Been scurrying around looking for stuff that I’ll need for the photoshoot – Swarovski crystals (for nail art), shoes (for bridal gown and evening gown), and so on. Saw a pair of shoes from Americaya today that came in 2 colour combinations – gold/silver or silver/grey. While I preferred the gold/silver combination, the silver/grey one matches the gowns better so I decided to go for it. The Americaya at Centrepoint didn’t have my size but the counter inside OG department store at Orchard Point had it so the sales person at Centrepoint helped me reserve it and told me to walk over immediately to collect them (they were the last pair).
When I reached OG, I decided to check out the other shoes to make sure that there weren’t anything more worth buying. While checking out some shoes near the Americaya shelves, I saw this sales woman from China pick up the shoes I had shortlisted and saying loudly in Chinese to a sales man, “These shoes are so uglyâ€. The sales man smiled and said, “Eh, you shouldn’t be saying such thingsâ€. The China woman persisted, “They’re the ugliest shoes I’ve ever seen!â€. The sales man warned her, “A customer is coming to collect the shoes. You better be careful what you sayâ€. She ignored his good advice and once again said that the shoes were ugly.
At this point, I was seething with anger and said to Iceman, “Yes, I’m the customer who’s collecting themâ€. Unfortunately, both sales staff did not hear what I said so I ignored them and continued checking out the rest of the shoes. After confirming that there wasn’t anything better available, I went back to the Americaya counter, took the silver/grey pair and said LOUDLY to the sales man, “Could you help me get this VERY UGLY pair of shoes in size 38 please?â€. It was unfortunate that the China woman was standing too far away else I would have added, “As you can see, a Singaporean lady’s taste is very different from a China woman’s tasteâ€.
The sales man gave a small laugh (the diffuse-an-awkward-situation kind of laugh) and went to get the shoes. When he returned with them, I tried them on again and decided to go ahead with the purchase ‘cos it’s not easy finding a pair of heels in silver/grey. I almost said, “I’ll get the shoes since there’s nothing uglier in the store†but didn’t. As I walked away to make payment, the sales woman was looking at me. Not a tinge of remorse on her face. I glared at her, scrutinised her rough face and stocky build clothed in frumpy clothes, blinked my eyes in annoyance, and walked away.
I must say that I’m glad I don’t share the same taste in fashion as a country bumpkin from China (can you imagine me wearing black shoes with see-through lacy socks under a white gown?) and I admit that my anger stems from having my taste insulted by someone who was poorly dressed. That said, I think the sales woman was presenting herself poorly as a sales person. I mean, if you don’t believe in your product, how do you promote it to customers? Even though there’s no perfect product, as a sales person, you need to be able to highlight the positive points, instead of passing comments that obviously do not help in the sale of it.
Anyway, that’s all past. Looking forward to the evening gown fitting tomorrow. Will try to take photos if possible. 🙂
P.S. In case you’re wondering, the shoes were made in Taiwan. Ha!
hehahahahaha bad timing…