I Pulled A Pretty Woman...And The Sales Woman Deserved It

This is one of the most iconic moments in chick flick history:



Today I had my very own Pretty Woman moment (albeit not as extreme).

I was enjoying a wonderful afternoon at Chanel housed at The Bay downtown Montreal. I had an appointment with the national makeup artist representative who was visiting the location to do a weekend of makeovers and pre-release viewing for the new Chanel Summer 2010 collection, Les Pop-Up de Chanel. I thoroughly enjoyed myself as I am quite friendly with a few of the sales representatives and my makeup application was flawless and informative. They had run out of smaller bags so I was given a medium sized bag for my little goodies. Little did I know that this bag would help me garner revenge on a rude sales associate less than an hour later.

I have been on the the hunt for the perfect dress to wear to  my university convocation ceremony that is just over a month away (even though I graduated December 2009, all the ceremonies are in June). The Bay was having a 30-40% off sale on designer dresses so I scurried my Chanel laden self up to women's wear and began to prowl through the selections. I quickly amassed an armload of 8+ dresses when a mature aged sales associate asked if she could start a room for me. I gratefully relinquished my load and continued browsing while she squirreled my selections away in one of her rooms (the sales associates work on commission in this section and are assigned dressing rooms).

As I continued to browse I found four more dresses to add to my selections when the sales associate returned. She looked at me from the top of my head to the tips of my toes and snidely asked "You don't really need all those dresses, do you?" Now first I should clarify that her first language was French and that we had been swtiching back and forth between English and French during our short interaction up to this point. I was ready to chalk up this odd question to a translation faux pas but I was quickly proven wrong.

She continued, "You know, if you pull all these dresses and don't really need them, we have to put them all away." Well that zipped my spine up like a steel rod and I immediately responded by saying, "In fact, I am in need of several dresses so a selection of styles and colours is exactly what I need." The minute she turned her back and sashayed away I grabbed a handful of random dresses in an assortment of sizes that I knew would NEVER fit just to be spiteful. I know! I know! It was childish and petty, but this woman was being a downer to my Chanel high. But the was not the end. Oh Lawdy no! It was just the beginning.

With my newest additions (and yes, some revenge pieces) I was escorted to my dressing room and informed that she had divided the dresses by ease of dressing: slip on dresses vs zip-up dresses. As is customary, she informed me that if I required assistance with a zipper, just to call her. Already I was feeling guilty for my childish actions of pulling the other dresses since she had so graciously prepared my room. My guilt would be short-lived.

Approximately two minutes later she returned asking if I needed help zipping or if she could take anything away. "Um, I am just trying out the first dress. I am alright for now, thank you" I replied. I heard her scurry away and continued with my task. Five minutes later-SUCCESS! I found a Jones New York dress that I absolutely fell in love with and that was very flattering on my full-bodied figure. I was able to zip-up myself but I needed help unzipping. I opened the door just as the sales associate was bracing to knock. Before I could even open my mouth she asked "Can I have the dresses you don't want?"

Well.

I handed over the few dresses I had the chance to try in the short time frame that I wasn't happy with and asked her if she could, please, unzip the dress half way for me. Her response? "Well, I did come by a few minutes ago to offer my assistance, but you didn't want it." I gaped at her for a full 30 seconds before responding, "I had no trouble zipping the dress up but I could use a hand now unless you want me to stay in  the dress." That snapped her into action as she brusquely unzipped me and went on her merry way. Needless to say, this woman was getting my blood pressure boiling but I decided to stay focused.

Like clockwork she knocked on my door five minutes later (which brings my grand total to 15minutes and 6 dresses tried) and said that she had pulled some dresses for me. I said thank you and one moment because I was not yet decent (read: I was standing in my skivies with a dress in my hand). Apparently that was not an adequate response because she decides to UNLOCK THE BLASTED DOOR! Well call me greased lightening, but I was on that door faster than bees on honey, just managing to stop her from flinging it open. She passed me the dresses through the small opening that I was allowing with my foot and then huffed away. I was starting to see a cyclical pattern so I started to move faster in fear that she would catch me au natural again.

Five minutes later and 4 dresses left to go, the predictable knocking at the door arrived. This was how our conversation went:

Sales Associate: "How much longer will you be?"
Me: "I have four more dresses to try..."
Sales Associate: "Ok, so, two more minutes?"
Me: "Probably more because I have four more dresses to try."
Sales Associate: "Well, I have another client I want to put in this room, so if you could please hurry."
Me: Silence. Anger. Flame spitting.

Glaring at the door, I jerked my clothes back on, grabbed the two dresses I liked and stalked out the door. I didn't bother trying the other four dresses because I refused to be subjected to such rude service for one minute longer. I walked past the sales associate without acknowledging her and went directly to the cash register where I asked the girl there to process my purchases. Well, Ms High-and-Mighty came running and said that I was her client and she would process the sale (read: hands off my commission!).

Now comes the part that I am a little proud of and a little ashamed of. I reached down at my feet where I had placed my Chanel bag that had thus far not been noticed. I purposefully placed it on the counter in the direct line of vision of the sales associate. Her eyes remained glued to that bag for several seconds before she became flushed and manifested a new personality.

Sales associate: "Well, my dear, is there anything else I can help you with? Shoes perhaps?"
Me: "That won't be necessary."
Sales Associate: "Only two dresses? You can always get that other one you were looking at and then bring it back if it doesn't work out."
Me: "I don't need three dresses. I am happy with my choices." Listen darlin', I am not going to help you pass your sales quota for the day. Just process my sale so I can get out of here.
Sales Associate: "Do you have any other plans for this evening?"
Me: "No. May I have my receipt please?"
Sales Associate: "Oh yes, of course. Have a wonderful day."
Me: "Mm-hmm."

That was probably the rudest I have ever been in my life, but I was ticked off. Looking back I wish I had been a bigger person and not acted so petty. I can not figure out why she was so rude to me. Not that it should matter, but I was dressed quite nicely for my Chanel appointment, I was a typical Canadian (please, thank you), I didn't dawdle, and I wasn't demanding.

On a brighter note, I found two dresses at a lovely discount.