Rude women in clothing stores

[lilmissfatso]

Now, we've all seen Pretty Woman. The scene where the nasty rich women won't let poor Julia buy a dress because she looks cheap. She goes back in after her big shopping spree on Richard's dollar and utters the infamous line, "You work on commission right? Big mistake, big..huge..."

Well there is a little boutique just down the road from my work. I popped in one day a few months ago, to look for a gift for my friend's birthday. The woman met me at the door, whilst I was looking at some lovely little singlet and was told, very bluntly, "Our idea of large is size 12, we don't stock plus sizes". I'm about an 18. I called later that afternoon and made some enquires about something random, just so I could get the name of the girl who had been so rude.

One day, I am going straight back in to that store to have my Julia Roberts moment. I'm going to try on something expensive and prance around so the staff tell me how great I look. And them I am going to let them all know that I would have purchased the outfit had a particular sales assistant not gone all rodeo drive on me.

[curvygirl]

Good on you I am so over that as well. Money from curvy girls is as good as money from anyone else. I experience it most in surf shops while trying to by for my husband and kids. I would love to be there for your Pretty Woman moment

[mum2james]

I find that shops like Supre have the worst staff. Most people who work there are skinny and look down on larger women. I usually go into those stores with my 19 year old sister who is a size 8 (size 6 in some clothes!) and they are more then happy to help her but are rude to me. I'm not saying that every store is like this but the ones i've been to seem to be.

Also there is a bridal gown store near me. I love these stores and always go in and have a look. One lady that works there is an absolute cow. She's never actually said anything mean to me but she just looks me up and down with a discusted look.

Curvy girl, surf shops are the worst. I went into one to buy my sister a bikini for her birthday and the look I got from picking up a size 8 was priceless! I bought it without saying it was for my sister.

[miranda*jane]

Please excuse any foul language...

I'm sorry, but that PISSES ME OFF. Seriously shits me to tears.

I hate walking into shops and not just surf shops MOST shops (AHEM Supre, Jayjays, Just Jeans AHEM) and the sales girls/guys (yes, I've gotten it from guys too) give you that "Why on earth are you shopping here?" look.

Like I didn't already feel like a beach whale, walking into a store where (unknown to me) the biggest size is a 14...HELLO, some bigger girls don't always want to dress like a granny!! (Not that the clothes in MySize and 1626 aren't nice...but paisley isn't really me).

The only "skinny girl" shop where I havn't been greeted with this look is the Uptown Girl (kinda a country version of Supre) in Pt Lincoln...and lo-and-behold I BOUGHT something from there.

And I agree completely with you CurvyGirl...any money those places get is good money. I quite often look in stores for my sister (who's slightly slimmer than me) and get odd looks when I buy a 12 or 14...(though I did buy a size 14 yesterday FOR MYSELF!! Yay me.)

I'm a size 16, myself and find it increddibly irritating (if you didn't notice already) when people look down at me because I'm not what is considdered the "Adverage Australian Size" which according to some sily blood survey is a 12-14...little odd I think considdering Australia currently has the highest obesity rate...

I sincerely hope you get your Julia Roberts moment...as I hope we all do. How nice will it be when we can walk into a store and say "Remember me?"

Good luck.

<3 M

[lilmissfatso]

I was telling my friend (whose gift I was shopping for that day) that I had posted this story on a forum. I hadn't mentioned it to her before because I was upset. In a funny old twist, she had been in there yesterday looking a a dress for a corporate dinner. I received an email about half an hour ago saying that she returned the dress this morning, told the manager that this particular staff member should be watching her tongue and asked why she deserved better treatment than I did?

What a sweetie. She then got an even better dress for her dinner 2 doors down, for 1/3 of the price!

Perhaps we should organise a National 'You treated me badly when I was overweight, but I'm not anymore and I'm spending my money somewhere else' Day? lol

Rach

[yoyogirl88]

Ha Now that is a true friend OMG that just made me laugh like a hyena, *Singsong voice* I think someone is going to be looking for a new joooo000b* Singsoing voice OVER*

I only get the looks. Ive never had the unpleasantness of being told nothing would fit me.
Although I got the FUNNIEST look the other day from what looked like a pre-teen Big Dub employee when I went to try on some short-shorts and a mini skirt (the bf begged me to- he LOVES my legs and hates that I hide them in shapeless clothes-he was even going to pay for them) Shock homorrow they fit but did they look ROTTEN. She almost look relieved when I walked out saying NO WAY to andy.

[miranda*jane]

Ha Now that is a true friend OMG that just made me laugh like a hyena, *Singsong voice* I think someone is going to be looking for a new joooo000b* Singsoing voice OVER*

I only get the looks. Ive never had the unpleasantness of being told nothing would fit me.
Although I got the FUNNIEST look the other day from what looked like a pre-teen Big Dub employee when I went to try on some short-shorts and a mini skirt (the bf begged me to- he LOVES my legs and hates that I hide them in shapeless clothes-he was even going to pay for them) Shock homorrow they fit but did they look ROTTEN. She almost look relieved when I walked out saying NO WAY to andy.

Oh damn. I really hope that girl loses her job...or man=ybe not, becasue then there'd be no Julia Robberts moment...hmm.

Aaron always seems to get a little depressed when he picks something out for me that he likes and I tell him straigh off..."Baby, I would, but it wont fit...they don't have my size..." Then I have to kiss him and say thanks any way...the look on his face is always so sad...

[yoyogirl88]

[Aaron always seems to get a little depressed when he picks something out for me that he likes and I tell him straigh off..."Baby, I would, but it wont fit...they don't have my size..." Then I have to kiss him and say thanks any way...the look on his face is always so sad...

I xompletely understand this. Its the look andy gets when I say it. I found a nice alternative though. Maternity wear!! Its great.

[electrongirl]

I have to say I am loving being in the "Fattest" country in the world at the moment because most clothing stores go up to like size 26. So no matter what size you are the staff are usually really nice.

I have to say though, in general customer service in Australia compared to the rest of the world is dismal. Here every single store I walk into I am greeted by the sales clerk and they are so happy to help you.

[HealthyLiving8]

they can reported, I always do that....Customers are Queen

[Robin]

I used to work as a "Mystery Shopper". These surveys were sometimes paid for by the shopping centre, chains, or sometimes by the individual shops. We had to report on many things e.g. cleanliness, service, money-handling, add-on selling, promotions, returns, poor attitudes, stock knowledge etc etc.

Staff with poor attitude were reported on the forms. This sometimes included judging customers by how they were dressed - or their size. Good shops are aware that customers pass the word on about poor attitudes - and that loss of good reputation is costly and hard to restore.

Well trained staff will be polite and try to be helpful - even if they don't think they can help. Often they may find that the person is gift-shopping or doing a recce for a friend. Usually, there is something in the shop they can sell e.g. scarves, jewellery, bags. If they cannot help, they should continue to be polite, and if the person asks, they could recommend another shop.

Sometimes we were sent back a few weeks later to see if things had improved.

Generally "service" and politeness are dirty words in Australian shops - though there are occasional good experiences to restore your faith in human nature. Poor training is the usual cause of poor service, but sometimes even training cannot erase nasty vindictive attitudes.

Shops are struggling at present with the economic downturn - so the power is in our hands!

If you have a bad experience, ask for the name of the person who served you - or get a good description. Keep any dockets, as this will prove you were in the shop at a certain time and were served by a certain person or at a certain register.

Ask to speak to the Manager or Supervisor - and if you get no satisfacion, get their name, and contact their head office - or the Centre Management. Be polite, give the details clearly, and suggest that poor staff attitudes are costing them (and other nearby shops) potential sales - from you, your friends and (no doubt) other similar customers.

If you get a bad response after trying the above, boycott the shop or Centre - and spread the word amongst your friends.

[Amethyst]

My Aunt had a moment like that. She was looking at dresses (she's getting married in a month - yay) She picked up a dress and the sales lady looked at her and sneered saying "You wont fit that" in THAT tone.

on the flip side I'm not that much smaller than her and I went shopping yesterday. I was just looking at some dresses outside the store and the sales guy came up and was so nice and friendly. He even suggested grandma get some clothes (she's quite stylish). So I tried on some clothes and while I was changing this girl in the store came up and suggested 2 dresses for me saying I would look great in them. Unfortunately one was only availible in a size 8. Result: 2 new beautiful dresses. I will be so sad when I get too small for them.

[Kellicopter]

What lovely friends and boyfriends you have

[Fireball]

One time a sales person in a specialist store that caters for people in larger sizes made a snide comment about my size. I went to another branch of that retailer and shopped, then complained about my bad experience and ensured they knew who the rude person was. They were very interested, I took from the looks they shot at each other that they knew her and I felt sure the news was going to end up back there. I had lower esteem then, if it happened now I would complain. Part of my difference in attitude is thanks to the support from people on this site. I know I'm not just a fat person but a person who happens to be fat and deserves to be teated with respect.

It's great to see some good news stories. Can I suggest that if you find staff particulary good that you contact the store and let them know. I once did this with a paint store. They had a woman filling a role usually filled by men. When I called the Manager said he was relieved as they had wondered if they had made a good decision or if they should have given the job to a man. My call reinforced that they had given it to a person who had good sklills and it was appreciated.

[mindy32]

I totally agree: it's great to give good feedback if the staff are particularly helpful. I work in a hotel and although we close at 10pm was here in the office until 11:30pm trying to get the broken lift sorted last night. I had people complaining understandly, but some go that extra mile and make you feel quite awful and yell when I'm doing the best I can to solve the problem. However, when I saw that a guest had left a lovely feedback form saying that I personally had been very helpful and cheerful, it made my day. Good feedback about particular staff not only is great for the manager but when passed onto the staff member themselves is really lovely. It lets us know we're doing our job well!

-Belle