SouthPark Mall

[moving uptown]

The bobcats and rockets play tomorrow (friday)

thanks - i was told we were playing the suns - thanks for clearing that up

[mljones99]

Billy Reid opens tomorrow. The wall is down and the store looks really nice. When i was there earlier none of the fixtures or merchandise was in teh store but I asked a friend of mine will be working there and she said all the merch. is being prepped in the Juicy location while they finish the finishing touches. should be open by 10am tomorrow.

[monsoon]

I went into this mall for the first time since 2000 or 2001. I don't really remember when. It was a bit disconcerting to see how much it has changed as it is completely unrecognizable from those days. And if you had seen it in 1985 when it still had a Woolworth's, a cafeteria right in the center and those shag carpet structurs with the TVs buried in them, it would be shocking. I would vote for this being the most changed structure in Charlotte that wasn't completely torn down and rebuilt.

[atlrvr]

If only Simon could be convinced to buy up all of Charlotte's older, underperforming properties, and put that kind of money renovating them and retenanting them. They have done a remarkable job at the mall.

[DigitalSky]

I went into this mall for the first time since 2000 or 2001. I don't really remember when. It was a bit disconcerting to see how much it has changed as it is completely unrecognizable from those days. And if you had seen it in 1985 when it still had a Woolworth's, a cafeteria right in the center and those shag carpet structurs with the TVs buried in them, it would be shocking. I would vote for this being the most changed structure in Charlotte that wasn't completely torn down and rebuilt.

yeah this is Charlotte's own Extreme Makeover.

[Temeteron]

I remember when Banana Republic was the most expensive store there.....and Belk was the most expensive department store....now its probably Louis Vuitton and Neiman Marcus

[Manolos]

I would say Hermes has a wider range to be more expensive, but depending on the collection that Hermes will stock, LV will probably still be more expensive overall.

[StevenRocks]

I went into this mall for the first time since 2000 or 2001. I don't really remember when. It was a bit disconcerting to see how much it has changed as it is completely unrecognizable from those days. And if you had seen it in 1985 when it still had a Woolworth's, a cafeteria right in the center and those shag carpet structurs with the TVs buried in them, it would be shocking. I would vote for this being the most changed structure in Charlotte that wasn't completely torn down and rebuilt.

It's for the best overall. The old SouthPark wouldn't have lasted very long in the modern retail market. Moving upscale gave it a chance at survival that staying middle-market wouldn't have provided.

[appatone]

I went to SP to check out the new stores. Went to Billy Reid. It's really laid back. Not only did EVERY sales accociate talk to me but Billy Reid himself was there. He hung up my coat, offerd me a beer and, had a conversation with me. One of the guys there said they want to have local art events and other events with local bands. Very welcoming place, when I walked in they had no idea whether or not I could afford a sock. They didn't seem to care. I wasn't dressed to impress either. I wound up with a pair of jeans, everything in the store is handmade.

[DigitalSky]

I went to SP to check out the new stores. Went to Billy Reid. It's really laid back. Not only did EVERY sales accociate talk to me but Billy Reid himself was there. He hung up my coat, offerd me a beer and, had a conversation with me. One of the guys there said they want to have local art events and other events with local bands. Very welcoming place, when I walked in they had no idea whether or not I could afford a sock. They didn't seem to care. I wasn't dressed to impress either. I wound up with a pair of jeans, everything in the store is handmade.

Talk about service. If you don't mind me asking, how much were the jeans?

[PlazaMidwoodGuy]

I went to SP to check out the new stores. Went to Billy Reid. It's really laid back. Not only did EVERY sales accociate talk to me but Billy Reid himself was there. He hung up my coat, offerd me a beer and, had a conversation with me. One of the guys there said they want to have local art events and other events with local bands. Very welcoming place, when I walked in they had no idea whether or not I could afford a sock. They didn't seem to care. I wasn't dressed to impress either. I wound up with a pair of jeans, everything in the store is handmade.

Yeah, the Billy Reid store is great and I think it's a wonderful addition to SouthPark....even more so than some of the more "well known" stores, just because it adds a nice dose of cool understatement without all the flash and glitz. Of course, I can't actually AFFORD anything there! I agree that the associates were very friendly and Billy was there the day I went in, too. I really do have to admit I'm pretty jazzed about the fact that, other than the store in his Alabama hometown, Charlotte is where he chose to open his first store outside of Texas.

Now about the hooch they serve there....how do they get away with that? I love it, but I don't understand how it's allowed.

Edited December 19, 2006 by PlazaMidwoodGuy

[mljones99]

Just so everyone knows, Herm

[PlazaMidwoodGuy]

You don't need a liquor license if you aren't selling it for a profit, from my understanding. since they are giving it away, no need for one.

Oh, just like at MY house. I guess that makes sense....thanks!

[StevenRocks]

Just so everyone knows, Herm

[mallguy]

I tried to buy some things at Neiman Marcus today and the experience was extremely frustrating. Once the salesperson was almost done ringing them up, he realized that they were on "presale" and so the prices on the tags weren't valid until a few days from now, and for some reason since I was paying with cash the process was even more complicated.

There are some signs in the store stating, "certain items are on presale; for more details check with a sales agent" but when I can't go in a store and buy an item for the price on the tag, and if the process of paying for items takes days of waiting and all sorts of complications, I'm just going to shop elsewhere.

I was also wearning clothes from Saks and Bergdorf's, so I hopefully didn't come across as a hick from the sticks, but I just felt like a 6-year old being lectured and given instructions by a condescending principal, and I felt as if the store thought it was doing me a favor by giving me the ability to have the hope of having some Neiman Marcus merchandise eventually.

So I gave up and will keep shopping at Nordstrom, where salespeople have gone out of their way to make it easy to buy things, such as having other stores ship (for free) merchandise on sale to me even though the merchandise wasn't available in Charlotte.

Edited January 6, 2007 by mallguy

[turbocraig]

Its funny you say that. A couple of months ago, friends of mine were in town from Wilmington and one bought a pair of Prada shoes at NM. He paid with a check and said he'd never shop there again. The sales guy kept going into the back, then out again, then back to the floor for some other piece of information, then he darted into the back again. The whole process took about 10-15mins (no exaggeration). It was pretty ridiculous.

I've bought a couple things from there and just paid with an Amex and it was cut and dry enough. Something about paper currency must throw their systems into a tizzy. Too bad.

[mallguy]

Thanks for sharing that experience- interesting.

And why are the dressing room doors locked, and you have to go to a salesperson to ask him/her to unlock them? And that, at 6pm?

If I ran a department store, I'd just have self check-out lanes at the exits and would have salespeople at help stations at various places in the store. Shopping has to be made as easy as possible to get impulse buyers and people like me to buy things!

Edited January 6, 2007 by mallguy

[turbocraig]

Well, most stores have locked dressing rooms (not sure if you were referring solely to NM), but I get your drift. Maybe they feel that all the pomp and circumstance is befitting the premium "buying experience" they offer, but in reality, it just serves to tick people off. The friend I spoke about is a partner in his CPA firm and the biggest label-whore I've ever met. He's definitely Neiman's target audience and they lost his business on the first try.

Its sad that they don't realize for their some of their clientele, time is of the essence, and they really need to get with it. We were actually parked outside NM and were on our way out of the mall to catch dinner reservations. The men's shoe dept is right near that exit and that's the only reason the shoes caught his eye to begin with. In our case, it wasn't a matter of some Ballantyne housewife with all day to burn trying to buy some Prada. We had somewhere to be! (No offense to any B'tyne housewives with time and money to burn that may be reading this post).

Edited January 6, 2007 by turbocraig

[mallguy]

Thanks again for sharing. Also, why on Earth does NM not take Visa and Mastercard? I know the rationale is that those two systems sell cardholder information, but (1) other premium merchants take those cards and there aren't any material adverse consequences I'm aware of and (2) most everyone who shops at Neiman Marcus has a Visa or Mastercard anyway, so if cardholder information is going to be sold, it'll be sold, and the cardholder will be affected whether or not the holder makes an additional purchase at NM. I assume that this is just one more example I've had of Neiman Marcus being difficult and trying to make being difficult seem like a "premium" customer experience?

I'd SO much rather have a Lord & Taylor or Parisian or Saks in that Neiman Marcus anchor space, after today. Or even a Target!

[turbocraig]

Your hypothesis about MC/VI selling data through other retailers does make sense, so why not accept it? Steven may be able to offer a more accurate explanation, but I honestly think that NM doesn't take MC or VI because they see them as "credit for the masses" and not worthy of Neiman Marcus. Just my $0.02.

[mallguy]

Your hypothesis about MC/VI selling data through other retailers does make sense, so why not accept it? Steven may be able to offer a more accurate explanation, but I honestly think that NM doesn't take MC or VI because they see them as "credit for the masses" and not worthy of Neiman Marcus. Just my $0.02.

I think you're 100% on point. Thinking about this, privacy laws (e.g., Gramm-Leach-Bliley) apply to financial institutions and block them from selling data that identifies customers, and I'd think those laws would also apply to Visa and MC.

StevenRocks, with your valuable retail words of wisdom, any thoughts on this?

[appatone]

Wow, it sounds like you guys are getting really involved with the whole NM thing. It sounds like just plain old bad customer service to me. They need to make sure their sales agents are quicker, more prepared and, friendlier. Seems like that would fix it.

As far as checking yourself out... Come on Mallguy. I can't tell if you

[StevenRocks]

StevenRocks, with your valuable retail words of wisdom, any thoughts on this?

Most credit card companies sell customer information to other compasnies unless expressly asked not to by individual cardholders or companies. NM has an agreement with American Express that protects its customers from direct mailing list sales, though it's still possible to buy lists from the three major credit bureaus. Long story short: Neiman's tries, but you're probably still going to get junk mail, just nicer junk mail

Anyway, NM is the last department store to not directly accept Visa and MasterCard chainwide (though they do on their website and in Las Vegas). Most didn't accept bank cards until the '70s, with Macy's and Lord & Taylor holding out considerably longer than the competition.

I don't know how I feel about it. I have a couple of AmEx cards and I plan on getting a NM card when I pay off my other store cards, so paying with the preferred methods isn't really a big deal to me, but I can understand the feeling of others that are inconvenienced by NM's byzantine payment processes.

A few years ago, an NM in Washington took my Visa without incident, and my understanding is that they will work with you if you alert them in advance and allow you to use other payment methods, but this policy may have changed for the worse in the interim.

Concerning the pre-sale and check acceptance, I think may be undoing themeslves by not educating their salespeople on how to transmit store policy. It's stupid, but acceptable, not to sell goods that are pre-sale priced to people before the sale, but the process should be more thorughly explained so that confusion does not ensue. Same with checks. You don't want to accept them? Fine. Don't. But don't run people around in circles over a small purchase when a simple explanation of the process before the customer presents the check would help things move smoother.

So far NM SouthPark is 1-1 in my scorebook. I'm not going to turn my back on them if they improve on not alienating their customers, but I'm not abandoning my other favorite stores to get BS service. Money comes to hard to put up with it.

[Temeteron]

I dont know....i never had a problem with the service at NM.....they were always polite to me....maybe they just have bad luck with hiring people who know what theyre doing.....or dont train them as well as they should be trained? And maybe they dont care about service and such given the fact that within 5 minutes someone can purchase a $500,000 ring and have their rent paid off for the rest of the year lol

[Manolos]

I think the main reason that NM still doesn't use VISA/MC is what Steven said in his first statement. But really, most NM shoppers have an AmEx card anyways.

Also the SP NM is relatively new, the employees might still be overwhelmed by people paying hundreds in cash