Le Parfum — Local services in Vienna

If it wasn't for the owner ...

The perfumery Le Parfum is located in the prestigious city center of Vienna right next to the St. Stephan's Cathedral. The perfumery has a pervasive selection of niche fragrances, considering the small shop space. The selection ranges from more popular houses like Maison Francis Kurkdjian and Roja, to smaller ones like J.F. Schwarzlose Berlin and a lot in between. The prices are all list prices as far as I can tell. No special offers, but also no overpricing.

The location The shop consists of a single small room which is well lit during the day by natural light. The interior is predominantly white and creates a friendly and clean atomphere without making it feel sterile. The walls are packed with testers. Since the shop is very small you might get asked to wait outside until other customers have left the shop. This is understandable and benefits the customer experience of the single customer. But the way this is often communicated needs improvement as other reviews show too. More on this down below.

The etiquette Usually every single fragrance is available for testing. BUT it is not appreciated by the owner or sales persons to try the fragrances yourself. You have to wait for a sales person to attend to you. Otherwise you might get an unfriendly rebuke by the owner, if you dare to take things in your own hand. While I understand such rules of handling for these expensive perfumes, as a customer I find it unacceptable to be treated in the way this often plays out. Especially since as a first visitor you are not aware of these rules. A friendly sign at the entrance would help. Or maybe a training in friendly customer service.

The service My friend and I were lucky enough to be looked after by a very friendly saleswoman. Initially, she asked us which direction of fragrance we preferred or were looking for. I myself know a thing or two about perfumes and it quickly became apparent that this sales lady not only had extensive knowledge of perfumes, but that she was also genuinely interested and skilled in finding the fragrances that were actually of interest to us. You could feel her passion for perfumes. It was a real pleasure to be advised by her. I wish more perfume shop assistants would show so much commitment and knowledge. This excellent service was the reason my companion bought "Duro", a beautiful fragrance by Nasomatto in the end. As he told me later the same knowledgeable sales woman was the reason he had bought a perfume at this place once before and wanted to go there again.

The owner of the shop is a different story though. She is the reason I cannot give the perfumery 5 stars. She is quite unfriendly and will harshly send customers out if there are already too many people in the small room. She also gives snide comments if you want to try a couple of fragrances and don't immediately buy the first bottle she presents. Also if you spend more than 10 or 15 Minutes in the shop trying fragrances you might get rebuked. If you get caught up with her, it can have a very negative impact on the customer experience, I assume. If we had got involved with her, I would have given only 2 stars. Especially with sensual luxuries like perfumes the customer experience while choosing a fragrance is of great importance.

Conclusion There is a lot to discover in this little perfumery. Too bad that the owner of the shop seems to rely on walk in customers and not too much on regulars. Her often rude behaviour implicates that. But if you are lucky enough to be advised by the aforementioned saleswoman and have a little time, on your hand, you will be rewarded with exceptional service and wonderful perfume discoveries on your way. And you will certainly not leave the perfumery empty-handed but like my friend with the good feeling of having discovered something very special, that was there, waiting...

Every each of my experiences at this store since 2020 was horrible. I only go there because they have one rare parfum which you cannot find in the majority of beauty stores. The approach, the way staff treat you is so unfriendly, so rude, I can’t find words for this unpleasant feeling you have after leaving this store. Firstly, they don’t remember you as their customer. Secondly, one of the times when I got a pretty expensive parfum and asked to change the lid on dispenser because it’s pretty hard to do with inexperienced hands, she made such a displeased face as if it was not her job to do that. I came for the millionth time today to purchase one of their perfumes again. The cashier had such an unpleasant and controlling vibe. When I tried to smell the parfum she immediately came up and said that “it’s not allowed to smell the parfum, only to spray it on a piece of paper”. She said it with a face and tone of a prison guard. “It’s not allowed”?! Who is training these people there? I respect policies of this store but the way they tell that, the way they treat you if you are not wearing Chanel or Gucci is horrible. When she said that to me, I just left the store, I had no wish to purchase anything, it was the last straw throughout these last years. You guys just lost another...

Wow… if I had read the reviews of this place before, I would have known better what to expect. I was passing by this store and decided to drop in, because I like nice scents and always try to bring back some scented memory from a trip, so I visited it out of curiosity. I asked for one particular scent and was informed they didn’t have it, when I turned around to explore the scents, the lady informed me that there’s no self-service and if I want to test anything, I must ask them… I processed this information and just left.

I’ve been to many perfume stores before and it’s always a thrill of picking some bottles off the shelf just because the scent notes, the perfume name or the bottle has some intriguing quality to it that makes me want to test it. It’s always nice to explore on your own, especially when the staff knows how to signal their presence in a kind and non-intrusive way.

Less snobbery and more kindness may really change the way this place is perceived.

I went afterwards to Duft & Kultur and Kussmund and the experience was...