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?

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

very grim indeed.

I can only repeat what I was told by head office and the store manager, they both said categorically that it was absolutely not store policy to sniff returns, certainly not blatantly. It was implied (though not said directly) that if it was deemed necessary it was to be done discreetly out of sight. They said they had an area behind the desks, same in all stores apparently. I also don’t want and wouldn’t accept compensation in any form, that is stated categorically in my formal complaint to head office. It never was about money. I find it rude in the extreme. If it was store policy I would add my voice to get it changed. I have returned items there many times and have NEVER witnessed anything half as blatant as that. So I tend to believe them that it isn’t store policy at all, and that they’re not just humouring the mad crazy offended lady.

As for all the people who consider it run of the mill that returned items get a good old in-your-face sniff at the service desk, maybe I have just been wearing blinkers all my life, my friend too, we have never ever seen it. I have noticed discreet things going on, then a supervisor being called, then a discreet chat going on at the sidelines kind of things, but have never ever seen blatant “smell the armpits and be seen to be doing it” kind of stuff. You all must shop in different stores to me.

Oh give over, your day was ruined. My friend had returns denied because of dog hairs on them btw.

I struggled to make it to the end of your post tbh I hope your letter to head office was a bit shorter.

I almost had sympathy towards you and how embarrassed you felt (for the few minutes it took you to return the item) until you asked whether you were BU to go in store and basically threaten that you hoped by the time 'head off and her manager had finished with her' she felt as bad as you felt!

This is after you had already
Finished your shopping trip early just because of this incident
Phoned head office
Written to head office and
Phoned her manager!
You sound like you deserve a bloody oscar for your performance. How do you want head office to deal with her 10 lashes? Fired? Disciplined?
I hope you never meet anyone similar to yourself, the next time you have an off day at work! Yes she wasn't great she didn't behave well and she was rude but you have gone ridiculously over the top!
We all have down days and thankfully the majority of the time we don't have them in front of someone who reports us to everyone possible and still debates whether to come into our work place to threaten us in person!

Wow wow wow!

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

Now you are being silly...you sound about 10

Loads of people have explained this to you, its happened to loads of us, it happens every day

I must admit I order 2 sizes of things when I order them online.

But then if I need to return them the item gets put straight back into the plastic bag/ box it came in, back into the outer packing and sealed up. So whatever I return doesn't end up smelling like it's been sitting in s smokers car for a while, which your clothing did OP.

I'm all for people smoking but not for people being twats and throwing their returned clothing out the pram like a 2 year old.

Until yesterday I have never been humiliated by a shop assistant in all my 44 yrs on this earth.

OH dear.. did you get an attack of the vapours as well? You are 44 years old. You are an adult woman yet behaving like a spoilt child.

Maybe you just look especially smelly.

Frankly, I don't think you should have been given the refund. I wonder if there is any way to inform the store that we support the sales assistant, in her acting to defend future customers from innocently purchasing minging items? And yes, cigarette smoke is a horrible smell. I have previously complained in a hotel as it was obvious that the towels in my room had previously been in a smoker's room, and laundering had not fully removed the horrible odour.

I used to have to smell stuff when I worked in retail. Sometimes people do wear things and return them, others smoke and make them smell. It's incredibly hard to sell clothes that smell and returned clothes generally just get put back on the shop floor if there's nothing wrong with them other than the fact that it wasn't the wrong size/for for the original buyer. What do you hope to gain by complaining?

I can't believe that you are going to try and get the member if staff in trouble about this.

What a ridiculous overreaction.

I hope you can live with yourself if they are reprimanded. Just imagine how upset they will be, and for a lot better reason than you had.

You should have said "cigarette smoke? I'm surprised you can smell it above your B.O??' Refund please...

However feint you say it was, the point is she could smell it. If it goes back out on the rack another customer will also be able to smell it. Having racks full of smelly returned items will do more damage to the shop's reputation then telling you to do one rather than give you a refund. Regardless of what that small is.

Re the point about online shopping, yes they send you more than one size because there isnt the opportunity to try before you buy, on the high street there is, whether you chose to do so is entirely up to you but you always run the risk of them not giving you a refund (or offering a swap only, or refunding in vouchers). I think you're clutching at straws with this one

Oh god, what a fuss about nothing!

I may be the only one, but I do think sometimes retail assistants get a bit over excited about accepting or declining returns. For me, as said, this scenario also happened and it was total and utter nonsense.

No one can say if the person serving you has some personal issues and is unable to exert normal common sense or not, in most instances they can, but you do get the occasional one who is a bit of a twat.

We had a customer the other day who handed over a top she had been looking at saying

"You need to smell this it really smells of ?????"

Apparently the smell was really strong, and the item had only been tried on

I have never had my returns smelt and i am 47 so maybe the blatant sniffing only goes on in certain stores

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

What are you talking about!! You absolutely bonkers person, I love it. Shine on you crazy diamond.

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)

This^

I love my friend. I don’t notice the smoke smell after the first 5 minutes. But there is no doubt in either of our minds that her person, her coat, her long thick hair would have been FAR smellier than the double bagged returned items. This is exactly why I am so pissed off. If the shop assistant had just said politely “look, not being cheeky, but do you smoke cause I think I smell fags on these” it would have been so much easier for me to say airily “hell no, that’ll be Faggy Fiona next to me you smell. Take the gym clothes out back and I’m sure the fag smell will disappear”. It could have been solved so easily. But the uppity, hostile manner it all went down in just made it so very customer unfriendly, my friends face was purple. Head office and store manager agree there couldn’t have been any issue as I did state categorically “look just leave it, give me them back, to hell with the refund”. My friend’s embarrassment is much more important to me than 40 quid. I know (as does friend) it was her being that was carrying the smoke smell. Not my two return items. Still though, any smoker making returns will have this issue to one degree or another and I still maintain that it can and should be handled discreetly, tactfully and politely. None of those were on display yesterday. It was handled, rudely, abruptly and sarcastically. And shop assistants have to learn to keep their rudeness and sarcasm to their selves unless they are 100% certain it’s the returned item that smells and not the returnee. If they can't do this then shops need to start hanging signs up with "if you're a smoker don't return items yourself or we might think the item stinks when really it's you who stinks. So better get a friend to do it"

Well its hardly the shop assistants fault your friend stinks of fags tbh. It kind of comes with the territory if you're a smoker.

"I have never had my returns smelt and i am 47 so maybe the blatant sniffing only goes on in certain stores"

we obviously shop in the same shops Rufus. Until yesterday I have never had it happen to me, or seen it happen to others. Do notice sometimes little hushed conversations going on in the background (with other people's returns, lol). But no sniffing anywhere, ever.

You said

they no doubt had a second hand stale cigaretty smell to them

Irrespective of the reasons why people take home and return clothes, I do not want to buy clothes smelling of smoke, dogs, frying, CO or perfume.

I think it is cheeky to expect a shop to take stuff back in that condition.

I am also amazed that someone so very robust in arguing your case against considerable heckling here was so easily distressed, humiliated etc etc in a shop. Hmm.

shethinks

I do agree there is a difference between inhaling and a discrete sniff

I think you should wait outside the shop until the shop assistant leaves, jump on her and burn her all over with fags before smothering her to death with some smoky yoga bottoms. That'll learn her.

we might think the item stinks when really it's you who stinks. So better get a friend to do it.

But not your mate op. According to you she honks.

Well its hardly the shop assistants fault your friend stinks of fags tbh. It kind of comes with the territory if you're a smoker.

Indeed not, but it is her fault that she wrongly assumed the fag smoke smell was coming from my returned items. The person behind me in the queue, or at the till next to me could have been a smoker. Shop assistants need to keep their gobs firmly shut until they know with 100% certainty that it's the return items that stink. So no, it's not her fault she smelled fag smoke. It is her fault for being gobby and obnoxious and wrong about the source of that smell though.

Patriciathestripper1 "You should have said "cigarette smoke? I'm surprised you can smell it above your B.O??' Refund please..."

WTF? No she shouldn't!