city/country. It has to do with either the corporate culture of the company involved or the specific location; essentially the same thing. There was a Gucci store in NYC where the snotty little Eurotrash poseurs/sales people would shun you if they didn't like the way you looked; from a retail sales standpoint this was not very smart if only because many New Yorkers wouldn't measure up their "standards" and yet they could easily buy anything they wanted. I always figured that the salespeople couldn't afford to shop there without their employee discount (if then) and it was a case of the servants taking on the coloration of their masters. I also figured that the store probably didn't have any sales goals to meet; it was just there for presence. Then again, this type of attitude makes some people only want the products in question even more.
I wore Gucci loafers many years back, because I liked the look (pre status symbol) and the (then) quality. I bought them in Europe, where in my experience, the salespeople were never snotty.

 

[Ron991]

It is true the Emperor does have clothes, but he is not the only well dressed man in town!

 

[KarlMaldensNose]

You think that Habit Rouge and Heritage is "old man juice?" I have to admit, I was hesitant to wear Heritage when I first sniffed it for the same reason (I even started a thread on it). I have since become a fan and have a large decant of it. I actually wore Habit Rouge today. If anything, I think it is a bit feminine.

I will admit to generalizing. I dislike them all for a variety of reasons, but it just so happens that I do find many of them very heavy, sharp, dated, and overloaded with notes or accords, like a wall of scent, but not in a good way like I find some Amouage fragrances. Those, the Amouages, instead of overwrought or overdone, I consider to be rich and full. And it's not just semantics. But I cringed as soon as I hit the "post" button because I know a lot of you guys like Habit Rouge, Vetiver and Mouchoir de Monsieur... but not Jicky... there's no possible way you guys like Jicky, right? Right!?! Awww, I'm just having fun now. Different strokes and all that. Be well and smell well, gents.

 

[Matt555]

I will admit to generalizing. I dislike them all for a variety of reasons, but it just so happens that I do find many of them very heavy, sharp, dated, and overloaded with notes or accords, like a wall of scent, but not in a good way like I find some Amouage fragrances. Those, the Amouages, instead of overwrought or overdone, I consider to be rich and full. And it's not just semantics. But I cringed as soon as I hit the "post" button because I know a lot of you guys like Habit Rouge, Vetiver and Mouchoir de Monsieur... but not Jicky... there's no possible way you guys like Jicky, right? Right!?! Awww, I'm just having fun now. Different strokes and all that. Be well and smell well, gents.

Hey, we all generalize. I was just a bit surprised you do not like any of them. I have not smelled several of them you mentioned though. I still insist (at least to my nose) that Habit Rouge is somewhat feminine. I do not even know if I like it yet. I will probably need to wear it one or two more times to decide. And as I mentioned, I do not like their Vetiver which seems to be a favorite around here. Like you said....different strokes. Scents are super subjective.

 

[KarlMaldensNose]

Lucky for you, Matt, that Samsara, Nahema, Chamade, and Heritage are some of the samples I plan on sending with the Cool Water Game. I want them out of Canada and pronto!

 

[Aaron01]

I still insist (at least to my nose) that Habit Rouge is somewhat feminine.

It should be, it's just Shalimar for men.

 

[The Chandos]

I don't think that this has anything to do with being in Paris or any other city/country. It has to do with either the corporate culture of the company involved or the specific location; essentially the same thing.

Definitely +1 to this. I couldn't get anyone at Best Buy to help me a couple of years ago and I've never been back. When I was in France a little bit of French went a long way, too; just trying bridged a lot of cultural barriers. But snobbery exists everywhere, isn't confined just to France, or Paris, or even Guerlain, and is usually an isolated event, so I wouldn't hold it against Guerlain. For the record, I order things on the phone from them all the time and have (palpitating) conversations with the SA there, so I know they are friendly. Or can be when they want to be, anyway.

Guerlain is overrated, anyway. I've smelled exactly two Guerlain fragrances to date that I've enjoyed -- Tonka Imperiale and Eau de Guerlain. Well, maybe LIDGE is okay, too. And Arsene Lupin Dandy is bearable. But the rest come close to making me physically ill. Chamade, Samsara, Nahema, Heritage, Jicky, Vetiver, Habit Rouge, Mouchoir de Monsieur... nasty, vile, overwrought, old man juice.

But definitely -1 to this. The more I wear perfumes, the more I've come to realize that Guerlain is quite possibly the best house out there and could be the single house I'd choose if I could only choose one. Vetiver, Habit Rouge, Mitsouko, Jicky, Bois d'Armenie, SDV, ... , it's a long list!

 

[Matt555]

Lucky for you, Matt, that Samsara, Nahema, Chamade, and Heritage are some of the samples I plan on sending with the Cool Water Game. I want them out of Canada and pronto!

I love trying new stuff!