to think closing fitting rooms during the sales is the best solution for all concerned?

[acrabadabra]

I work in a large high street store. Policy is the fitting room closes for the first few days of xmas sales. There are lots of reasons for this including it being the best way to keep the stock available for sale.

For example, if 10 people take 10 items each to try they will invariably hand back 9 of them as unsuitable. Of these 90 unsuitable garments, 10 will be fit to go straight back to the sales floor. 70 will be on hangers but still need buttons done, zips, belts, hangers turned, size pipped etc. The other 10 will be flung at the assistant with no hangers (abandoned in the cubicle). They will be inside out and/or have make up on them etc.

These 10 customers will be in and out in 10 minutes. The stock they returned will take an hour to put back out. This accounts for all reprocessing, finding the right place on the shop floor, being asked questions and dealing with customers who need help. Times this by the number of 10 minutes in a trading day. That means around 6500 garments being tried on. Probably lots more. Plus 400 (best guess) items an hour coming back as returns.

There is an argument that this is not the customers problem and that retailers should employ enough staff to do this job and I sympathise with that but, given that this doesn't happen and is neither the fault of the customer OR the sales assistants, I would still suggest that keeping the canging rooms closed is the best solution.

Or aibu? And been brainwashed by my employer.

You are probably right but I wouldn't dream of buying something I hadn't tried on. I don't do online shopping for clothes for this reason.

The flip side is a huge increase in returns as people are buying things that probably won't fit.

Sorry, I couldn't follow all the math.

I think it's the shops job to sell things. Like CynicalandSmug, I won't buy something I haven't tried on since stores can be a bit difficult about returns.

So really, is it not better for the shop to have a sale that remains a sale?

Well no it isn't good for all concerned because I can't buy clothes without trying them on. As I'm sure many others can't who have different shaped bodies!

And unless your shop is humongous I don't understand why it would take an hour to restock for ten people. I worked in retail for a while and we were much quicker than that

It is one of the reasons I don't go to the sales, I won't buy clothes I haven't tried on. I think retailers are shooting themselves in the foot as my experience when I worked in a clothes shop as a student is that the time saved was lost again processing the refunds the next day.

I see what you mean..that is alot of time and fussing but otoh I spent a sizeable gift voucher in White Stuff today and managed tp try on all 8 otems in one go. I bought 6 of them and just wouldn't have bothered if I couldn't have have tried them on. As usual the things I thought woupd fit perfectly didn't and vice versa!

I wont buy anything I havent tried on simply because I use my card for everything and although it comes off my card straight away, a refund can take up to 10 days. If I was going to sales like yours (I assume you mean Next?) then I wouldnt feel happy taking a wad of cash with me, so I never go to a sale if I cant try on!

I am afraid that I have to agree with the argument that there should be enough staff on. I had friend with a Xmas job when we were at school that was employed just to re-rack tried on clothes. All the regular staff worked the tills and the Xmas girls did the running around.

Excuse typos. ..annoying phone!

I don't like to by stuff I haven't tried on because I can't be bothered with the hassle of taking stuff back, besides which sale items are often non-refundable anyway so you'd lose a lot of custom.

I don't buy clothes without trying them on. I never go to the Next sale for that reason.

I'm another who wouldn't buy without trying on. Especially in Next and Dp's where I can try on 4 identical pairs of jeans. 1 Will fit perfectly and the others will range between too short, enormous and tiny. I always have to take 2 sizes into changing room there and after too many poorly trained staff making exchanges ridiculously difficult there is no chance I would spend my money in their shop without trying on first

The answer in the perfect world would be more staff, and for people to treat the clothing with respect ie putting back in hangers. I also put mine back where I got it from and in the right size order (but some shops don't like you doing this yourself anyway)

Hope it's not too hectic for you with the sales OP! I hated sale time - only worked in retail for a spell but it was horrible for me

Many posters here state they won't buy if they can't try on a garment first. Fair enough but it seems way more people will happily grab a bargain, especially if they regularly shop in that store and know their sizing. I'm sure its not only about restocking. I can only imagine how much stock would be stolen if fitting rooms were open.

A colleague goes to the Next sale (and others) every year, buys several hundred pounds worth of items and returns about 95% of it (her estimate) after trying them on, checking she likes the colour, checking she actually likes the item at all etc.

I generally don't go because like many others I want to try clothes on before buying them and I don't want to mess about buying loads of stuff i won't keep, now do I want to put the retailer though loads of unnecessary returns.

Closed changing rooms always seem a false economy to me.

I work in one of the afore mentioned stores btw and the end of day figures on boxing day where ridiculous!

I dumped a pile of stuff in m&s today as all changing rooms were closed 'for my convenience'. I don't have time to trek back and stand in a returns queue for 45 minutes. Not to mention not having four times as much cash to be able to buy all of the items in the first place.

More consistent sizing would also help to reduce the number it rejects. I'm looking at you, white stuff. Three sizes I took in today.

It's true that some people return much of what they buy not all though. Returns are quick processed back onto the sales floor and invariably sold again.

Sorry for the maths! Had to check my sums with dh and he's asking "what the hell are you trying to work out?"

It's not Next. Returns policy is very good even for sale items. Temps finished today.

Returned stuff is easier to deal with as it's another dept and can be worked through quickly by the staff who would normally be in the fitting room. They also tail off after the first few days by which time the fitting room is open again.

To all those who like to try stuff on - are you big sale shoppers? Or were you before we shut the changing rooms? Does it make you spend less or just differently?

Bernice

I totally agree re-sizing.

If all shops were within a reasonable standard for sizing then this wouldnt be an issue, but I can be 3 different sizes in one shop alone! I am a 14 and when I last needed a cheap work suit I nipped into Matalan and I was struggling to get into a 20, but their 14 jeans are a bit big!

YABU because a lot of shops don't let you return sales items unless they are faulty so you need to try on!

Well if it's M&S you're talking about, then they lost a sale from me yesterday for exactly this reason. I picked out half a dozen things (not in the sale, actually), not realising the flipping changing rooms were closed.
Put the whole lot back when I realised.

Is this next then? Next who for the first day of the sales over stock their rails so it's jammed, meaning taking anything off them knocks several things on the floor, leading to in about an hour, a jumble sale appearance. Where you can't try anything on so people take armfuls of stuff to try on at home, meaning that anyone turning up the next day are unlikely to find their sizes, but lots are returned a week or so later. Because of this, you are lead to believe you have to go the first day of the sale, so it's v busy, and the charging rooms are shut because it's busy.

I also hate any shop that does this because it's so fucking cynical, they are encouraging you to buy 2-3 sizes hoping enough people won't be arsed to return them. Or you'll buy something that fits, but doesn't really flatter you, that you wouldn't have bothered to buy if you'd tried it on.

I hate that otherwise civilised places to shop don't do sales for their normal customers. I'm getting pickier in my old age, I only shop online or in shops that bother with customer service. The main advantage of going into a shop to buy clothes over online is the ability to try things on. A lot of big chains are driving away customers by behaving like this.

I went to next. Mid morning. Specifically for ds1(10) skinny jeans. She told me no changing rooms. Saying I could bring them back. But u don't normally go to this place. Bringing back is not easy. So I snuck ds in. Tried on 3 Pairs. 1 fitted. Bought a fleece and 2 onesies aswell. Not tried on. Am siooooooo glad we tried on the jeans.

I have always been a big sale shopper but liked the others I won't buy anything before trying on - hence in my local town Debenhans gets my custom & Next doesn't.