I Was Livid!

That's awful - can I recommend Penhaligon? The fragrances are varied and lovely and the staff knowledgeable, efficient, and friendly in the branch I occasionally use. They treat me and my modest spending with the same respect as they do their obviously wealthy and high spending clients.

Def complain and what a nice boy he sounds but I would also be livid by that behaviour, what a cow. Well done for walking out

If you don’t complain then things won’t change and she will just carry on. Plus I always ask people what they are going to do about whatever they are complaining about, if they say ‘nothing’ then don’t bleat about it to others. I always complain if it’s needed but I also praise if I get good service. Good luck and let us know the outcome

SHOCKING! I would definitely complain Mymm. I absolutely abhor bad customer service! In my younger days I just ignored it but one advantage of becoming a GOW is that I am not afraid to complain now.

Like someone else said, put it in writing! I always write detailed but polite letters. Most, although not all, are responded to very quickly and hopefully sorted internally. TBH I just absolutely hate being treated badly.

In one very large store, I saw sachets of face packs (you know the ones that you smear on and then leave for 5 minutes and you look 30 years younger When it got to the conveyor belt, the yawning assistant threw it back at me! "Its got no bar code on, I can't scan it" So I said its 99p...she said "no good, I need a bar code". So I said well can't you get a bar code and she cheekily said "Nope, all of them are the same". She then held her hand out for payment of my other goods.

I didn't lose my rag - I simply left her standing there (with over £70 worth of unpaid groceries on the belt) saying "I will find one". I took my time getting back to the display stand I had plucked it from THEN picked up the WHOLE display stand and struggled down the aisle with facepacks flying everywhere, and plonked it down on the conveyor belt "Ok pick one", I said" HAHAHA you should have seen her face, it was a picture but .....she managed to get my 99p facepack through no bother.

Then I went to customer services and complained and followed up with a letter telling them there was no use spending millions proclaiming every little helps with staff like that!

I got a massive apology plus a voucher (although the voucher was not what I was looking for) So yes complain! The bit about her trying to fob him off with the tester is dreadful and unlawful surely? Good luck and what a fabulous grandson you have.

That's priceless bluegal!! Well done!

Well done you for walking out. There are plenty of shops that would value your grandson. Hope he understood the problem afterwards. He sounds lovely.

Mymm. You say you will not use that shop again. Fair enough, stick by your principles. What harm was done other than you did not like the assistants attitude. It did not appear there was a manager at that shop who would have dealt with your complaint.By contacting the shop head office you would need evidence to back up what you believed you observed the assistant doing. Your word against theirs. I would not advise tweeting an accusation . This sort of thing has a habit of escalating Business's have their own legal advisors. You and your 14 year old GS would be asked questions Most embarrassing and most likely upsetting for your GS. Next time go to a department store perfumery if GS has thirty pounds to spend on a fragrance.

What a ridiculous comment sarahellenwhitney. I have never heard of any company asking for proof of something like this, particuarly when no money has changed hands. It would have been a different matter if you were complaining at getting home and finding the 'Tester' bottle, when there is a slight chance proof would have been needed. If everyone took your advice and never made a formal complaint, shop assistants and similar would have carte blanche to get away with a lot more than they do now.

Sorry sarahellenwhitney but I cannot agree with your comments. I have not said that I would be tweeting comments or using any other social media to slag the shop off. I have refrained from naming the shop on here other than to say a High Street chain of perfume store. And as to your somewhat inane comment regarding what harm was done? Had I not been vigilant my grandson would have been so upset on his mum's birthday to find his hard saved and worked for pocket money had resulted in her receiving a half used bottle of perfume bearing a label saying 'Tester'. Believe me, he maybe 14 but he is a very sensitive boy that would beat himself up for allowing himself to be cheated.
From the legal point of view had this transaction continued then the store would have been guilty of a fraudulent sale. The bottle complete with their sticker saying Tester, the receipt or even a bank statement proving the sale would be sufficient and quite possibly the cctv would all go in my favour as proof.
As to why I never created more fuss at the time...believe me, had I been on my own, or not with GS I would have said a LOT more but out of respect for my GS I simply walked away in disgust. I did make sure that GS was fully aware of what had just happened.. as a lesson on being savvy when spending hard earned cash even in reputable shopping malls.

Myym that is terrible! It makes you wonder who else this person has potentially ripped off?
I totally agree with sending an email/letter to the head office. At the very least this woman needs retraining!
I'm a firm believer in complaining about rubbish services/food, but will also praise good customer service & meals. Retail can be a thankless job.
Let us know how you get on ?

This reminds me of a similar incident when I was 13. I was friendly with a lovely, unpretentious girl, daughter of a multimillionaire. We went into a store in Southport called Marshall and Snelgroves and my friend tried out a couple of the tester bottles. She too was looking for a present for her mother.

The snooty assistant came over and asked what she thought she was doing, very rudely. Pauline politely explained and asked what sizes they did in Channel No.5. The assistant reeled off the sizes in a way designed not to be understood, so Pauline asked for the prices instead and decided on the middle range one, which was pretty expensive anyway.

The assistant then asked in a horrible way ‘And just how does MODOM intend to pay for this?’ to which ‘modom’ replied ‘Put it on my account’.

I’ve never seen a snooty assistant go from rude to grovelling so fast in my life! ?

Myym I know it’s hard to think and react in a situation like that, but I’d have accepted the bottle and then with it as evidence and your receipt in hand, quietly asked the assistant to call the duty manager and presented her with the evidence.

Then justice would have been seen to be done.

Trouble is Anya it’s easier with hindsight to do the “right”thing.

That’s what I said.

When my children were very young and came shopping with me I used to encourage them to go and politely ask for various items at the bakery of a very well known high street supermarket. On more than one occasion I witnessed my children being ignored by store assistants whilst other customers were served before them, often having pushed in front of the children. Used to make my blood boil then and still does when I see it happen nowadays.

Most larger shops and many smaller ones now have Facebook pages. I've found that reporting incidents such as this on the Facebook page where all can see gets an instant response.

Report her. That behaviour is disgusting