Do staff at Selfridge's in London get commission?

Question

I tried on two coats - one was Miu Miu and one was Dior. I tried them on in the Dior section of Selfridges, with an assistant who worked in the Dior area. She was very clever in that she said both coats I tried on were lovely but then slowly found faults with the cut of the Miu Miu one. Do individual areas of Selfridges get commission from say, Selfridges or the brand they manage, in this case Dior? The Dior coat was twice the price and the Dior lady seemed concerned to get my details, where as the Miu Miu coat was in the main part of the store, with all the brands and the assistant put it by but wasn't that bothered either way. Hmmm... A shallow question but interested to know :-D.

Answer 1

It's a long time since I worked in a department store, but then some concessions employed their own staff directly. I believe this is still the case with perfumery/cosmetics such as Chanel or Estee Lauder. It's possible that this assistant is actually a Dior employee rather than a Selfridges employee.

Answer 2

I'm sure they would definitely get a commission - that's why it's always better to take a friend for advice and not rely on the assistant.