Rate it: best customer service

To be honest it doesn't matter a damn how good a brand is or how much you want a product. If you have a bad customer service experience you'll go away with a bad taste in your mouth - and that's what you'll remember.

But if you have a good experience in the shop - if the assistants are friendly (but not pushy), if you get lots of good advice and suggestions and go away a happy bunny then you'll be back to that shop. Again and again.

It's the reason people follow hairdressers when they move salons, it's why certain facialists become famous. It's why the customer service in a store can make or break a franchise. Great customer service makes people feel as though the money they're spending is appreciated - when the store goes the extra mile to order in a product for you, phones you to give you a heads up, roots around for ages to find the exact shade of lipstick you want, or tells you that something is going to be discontinued so that you can stock up.

Remember what's said: if you have a good experience you'll tell a couple of people. But if you've a bad one you'll tell ten. We're really good at spreading the word when something goes wrong - so we need to redress the balance and spread the word about the good, the great and the downright brilliant experiences we've had. (Read: Counter Culture: what's your view)

We love hearing of good customer service at Beaut.ie - when Kiehl's opened we were delighted that their customer service seemed excellent. We've discussed favourite places to buy beauty in the past - and now we'd love to hear about what makes you go back to a store or chemist and keep going back.