Originally Posted by :
Uh, "additional sizes" does not necessarily mean "larger."

That's a good point!

Yeah, I mean I've gone into stores and have had that said to me - I just took it as oh, so they do have more in the back and if I don't find what I'm looking for, maybe they have it.

That being said, I don't know what type of tone she used with you.

what irks me is that they separate the clothes to begin with. Why not combine them? Instead they treat ppl who wear plus size clothing like lepers. :(

Hey, the same thing happened to me last week at a boutique called Francesca. I saw a dress I loved in the window and went in and politely asked the saleslady where it was in the store. There was no one else in there so it wasn't like I interrupted her. She walked over and looked through the rack and said--"oh, sorry all we have left is small and medium" and then looked me up and down. I just responded--"well, I wear a small or medium" so I took both and tried them.

Well, they fit fine but I decided not to get them. LOL, I left them laying in the floor with the hangers thrown on top.

I think I would both be offended but also understand... if that makes sense. People are right, she could have been more tactful... but no matter how polite or inoffensive people's comments are about my weight... I'm usually offended. I'm just really sensitive.

One time someone told me "You're not fat, you're thick." I still was offended... I know thick is a term some people want to be called but in my mind, it sounded just like they were calling me fat.

I don't she meant to be mean, but it does bother me that she didn't even greet you. I work in retail ( though not in clothing) and I always let someone know that if they can't find what they are looking for, we may have it in the back. I think she was just trying to be helpful.

Originally Posted by Aurora:

I worked in Kohl's and had to guess ages on Wednesday for senior discounts. We had to call a manager to redo the transaction if we didn't give it to them, .

I was in Kohl's last Wednesday and was asked if I was a senior. I am 22. Maybe they have gone towards asking everyone even if it is obvious they are not. If a 54 year old hears a 22 year old get asked, she may not be offended when she herself is asked.

I'm pretty sensitive about the weight thing too, and don't know if I would have been offended, depends on the tone, for the most part it sounds like she was trying to be helpful. I used to work in a clothing store and used to train people, a lot of the girls who were hired were SO shy that they couldn't get a hello out, but approaching people while trying to be helpful worked for them. So they'd approach and say "if you can't find your size let me know, I have more stock in the back". It's also a completely underpaid profession, so she might have been rude because she hates her job. I know I was making 9.50/hr to manage a store, I now make double that to do less work!

-Aimee

Hey, Lucy here. Just reporting back years later after that experience. All of you were exactly right, she wasn't being rude. I was clinically depressed and never knew it until I started seeing a doctor in 2011. I feel so foolish looking back now, but that was a part of my depression. I was so negative and thought the world was out to get me. Now don't get me wrong, I still struggle everyday.

I would have been offended. Yes she was trying to be helpful, but as some of the others said, she should have said that there are more items in the back so let her know if you couldn't find your size.

One time I was walking past this lady who sells clothes at the flea market, and she said to me and my fiance, hey you two I have both women and mens plus size clothes! I was so embarrassed because she screamed it to us in front of everyone. Like I know I'm big and other people can see I'm big and could assume I wear plus size, but still! Fiance said "Thanks for calling me fat" and kept walking LOL

Not sure if she meant it rudely, but being sensitive about my weight, I probably would have thought it was poor word choice. :) Do you think you would have been as offended if she had been an overweight woman? Just a thought. :)

As said before "additional doesn't mean bigger"... she just meant they have more sizes in the back. Plain and simple. Glad you see it now!

why does it matter? What size we are is visible to everybody - if she assumed you were dumb or depressed based on your size, I can see how that would be rude. But this is like saying, if you see a child in the adult section of the shoe store, it is rude to point out where the kids section is...

I've had that said to me at Catherine's. :D It just meant they didn't have everything out on the floor. I was looking at underwear at the time.

Someone has to kind of bang me on the head with something to offend me.

If the tone she took with you was somewhat rude or abrupt ... I would have immediately brought to her attention...she could have not been aware of how it could have been perceived ...and if she was ....it let's her know you find it inappropriate. I try to take things as learning experiences,and I would in a polite way address issues so there is no doubt how I felt.

Then I would give a positive action statement , and ended on a good note.

Roo2:carrot::carrot::carrot:

She probably didn't couch her terms properly, especially if you weren't greeted at all. But look at it this way: How many women would venture in, see nothing that fit, and leave because they were embarrassed to ask or just assumed that was all the store had.

I work in a shopping mall. Chain stores are notorious for cheaping out and taking as little space as possible. Stock takes up less room stuffed on a rack in the back than finger spaced on display up front. A salesgirl (probably a commissioned one), would have to be mentioning they had more sizes in the back or she wouldn't sell much!