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A few weeks ago, the Times' critical shopper Alex Kuczynski wrote about her less-than-fantastic experience at Los Angeles' overpriced mecca of trendy shopping, Fred Segal. During her time there, she Kuczynski reported that the salesgirl who was helping her abruptly disappeared when someone else showed up, another salesman told her she was not allowed to take notes while in the store, and her overall bad shopping experience was bookended with many a Hummer and Maybach. No one ever said reporting for the Times was easy.

On the other hand, a reader writes:

During a vacation to LA last week, I checked out the Fred Segal store where Ms. K was treated so rudely, and the (mostly friendly) sales assistants were only too happy to discuss her visit. Apparently the universal opinion of the staff is that Alex was a rude and pushy bitch and that they couldn't wait to get rid of her. And also, that the person who came in and stole away Alex's personal slave had actually been gravely ill, and had quite nearly—as Ms. K unwittingly put it—been raised from the dead.

And though there were a good number of nice cars in the parking lot, there were more Chevy sedans and Toyota minivans. Not that I would expect Alex to condescend to one.

Earlier: The Fabulous Life of Alex Kuczynski Not So Fabulous in Los Angeles