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?

As someone who has worked in retail you are overreacting. I once worked in a well known kids clothing retailer and my boss could smell washing powder on some returned clothes and bobbling. They had obviously been worn and washed. I wouldn't like to buy new clothes that smelled of cigarette smoke. You try them on once or twice maybe then take them back. Put them in the boot if you smoke in the car.

Goodness, OP, you're hard work.

NO OP YOU SAID Yes, they no doubt had a second hand stale cigaretty smell to them

I don't have a degree in forensics. What do you think would smell most?

a. Clothes that have never been worn, not even tried on, hell I didn't even take them out of the bag as the bigger set fit. No one has ever smoked in this house. The were double bagged in the car for 30 minutes.

or

b. my friend who chain smokes in her car. Smoked about 3 on the way to my house when she was alone in the car. The she smoked one on the way into the shop. Stubbed it out just before we went in. My friend would no doubt have smelled quite blatantly of smoke. And she was stood next to me.

I think it's possible (maybe even probable) that there was a TINY bit of smell on the clothes. But it must have been miniscule. (although that is relative to the sniffer) But I cannot deny there could have or would have been a smell on the clothes. Bad enough to refuse a refund? I sincerely doubt it as no smoker ever would get a refund if my returns were deemed reeking of smoke. And even head office admit the garments could never have been reeking of smoke because of they had been I wouldn't have been refunded. Hell I offered to keep them just to get out of there.

We both agree, if she had been browsing the rails this would never have happened. The SA has smelled smoke and wrongly assumed it was from the garments. Or maybe she just thinks all smokers are chancers who return smelly clothes. Either way I don't care. I just don't think she should get off scott-free with such awful treatment of non-dodgey customers.

Omg OP get a hobby. You and your friend couldn't go on your shopping trip after this?! God help you if anything serious actually happened in your day. Ridiculous

Calm down or you'll do yourself one!

Says the person who wanted to confront a sales assistant.

If this happened to me, I'd be miffed and a bit embarrassed. You sound like you sort-of enjoyed the drama.

STOP UPDATING OP!! I need to go to bed.

I think you've jumped the shark now op

Give it up

I just don't think she should get off scott-free with such awful treatment of non-dodgey customers.

So what do you want to happen to them then, considering they were, you know, doing their job.

I am on nodding terms with the manager

You're totally bonkers and not at all nice. How can someone who is so overly sensitive say such nasty things about another person?

Your attitude is terrible.

I didn't believe that this was real to begin with...still not sure TBH...

Man, OP, I suggest you get a job/hobby or anything meaningful to fill your days. It sounds like you spend far too much time shopping.

Also, your fag-ash friend sounds gross.

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

precisely because I know him and I didn't know if this was store (chain) policy or not. If this is what staff were supposed to do, I wanted to hear it from head office. Not from him. I have no need to protect him. He is not a friend. I also didn't want him apologising just because he felt he had to because we have a vague acquaintance. If I got an apology I wanted it to be because I deserved one. Not because we know each others names or that my niece worked there or whatever.

Sorry ladies, I am going to have leave you all frothing until the morning now. I will keep my blood warm for you all over night, rest assured and sleep tight.

shethinks

You said that no doubt the clothes smelt

Now you have changed your story and its your stinky friend

Really sorry that i am going by what you originally said and that your story keeps changing

Night night Stinky

Oh thank god you are going to bed

Sincerely, have a good nights sleep

It is horrible being embarrassed however it happened

Op at one point you said that your friend didn't smoke with anyone in the car and hadn't smoked for an hour and then in the next breath you said that she had a cigarette on the way to the shops. Which ones the truth?

YABVVVVU
get a grip of yourself

YABVVVVU
get a grip of yourself

YABVVVVU
get a grip of yourself

I phoned head office. I mentioned in that call that I knew “John Smith” (made up name of store manager) superficially

They don't give a crap you once went on a training course with John Smith. They don't give a crap that you spend a lot of money there. And John Smith is busy running a store, nodding to every customer because it makes them feel valued.

They told you to write it in your own words to keep you busy and make you feel like you'd achieved something. They told you to call the store yourself so you didn't feel the need to escalate it with them. And you can't see that! They are good at their job

We used to tell people with particularly ridiculous complaints to put it in writing. Not because we would take it more seriously but for one of following reasons:

1. To get the complainant to go away because we had listened to enough and had more important other things to do.

1. To give the complainant a bit of space to calm down and realise they were being a bit of a twat. Suddenly seeing it written down can bring sense to a hysterical situation.

1. To preserve the ridiculousness for posterity. You think a Janet and Roy is good? You've never seen a spectacularly vitriolic missive about a total non-issue or imagined slight.

1. To just get them to fuck off. Probably one in twenty can be bothered to write in. Plenty can give it out but very few can haul their lazy arse off to write a letter, get a stamp and send it.

Glad I refreshed - was just about to type out what Moving said about asking people to write in.

OP just walk away from the keyboard. With each successive post, you reveal yourself as increasingly ill-mannered and nasty.

This gets better and better

If this turns out to be made up, please don't delete it MNHQ, it's too funny for words.

So head office wrote the complaint on their special invisible computer but asked you to write it in your own words (so they could file it in their special filing system bin ), sensibly you mentioned the manager's name in order to strengthen your case but sadly ended up sounding like a total weirdo , and now you're on mumsnet asking if you would be unreasonable to stalk the sales assistant, try to make her feel like shit, intimidate her with threats of head office and then leave smiling. You've had 16 pages of people saying yes YAB totally U, and yet you're still determined to feel wronged.

Are you quite well?