KC Concepcion has a cautionary tale for people venturing into mega luxury stores while shopping abroad.
She also has a piece of advice on how to deal with snotty salespersons as she recalled her own encounter with one of them at a Saint Laurent boutique in Los Angeles, California.
The 35-year-old actress-turned-jewelry designer did not mention when it happened, but she detailed it out in the second episode of her three-part bag collection vlog on YouTube dated December 29, 2020. This was the part when she was showing her YSL Cassandre tassel bag in black suede leather and the Classic Monogram Clutch bag in crocodile-embossed calfskin leather.
KC recounted, "I bought these in L.A., and the salesperson looked at me and said, 'Oh, you're looking for YSL purses? YSL purses are very expensive.'
"Sabi ko, 'Yes, I am. I would just like to see them. I wanna see what you have and I wanna see what's in store.' [Sabi niya], 'Yes, but they're very expensive.'
"Then sabi ko, 'I'm not asking if they're expensive or not expensive. I'm asking to see the designs.' 'Okay, which one do you wanna see? Suede or leather?'
"[Sabi ko], 'Both. I just wanna see what you have.'"
KC remembered the salesperson telling her that the larger bags were pricier, implying she could not afford them, and insisted on showing her a smaller "less expensive" version of the bags.
She continued, "And then, pinakita niya sa akin yung suede. Pinakita niya yung parang maliit na version. Sabi niya, 'That's less expensive than that other one.'
"Sabi ko, obsessed siya, girl, obsessed siya sa kung magkano. Hindi ko pa nga tinatanong kung magkano. Hindi ko pa nga alam kung gusto ko 'tapos sasabihin mo na sa akin na mahal. So tinignan ko na lang, and then sabi ko, 'Okay, I'm not asking for the price yet because I have to decide if I like what it makes me feel.' Pagkatapos, tinignan niya ako, sabi niya, 'What it makes you feel?' Sabi niya, 'Well, you don't have to know about the price?' Sabi ko, 'I'm not asking for the price. I'm asking to see what designs you have.'
"So they showed me the mini version of this and the mini version of this and I liked both in the larger version. I asked for it and they answered me by saying, 'Oh, it's too expensive.'"
At this point, KC had enough of the salesperson's bad attitude. She asked for another sales assistant.
She said, "Long story short, I didn't give the commission to this guy... he was gay. And, fortunately, all my best friends are gay. I just didn't think it was right. I didn't think it was proper. You hear about these stories all the time and you hear about customers getting that treatment. I honestly don't even know what the issue was. He was obsessed about how much things cost before I could even decide if I like the design.
"I think as a buyer, I'm very emotional. I still want to connect with the piece before I buy it and ask for the price. If I liked it so much, I would have bought it for whatever price, which I did. So, I don't think he was doing a really good job being a salesperson." She added, "If I own the boutique, I would never hire him. Anyway, the commission went to someone else."
KC then offered how to put snooty salespersons at luxury stores in their place, "Never let that person get the commission. Ask for someone else, walk away, and have someone else earn from your purchase. Or just, you know, go to another store and buy from them and make sure that the salesperson is super nice and genuinely kind to you. So that way, you know, if they get the commission, they can feed their families. They can have a really good time with whatever they earn from."
*This story originally appeared on Pep.ph. Minor edits have been made by the Preview.ph editors.
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