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.

I always assumed that the fitting rooms were shut because they wanted to boost their first day of sales value. I have a special outfit for sales shopping which means I can try stuff on to get an idea. But, I'll tend to buy on the off chance and return stuff - but only in the stores that I know are easy to refund.

It's cocking annoying. I won't buy clothes if I can't try them on. So for me, it would mean a wasted trip and an unhappy customer

I wouldn't buy if I can't try on, it's the reason I don't buy on line, as I know I can't be arsed to return items... But I would, just don't see why I should if I am in store and have the item on me.
If I was in store and was told on asking about changing rooms, either just go in if they aren't locked, lot of places put up a movable barrier, so I just move it, tends to start a tread with others following me! so my discarded items where presumably there for days?
Or when they are locked just do the entire lot of clothes where I stand, so on the floor, I am not paid by the shop, so I a dammed if I will put back a load of stuff I want to try on and can't!
If I use a chafing room I always put every thing on its hanger and even if no staff I hang the clothes on the hanger outside.
I would also be worried if a shop is doing this they are about to go out of business making returns impossible.
Hmv! Woolworth! Habitat who would think they would go out of business?

Shops seem to be missing two important aspects of customer service: the customer and the service.

Closing fitting rooms is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of. There's a reason I never buy anything online. I would never buy an article of clothing unless I tried it on. Sizes aren't standard enough for me to risk doing that. I also have never been in a place that can't keep up with returning stock to the racks in a timely manner. If I had to go to a shop to return something due to the fact I couldn't try it on, I guarantee you, I would never be shopping there, again. But that would never happen, because I would not buy an item I can't try on and see how it fits me.

There's no way I'd queue for changing rooms during sales shopping as they'd likely be huge. I'm happier to buy and try on at home then return if necessary so closed changing rooms doesn't bother me

I wouldn't buy if I couldn't try it on. I don't order clothing on line for same reason.

how is it in the customers bestinterests to have to trail back withitems that don't fit ?

besides are customers allowed to take 10 items into the fitting room. I thought the limit was 4 ?

I don't buy if I can't try on.

I also prefer large, airy, well lit, clean fitting rooms staffed by pleasant helpful folk. Probably explains why I don't go shopping straight after Christmas.

For this reason Debenhams gets a lot of my custom. If I'm buying a dress I want to see what I look like in it and that includes the back view.

I can't see what the fuss is about Next, hardly a world leader in style.

I bought quite a few outfits this Christmas all before Christmas Day, and most of them in a sale with a decent discount, and all tried on with helpful staff. A lot of which from independent boutiques.

Let's see. I could spend half the day trekking into town, digging through overcrowded sale racks and teetering piles of clothing to find something that is my size and then making my way home with whatever I've managed to scavenge without trying anything on. OR, I could spend half an hour online in the comfort of my living room, know instantly whether the store has what I think is my size and do it all with a cup of tea, without having to make my way through crowds with a pram and a toddler or carry anything heavy.

If the stuff doesn't fit or looks terrible, in the first situation, I have to drag the children back for another morning getting into town and back, stand in line and possibly have a difficult conversation with someone in a bad mood who doesn't want to let me return the clothes. In the second situation, I shove the things I don't want into a free return envelope and put it in the post. No aggro, much less waste of my time.

The ONLY reason it would benefit me to go into a shop is to get the chance to try things on and avoid needing to return anything. OP, why on earth would I go to a bricks and mortar shop if I can't try things on? What's in it for me? I also can't help asking, why, acrabadabra, do you even need to ask the question? Don't you shop for clothes yourself?

Sorry, had some sleep issues so didn't get back.

In an ideal world of course the changing rooms would be open. That's not my point. But as has been mentioned, if there is a lack of staff to offer the best service in all areas, then closing them is the best solution.

Queues for tills are long during this period but they move quickly. When open the queues for changing are enormous. They move slowly as most people will take the max allowed (8) in. And, though some people do try to hang stuff, they are a minority and even then every item still needs to be checked. We have to at least try to make everything look new again before restocking it. (I am NOT criticising the wonderful shoppers who DO have respect for the stock but, even the most helpful will get hangers the wrong way round or lose a pip or 2). Again it is a minority but, esp during sale, there are some who think it's ok to drop it on the floor and tread on it. So you can imagine what state we get things back in the changing rooms.

If the queue is 20 people long and a 15 minute wait would you not still just turn around and leave? Genuine question. Would the complaint not then be that the queues are too big. And its not like we can produce more cubicles or ask people to dress quicker.

There would then be the knock on effect of less staff visible as they would be behind the scenes reprocessing. The racks would be emptier so less choice and all the "good stuff" would be off the floor unsold but unavailable for periods throughout the day.

Is this a better scenario? Really?

I do shop for clothes but, after working in a shop all my adult life, I don't shop in the sales unless I know what I am looking for.

Also, as I am in almost every day returning things isn't a problem for me like it is for others. I too have 2 dc under 4 so I don't shop at all for myself when they're with me unless it's a top or something in the supermarket.

You can make extra cubicles, they do at Harrods with these sort of temporary marquee things.

Next, are the only store that I kind of understand closing the changing rooms, as some stores are tiny, with only a few changing cubicles.

Yet, they get so busy as they hype up their sale to ridiculous proportions and only discount for a short time.

GAP have regular sales thought the year with good discounts, which is why they see to cope better and look after customers better in the January sales.

M&S wind me up. They know their returns desks are going to be packed as their sizing is terrible. Closing the changing rooms just makes this worse.

I haven't said where I work but it's not Harrods. If we did put in temp ones it would also mean less staff as you'd need to man 2 areas and have even more queuing shoppers.

The logistics in my store would not allow them to be attached to the existing area. I appreciate that this might not be the case in other stores.

You definitely work at Primark, if so then I understand what you mean. But I'd have to try my clothes on first! :o

If the queue is 20 people long and a 15 minute wait would you not still just turn around and leave?

If I was going to put up with first days of sale, then no. I'd rather spend that time than come back again to return the items. Or do as others and try over my clothes if possible.

I can see its a headache for the shop but..um, its a shop so people need to try clothes on. Shops need to be offering exactly what their customers require if they are to survive with so much competition about. If Ive made the effort to fight through crowds and the shop wants my money, then the least they can do is allow me to try something on. I find cosed changing rooms unhelpful and I'd walk away (and it would annoy me enough to reconsider going back). Many online retailers offer a very good service with very fast delivery, free returns and exchanges.

Yanbu. A lot of people dont realise the sheer amount of work involved when sales are on. Once people have troed it on it has to be hung up, buttoned, zipped up etc tagged and took back.All very well saying employ more staff yet be same customers who would complain and ask for the staff to move from the fitting rooms to the tills because its busy. This is whilst customers treat the shop like its a bloody jumble shop.
Think its a good idea.
Im just so glad I no longer work in retail.
What really suprises me is how many people complain that shops have shut the fitting rooms during sales this year when the same shops have been doing it for years!

If I walk into a shop and the fittings rooms are closed I'm likely to walk straight back out unless buying on stuff that doesn't need a fitting room (coat, shoes or things like tights that don't need tried on).

If I walk around a shop picking up multiple garments and then find the fitting room is closed, the garments will be dumped on the nearest rack, because I'm not employed by the shop to ensure they are presented for sale correctly, so in the latter case, I'm not sure what the shop gains as the garments will still be in the wrong place, albeit out on the floor.

I thought the fitting rooms were closed to stop people from stealing. A busy shop, people coming and going with bundles of clothes & no security tags.

At our local Next you cant seem to get into the fitting rooms on sale days as they are jam packed with stuff. Fixtures & fittings, hangers, maniquens, clothes.

I am not really a fan of Next they have a good return policy.

But as has been mentioned, if there is a lack of staff to offer the best service in all areas, then closing them is the best solution.

Surely a better solution would be to employ more staff?

I haven't been sales shopping for years until yesterday but I knew what I wanted and was fully prepared to hunt through the rails and queue for some time (I even took a book with me to pass the time). But instead I bought the item in two sizes and now I have to take one back. But of course M&S would rather I do this so the money sits in their bank rather than delivering actual customer service. I doubt I'll be going back there again any time soon.

I buy quite a bit from Next mainly because the Directory is handy, but they do wind me up with their sales. They have big ones in December and July plus 2 weekend ones in Spring and Autumn but never reductions at any other time, and consequently people treat their sales like the Holy Grail when in fact they are pretty crap. Places like White Stuff do this too but I've rarely found any good bargains, just hidoues tat that clearly didn't sell at full price.

As someone said up thread, other stores have sales throughout the year so their 'big' ones are less of a nightmare to shop in - no need for 4am queues, closed changing rooms and millions of returns. I guess Next must make a lot by doing it this way but as a customer it really annoys me.

If a store can't figure out that they're going to be busy at sale time and employ the required number of staff to deal with that, and expect me, as the paying customer, to tolerate substandard conditions and not being allowed to try on the product I want to purchase, then they obviously don't care about me as a customer, so I'll go elsewhere.