Douglas Parfümerie — Local services in Cologne

I would like to begin by commending the exceptional service I received from Elena at the YSL counter. She was incredibly gracious and helpful—an exemplary staff member whom the rest of the team could certainly learn from!

Unfortunately, my experience took a downward turn when I moved to the Guerlain section. Despite clearly standing there in need of assistance, none of the staff made any effort to approach me. After a long wait, I had to ask someone at the Chanel counter for help. While she wasn’t particularly enthusiastic, at least she made an effort to assist me, which I appreciated.

The real frustration began when I decided to purchase a Tom Ford perfume and headed to the -1 floor. Despite the abundance of staff present, I was left standing there, completely ignored. One woman from another counter, who wore a rather sour expression, was shockingly rude to some other customers who approached her. When I asked if she could help me with my purchase, she flatly refused, stating she wasn’t from Tom Ford.

I then approached a cashier (another with a similarly disinterested attitude, which seems to be a recurring theme). She informed me that the woman who had refused to help could sell me the perfume😂😂( I guess she simply didn’t want to). At this point, another consultant, wearing an equally unfriendly expression, curtly asked, “So, do you actually want to buy it?” I responded yes, and only then did they reluctantly serve me, still with clear displeasure. Even the cashier who packed my items did so with a scowl, clearly unimpressed that I presented a membership card.

When I asked for gift wrapping, the situation only became more absurd. A trainee was tasked with wrapping my purchase, and while I’m usually quite patient and understanding, it was clear she was overwhelmed. Thankfully, a gentleman from the Jo Malone counter stepped in to save the day. He was exceptionally polite, wrapped my gift beautifully, and even offered a perfume sample as a gesture of apology.

My advice is simple: hire staff who are both competent and genuinely interested in delivering good customer service. It shouldn’t matter whether a customer makes a purchase or not—they deserve to be treated with respect and courtesy. The behavior I encountered not only discouraged me from shopping but also soured my entire day, wasting time and patience. It’s worth remembering that sales assistants are not the center of attention, and customers, too, have schedules and priorities. No one should have to spend an hour trying to purchase something as simple as perfume or lipstick because the staff are unwilling or indifferent.

While I’m grateful for the few shining examples of good service, it’s disappointing that they are such a...

Such a poor costumer service experience. I was looking around, and I found a product that interested me, but I realized the box was empty (probably someone shop-lifted the product inside) and it was a problem finding someone to report it to. I asked at least 3 people and all of them told me they did not belong to the store , but worked only for the branch. One representative of a brand was kind enough to take the empty box and thank me for reporting it. After that I go upstairs and a women from Douglas (there they were!) asked me if I needed anything and then she disappeared. I wanted to find some skin care products And I noticed there was a table where they offered a skin analysis and consultation. I had to go to the lady at the desk and after paying the two things I got , ask her if it was possible to get a consultation. She said they did that when they had time. The store was EMPTY. But she took me to a brand representative and said “she will do it for you” and then disappeared. Of course I thought she will come and give me the proper consultation as they offered, but only after she finished chatting with her colleagues (they were 4 of them in a group, just talking as I was sitting there looking at them) she just took a magnifier and with bare hands touched my face. She wanted only of course sell me the products of her brand , although my concerns were completely different to what she wanted to sell me. I realized how poor I’ve been treated (as extra info, it was my birthday) and of course , didn’t buy anything. Douglas is such an expensive place, where I literally went to spend my money at. But their lack of costumer service made me leave. Of course I got an explanation as to why I couldn’t find anyone to give the empty box to , and the answer is “lack of personal” , lack of common sense I would say, because seeing them talking in a group there is just not excuse. Talking nice and calm doesn’t mean good...

DOUGLAS, A RACIST STORE I will never shop here again. On February 13th, I placed an online order for in-store pickup within 2 hours. The next day, I went to pick it up, and at the checkout, I was assisted by a blonde woman, around 50 years old, wearing glasses.

From the very beginning, she refused to speak English and completely ignored me. She asked for my passport, but even though I showed her my name on the document and repeated it several times, even using gestures, she pretended not to understand. It is absurd and impossible that she couldn’t read a passport or a confirmation email. She clearly had no intention of helping me.

She barely glanced behind the counter and, without properly checking, insisted that my order was not there. I showed her the email again, but she didn’t even bother to look properly. After repeating the same process multiple times, she suddenly waved me away in a rude manner, ignored me, and called the next customer as if I wasn’t there.

Frustrated, I went downstairs to the -1 level and looked for someone who spoke English. In less than five minutes, I had my order in my hands.

It is unacceptable for a store like this to have employees who mistreat and discriminate against customers who don’t speak German. She could have simply directed me to someone else, but instead, she chose to be disrespectful and unhelpful.

I do not recommend this...