Thumbs down to Tourneau in Las Vegas

[tomee]

Tourneau in Hawaii were great to me.
they even sent me a Christmas card to Australia

[DG123]

Appropriate attire is a good ide for shopping, restaurants etc....

Originally Posted by mocheen

I was in Las Vegas last week vacationing with the family. I made a few stock trades and made a pretty good sum of money. I thought I could purchase a new watch before the price increases in September. I prefaced this by telling my wife she could buy a new purse at the LV store. We went to Caesar's Forum to do some serious shopping.

I ventured into Tourneau as I heard they had a great selection of Rolexes. We had just finished taking the kids swimming so I was in shorts and a t-shirt and wearing my Tag Heuer beater watch. Not one salesman would approach me. After 5 minutes of staring into the watch case, I asked the salesman who was just standing around if he had a green Milgauss in stock. He looked at me and said "No, we are all out of stock." He asked me if I had ever seen one before and how I knew about it. I told him, that I was a member of the Rolex forum and that I owned Rolexes, Panerai and Omega watches. He was looking at my Tag and I explained that I did not want to damage any of my nice watches while on vacation. He said nice watches are meant to be worn and not protected. Sorry, but I am a bit OCD. He asked me if I would be willing to purchase the Milgauss today. I thought he said they did not have any in stock. I told him "No", and walked out the door.

My wife did not get her purse either. She said the people in the LV store were giving her dirty looks because she was dressed down and not all glammed up like some of the other shoppers. She was wearing her Rolex, but they did not take notice of it. Customer Service has gone down like the Titanic in this country. I would think that luxury stores like these would try to cater more to the people buying these items. I guess they sell so much that they can pick and choose who they want to sell to like Ferrari. Maybe, I am wrong but in this economy they need all the sales they can get. Overall we still had a great time in Las Vegas aside from the shopping.

[RolexPete32]

LV at city centre was great. Service was fine. Gucci at city centre not so much. I was at the Tourneau store you went to. It was OK in some areas. For example we got service at the Patek sale area no problem. My wife tried on a couple watches. But in the used rolex area or vintage as they called it. They did not know much about what they were selling. Could not answer many questions. We were dressed down for vacation walking all day but both wearing rolex watches which they seem to have taken notice of in Tourneau

[rodrob59]

Aaron, just read your post to my wife who is with LV here in Atlanta. She hates that your wife had a bad experience at the Forum Shops. Promises that if you drop in if you're in Atlanta, she'll have a wonderful time.

[StuartG]

My favorite Tourneau experience was in Las Vegas, too. As I entered the store a woman greeted me with a cheerful "Hi! What price range do you have in mind?"

[greekbum]

Originally Posted by DG123

Appropriate attire is a good idea for shopping, restaurants etc....

I agree 100% 1 of the best laughs I have had recently is when a slob tried to get a seat at a nice restaurant here on the beach with his lady. They told him sorry he is not properly dressed and he started yelling he has more money than god and he is so and so.....

Also In certain parts of the world people will not take you serious if you do not have on appropriate attire.

[SCD]

Originally Posted by mocheen

I was in Las Vegas last week vacationing with the family. I made a few stock trades and made a pretty good sum of money. I thought I could purchase a new watch before the price increases in September. I prefaced this by telling my wife she could buy a new purse at the LV store. We went to Caesar's Forum to do some serious shopping.

I ventured into Tourneau as I heard they had a great selection of Rolexes. We had just finished taking the kids swimming so I was in shorts and a t-shirt and wearing my Tag Heuer beater watch. Not one salesman would approach me. After 5 minutes of staring into the watch case, I asked the salesman who was just standing around if he had a green Milgauss in stock. He looked at me and said "No, we are all out of stock." He asked me if I had ever seen one before and how I knew about it. I told him, that I was a member of the Rolex forum and that I owned Rolexes, Panerai and Omega watches. He was looking at my Tag and I explained that I did not want to damage any of my nice watches while on vacation. He said nice watches are meant to be worn and not protected. Sorry, but I am a bit OCD. He asked me if I would be willing to purchase the Milgauss today. I thought he said they did not have any in stock. I told him "No", and walked out the door.

My wife did not get her purse either. She said the people in the LV store were giving her dirty looks because she was dressed down and not all glammed up like some of the other shoppers. She was wearing her Rolex, but they did not take notice of it. Customer Service has gone down like the Titanic in this country. I would think that luxury stores like these would try to cater more to the people buying these items. I guess they sell so much that they can pick and choose who they want to sell to like Ferrari. Maybe, I am wrong but in this economy they need all the sales they can get. Overall we still had a great time in Las Vegas aside from the shopping.

I can't speak to your particular situation because I was not there. But *in concept* (without pretending to know the details of your experience), it's clear that a salesperson selling luxury merchandise has a right, and even a responsibility, to look after the merchandise, and inevitably that is going to mean having to qualify potential buyers. If I want to go test drive a Rolls Royce I'm going to have to present myself a certain way, which by the way in my case would be a total ruse. If I walk into a nice guitar shop, I need to be courteous and deferential before I ask very nicely if I can handle any of the merchandise. Dealing with the public is challenge, because, as you have rightly pointed out, decorum is a thing of the past, and more than half of the public has totally forgotten or disregarded their manners, and I suspect about 90% of people in Vegas can't remember what manners are at all. So it shouldn't be surprising if a not-so-skilled salesperson did not immediately recognize you as a serious prospect out to do some serious high end luxury shopping with some serious money, if that's not what your appearance would immediately suggest.

Compassion can involve with a bit of empathy and forgiveness, and if that's too much to ask, then that's why we all can fall back on courteousness and decorum. Live and let live. Your good fortune should ease the way for you. The Tourneau store is *their* store, and it's full of *their* stuff. Even Roger Federer can't get a court at Wimbledon if he's not wearing white.

[expensivetaste]

Sad really, car and watch dealerships are by far the worst at stereotyping individuals based on appearance alone. I can understand appropriate dress for an upscale restaurant, but I shouldn't have to don a three piece suit to buy a car or watch. It really gets under my skin to see people treated badly, or people who for some odd reason think that they are better than another person.

[Melanotaenia]

Tourneau can suck...badly...however, the Madison Ave. shop is not bad, but they are pretty "invisible" when you are looking. But, that does not bother me, because I feel like they would be willing to help if I asked; most of the time I am just browsing anyway (DAVIDSW is my AD)

[reecester]

Sorry to hear about your experience.

[mocheen]

Originally Posted by SCD

I can't speak to your particular situation because I was not there. But *in concept* (without pretending to know the details of your experience), it's clear that a salesperson selling luxury merchandise has a right, and even a responsibility, to look after the merchandise, and inevitably that is going to mean having to qualify potential buyers. If I want to go test drive a Rolls Royce I'm going to have to present myself a certain way, which by the way in my case would be a total ruse. If I walk into a nice guitar shop, I need to be courteous and deferential before I ask very nicely if I can handle any of the merchandise. Dealing with the public is challenge, because, as you have rightly pointed out, decorum is a thing of the past, and more than half of the public has totally forgotten or disregarded their manners, and I suspect about 90% of people in Vegas can't remember what manners are at all. So it shouldn't be surprising if a not-so-skilled salesperson did not immediately recognize you as a serious prospect out to do some serious high end luxury shopping with some serious money, if that's not what your appearance would immediately suggest.

Compassion can involve with a bit of empathy and forgiveness, and if that's too much to ask, then that's why we all can fall back on courteousness and decorum. Live and let live. Your good fortune should ease the way for you. The Tourneau store is *their* store, and it's full of *their* stuff. Even Roger Federer can't get a court at Wimbledon if he's not wearing white.

I do agree that it is the salesmans job to prospect, but when I worked in sales as a teen I treated every individual as a potential sale. I always posted great sales granted that we received commission for our sales. I was brought up to be respectful and courteous to others. My Grandfather was in sales and he told me that if you can Wow an individual with your product even if he cannot afford it he will always keep it in the back of his head. One day when he can afford it he will return to purchase it. He used to fly his clients from San Francisco to the Harris Ranch just to have steaks for lunch regardless if they purchased anything from him or not. He said often times people will pay for the better service and the better experience. Better service will also detract from any short comings or defects in the product if the situation is handled properly.

I do not expect to be treated like a King, but just to be treated as a person. I am a person who loves watches and although I may not be able to afford a Patek at the moment, but I would still like to be able to look at them and appreciate them. If the store is nice and accomodating they are rewarded when I am ready to make my purchase. That is how Lexus was able to win over so many new customers.

[Dr. Robert]

A salesman is born not made........most retailers have no skilled salespeople.....there's no professionalism in sales in today's biz world.....it's a dying art, most sales people are order takers & automatons.

[mocheen]

Originally Posted by rodrob59

Aaron, just read your post to my wife who is with LV here in Atlanta. She hates that your wife had a bad experience at the Forum Shops. Promises that if you drop in if you're in Atlanta, she'll have a wonderful time.

Thank you for the invitation. We have not been to Atlanta since our honeymoon. We stopped there for a few days on our way to Jamaica. We had a great time there. We had really great service at the LV store in Hawaii. They even shipped the purses to us to avoid the taxes. We wrote them a thank you letter and commended their excellent customer service. Once you receive great service at one store you almost expect all of the stores to offer the same type of service. It is like shopping at Nordstrom. You pay a little more, but their excellent service makes it worthwhile.

[mjm800]

Originally Posted by Dr. Robert

A salesman is born not made........most retailers have no skilled salespeople.....there's no professionalism in sales in today's biz world.....it's a dying art, most sales people are order takers & automatons.

We have a sales rep that flies in a few times a year from California old-school salesman he wears an 80's gold President Day-Date, comes in with a smile, he knows everyones name, take us to lunch, always has a great story, no matter what you need he always wiling to help and can find a deal because he knows a "guy."

That's a salesman.

[SUBversive]

Originally Posted by Zed Homme

Very odd, I have never seen a well dressed person in Vegas, and I get great service there with a 5 o'clock shadow while reeking of booze. Try the ad in the Wynn instead...

Me and a pal bought 2 at the ad in the bellagio several years back, I'm sure we looked like hung-over bums, but I remember that they were nice.

[SCD]

Originally Posted by mocheen

I do agree that it is the salesmans job to prospect, but when I worked in sales as a teen I treated every individual as a potential sale. I always posted great sales granted that we received commission for our sales. I was brought up to be respectful and courteous to others. My Grandfather was in sales and he told me that if you can Wow an individual with your product even if he cannot afford it he will always keep it in the back of his head. One day when he can afford it he will return to purchase it. He used to fly his clients from San Francisco to the Harris Ranch just to have steaks for lunch regardless if they purchased anything from him or not. He said often times people will pay for the better service and the better experience. Better service will also detract from any short comings or defects in the product if the situation is handled properly.

I do not expect to be treated like a King, but just to be treated as a person. I am a person who loves watches and although I may not be able to afford a Patek at the moment, but I would still like to be able to look at them and appreciate them. If the store is nice and accomodating they are rewarded when I am ready to make my purchase. That is how Lexus was able to win over so many new customers.

Well said. Excellent customer service is a whole lot better than the rest of it.