Navigating Service Failures in High-End Boutiques: My SCHIAPARELLI Experience

This is a top, not a jacket—there’s a big difference, after all

—grumbled the consultant at the SCHIAPARELLI boutique when I asked if she had brought the jacket size. This irony didn’t make me like the brand any less. Sometimes I think that if I had ever ventured into fashion design, I would have created something similar to SCHIAPARELLI’s museum items, where every detail is meant to be viewed under glass, and the cut fits the figure as if molded. But if I were more sensitive, I might have taken offense.

A couple of months ago, the internet was abuzz with the story of a Louis Vuitton customer who was constantly ignored by the consultants. She had been planning her revenge for a couple of months. On a pleasant day, she stormed into the boutique with a friend and an assistant. After spending a long time selecting and trying on items, she went to the cashier to pay for her impressive selection, amounting to a not less impressive sum. She wanted to pay with small bills that her assistant obediently carried in a bag. The boutique staff spent several hours counting the payment, and when they finished, the customer suddenly... changed her mind and left the boutique with her head held high, leaving the consultants astonished.

I read about one blogger’s—like she told—most negative experience in boutiques; it happened at Cartier. She was with two friends—each was wearing some brand’s creation—and while trying on jewelry, she told the consultant that they didn’t plan to buy anything that day but wanted to look around and take time to think. The consultant responded by saying that she wouldn’t show them anything else.

Every brand has enough stories like these. Sometimes no amount of training or education can teach empathy. And customers can be different. As a solution, I can see periodic checks with mystery shoppers who would observe behavior patterns and add points like “never” or “always yes.” Such a practice shouldn’t be an act of retribution against a specific consultant, but when situations and reactions to them are clearly outlined, there would be fewer scenarios that undermine both potential purchases and customer loyalty.

And in the photo, that very jacket. Or a top. You choose x