A Love and Hate Relationship
Our relationships with stores and malls can bear a remarkable resemblance to romances. When you first discover a fabulous new store, you tend to talk about it endlessly and sometimes even get the butterflies when you know a visit is near. On the opposite end, a shopping excursion plagued by flaw-amplifying lighting, flimsy dressing room doors or music so loud you need earplugs can lead you to question your commitment to a store.
Here’s our breakdown of some of the stores and malls whose outstanding features make us fall in love every time. We’ve also included a few we’d like to have show us a little more love in return. And, the high-maintenence lovers we are, we couldn’t leave out a list of grievances we’d like to permanently split from.
LOVIN’ YOU IS EASY ‘CAUSE YOU’RE… CONVENIENT
Here’s a shout out to all those stores making our shopping lives a little easier and, in the process, reciprocating our love for them.
Esplanade at Wynn Las Vegas: The personal shopper’s red door begs to be knocked on and anyone, guest or not, is welcome to do so for their own free personal shopping service.
Kiehl’s: They offer curbside service for locals who don’t feel like dealing with parking and tourist traffic in the mall. Simply order your purchase by phone and a Kiehl’s representative will meet you in your car at the curb. Call 784-0025 for service.
Neiman Marcus: This posh department store makes house calls and provides home wardrobe consultations.
Macy’s: Their price scanners are located throughout the department store and allow shoppers to scan tags if the price is in question. They come in very handy during sales.
Madewell: The staff keeps a steamer behind the counter for customers who want to be wrinkle free while trying on clothes.
Fashion Show mall: Seven, count them seven, different valet services. You can pick up your car from any one of them, even if you park at a different entrance than you leave from. Fashion Show also has a package check service.
Niketown: Don’t let the size of the enormous store intimidate you. Its “shoe tube” allows associates to contact shipping and receiving via handheld computers from any part of the store to have your size delivered in a flash through the tube.
Old Navy and Anthropologie: Both write your name on the outside of your dressing room stall. No worries of strangers accidently seeing you in your underwear at these stores.
Forever 21: The fast fashion retailer color coordinates the arrangement of its clothes. Finding matches has never been easier.
HOSPITABLE
These stores don’t just take the hassle out of shopping; they make sure you can truly unwind and indulge in the shopping experience.
Movado: The jeweler serves champagne to shoppers and features a lounge complete with leather seats and a television to unwind in front of before that big purchase.
Versace: The gown salon separates its evening wear from the rest of the store with glass doors. Black tie decisions are, consequently, made in private.
Saks Fifth Avenue: In their red Nutcracker jackets, the doormen here make shoppers feel a little like Holly Golightly. The Living Room, with fashion magazines, comfy couches and Internet service, provides a “right at home” feeling.
Nordstrom: Two words: Café Bistro. We’re not talking a limited menu of bagels and coffee. Grilled salmon, tomato Florentine soup and a variety of salads make up just a portion of the menu here.
St. John: The “Princess Fitting Room” makes you feel, you guessed it, just like a princess. A private make-up table and bathroom permit some serious primping.
Harry Winston, Bulgari, David Yurman, Judith Ripka and Hyde Park: Each jeweler offers private viewing rooms for customers to make that often life-changing purchase without distractions.
DeBeers: This jeweler provides private viewing and remote custom design with the London design team.
Mikimoto: The queen of pearls offers private shopping as well as hand delivery.
FREE
Who isn’t a sucker for a freebie? These stores understand that, by giving something for free, buyer’s remorse becomes a non-issue.
Burberry: Free gift wrapping.
Mac Cosmetics Pro store: Return six primary packaging containers and select from your choice of lipstick, eye shadow or blush.
Kohl’s: Free mascara with beauty purchases.
Express: This store has been known to provide free flip-flops at end-of-summer sales.
Louis Vuitton: Customers buying luggage can have their initials hot stamped on their luggage tags, free of charge.
Corsa Collections: Complimentary monogram service.
Sephora: Not sure if you want to buy it before you try it? This beauty store will provide samples in cute containers that are perfect for travel.
Nordstrom: Need a travel size of your favorite perfume? Nordstrom’s perfume counter will make one for you, free of charge.
Savvi: This trendy boutique in Summerlin offers free wine to shoppers every Friday. We’ll drink to that.
unrequited love?Don’t get us wrong. We love these stores but sometimes we can’t help but feel our love is a little one-sided. Here are a few reasons why.
Abercrombie & Fitch: Why must you blast the music to the point we can’t hear your sales associates asking if they can help us? We dig the tunes but please put them at a volume that doesn’t compete with Tao on a Saturday night.
MNG by Mango and Forever 21 (inside Boulevard mall): A curtain held closed with a hook simply doesn’t suffice as a dressing room door. We don’t enjoy accidentally getting a peep show and we certainly don’t want to be giving one, either.
Nordstrom: The dressing room lighting could depress Gisele Bündchen. We’re not asking for deceiving skinny mirrors, but give us something that doesn’t magnify our flaws and possibly create new ones.
Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian: The store directory located at the end of the canal continues to have shoppers tilting their heads and furrowing their brows. We’re not sure if it’s upside down or flipped but we do know we always end up bugging GCS maintenance people for directions.
Forum Shops at Caesars, the newest wing: Give us more than just one bathroom, please. And open up the second-floor walk-through so we have a shortcut to the front entrance.
breakup bound
The following annoyances could easily drive us out of a store.
Pestering kiosk associates: If we declined your lotion, jewelry cleaning, hair piece or cell phone offer the first time we passed you, chances are we’ll pass on it the second time. And, no, cheesy compliments don’t change our minds.
Aggressive sales associates: Don’t make us feel like we just stepped onto a used car lot.
Narrow aisles: Show some love to your mommy shoppers who push strollers while browsing.
Teen invasion: Please hire at least one legal adult on your staff. Somehow an associate who’s had a license for more than a year just puts our minds at ease.
Fumigation frustration: We’d rather not get inundated with the smell of perfume when we enter a beauty department. And, we know the ladies waving the test strips have perfume samples. If we want you to spray the air in front of us and offer a strip, we can ask for it.
Read between the lines: When a line in a boutique starts to look like the 12 items or less checkout aisle at Von’s, it’s probably time for another cashier, or two.
Ignorance isn’t bliss: A lot of stores carry additional sizes in the back, but few let you know. An educated shopper is a happy shopper.
