Pampering wins loyalty

Sunday, Aug. 8, 1999 | 9:25 a.m.

Patty Austin of Las Vegas already knows Nordstrom -- she travels annually to the chain's San Francisco store and doesn't expect to stop when Nordstrom opens its Las Vegas store.

The trips are too much fun.

"We organize it ahead of time and go with a bunch of friends and people from the office," said Austin, who works at a real estate brokerage.

"We meet early at the airport, we fly to San Francisco and the Nordstrom people pick us up -- in three or four limousines," Austin said.

Now that Nordstrom is coming to Las Vegas, Austin said she and her friends will delight in the company's trademark service on a regular basis, but she doesn't expect to stop going to San Francisco because she and her shopping buddies are pampered when they go.

"We set it up with a personal shopper, and when we get there they have everything that we've asked to see all ready for us in our sizes," said Austin, a Las Vegas resident since 1961. "They give us an orientation, then serve us a continental breakfast -- they give us coupons for makeovers and for lunch ... it's just so much fun."

The clothes try-on sessions occur in 10-by-10-foot dressing rooms. There are foot massagers and drinks on hand and "if you don't have a credit card at Nordstrom, they'll have one for you there when you arrive," Austin said.

Because the sessions with personal shoppers are so well organized, Austin said she and her 30 friends usually get done quickly, leaving the group time to explore San Francisco's waterfront district.

"We all have dinner and then we fly back. They (the store) take care of all the shipping."

Austin said because everything is shipped, there's no sales tax on merchandise.

"And if something's wrong with the order, you just call them up and they fix it," she said.

Austin said she has heard since 1986 or 1987 that Nordstrom is coming to Las Vegas.

"Now, it finally sounds like it's really going to happen. We can't wait. But we're not going to give up our San Francisco trips just yet, I'll tell you that," Austin said.