ESPRIT Store Palladium

Nevím, co na tohle říct. Na obchodě mě prodavačky ani nechtěly pozdravit. Špatná atmosféra. ? Necítila jsem se tam vůbec dobře.

relaxed shopping and friendly staff

1980s brand clothing known for bold colors and shapeless tops that can make skinny people look overweight. TBH, some of their styles are quite nice... but I don’t understand how half of the photos in the store are men & women wearing frumpy sweaters & the other half are the same models in skinny jeans.

I've never written online reviews but I was so appalled by my experience at Esprit Palladium, Prague this evening (Fri 27th Sep 2019) that I believe it needs to be shared. I use a travel Visa card on my travels for purchases. At first I pulled out this card to pay, then remembered that my bank only offers a limited number of currencies on this card - not including CZK. I only arrived in Czech yesterday & have up until now been using cash but I was running a bit low, with only 1 more half day here after today. ***I then remembered that my bank advised before my travels I could still use my usual credit card in Czech. So I pulled this out & selected the CZK currency, as my bank said that the conversion using AUD would be much higher. The guy behind the counter told me that it had been declined, "maybe because there wasn't enough money in there" or some comment much to that effect. 1. This is my first problem. It might have been an off hand comment from him but I felt like he was making a judgement based on my travel clothes. FYI, didn't catch his name but he had dark hair & was a little stocky, my finances are in ship shape. My credit card was fully paid & regularly is. It's more of a convenience thing with rewards & demonstrating that you have a good credit history to e.g. buy properties... But I digress. Regardless of any customer's financial situation, it. Was. Not. His. Place. To. Judge. So I requested, kindly I will add, that he try again & I would try the AUD option - just in case that was the reason because at this stage I had no idea what the problem was. We had been travelling/doing touristy things all day & I was tired. To my alarm, the AUD option also didn't work. After a little while it finally occurred to me that I probably still had the lock on for international transactions on the card, just to help reduce the risk of fraudulent use should it be stolen. I have read & been told that pickpocketing is not uncommon in Prague. I explained this to him but it seemed like he didn't want to have anymore to do with this, so I moved aside to unlock this setting on my phone. Once this was done I then moved up to the counter & this time a girl, also dark long hair in a ?plaited ponytail & stocky build, served me. 2. This is my second beef. I explained what had happened & she stated, sometimes the currency conversion doesn't work. This is inaccurate info. 3. She was very, very reluctant to let me try again. I felt like I had to plead with her! Fortunately (or not because by this stage I was quite embarrassed by the way we were being treated), this time, the card worked. Esprit closed all its stores in Australia about ?2 yrs ago & they do not offer international shipping. I used to love the brand for its timeless styling (although I do feel like the styling is not as good as it used to be & might've had a hand in the decline in Australian & NZ sales) & was a platinum member. If the access to the brand's clothing was not so difficult, I would have just left the items & walked out of there - because upper management needs to review & act on this appalling customer service.

Just went to Esprit Palladium today evening. One shop assistant could not speak English (it’s fine, even though strange, for being where it is), the other one was rude beyond words. “it’s your problem what you buy” was particularly distasteful. Never more Esprit Palladium!

Very friendly and smiling persons! They are patient and give you good advises! If you are not sure, just ask Anet or Tereza, they will be glad to help you ?

Honestly, I had never in my life encountered such unfriendly staff until today. The sales assistants were unwilling to help, no customer service whatsoever. Your loss. Perhaps the store manager should pay more attention to the reviews here.

Rude, unprofessional and apparently xenophobic staff. I came to return an item and faced a bunch of snorting ladies that could barely communicate in English. At any question they would roll their eyes and angrily mumble something in Czech. Shouldn't be the case in a city center of a European capital.