#GASP! Fashion Bitchfight Slapped Down in Social Media

  Unapologetic Gasp Jeans worn by Katy Perry, Kim Kardashian and Selena Gomez has gone beyond offending customers, they have enflamed social media with a series of emails that went viral this week.Keara O'Neil found something uglier than a bad bridesmaid dress when shopping for her bridesmaids and hen's night in Chapel St's Gasp store.  Initially helpful, her retail assistant soon resorted to plain old bullying tactics.  With an insincere mocking attitude, he pressured her to buy and insulted her size when a zip didn't do up.  After reproach from one of her bridal party, he replied "I knew you were a joke from the moment you walked in."  Not surprisingly, two other disgusted customers left with Keara's bridesmaids.Unfortunately, after complaining, Keara O'Neil discovered his supercilious behaviour was not just enculturated, it was encouraged. "Chris's only problem is that he is too good at what he does... Chris is a retail superstar...He knew you were not going to buy anything even before you left your house."Written by Matt Chidgey, his self importance appears to filter from the top down." Our range is worn by A list celebrities to the likes of Kim Kardashian, Selena Gomez and Katy Perry...priced as such so that they remain unaccessible to the undesirable.... So if you would like to do us any favours, please do not waste our retail staffs time." Unsurprisingly, this letter was written by the same man who finds it funny to ridicule his customers on his own facebook page.The emails quickly went viral and a statement released by Gasp goes on further to belittle the consumer.  "We respect that not all consumers strive for a glamorous appearance; some prefer to simply blend in. We respect and welcome all customers whom wish to visit our store, even though the intention to buy may not exist.  But we ask that their opinions be expressed through blogs, social media or around a warm latte, but certainly not inside our stores."Big mistake.Social Media's primary function as a channel is to facilitate open dialogue.  In the customer service sector, it's used to fix faults efficiently, collect customer complaints and provide prompt conflict resolution.  Used effectively, it creates positive brand lift, greater customer satisfaction and excellent PR.  Throwaway comments like these demonstrates a pervasive ignorance of blog and social culture that I would expect from some industries.  But not fashion.We're supposed to champion our bloggers and celebrate twitter.  We like our trends a year in advance and we've embraced social media culture from the first facebook page.  Quite frankly, such arrogance is not only demeaning, it's embarassing.And it's a mistake Gasp is paying for dearly.  Already their Facebook page has been inundated with public outrage, they are struggling to delete comments as fast as they are posted. Blog responses like this demonstrate their scathing and the twitter hashtag #Gasp has been trending in Australia for days.  We Hate Gasp facebook page had attracted 719 likes at the time this blog was posted.  Celeb's are showing their teeth in America and Ruby Rose's tweet was quoted by the UK's Daily Mail "I am actually laughing.. I can't believe gasp called themselves fashion forward.. Sweetheart you sell polyester dresses u ain't no Prada"Everyone has at some point had an encounter with "one of those" shop assistants.  They look you up and down with a face that screams, "My god, how dare you?!" or a turned up nose that better befits a biker who has accidentally flicked up fresh dog poo on their face. They slip you a sarky smile, but refuse to greet you. The king or queen of the counter.   Worse yet, they slide over, much as a barracuda swims toward a pre-dinner treat; armed to the teeth with false flattery and aggressive sales techniques.Dear Matt and Chris,  while you might be patting yourself on the back for all the attention you're attracting, what you've failed to understand (including how and when to use the word "whom") is the perpetuity of social media. The days of saying any publicity is good publicity are over.  The smell of bad service and cruel customer treatment will linger on your clothes for as long as you remain in business.  Your cheap shots and lack of respect for consumers and social media have enflamed the entire world.  News travels fast in social media.  So congratulations, you are now the perfect example of how to set a trend.A twitter trend, on how not to sell clothes and bad social media management.UPDATE October 5th 2011:  It would appear that the Chapel St store is closing down.  Matt's inaccessible pricing is currently suffering an identity crisis with 50 % off.  Retail superstar Chris will no doubt be snapped up by some equally service savvy store.  We Hate Gasp has 1203 likes. Read the emails going viral below in full:Email by Keara O’Neil to GASP:I had the privilege of shopping at your brand new Chapel St store on Saturday 24th September with my three bridesmaids in tow. On the hunt for bridesmaids dresses and a hens dress for myself we walked into the store and were automatically pounced on by a male staff member, I understand that this is protocol for many retail outlets and ours is no different.The staff member was initially funny and extremely helpful with sizes etc. I chose a bright pink dress to try on but was unable to do the zip up so asked for the size up, when I eventually got the correct size and came out of the change room I was unable to discuss the likes or dislikes of the dress with my bridesmaids as the sales assistant kept saying “you should just get it”, when I told him I would think about it, he pulled me aside and whispered “Is it the price your worried about”. By now I was extremely frustrated, and again told him I’d think about it, I walked back into the change room and closed the door behind me, only to have it pushed open with the sales assistant half standing in my change room, again whispering “I think you should just get it”, when I gave him attitude and said rudely, “I already told you I would think about it”, he then replied, “With your figure I really think you should buy it”.I’m not sure exactly what he meant by that, but considering the attitude used to deliver such a statement I can only imagine that it was an immature dig in relation to my healthy size 12 frame. I got changed in a hurry and walked right out of the change rooms and out of the store, I could hear the sales assistant yelling out to me, but I just ignored him and continued to leave, assuming my bridesmaids would follow. After waiting down the road for my bridesmaids to come out of the store I was told by one of them that the sales assistant yelled out “Have fun finding something at Supre”, when one of them approached him in regards to his comments, he replied “I knew you girls were a joke the minute you walked in”. When my bridesmaids walked out of the store another two customers walked out with them, they too could not believe the immaturity of the sales assistant.I have worked in retail for 12 years and have come across an array of customer complaints over the years, none of which come even close to what I encountered on Saturday at your store, I wish I was exaggerating but unfortunately for your company this person actually exists and is working in one of your stores. I am pretty laid back and was quite happy just leaving your store, it was my bridesmaids who felt the need to say something to him………I dread to think how many customers he has not only offended but how many customers have left your store due to the pressure placed on getting the sale, and then to be harassed when that sale hasn’t taken place.Ring me, don’t ring, not fussed………I’m just one retailer notifying another of an extremely inappropriate sales assistant.Keara O'Neil Response by GASP area manager Matthew Chidgey: Dear Keara O’Neil,Having now had the privilege of having both version of events, I am now in a position to respond to your complaint.From the very outset, one thing that you should be mindful of is; Our product offerings are very, very carefully selected, so to ensure that we do not appeal to a broad customer base. This is something which is always at the forefront of our minds when undertaking buying duties.The reason for this is to ensure that we only carry products which appeal to a very fashion forward consumer. This by default means that the customer whom is acclimatised to buying from “clothing for the masses” type retailers, is almost frightened by our range, sometimes we have found that this type of customer, almost finds our dresses funny, and on occasion noted comments such as 'it looks like a dead flamingo'. When we receive comments like this, we like to give ourselves and our buyers, a big pat on the back, because we know we are doing our job right, and modus operandi is being upheld.Our range is worn by A list celebrities to the likes of Kim Kardashian, Selena Gomez and Katy Perry to name only a few. Now, as one might appreciate, the style counsel for these types of celebrities are not ones to pick “run of the mill” type clothing, and they do so on the basis to ensure that the styles are cutting edge, and only worn by a select few. Similarly these items are priced such that they remain inaccessible to the undesirable.Insofar as our employee goes; Similar to our product offerings, our employees are selected with a similar approach. Chris whom served you is a qualified stylist whom has a sixth sense for fashion, and Chris’s only problem is that he is too good at what he does, and as I am sure you are aware, people whom are talented, generally do not tolerate having their time wasted, which is the reason you were provoked to leave the store.Whilst I concede that you work for chain retailer, unfortunately that does not make us like for like. It is probably fair to assume, a lot of what I have said in this email, either doesn’t make sense to you, or you totally disagree with it all, which is what I would expect (unless of course I have you totally wrong – which I doubt).Let me guess, you would never, ever hire Chris in the course of your duty, would you? This is the very reason, why your comment “from one retailer to another” is so disproportionate, it’s almost as though we are in a totally different industries. Chris is a retail superstar, who possess unparalleled ability, and I am sorry you feel upset by him, but he knew you were not going to buy anything before you even left your house.So if you would like to do us any favours, please do not waste our retail staff’s time, because as you have already seen, they will not tolerate it. I am sure there are plenty of shops that appease your taste, so I respectfully ask that you side step our store during future window shopping expeditions.Thank you for your enquiry.