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?

If you were aware the items smelt having been in the car then it was probably stronger for her.

But really, is a 30 second polite but pointed confrontation of “I really didn’t like your attitude, you were very rude” after you receive extremely poor service now considered REVENGE? Really? Revenge? Is that not as extreme as you’re accusing me of being? (said nicely, I am not trying to confront you, lol. )

Yes, it is. Because if you were a reasonable person, you would have considered the matter closed after one phone call/conversation with a manager. You're not a reasonable person. You made TWO phone calls, spoke to TWO different managers - because one wasn't enough for you, was it? And then not only that, but you wrote an angry letter. So yes, after TWO phone calls and an angry letter, seeking her out to talk to her yourself IS revenge, it's petty, it's vindictive, it's harassment, and it's flat out nasty.

You can pretend you're as naice as you want to pretend you are, but your own words and the actions you admitted to paint you irrevocably as the nasty, cruel, spiteful piece of work you are.

How would you feel if she came to find you to have a "polite but point d confrontation" about how she didn't like your attitude when you returned things that smelt of smoke?

if I had been rude and sarcastic and obnoxious I would EXPECT to be confronted on it. I wasn’t rude. She was.

And as you obviously haven’t RTFT - although I didn’t have a forensic expert with me in my handbag yesterday, it doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to work out the stale fag smell would have been coming from my friend, not from the double bagged garments. That is not to say that it is impossible that a nano-vapour of second hand smoke attached to the garments, but you can bet your bottom dollar than my lovely gorgeous bestie would have masked that nana-vapour with her normal smoker smell. Hell she stubbed a cigarette out just before we walked into the shop. Lit up as we came out the car and stamped it out outside the shop.

(yes, in an ashtray!)

angryGinger
That made me laugh!
(I've flounced now for a good couple of hours. Took myself off for dinner as well I'm just waiting for him to go to bed so that I can go home and drink wine and eat chocolate in peace

SaveYourTears I think not troll but, because the OP is so very defensive on behalf of smokers, I'm starting to believe the smoking friend is imaginary and it is the OP herself who is the smoker. Probably she's embarrassed about it and she is pissed off because she thinks she got smoke-shamed by the assistant who was actually only doing her job.

I have no truck with the smoke-shamers, the exaggerated cougher and wafter crowd, but smokers have to accept they smell bad to non-smokers. Their hair, clothes, their homes (even if they don't smoke inside), even their pets smell of stale smoke and they don't realise it themselves because they're so used to it.

Your not the poster who went to the hairdressers with dirty hair which hadn't been washed for 5 days plus and wanted a dry cut then was annoyed because the hairdresser asked you to wash your hair next time? Who then went back and confronted the hairdresser and was told yabu by her the manager and everyone on the thread.Your attitude and entitlement is very similar to that thread..especially confronting the person who wronged you.

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

yes potentially you are.

pfffft waaaaaaaahahahahahahaha

Calmed down in the afternoon, and called the head office of the store. They were appalled and assured me it would be dealt with.

They weren't appalled. Retailers train their staff to do it. They were humouring you.

But we’ll see.

No we wont

You will just come back on in a day or so and say

"Spoke to the manager, they have spoken to the assistant and she now has a black mark on her record"

When nothing of the sort will have happened

Calmed down in the afternoon, and called the head office of the store.

No you didn't. Calm down, that is. If you had actually calmed down, you never would have felt the need to call the head office. I literally don't have words for the ridiculousness of your overreaction to this.

NO OP

YOU SAID

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

And now its your smelly friend

You threw that poor smelly cow under the bus on this thread havent you

OP trust me no matter how much you spend in this store, they will either refuse to serve you based on your subsequent complaints (just leaving it at being pissed off would have been fine).

Or if they really want to keep your custom they will serve you and take your money but be on guard for other rudeness and your previous friendliness will be replaced with mere civility.

Am also thinking you're the smoker too. No one could be as defensive.

jay when OP says calmed she means she has gone home to seethe about this and then decided to fire off letters etc... Phone calls...

Dear god.

If it's a small town OP expect the gossip mongerers to be out in force too, word travels... They won't say it to your face mind!

You'll just become known as the woman who flashes the cash but complains and overreacts for a petty reason.

I'm a former retail worker: shop floor, management, area manager, head office, the lot. Trust me, op, they will be laughing about this behaviour. The assistant should not have sniffed so conspicuously, but a simple word with her line manager would have been the reasonable course of action.

Yes, it is. Because if you were a reasonable person, you would have considered the matter closed after one phone call/conversation with a manager. You're not a reasonable person. You made TWO phone calls, spoke to TWO different managers - because one wasn't enough for you, was it? And then not only that, but you wrote an angry letter. So yes, after TWO phone calls and an angry letter, seeking her out to talk to her yourself IS revenge, it's petty, it's vindictive, it's harassment, and it's flat out nasty.

Calm down or you'll do yourself one!

I phoned head office. I mentioned in that call that I knew “John Smith” (made up name of store manager) superficially so if they had any doubts that I am not a regular customer, haven’t shopped there for years, have never had any type of issue in their store that a) they should mention my name to John Smith and b)if they keep records of sales they will see just how often I shop there without a single issue, ever! I also bring all my online purchase returns to that branch, so we’re not talking a once-in-a-blue-moon customer here.

The staff member at head office specifically asked if I would lodge a complaint in writing. Her words were something like “I am noting this down and will finish it off after we hang up. But can I ask you please to write all of this down in your words, and email it to us, as a story is never the same when a second party retells it. And it is important to us to ensure this doesn’t happen again so if it was written down it would help us to help you”.

She then suggested as I knew “John Smith” (albeit superficially) that I call directly with the store and speak with him. As it turned out it was a shift manager (shift supervisor? ) I spoke with as he was at lunch. She did offer to have him call me back, but you’ll be relieved to hear that I said that was unnecessary.

So, before you go off one about my two phone calls and my one email, maybe you could just have asked why I didn’t stop at one phone call. Then again, it’s mumsnet, it’s easier to just go off on a “you’re harassing the poor woman” rant than to ask a simple question. Take a pill!

She got a waft of smoke when you took the top out so of course she was suspicious. I wouldn't wanted to buy a smokey smelling top. I'm a teacher and when I take in homework for marking sometimes I can smell who lives in a house with a smoker. It can really linger.

I'd love to respond, but I have to go to work, and deal with an endless parade of customers. Touch wood none of them are as foul as you - though, I'm one of the lucky ones. Not only do I not have to put up with your crap, my managers back me up in telling the unreasonable ones exactly where to get off.

If you'd been in my store, you wouldn't have been asked to write a letter. You would have been told where to shove it. We don't need your custom that badly that we just bend over and take it from anyone, least of all revolting pieces of work who have nothing better to do than make miseries of the lives of lowly shop assistants.

And as you obviously haven’t RTFT

Oh, but I have.

if I had been rude and sarcastic and obnoxious I would EXPECT to be confronted on it. I wasn’t rude. She was.

She wasn't. She did her job. You deserve to be confronted about your complete over reaction.

She said she thought she smelt smoke when she handled the clothing and sniffed them to check. You "jumped in" to deny it was at all possible, some how forgetting your chain smoking friend who had, apparently, stubbed a stinky fag out just moments before. Really? You didn't think to say "oh, my friend here has just smoked, it must be that"

Yeah...

The thread that keeps on giving! Every update is a joy to read.

Loving the irony of the OP telling another poster to calm down.
So, now you were specifically asked to write two emails and make another phone call? Were you specifically asked to seek out and confront the assistant yourself so you could politely tell her off? No? Didn't think so

This is getting more hilarious by the minute.

Calm down or you'll do yourself one!

Hahahahahahaha... that's rich coming from you!

The clothes and the smoker aren't the only things that stink about this thread.

Let's face it Op, the shop assistant thinks you have an awful Billy Ocean problem masked by the faggy stench eminating from the bag.
G R I M

Given you "know" the manager and this was a store specific issue, why didn't you phone dear old John Smith first?