So.... me and my mom did an awesome 2 1/2 day shopping trip to the King of Prussia Mall. One of the stores I went in was Betsey Johnson, just for fun I can't afford those prices!! Well, the little size 2 salesgirl says to us as we just started looking at the clothes...... "Just to let you know, we have additional sizes in the back" Can you believe that??
Personally, I don't think she was trying to be rude...I use to work at Ann Taylor and if not all of the sizes were "Out on the floor" and available I would let people know that I was available to get them any size they needed from the back - no matter what size that person maybe.
I don't know the tone she took with you - and if she was being rude ...well, that was just plain mean...
But I wouldn't call that comment totally unusual for the retail world.
A "let me know if you can't find your size because we have more in the back" might have been more tactful; then she wouldn't be assuming that you would automatically be too big for the rack sizes (I'm assuming that's how you took the comment). It would be nice though if they had the space and foresight to keep all sizes stocked on the rack.
Yeah, I don't know what her tone was. But if it wasn't nasty, I'd think she was trying to be helpful. Even if she said "Let me know if you can't find your size," if you see no sizes above a certain point, you might just assume they didn't carry any above that size and just leave.
One one hand, I hate to assume to worst about what the saleslady meant. OTOH, I think clothing salespeople should be specifically trained to be extra tactful.
Well, the little size 2 salesgirl says to us as we just started looking at the clothes......
I'm NOT being rude here, just playing devil's advocate for the sake of having an interesting conversation... would you have felt differently if she were the same size as you, or bigger? Would that have changed how you interpreted her words?
Quote:
Originally Posted by JulieJ08
if you see no sizes above a certain point, you might just assume they didn't carry any above that size and just leave.
That's what I was thinking... she might have been most concerned with taking every opportunity to make sales! Retail is 100% completely about $MONEY$. She's probably not in charge of what gets put out on the floor, so maybe she just wanted to make sure you had access to everything you might want to buy. If I walked into a store and the salesperson pointed out immediately that they had some petite sizes in the back, my short little self would be grateful, rather than thinking "is she calling me SHORT?!?" Of course, as was already said, we don't know what her tone was like.
I think the comment was magnified because that was all she said to us. There was no greeting, no "can I help you find anything today?" So just saying that statement by itself makes me question her intention. And the kicker was that I was finally enjoying shopping those couple of days. I was finding things that fit me, and flattered me. And this girl had to **** on my parade, lol.
I'm pretty hypersensitive to that stuff and I kind of think that that was more helpful than anything else. Additional doesn't mean automatically mean fatter - what if they only had, say, 6, 8, and 10 out there. The 2s, 4s, 12s, and 14s would think that they were out and leave.
I did retail for a while in high school. We had a policy that ALL our stuff was out on the sales floor. It was annoying because we were forEVER rearranging stuff to make the inventory fit, but looking back, I'm glad we did that.
We were also trained on how to approach customers on how they looked in something. I live in a very international area, and so not everyone has the same American view on what 'fit' means. We had a lot of customers who thought just because it buttoned, it fit, even if it was horrifically gapping. So whenever someone would go "How do I look," we said "Wonderful...but let me see if I can find you a better size. Your bone structure is exquisite, but I think that particular piece isn't doing it justice." Then find the RIGHT size for them.
I think we drew a lot of customers in, because we never criticised how they looked. Always focus on the positives while down playing the negatives!!
What a terrible position for that store to put that salesgirl in - constantly having to let people know that there are larger sizes in the back would be SO uncomfortable.
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, but it was awful asking people who said they weren't seniors.
And we should never make assumptions about someone based on their size - large or small.
I think a lot of things that are said to us, since we're on the path to losing weight, we tend to take in a different light than most people would. Personally, to me, it's the same as when I walk by a table and they start laughing. I feel bad about myself and my image so I immediately think they're laughing at me rather than assuming they just got to a funny part of a story or joke.
Perhaps she just dealt with a customer who had thrown a fit over her size not being out on the floor and stormed out. So, now she makes it a point to let people know immediately that they have additional sizes.
So.... me and my mom did an awesome 2 1/2 day shopping trip to the King of Prussia Mall. One of the stores I went in was Betsey Johnson, just for fun I can't afford those prices!! Well, the little size 2 salesgirl says to us as we just started looking at the clothes...... "Just to let you know, we have additional sizes in the back" Can you believe that??
I don't think that was rude. Stores like that usually only have sample sizes out on the floor. They also usually only have one of each dress on the floor (i've shopped at Betsey Johnson before). Other stores have all of their inventory on the floor, but the smaller boutiques have limited floor space.
A "let me know if you can't find your size because we have more in the back" might have been more tactful; then she wouldn't be assuming that you would automatically be too big for the rack sizes (I'm assuming that's how you took the comment). It would be nice though if they had the space and foresight to keep all sizes stocked on the rack.
But Betsey Johnson boutiques are usually really small. It would be nice, but having worked on retail before, it's just not possible. They even have a ton of backstock at Nordstrom.
What a terrible position for that store to put that salesgirl in - constantly having to let people know that there are larger sizes in the back would be SO uncomfortable.
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, but it was awful asking people who said they weren't seniors.
And we should never make assumptions about someone based on their size - large or small.
Uh, "additional sizes" does not necessarily mean "larger."
"Additional sizes"
