sales assistant sniffs clothing I returned to the store

[shethinksistink]

I have namechanged for this as I find it very embarrassing.

I went shopping end of last week, found trousers and a top I liked, wasn’t sure of the sizes and couldn’t be bothered trying them on, so took both items in 2 sizes. At home I tried the bigger sizes on first, they fitted great so didn’t even bother trying the smaller sizes. Bagged up the 2 smaller sized items and set them aside to return yesterday.

Friend arrives 9am and we drive into town and my first port of call is to bring my returns back. Shop assistant packs out the two things, looks at my receipt, starts checking the numbers off against the tags then picks up the top and sniffs at it. Not in a discreet way, the exact same way you’d sniff at the armpits to check if it needs to go in the wash, blatantly! She didn’t look happy. I hate to do the exaggerated “I was shocked to the core” mumsnet thing, but I was. I have genuinely never felt so shocked, embarrassed and dumbstruck in a shop in my life. I am hyper vigilant about personal hygiene and the thought I would return smelly items made my recoil in horror. But I hadn’t even tried them on, so I was totally confused. There was a queue a mile long behind me at the desk. Everyone could see and hear this.

In a total fluster I ask the sales assistant what the problem is, she replies in quite a disdainful tone “I just thought I smelled cigarette smoke”. I don’t smoke and neither does anyone else in my house but I was just massively relieved it wasn’t a BO smell. So I jump in and say that it can’t be smoke as I don’t smoke and my house is smoke free. And she again replies disdainfully with “well I can definitely smell it” with a kind of roll-eye facial expression. The whole exchange had a hostile kind of undertone to it. At this point it dawns on me my friend smokes in her car all the time, just not when others are in it. No doubt she’d smoked 2 or 3 on the drive down to my place. The bag with the items had been in the car for around half an hour. Yes, they no doubt had a second hand stale cigaretty smell to them.

But even at that. I was appalled that any sales assistant would sniff an item of clothing in such a blatant manner then bemoan the fact the smell wasn’t to her liking. 40-a-day smokers are actually allowed to return clothes. As are dog owners, chip pan owners, curry cooks, people who cook fish in their homes, people who don’t shower daily and so on. While I sympathise with stores who no doubt get some ponging items of clothing returned, I have never ever witnessed a sales assistant do an in-your-face sniff test in front of a long queue of onlookers. AIBU to find this an appalling lack of manners on the part of the store/sales assistant?

If things must be sniffed, shouldn’t it been done discreetly? Then again, I doubt stores can refuse to accept items of clothing that have been stored in the houses of smokers or pet owners or people who own a chip pan or fry fish or are painting the skirting boards with gloss or people who wear cheap crappy perfumes. So why the hell did the sales assistant sniff my fucking top? lol

For the record the whole thing knocked me so sideways I didn’t say a word to the sale assistant. I just left the store as quick as I could. Checked with my friend and yes she had smoked in the car that morning (and it would be fair to say she smokes daily in her car as she spends 3-4hours per working-day on average on the road, wouldn’t surprise me if she smokes 50 ciggies a week in her car). My mood was so fucked up I abandoned my shopping trip and came straight home.

Calmed down in the afternoon, and called the head office of the store. They were appalled and assured me it would be dealt with. I had the name of the sales assistant as it was on the return receipt. Asked me to put the whole event in writing and send it to the head office, which I have done and they’ll get back to me in the new year. I then called the actual store and spoke with a manager who was equally sympathetic and horrified, apologised on behalf of the sales assistant and assured me it would be dealt with and wouldn’t happen to anyone again.

So AIBU to consider having a little trip into town tomorrow morning, finding the sniffing sales assistant and just politely ask her if she meant to be so rude she meant to spoil my day and embarrass me to the core then she should be wholeheartedly congratulated as it worked a treat. And tell her that I hope after head office and the store manager are finished with her that she feels half as rotten as I felt yesterday morning. Then just wish her a happy new year and smile and leave.

Or am I just being childish and petty and should leave it at the written complaint and the 2 phone calls?

To all of you who reckon something pongs/stinks/honks/is vile/smelly because it was exposed to second hand cigarette smoke while double bagged for 30 minutes, cope with online purchases?

People are encouraged online to order in double sizes then return the one that doesn't fit. Given a fair amount of the population still smoke, then a fair percentage of returned items must have lingering traces of cigarette smoke on them. Those items then get resold. How do you all cope with these (rancid vile stinky) items when they are sent to you?

In fact, how do you all cope with daily life?

I don't like cigarette smoke. But I cope with it better than I do smelly people. BO is my biggest hate. Cooking smells on hair & clothing (especially fish and oil) I find much worse. Cheap perfume I dislike too when it's used in excess. Maybe it's because my father smoked heavily when I was a child that I have a certain amount of tolerance for it.

Besides nowadays I hardly ever smell cigarette smoke anyway. When I do it's just faint. Girl at work, her jacket hangs next to mine then I get a faint whiff of it. Not half as bad as whiff of wet-labrador or whiff of chip-pan.

In fact, how do you all cope with daily life?

How childish...

I spent years in retail. I have refused refunds on clothes stinking of cigarettes, chip pans.... never had anything smell of dog but would have refused that if it happened. That was company policy and we'd get a telling off if we returned smelly stuff that we'd then have to write off.

I agree with pp... you'll be the person that gets mimicked in training sessions for years to come. The manager was probably just placating you... I doubt they'll even bother to mention it to the staff member. She'll just be doing what she's told.

My best/worst return was someone trying to return a pair of control pants....complete with curly pube wedged in the crotch. No sniff test needed there! If you've worked in a clothes shop for any length of time you learn to spot the difference between worn and non worn clothing anyway, so the sniff test isn't needed after a while.

Someone suggested doing the sniff test out of sight of the customer....I did this once and had the customer accuse me of switching her item for a stinky item I must have had to hand round the corner. . That's why it's done at the till. I have quite a sensitive sense of smell so am able to be very discreet with it, fortunately.

Well if you return items you bought online, they can merrily sniff away & may decline a refund too if it smells as it isn't in a resaleable condition.

Sorry. I'm another one who thinks taking back clothes in the condition they were in means just that.

Very simple. Most places don't let people smoke inside anymore. When I'm outside I stay away from it and move when I smell it. None of my friends smoke either which is good.

How do YOU cope with daily life when something like this drives you to revenge fantasies and long threads online?!

Oh for goodness sake

Your op wasnt about chip fat smell or dog smell

It was smoke smell

Loads of people actually working in retail have said that any strong smell is a problem

The shop assistant thought it smelt....

Maybe it reeked of BO and she was trying to be polite and not hurt your feelings?

To be honest i would just stick the smoke theory...

So let's be clear then op. You yourself would be quite happy to purchase a brand new item of clothing that smelt of smoke?

There is a reason ebay has

From a smoke/animal free house

I work in retail if you had the tags on still i probably wouldnt have sniffed them ( i have a nose like a blood hound though so would be able to smell perfume/chip fat etc soon as the garment was out the bag) You will probably get a gift voucher unfortunatly no matter how much we "stick to the rules" those high above would rather shut the customer up and make us look like a twat. In a previous job a colleague returned a neatly folded pair of white jeans with the tag poking out, gave the customer a refund went to re hang them and they had blood stains in the crotch area. Grim

In fact, how do you all cope with daily life?

That is absolutely priceless after your OP.

I barely made it to paragraph 3 without thinking someone was gonna have to stage an intervention.

No way would those two items have stunk, it would have been very faint at best

Sooooo, so faint one would have had to sniff it to tell op?

I don't know about anyone else (but I would hazard an educated a guess this is a common view) but I don't want to buy smelly clothes full stop. I don't care about the origin of the whiff. If it stinks I don't want it.

If the sales assistant had said she thought it smelt a bit of kippers and you had remembered your friend likes to fry up and eat two kippers for breakfast in the back of her car just before picking you up... the answers would be the same

In fact, how do you all cope with daily life?

I think the same could be said of those who's entire day was ruined because someone sniffed some clothes...

There is no way I want to buy clothes smelling of smoke, or really buy clothes that have been taken home by people too lazy to try them on.

Blu, so you don’t order clothing or shoes online then?

Online shopping encourages ordering double sizes as people can’t try them on in the shop.

For all those calling me too lazy to try them on….

I wasn’t necessarily too lazy to try them on. It was the weekend before Christmas, the changing rooms were heaving, the queue was a mile long, the heating was on full blast, loads of folks were walking up to the changing rooms, taking one look and saying “to hell with that I’ll take it in two sizes and return one next week” and obviously the shop is fine with that as it’s obvious at the point of payment that people aren’t buying 2 identical dresses or 2 identical sets of gym clothes, they are obviously buying two with the intent to return one. I am sure if the store was given the choice of

you changing room is heaving I will leave with nothing,

or

your changing room is heaving I will buy two and return one next week

that they will always chose the latter. That’s why stores allow discretionary returns. Many people just prefer trying on at home for a multitude of reasons. It’s not all about laziness. Maybe they want their partner’s opinion. Maybe they want to be freshly showered, or have their hair nice or just take their time and have some privacy.

If she didn't do it she would probably be disciplined or maybe even fired. It's just part of the shitty job that is retail alongside asking everyone if they want a chocolate bar that's on offer today, asking if they want stamps, checking ID etc

Bloody hell.

Embarrassed? I'm embarrassed for you, love

am I just being childish and petty and should leave it at the written complaint and the 2 phone calls?

Yes you are a twat. Shop assistants are TOLD to do this. She smelt smoke when she sniffed discreetly, she then took a decent sniff to check the item so she didn't get into trouble.

I've seen it happen loads of times in my life. Pretty much everything that gets checked in at a sales desk gets sniffed. If there's a whiff of anything you have to properly sniff which you can't do discreetly. If she took it back smelling she would be in trouble.

If this shocks you and embarrasses you
So much then you have a really amazing life.

I think the same could be said of those who's entire day was ruined because someone sniffed some clothes...

not at all comparable. Until yesterday I have never been humiliated by a shop assistant in all my 44 yrs on this earth. Smelling faint traces of cigarette smoke is something we come across multiple times a day every day of the year. I mean it when I say I am very happy I am not as hysterical about cigarette smoke as many on MN are. Life must be so tough for them and will continue to be as long as smoking remains legal.

Threads like these make me glad I no longer work in retail.
Heck, I had someone write a snippy letter to my manager because I didn't look happy enough.
Wasn't you, was it?

There are some awful examples of shoppers taking the piss with with returned goods here - the fake tanning bum scratcher (there's a sentence I never thought I'd write), the short & curly, the period stains on white jeans - but I think the difference is that the OP genuinely did think her items were in a returns-worthy state (and had been until the car journey - although I'm still convinced the sales assistant was more likely to have caught a whiff of smoke on the friend rather than double-bagged yoga gear).

Who knows? Maybe they did pong and the cashier thought OP was out of order in attempting to return them. Maybe she was tired and irritable after long, thankless shifts during the sales and was wrong and a bit rude. Very possibly, the OP has taken it too personally.

Some customers are a bloody nightmare. Some sales assistants are downright rude. Hard to tell here but comments suggesting the OP is unhinged or needs counselling are a bit OTT as well...

I am not as hysterical about cigarette smoke as many on MN are. Life must be so tough for them

Your clearly hysterical about this though, wanting to storm in and confront her, honestly get over it, she sniffed some clothes, meh. Your acting like she got on the loud speaker an announced smelly bitch at checkout two, she sniffed to see if you'd done the whole wear them and return them thing, not to insult you or because the smell wasn't to her liking

You weren't humiliated

Your perceptions are seriously skewed if you think you were

You've returned goods that were in perfect condition stinking of smoke...I think that it's you that's in the wrong, to be honest.

I haven't noticed anyone getting hysterical about smoking since my mum caught me hanging out of the bathroom window with a Regal Kingsize c 1986. This is nothing to do with a cashier on a one-woman 'Punish Smokers and Their Accomplices' campaign.

You might need to take this more personally, which is something you don't often see said on here.

this made me laugh. Who actually calls head office about this stuff. Poor girl is working a minimum wage job dealing with a bunch of lazy people who are making returns after Christmas because they were too lazy to try on and buy one size. You need to get a grip, if you are "shocked to the core" by someone doing their job zzz