Bad experience (I guess) at wig shop last night

[Gwinnie]

There is a new wig shop in our little town. I wrote to them a few weeks ago to see if it was okay if I came in. Some places are weird like that. They said sure, they are happy to service anybody. So, last night I went in. It was empty except for one woman who seemed shocked to see me. She asked if she could help. I told her the style I was looking for and the brand. She said the names of the brands they sell and that was pretty much it. The rest of the time I just stood there like an idiot. I eventually just walked out the door. I don't know if she was stunned I existed, or what she wanted me to do.

Gwendolyn

[Nikki A.]

You probably just caught the wrong salesperson. I might call and ask for the owner and explain what happened. In a situation like this you may want to make an appointment. A single person in a store, an unknown man asking for a wig. She might have been apprehensive that you had ulterior motives.
Not saying you were wrong, but these days everyone has to be a little careful.

[Katey888]

Perhaps, Gwinnie, the lesson here would be a short phone call a short time before you plan to visit or a specific appointment like Nikki said?

It does sound a little bizarre, though - even for a small town.. :thinking:

Try again - once you've called - nobody seems to remember emails or letters nowadays... too much spam!

Katey x

[RADER]

To bad; I had an experience like that also, but I was Laugh out of the store.
It was a Corset Shop near Chicago.
There is a wig shop in Chicago where you make an appointment and they
take you in, and only you and the SA are there. A very relaxing and informative
time.I bought 3 wigs.
Rader

[mykell]

thats too bad, i went to a local mearl norman shop, total respect they had a private area set up,
bought a expensive wig and makeup, almost $400, dont know who wouldnt want that profit....

[Beverley Sims]

Gwendolyn,
"Wig shop in our little town", says it all.
You need "Large wig salon in a big city", they have the experience of handling customers like us, without fuss and bother.

Sorry it went bad for you.
Try again, somewhere else. :)

[kendra_gurl]

Gwendolyn,
"Wig shop in our little town", says it all.
:)

My first thought also Beverley but for a different reason. Gwendolyn perhaps she recognized you or thought you were the Mayor of your small town and that's what shocked her.

[meganmartin]

Many good responses below.

Seems like the correspondence of the person who said sure no problem was the owner or manager and the salesperson maybe showing her personal views. But also sometimes you have to give people the benefit that maybe she was stunned and just never met a crossdresser. I say kill them with kindness and show them that you wont bite.

[sherri]

We get so caught up in our gender expression it might slip our minds that some people literally have no clue such things go on, at least in "real life". I remember a young cashier at Walmart who was obviously having a Rod Serling moment when I appeared in front of her. She wasn't being hateful, just struck deer-in-the-headlights speechless for a sec. I think she was even a little scared. I wanted to pat her little hand and say there there, just breathe and everything will be alright. Pretty funny. I gave her a big smile and a wink as she handed me my receipt.

[kimdl93]

I'd give it another try. You hit one ineffective and perhaps ill-informed SA.

[Rachel Morley]

I agree with the others. I have found from personal experience that when you ask if it is ok if you (a guy) comes in as a customer, the person on the phone will always say, sure, we welcome any type of customer ... but then you show up and the only person in the store is not the person who you spoke to on the phone, they seeming are not aware of the "we welcome all" policy and are then perplexed that there is a guy wanting to buy a woman's wig.

My first time (as others have suggested) was an appointment and they were very aware why I was buying. As a matter of fact I actually went there en femme, but that's another whole story.

So my advice is to bite the bullet and tell them what you want and why and then make an appointment with a specific person. They usually have a curtained off area for trying on wigs in a discreet manner.

[Algoma]

Gwendolyn, Sorry you had a bad experience. Didn't have the nerve to go into a shop and bought wigs on line (bad wigs). Finaly got recommdations from others on shops that focus on CDs. Then my experiences were fun. Algoma

[julietalyse]

Yes finding a wig salon that is helpful may not be as easy as one would imagine. I had to go through two shops before I found a good one. The salespeople were cold, callus, and sounds like what you found.

My adjusted approach was to go into the shop in drag, discuss wigs while I was placing my position into the conversation here and there. Once I was comfortable I made a formal appointment. The shop is the wig Galleria in Sacramento, 125 miles from my hometown. The two women that run the place are very kind to my position, have many cross dressers as clients, and they make helpful suggestions.

The last E-Mail I received from them said. “We are pleased that you will be coming in dressed. Please do so, you are safe here.”

[Jamiegirl1]

You said you went in at night,that could have been the problem...try going in during the day,there will be more people in the store and the sales person won't be sooo intimidated by a man....I go in while dressed en femme and go in the daytime....have had great experiences with the wig stores around here...

[Krisi]

I would think you will do better at a wig shop in a larger city where they have served crossdressers before and see a lot of them. You don't want to be the first crossdresser the shop or person ever had, it's better to find someone with experience.

Remember there are wig shops and there are wig shops. The ones I've seen in the malls just sell "fashion wigs" to younger women who wear them to clubs and such. You want a shop that caters to real women who need wigs and to crossdressers. Call and talk to them first. Visit as a male and get an idea of the place.

[Barbra P]

She asked if she could help you and you told her you were looking for a particular brand and style of wig. She then informed you of the brands they sell, and apparently the brand you were looking for was not among those she listed.

It sounds to me like the SA was somewhat inexperienced and with little or no salesmanship training, and might not have been familiar with the brand you named. The best she could think to do was to tell you what brands the store did sell. I suspect she was hoping that once she told what brands the store sold you would respond in some way and not just stand there like an idiot. Something on the order of “Well I’m familiar with the (insert brand name) and I really like the (insert style) look. I’m not familiar with the brands you just named off but here is what I’m looking for . . . and I’d like to stay in the (insert price) range. Do you have anything you can show me?)

A more experienced SA, with some training, would probably have approached the situation differently “I’m sorry sir but we don’t carry that particular brand but let me show you a few of our quality wigs which I feel are even better than (insert brand name) wigs. I’m sure we can find something that you’ll like. Did you have a particular color in mind?“

[Claire Cook]

You probably just caught the wrong salesperson. I might call and ask for the owner and explain what happened. In a situation like this you may want to make an appointment. A single person in a store, an unknown man asking for a wig. She might have been apprehensive that you had ulterior motives.



Perhaps, Gwinnie, the lesson here would be a short phone call a short time before you plan to visit or a specific appointment like Nikki said?

Katey x

I'd agree with Nikki and Katie -- contact the manager. Isn't our money as good as a GG's?

I asked the girl who cuts my wife's hair if she did wigs, and would she would mind I came in to have my wigs styled. I think she was concerned about how that might affect her clientele (a bit upper-crusty in Vero Beach) and declined. On the other hand, I went in this morning (en femme) to the salon where I get my male haircuts and asked if I could make an appointment to have my wigs done. (They know I cd, but hadn't seen Claire before.) I had nice chats with the ladies there and Claire has her first appointment on Thursday.

Oh -- I forgot -- this was about wigshops. We got a nice Christmas card from Bravada's in Falls Church VA, where we both bought our wigs.

[Christyheely]

Give them that call and let them know. At the very least they will probably appreciate the feedback for their business. And for those who say go to a big city where they are likely to have worked with CDs before; if you are terrified then I agree but sooner or later someone will be the first at such small town stores and that will only benefit all of us.

[Jennifer S]

I had a similar experience and basically the sales girl would have stood there staring at me indefinitely until I finally said "OK, can I try this one on?" and she said "yup," and from there the rest of the experience was smooth as silk and we were laughing and having fun by the end. Not everyone is a top-notch salesperson. Sometimes you have to take the lead even if it is a bit awkward.

[Helen Grandeis]

I am always welcome at Eunice's in Mishawaka, Indiana. She makes me feel totally home and enthusiastically fits me with many wigs primping and complementing me all the while. It feels great. It is difficult to leave without buying.

[lingerieLiz]

The first wig I purchased was though my landlady who was a beautician. She bought me a blond wig so I could go out dressed like Sandra Dee. She also did my makeup for me. Little did she know what she unleashed, but she was cool about it as was her boy friend. After that they saw me go out on a regular basis.

The second wig I purchased was in the early 60s and a dream experience. The woman knew it was for me, but went along that I was buying it for my girlfriend. She talked me into trying it on. Then told me how pretty I looked as a girl and no one would know you weren't one. When I came back she had me try it on again. Her friend was at the shop and came in and the two gave me great encouragement to enjoy the wig.

The last one I walked into a wig shop and started looking around as luck would have it the owner came over and I explained what I was looking for and it was for me. She wrapped up her other customer and showed me around. As a couple of customers came in she excused herself and helped them and returned. After I selected it she made an appointment for me the next might at closing time. I came in and she finished the wig and showed me how to style it. I told her I would never pass anymore, but she assured me that confidence would make me more passable.

I asked her if she had many male customers, and she assured me she had more than you would expect. In our discussion she said that the most unusual customer was a local rancher over 6' that came in and bought a long blond wig one day.

[5150 Girl]

Hmmm...Kinda sounds to me like you did the wig-shop equivalent to walking into a Ford dealership and asking for a Chevy, and then got mad when the salesperson said, "all we have are Fords"