Talk about a nightmare. I read this article in Bloomberg Businessweek about this really awesome sounding new lingerie store where they have 70,000 bras in each store. And a new one opened in DC!
To get a fitting you have to make an appointment in advance. They will not let you buy one with out a fitting. And you have to fill out a questionnaire online about what you are looking for. I am only looking for nursing bras.
I get there on time. No one is in the store, except the three women working there. I tell them I am there for a fitting. One woman says I must be Nicole. I am in fact Nicole.
"Did you fill out a questionnaire online?"
"I did."
"We can't access the computers, so could you fill it out again." (Why ask me if you can't access it?)
I do. All I need, the sole reason for driving an hour to get to this store, are properly fitting nursing braS. (She NEVER reviews my card that I filled out.)
I only check this on the card. The woman then tells me her colleague will be with me in a moment. I stand there like an asshole...for 5 minutes...then the other woman standing next to the woman who initially helped me says, hello, she will be helping me. WHAT? Is this some joke? You kept me standing there for no reason? I had an appointment.
Then, as asks if the trainee can see my fitting. Fine. I don't really care. She brings in a maternity bra. I try it on. It is a fine bra. $117 but fine. I don't need a maternity bra. I need nursing bras. She says for free they will alter any bra to be a nursing bra.
"How do you do that?"
"We cut the strap, and put a hook and eye in, just like in the back."
Really? I could cut my bra apart and sew in a hook and eye. And who is going to cut their new $117 bra?
"Could I just see the nursing bras?"
Seriously 15 minutes later she returns with five bras that are all maternity bras.
"I am really ONLY looking for nursing bras."
"I could not find them."
"Well could you look a little more. That's all I need. Don't you have something like 70,000 bras in each store?"
She come back eventually, telling me the girls working are new, so they don't know where the bras are, and she usually works in a different store.
This is the only store in the DC area, so I ask what other store she works in. One in California.
Ok.
She tells me the nursing bras were all mixed in with the other bras.
"This is the only nursing bra we sell. Try it on, and see how it works."
It is too small. She says it comes in black or nude. I tell her I will take one of each in the proper size. Oh she also mentioned she does not like to sell nursing bras until closer to when the baby is due. I thank her for her opinion.
Then this: "This is our best selling nursing bra."
"Well of course it is, if it is the ONLY one you sell."
She smiles.
We go to the register. She tells me they no longer sell the nursing bra in black. I ask, just to verify, if they only sell this nursing bra.
"At this store."
"At this store? So you have other nursing bras?"
"Not at this store."
"Do you or do you not sell other nursing bras?"
"We have others, but not at this store."
"Could you order me one?"
"No, because you would need to try it on. The sizing is a lot different because there is no under wire."
I remember that apparently you don't want under wires when you are nursing. I read it someplace.
"So there is no way I could get the other bra?"
"No."
I was incredulous. A store which will only let you buy bras that you try on, doesn't have the bra in stock, and can't get it, and I drove a hour to get there after waiting 2 days for a damn appointment, and I am supposed to just buy the ill fitting bra she had me try on?
"I think I will just not buy anything. Thanks. Could I get the district manager's phone number?"
She gives me the store manager's number.
When I call to talk to the store manager, they hang up on me.
I could not make this up.
I called their headquarters in Atlanta. Finally got a hold of someone. They promised to call me today. No call yet.
Addition: They called this morning, but I did not have my cell phone. I will call her back tomorrow and let you know what happens.
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5 comments:
You should send this story to Consumerist. Seems like the type of thing they would run on the blog.
I think there is a difference in expectation. On the one hand, you want to walk in and leave with a bra in hand. A store's purpose is to sell. Right? You should leave the store with a bra.
However, I think the owners of the store are bra people. They probably know more about bras than 99.9999% of the human race and are very committed to getting a customer the very best bra that suits the customer perfectly. However, their technology that enables them to do this failed and they had no work around. Unfortunately, the saleslady couldn't just size you up and do it the old fashioned way and say, "Here are a couple of bras that might suit you". Try a couple on. Many people really don't know their correct size and get the wrong cup and or size completely wrong. I did.
Trust me, if you have the time to do this, it is in your best interest to do so. Bras have more engineering in them than the Golden Gate Bridge and you will be amazed at the difference that a properly fitted bra can make. It affects your posture tremendously. A properly fitted bra can make you look stunning as the girls are sitting right where they need to be. A well fitted bra can ease back pain. And so on. I am sure the owners of the store could carry on forever about this topic.
However, if you didn't have the time to try the bra, the saleslady should have made an educated guess and handed you a couple different bras in the size you requested. In today's economy, it is just foolish to turn down a sale. I think the saleslady was trying too hard to do the absolutely right thing. The customer is always right.
On the other hand, you may ask yourself: DO I really need 70,000 bras? Maybe you would be happier at the mall , where you can grab and go.
also, they were training new people which never helps
to anonymous: 1. the stroe is in the mall. 2. i was there to try on bras and get fitted, that's why i went. 3. the ONLY reason i was there was to get nursing bras, as my other bras are great and were fitted for me at nordstrom's. 4. intimacy does not use technology to do tbeir fittings, which they tell you. they use a "wholistic" approach. 5. i did try a bra on, but again, it was a regular bra and i need nursing bras.
they should have called me to tell me they did not have any in stock.
oh and intimacy does not allow customers to purchase bras they have not actually tried on.
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