Retail Confessions: Bergdorf Goodman

"I've never seen that kind of wealth in my life."

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When I started this “Retail Confessions” series, which features anonymous interviews with retail workers designed to provide a window into fashion consumers’ shopping habits, I asked what stores you wanted to hear about. So today, by popular demand, I am pleased to publish an installment on Bergdorf Goodman.

Photo by Lerone Pieters on Unsplash

The New York City department store is known as one of the best, most exclusive luxury fashion retailers in the world. I spoke to two people who worked at Bergdorf within the past decade. Both worked with the store’s stylists, who sell millions’ of dollars worth of fashion to some of the world’s wealthiest people each year. I hope you find their stories as fascinating as I did. If there are other stores you’d like to hear about — or if you’d like to share your retail experiences anonymously for future installments — reply to this email or DM me on Instagram. I have been focusing on luxury stores, but will likely soon open this series up to a range of categories.

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Worker 1

Bergdorf Goodman isn’t just a store, it’s an iconic luxury retail mecca with a maybe-also-iconic restaurant. What was it like to work there?

I've never seen that kind of wealth in my life.

There are seven floors in the building and we were not allowed to use the escalators because we had to run around so quickly for our clients that if we got caught behind a customer using the escalator, we would have to wait, and that was just unacceptable. So we'd have to climb the stairs in the back. Whatever they needed, they needed it ten minutes ago. It was kind of a rule — don't speak unless spoken to. Obviously be friendly and serve them water, get them champagne, get them whatever lunch they want to order. And if the kitchen was taking its time, it was our job, in between gathering the clothing for them, to run down and see what was going on and then serve it to them as well.

What surprised you about the job?

I am a very bubbly person and I had been in customer service [for years], but this is not your regular customer service. So when someone would come in, I initially would be like, “Hello, how are you? How's your day?” And immediately that was nipped in the bud. Like, absolutely do not say hello. Put a smile on your face, give them what they want, and then get the hell out. I don’t know why. They were just too rich to talk to me.