Quick...am I supposed to tip? Ann Taylor?
I went to Ann Taylor a few months ago and asked one of the sales associates to help put some outfits together because I have no creativity. She was really nice and really helped me out. She took down all my info and sizes and said if I had specific needs in the future I could call and she would have some things ready for me.
Fast forward, I have a specific event and called ahead but forgot her name so they couldn't look my info up on her client list...the associate who answered the phone acted like I was making some huge request...eventually said she would have a manager and two people stock a dressing room ready for me. She said they open at 10 so I should come at 11 so they would have some things picked out.
I hope they aren't expecting some celebrity. I'm just a girl who needs a suit and has very little fashion sense so I need some help.
Am I supposed to tip for this sort of thing? If so, how much?
Re: Quick...am I supposed to tip? Ann Taylor?
To make matters more awkward I sort of asked the lady on the phone...who kept repeating that they were super busy...in a very honest and humble voice "Is this a tipping situation...just so I'm prepared?"
Her reply was "Oh absolutely! We'll have a manager there for you!"
I think maybe she didn't hear me correctly so I repeated it and she said the same thing. "Oh yes! See you tomorrow!"
So I took the first posters advice and called another store and they acted confused by the question. But I asked if they go by commission and she said no.
So...no tip?
Man...I may be frumpy but I'd rather not be frumpy AND socially inept. Seriously, who gets intimidated by shopping
Eeek- that does make it more awkward! Now that person is probably expecting a tip... I've never heard of tipping someone that works in retail- many stores provide personal shopping service because it helps them make sales. I know that Nordstrom does this.
I have always found that the people that work in clothing stores are very happy to pull lots of items and help you find ways to build outfits...almost to the point where they're being too helpful and I feel guilty if I don't buy something.
I'm surprised she said they don't work on commission, but there must be some sort of incentive they receive because they always ask who helped you when you check out and they always seem very motivated to help you find items....why else would they have customer lists and try to keep track of people?
Sorry this got so frustrating for you- don't get initimidated, though! I'm sure whoever helps you will help you find some great outfits and I wouldn't worry about tipping- I really don't think it's expected.
I really don't think you need to tip and actually, they may not even be allowed to accept tips for that. Their job is to help customers find great outfits so that they buy a lot and help the store's bottom line. I think you may be feeling that way because you're asking them to pull stuff in advance but if you just walked into the store and said, "I have no idea how to pull outfits together, could you please help me?" and the associate or manager just pulled a bunch of clothes for you, would you feel the same way?
When I worked retail we didn't work on commission, but we did have hourly/per transaction sales goals, and we got rewarded if we made them.
I would not tip. This is their job.
I worked part-time at AT about 10 years ago, so this is old information, but the way it used to work for us is that to get "commission" we had to sell at least three items with the total adding up to $150 to get a commission. Some weekends I did pretty well, others I did not. Occasionally we would spend a lot of time with a customer and they'd put stuff on hold - in those situations our employee numbers were placed on the hold tag so that if they come back and bought we would get credit for the sale. My favorite was the time I spent literally 2 hours with a woman - stayed past the end of my shift - she put like $1000 worth of clothes on hold and never came back for anything.
But I digress...we CERTAINLY never got tipped!! I am guessing it would be against AT policy to do so, but if you've already indicated that you plan to, I think you probably should go through with it. Only because you already asked about it (twice) other wise I would have said no way.
Hope you get a nice outfit anyway!
Absolutely no tipping is necessary. I worked in retail for many years, and as pp mentioned, we often had sales "goals" but that was it. There was no commission. We were encouraged to help customers with outfits. If a woman selected a skirt, I was supposed to also bring her a blouse and perhaps a sweater to try on so she could see how great the whole outfit looked. Selling multiple pieces should be the goal of any salesperson regardless of whether or not the customer initially asks for it.
So, with that in mind, these ladies are there to help you put together outfits. I actually loved doing it...much more fun than just standing around.