I'm not going to quote ^that^ whole thing. I'm just going to share some personal experience. I worked at Nordstrom for a decade. We were 100% commission. It was incumbent on us to help everybody, while making each person feel like they were the center of the universe. (Never let'em see you juggle.) Early on in my sales career I'd had a couple of experiences where people who didn't seem to have much to spend actually did, so I never let looks deceive me. I used to train my staff that it was easy to stuff a credit card or wad of cash in a really inconspicuous place (shoe, sock, pocket, waistband, money belt, bra - seen 'em all) and to always assume that's what each person they encountered in our store had.
Most times when someone complained about poor treatment, they tended blame it on how they were dressed. News Flash: We don't GAF what you're wearing. If you fought traffic, got a parking space and found your way here, you must need something. More likely, the complainer was the person who felt less confident about their appearance or was somehow personally intimidated by the general environment. @project, your assumptions in the quote below were really triggering for me, hence my response. Why the fuck would you think a salesperson/clerk etc. wouldn't
like you? They don't even know you!
However, you have since indicated that you're basing your response on the norms of another country, and mine was based on ten years of the Nordstrom environment, which had to be about the most extreme retail customer experience there was, at least in those days.
Projekt Pro Tip: If you're feeling like a fish out of water, pretend you have a thousand bucks in your pocket and full discretion as to whether or not you will choose to spend it. Look the salesperson straight in the eye. Say hello and smile. I suspect you will be amazed at the way their treatment of you improves. Great salespeople can smell confidence, no matter how you're dressed.
But if it *does* happen, it's probably because the people behind the counter actually don't like you. They're racist, or they don't think you're cool enough to shop there, or whatever.