Behaviour at the Beauty Counter

Perhaps the OP should have said “Excuse me interrupting, could I just ask if you have any ….in stock? If so, am happy to wait until you’re free”.

Hopefully, the assistant would have known and said, yes or no. If she didn’t know without looking, would have to say she would look when finished.

I don't think you were necessarily out of order but clearly weren't expecting such an extreme reaction to your question.

I would have been tempted to seek out the management (yes, I frequently do this!) and complain about the staffing levels.

The customer was not wrong either, as she was interrupted.

I don't think there's any real right or wrong here but the store should have enough staff, as simple as.

Yes you were unreasonable to ask if you could go through the stock drawers - it's a bit like going through the till at the bank to see if they had the right change for you.

I think I would have apologised to the other customer first before interrupting the assistant but the other customer was extremely rude and I don't blame you for walking out.

I would have asked at another counter to see if they could help and browsed around a bit before interrupting. Then just asked the assistant if there would be anyone available to help me soon. If not, I'd have gone elsewhere.

keepingquiet

I don't think you were necessarily out of order but clearly weren't expecting such an extreme reaction to your question.

I would have been tempted to seek out the management (yes, I frequently do this!) and complain about the staffing levels.

The customer was not wrong either, as she was interrupted.

I don't think there's any real right or wrong here but the store should have enough staff, as simple as.

You don’t know why there was only one assistant at that time. One on her break or off sick? I certainly wouldn’t complain to the management. I’m not one of life’s complainers - it’s too short. I do, however, pick my battles.

Sarnia

So you were asking to go behind the counter and rootle through her stock drawers whilst she was dealing with a customer. Why couldn't you just wait your turn? I think you were the rude one here.

I do not think ,that the OP was saying she would do that at all !

NanaTuesday

Sarnia

So you were asking to go behind the counter and rootle through her stock drawers whilst she was dealing with a customer. Why couldn't you just wait your turn? I think you were the rude one here.

I do not think ,that the OP was saying she would do that at all !

^ so I moved a little closer and asked the assistant if I could just quickly check whether they had an item in stock ^

That's what it looked like to me too. Apologies if I've misunderstood.

Oh what a lot of differing opinions to the OP question .
I do not think that she was out of order at all . The assistant may of been engrossed in the ‘make up session’ however surely she would also of been aware of a customer hovering . At which point she could have said either ,’ I’ll be with you as soon as I have finished this customer/ lady’s consultation’ or words to that effect .
The OP was not expecting to be told she was being rude . She. Knew what it was she wanted to purchase and asked a question , how is that ‘rude ‘!
Some people are unbelievable.

I would not have interrupted this lady was having her make up done.

I'd probably have loitered, looked at other items in the store or walked away.

Some people are unbelievable.

Aren't they though. Incredible that some people should think it's not rude to interrupt people.

When I've been to the Estee Lauder counter for foundation and there's no EL consultant there, I've just asked another employee to get it for me. No problems. They all cover for each other.
The consultant should have noticed you loitering, obviously needing assistance and quickly called over another member of staff to help you rather than allow the rude customer to intervene.

This was the fault of the assistant. With good customer service training she should have acknowledged you and said she would be with you shortly. If you had then said you wanted to ask her a quick question she should have politely asked her customer if she could serve you. A few minutes later she would be back doing the make up and nobody upset.

AGAA4

This was the fault of the assistant. With good customer service training she should have acknowledged you and said she would be with you shortly. If you had then said you wanted to ask her a quick question she should have politely asked her customer if she could serve you. A few minutes later she would be back doing the make up and nobody upset.

Yes, this.

By the sound of things, the customer being made up would have been upset. Both she and the OP were rude.

What I don’t understand is why you couldn’t have asked another assistant to help you. There are always assistants in the make up department standing around at Cribbs with nothing to do as it’s usually very quiet these days. The assistants are always extremely polite and very helpful. A few weeks ago I returned a Clinique eye shadow which I was allergic to, runny nose, and was pleasantly surprised to have my money refunded. I had only used it once but I was under the understanding that you couldn’t return eye shadow but it wasn’t a problem.

Boots is only a few minutes walk away so if you didn’t want to ask another assistant, which I don’t understand, you could have gone there to buy your foundation.

Cribbs Causeway shopping mall is where I do most of my shopping so I know it very well. I pay JL a visit, even if only to use the loos almost every time I go there.

I’m very surprised at how rude the customer was.

Well this post has certainly indicated how different we all are. Just why anyone having their makeup done by a consultant (for free!) would object to a customer asking a question is beyond me. What harm would it do? It wouldn't occur to me to be offended! Each to their own I suppose.

And why another customer would interrupt is beyond me. Something which I was taught is rude.

Oh I so agree GSM to interrupt a conversation is so rude (I was taught that too!). But to ask a question whilst someone is having their makeup done (which could take ages) isn't quite the same. It's no different from my hairdresser answering a colleague's or customer's question whilst doing my hair. I'm just not that precious.

I'm not sure that those who wouldn't interrupt are the precious ones.

When I'm at the hairdresser's she sometimes asks if she can attend to someone who is waiting at the counter. I don't mind at all if it's just a short time. She doesn't wait until the customer has to approach her which would feel awkward.
That is good customer service.

I would've done as you did. I wouldn't have time to wait whilst someone had a make-up session if I'd just popped in specifically to purchase that one item.If you ask tentatively and not demandingly, it's not at all rude.

All three don’t come out well imo . The OP shouldn’t have interrupted the assistant . I would have approached another assistant on another counter . The lady having a free makeup was rude in her response and the assistant should have acknowledged you and said she’d be with you soon .
Working in health care I was taught to acknowledge a patient , even if I was on the phone or dealing with another patient .

Just to reiterate in answer to the question about checking stock, I did not expect to look through the stock myself and meant with my wording that I just wanted to check with the assistant whether it was in stock ( not check the stock myself). Sorry if wording was confusing. Can’t seem to edit my original post to clarify. In hindsight I’d look for another assistant on another brands counter, but it was a quiet weekday morning and with few staff around at the time it didn’t cross my mind . We live and learn . I’ve had the same situation in reverse at hairdressers or other small businesses so didn’t think it was a huge deal . But interesting to see the different views here . Thanks everyone 😊

Many years ago I visited the John Lewis flagship store in Oxford St wanting to purchase some fabric. A very grand old lady was seated at the counter and the assistant was measuring out meters and meters of very expensive curtain fabric for her. It was obviously going to cost a great deal. I was next in line and there was another lady behind me. A young man walked to the front and ignoring the customer and the queue began to engage the assistant in conversation. The assistent was young and easily flustered and left off measuing the fabric.

The elderly lady banged her stick on the floor and said, in a cut glass accent "Young man, this assistant is attending to me. Kindly go to the back of the queue and await your turn!" Her manner was so intimidating that the brash young man actually left the department rather than wait.

When my turn came, I asked the assistant why she had not simply said "Im sorry but Im attending to this customer. Can you please ask another assistant?" The assistant said that "In this store cutomers are not always right but they are never wrong".

When I ran a public library I trained my staff never to leave off attending to one person to deal with another, as there is nothing so infuriating to customers. Unless it is a real emergency you ask the interrupting customer to either seek help elsewhere or wait for their turn.

I worked with one boss who even mde people on the telephone wait their turn (1960s), on the grounds that people should not be allowed to jump the queue just because they could afford a phone. Comparatively few people had a home phone back then.

Ive always been a great believer in doing one task at a time.

I would have gone to another beauty counter and asked if there was anyone who could help me with an Estée Lauder query. The assistant in question couldn't have been running the whole John Lewis beauty department single handed!

I worked in a public facing role all my working life. I always found that, if I was busy with another client, either in person or on the phone, a quick smile and a gesture indicating that I’d seen them and would be with them shortly, was the courteous way to deal with this situation. Polite people then don’t mind waiting a few minutes, and rude people will always be rude anyway!