Luxury Retail Employees Are Revealing What It's Like To Deal With The "Ultra Rich," And Oh My, It Gets Wild

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We asked the members of the BuzzFeed Community who person worked successful luxury retail to archer america what it was like. Here are the astonishing results:

1. "I worked for a boutique retail store geared toward Maserati-driving shot moms. Someone came successful with their 80-year-old sweetener daddy, who stood and pointed astatine everything helium wanted her to deterioration and dropped $1,200 connected outfits for her. She walked successful with her hubby a week oregon 2 aboriginal similar we didn’t admit her from before."

"If we remembered anyone, it was the radical who dropped 4 figures connected clothing."

2. "I worked for Michael Kors, and the theft was unreal. While moving 1 night, a radical of known offenders came into the store and started grabbing handbags portion making it known that employees couldn’t bash thing astir it. They were threatening anyone who adjacent thought astir trying to halt them, and customers were frozen successful fear. After each was said and done, they got distant with thousands of dollars successful merchandise. I called the promenade constabulary who called successful the metropolis police, but the thieves were agelong gone."

"When I notified my manager, her archetypal question was, 'How overmuch did they get?' She ne'er erstwhile asked if everyone was OK, physically oregon mentally. Her main interest was merchandise, which is insured and tin beryllium replaced. I discontinue 3 weeks later."

—39, Texas

3. "I worked for a precise high-end luxury section store for six years. Let maine archer you each azygous person, including myself, is doing immoderate shady stuff. 'Accidentally' marking down items, hiding stock, stealing, hooking up with different coworkers and clients successful the back, coke successful the fitting rooms, getting items delivered to the incorrect code connected purpose, etc. The worst was we recovered retired our store manager was utilizing the lawsuit publication to bargain recognition paper numbers and got arrested. Great decorator clothing, though."

—29, Las Vegas, Nevada

4. "I worked for a high-end retailer for location decor. The magnitude of radical who would statesman the telephone with their occupation rubric was precise high. It gave an aerial of 'I deliberation I’m much important than you.' And astir of the time, they did enactment similar they thought their 💩 didn’t stink. I was berated and threatened by galore 'lawyers' astir backmost orders oregon damaged items I had nary power over, told however 'important' the bid was, had radical asking if they could beryllium bumped up successful the bid enactment due to the fact that they needed it for a 'VIP party,' oregon immoderate different BS."

"The institution itself was beauteous shady astir manufacturing practices also. They abused the 'made successful USA' statement successful that lone portion of the furnishings had to beryllium made successful the US for them to person that label, and they would get immoderate parts from China, which truly pissed radical disconnected erstwhile they discovered it connected their pieces. I’m truthful gladsome I’ve agelong since near that place."

—panda_13

5. "Always beryllium bully to the subordinate showing you shoes. I worked astatine a luxury section store, and truthful galore times a workfellow of excavation would travel to the backmost banal room, not look for a shoe, and conscionable archer the lawsuit we didn’t person it due to the fact that 1) they didn’t deliberation they would extremity up buying it, 2) the lawsuit would instrumentality it wrong a week, oregon 3) they conscionable didn’t similar them."

—hayleys40f3254e8

6. "A batch of 'luxury' items are made successful Asia, but the brands usage loopholes that marque it look similar it was made successful Europe oregon successful the US to springiness the illusion it wasn't mass-produced adjacent doorway to the Gap sweatshops. There was a large ruckus years agone astir immoderate brands getting purses made successful India and lone getting them finished successful Europe, but it was lone spoken astir successful the manufacture — ne'er made it to the public. Lots of high-end 'American' jewelry is made successful Hong Kong."

"Designer brands each person outrageous markups. They could merchantability astatine 80% disconnected and inactive marque money, but they seldom person heavy discounts due to the fact that they don't privation 'the incorrect benignant of people' buying, truthful unsold inventory is usually destroyed."

—Anonymous, Toronto, Canada

7. "A sweetener daddy came into our store with his 2 'babies' — they were sisters, by the way. They had gotten him drunk astatine luncheon and went astir the store picking retired clothes, handbags, and shoes. Anytime helium would inquire astir the terms of something, they would buss his feature and susurration things successful his receptor to unopen him up. It was truly disturbing. In the end, helium spent, like, $20K connected them. Who knows what helium did oregon however helium got that money. They each looked blessed successful the end, truthful it worked out, I guess?"

—26, California

8. "I worked arsenic the adjunct to 1 of the in-house idiosyncratic shoppers astatine a high-end section store successful Beverly Hills. Some of these highly affluent clients would not acquisition thing successful a size that was labeled thing antithetic than the size they thought they were successful their heads. So, I would beryllium sent to the alterations section with aggregate couture items that needed their size tags 'switched.' I would instrumentality them garments successful a size 8, and they would region the wrong tags and sew successful a caller decorator tag that would accidental it was a size 2 alternatively — adjacent though the pistillate buying the apparel was decidedly not a size 2. I was shocked that my brag made maine bash this, and I felt similar I was committing immoderate benignant of fraud. Now, I conscionable look backmost and consciousness atrocious for those women that needed to beryllium fed a prevarication successful bid to bargain clothes."

—48, Los Angeles, California

9. "I worked astatine Nordstrom successful downtown San Francisco (which is present closing) successful the decorator section. A celebrated quality newsman came successful (who was married) with a younger woman person and bought her $3K successful apparel successful astir 8 minutes. Nordstrom besides has a 'million dollar sellers club' for the income associates that evidently merchantability implicit a cardinal a year; they get peculiar assistants to assistance them sell. The busiest clip was the day merchantability wherever nonrecreational women from each implicit the state would marque appointments astatine our store with these associates to travel and prime up their apparel oregon person them shipped out."

"Customers were mostly pleasant astatine Nordstrom, though I did person a antheral effort to travel to instrumentality a brace of shoes from 1993. And yes, I did it. But lone gave him the worth of what they’re worthy today. Oh, and I met Michael Kors's ma erstwhile she came successful to contiguous a caller enactment of his."

—30, California

10. "Saw Christian Slater astatine an creation store I worked at. One of the featured paintings was of him from Heathers. He said he'd bargain it if I could springiness him a discount."

—34, Texas

11. "I had a lawsuit who would bargain 3 of the aforesaid point — 1 for his wife, the different 2 for his broadside pieces. He said he'd bargain the aforesaid things truthful helium didn't hide who helium gave which point oregon get confused and stroke his cover. And determination were many, galore of these guys who would bash the same. We besides had a batch of currency purchases that usually inactive had cause residue connected the bills."

—39, Pennsylvania

12. "I worked successful a women’s boutique successful an affluent country extracurricular of San Francisco. It was casual to separate the affluent from the affluent by however they treated our income associates erstwhile the proprietor wasn’t around. Rich customers were immoderate of the rudest and astir insufferable radical I person ever encountered portion moving retail. I’ve had footwear boxes thrown astatine maine and afloat glasses of vino spilled connected decorator handbags without arsenic overmuch arsenic an apology. In contrast, the genuinely WEALTHY were the astir unassuming and appreciative."

"We got a batch of lonely housewives of tech millionaires (and billionaires) coming into our store regularly conscionable to chat for an hr oregon 2 betwixt rotation classes and spa breaks. They were an implicit pleasure."

—30, California

13. "Not needfully 'luxury,' but I sold high-end decorator watches erstwhile and had a lawsuit travel successful whose English was wanting. The subordinate who was helping her became frustrated astatine this and asked maine to instrumentality over. Turned out, the lawsuit ended up practically clearing the counters! A small patience goes a agelong way."

"Also, turns out...some associates bargain up recently released products, oregon fell them 'in the back,' to merchantability connected eBay."

—conscientiousobservers

14. "I worked astatine a ample luxury section store successful the UK, and the customers who didn't person wealth were truthful rude. We had a fewer regulars who would travel successful and bargain the unusual candle oregon decorator jumper each present and then, and if you couldn't crook everything to their whim, they would go truthful assertive it was unreal. The customers who would regularly bash ample orders with america oregon were buying with america daily, however, were immoderate of the nicest, astir polite radical I've ever met. One day, adjacent to Christmas, we had a household travel successful with their children who proceeded to perfectly terrorize the store. When we approached them and told them they needed to power their children, they screamed that they were spending a batch of wealth and didn't person to bash thing we asked. They spent astir £200 connected the cheapest things they could find successful store."

"Our adjacent lawsuit came successful with children, too, and 1 of them broke a alternatively costly vase by mishap and proceeded to panic rather a bit. She calmed him down portion her different children stood softly looking astatine toys. She insisted connected paying for the harm (I knew it wouldn't beryllium overmuch for her), but we told her she truly didn't person to since it was an accident. She proceeded to bargain each azygous unit subordinate a vessel of our champion champagne (around £600) and wished america a Merry Christmas. I consciousness similar it shows you don't get anyplace successful beingness without being bully to people."

—canunotmywaywardson

15. "I worked astatine Rolex for precisely 30 days during engaged play arsenic their 'ambassador,' meaning I was each income person's income adjunct and the store manager's idiosyncratic assistant. Any clip idiosyncratic would travel successful and beryllium down to sermon a purchase, it was my occupation to connection fancy java and sparkling water; I'd past instrumentality down the order, tally crossed the thoroughfare to the boutique java shop, chopped the line, and wage thing (because Rolex had a limitless tab acceptable up). When I wasn't doing that, I would beryllium handed the boss's Amex and car keys and told to spell buying for his vacation gifting with a vague absorption of 'this high-end store, nary much than this amount' (which was usually a mates grand)."

"Celebs and different well-known millionaires came successful astatine slightest erstwhile a day, and there were ever stacks of cash — similar an only-see-in-movies magnitude of currency — successful the backmost aft ample sales."

—30, California

16. "There are demanding customers — particularly the ones who unreal that they person the wealth but don't. Many of the repetition customers, particularly socialites, often bargain costly outfits to deterioration to a fundraiser oregon large lawsuit and instrumentality them a fewer days aboriginal for each sorts of unusual reasons. These ladies can't beryllium seen successful the aforesaid outfit again, truthful they perpetually deterioration and instrumentality garments. One time, a woman returned an costly decorator formal and claimed that she hadn't worn it, but was caught successful a prevarication erstwhile the salesperson showed her a representation of her successful it from the nine file of a newspaper. She was stunned and said that she had forgotten what she had worn to that event. I've seen women effort connected costly apparel and propulsion them successful the country of the dressing country alternatively of hanging the garment backmost connected the rack oregon laying it connected the seat successful the room. There were women who would bargain the aforesaid garment determination other connected merchantability and instrumentality it to store to get a afloat terms refund."

"There were ever women who ordered apparel during decorator motortruck shows and not amusement up to wage for garments erstwhile they arrive. And the astir disgusting happening I witnessed was women who would deterioration and instrumentality costly handbags and/or garments with stains connected them and sometimes smelled similar atrocious assemblage odor. I've seen it all!"

—Anonymous, 50s