Forbes.com 07.05.07
Dany Roussel, a personal shopper at Canadian luxury department store Holt Renfrew, has had his fair share of bizarre requests from clients.
"The other day, a guy called me up in panic about a tight-fitting tuxedo he had to wear for a black-tie event," he says. "He wasn't sure what type of underwear he should wear with the pants, so I sent five different options to his apartment."
Decades ago, personal shopping was a fee-based service luxury department stores provided for wealthy women. Now retailers have actively started to target men, offering free wardrobe consulting and personal shopping services for anyone who needs help choosing a suit or coordinating the color of a belt to a pair of shoes. To remain competitive, personal shopping departments will go to great lengths to make sure clients keep coming back to their store.
"It's not just about the hard sell anymore," says Ann Finn, head of men's personal shopping at Brown Thomas in Dublin, Ireland. "If a client genuinely needs advice on what to wear or how to put a look together, we spend as much time needed to make sure they are satisfied--even if it means taking a phone call from him at 2 a.m."