Woman makes Louis Vuitton staff count Rs 68.5 lakh in cash, then walks out. Here's why

The incident happened in a Louis Vuitton store in Chongqing, China.

A wealthy Chinese woman exacted her revenge on the staff of a Louis Vuitton store after feeling deeply insulted by their dismissive treatment two months prior. The incident, which happened in Chongqing, is being hailed by netizens as the "most satisfying act of vengeance this year.”

The woman, who goes by the alias "Xiaomayouren" on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, recounted her experience at the Louis Vuitton outlet in StarLight Place shopping centre. In June, she entered the store, hoping to browse the latest fashion offerings, but instead, she was met with condescension and indifference.

Despite carrying a luxury Hermes handbag, a symbol of her affluence, the store's staff reportedly ignored her requests, pointed her toward outdated seasonal garments, and responded to her inquiries with eye-rolls and impatience.

Angered by this treatment, the woman contacted Louis Vuitton's headquarters to lodge a complaint but received no response, further fuelling her resentment. Determined not to let the matter rest, she waited two months before returning to the store with a bag containing 600,000 yuan (approximately Rs 68.50 lakh) in cash, accompanied by her personal assistant and a friend.

The group tried on several items, feigning interest in making a purchase. After the store's staff spent two hours painstakingly counting the cash, the woman delivered her final blow. "We don’t want to buy now. We are leaving," she told the sales assistants before taking back her money and walking out.

"How is it possible for me to buy their products to improve their work performance?" she later wrote on Xiaohongshu, where her story quickly went viral, garnering widespread applause from netizens.

"This ending is so delightful. I have always wondered why these shop assistants are so arrogant," commented one user. Another user remarked, "They sell luxury goods, but it does not mean they are luxury goods themselves."

Louis Vuitton's China office has yet to respond to the incident, which has sparked renewed scrutiny of the often dismissive attitudes exhibited by luxury brand employees in the country.

In 2021, a woman was shooed away twice by a luxury beauty store's sales assistant because she was dressed casually and wore no makeup. The manager of that store eventually apologised after the incident drew media attention.