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?

YABU. Lots of people here are telling you that, but you're not listening.

Do you always overreact to minor situations?

Also, am I the only one feeling a bit sorry for the friend here? I bet she was desperate for a ciggy after being interrogated about smoking in her own car but didn't dare light up in the OP's presence after that debacle...

No you’re not the only one. She felt terrible about the whole thing. Felt it was her fault. I felt terrible for her. She felt terrible for me. Like a lot of smokers she spends half her life appologising for her habit. I don’t blame my friend at all, I chose to get in her car. She was annoyed though as now she feels she herself runs the risk of this happening to her as every return she ever makes is made in a smoke-smelly car. Like me she think it's it humiliating to be treated to a sniff test. Neither of us were in the mood for a shopping trip after this.

"LeopardPrintSocks1

I think it's quite normal for them to smell it, I've seen them do it before as some people wear it, wash it and return"

Have never seen a sales person do this - IN M&S!!! The rest are just second rate with no manners.

I cannot abide people who don't say anything in the moment about minor incidents because they are so "shocked" but go on an epic rampage straight afterwards.

You need to a) get over yourself and b) apologise to the shop assistant for your massive bloody overreaction when she was just doing her job.

Let's hope the person on the phone was placating the OP. Probably assuming that any normal person would make the phone complaint get it off their chest and get on with their life & the poor sales person doesn't even get spoken to about it. At the end of the day she was doing her job & following procedure.

I can't believe anyone could get so worked up to be considering going into the shop to look for her. That's just not normal behaviour

and since when did speaking politely for 30 seconds to a shop assistant who treated you poorly become stalking?

Not quite what you said in your OP -

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.

OP you DID admit to them smelling in your first post:-

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

Shall I tell you about the dress I had returned to me that the customer swore up and down hadn't been worn? When I turned the dress inside out, not only was it covered in fake tan (which is anticipated) but she'd quite obviously scratched her very unclean arse which was a nice bonus for the ladies in the queue. Turns out their reaction meant I didn't need to decline the refund after all.

Holy...

puts down Ploughmans

Oh dear istink you are going to end up on the shopwatch list for all the wrong reasons.

Couple of points:

It is not unknown for a "customer" to buy a garment from a shop, wear it on a night out, and return it the next day for a refund.

Shops do not have to refund, by law, for anything other than faulty goods. Something not fitting is changed as a courtesy to shoppers.

Massive overreaction from OP. I wonder how some people manage to function when they're so horrified/fuming/upset/embarrassed by everything.

I wouldnt be offended in the least if someone smelled something I'd brought back - blatantly or not.

My view would be that that's what has to be done nowadays in an attempt to make it more difficult for those dishonest shoppers who remove labels carefully, wear an item and take it back with the labels intact.

My view is that you've taken this far too personally - let it drop.

The amount of people that probably call up head office about minor stuff like this is probably astonishing. Hopefully the poor girl will get a pat on the back for trying to avoid reselling smokey clothes.

I used to do it all the time op.

Dirty fuckers would try to return worn stuff which they claimed not to have worn.

Op.. have you read 'an Inspector calls'?. You really do need to calm down over things like this.

I'm also sorry to say that you too probably smelt of smoke after being in a smokers car. Not pleasant.

I love these threads

OP: AIBU
the whole of mums net: Yes!!!
OP: But I'm not

Maybe the assistant could smell smoke on you and your friend already and was trying to work out if it was on the returned items or just on you/friend?
Would you want to buy new clothes that had a faint smell of ciggies on them? Honestly? Should the store lose money on the items that they can't sell on because they don't smell as new?
You got the refund and have made a complaint. Surely that should keep you happy?

Was it M&S?
When I worked there we were trained to check whether clothes had been worn - and this included checking for smells.

I bought a dress once v quickly in my size and I didn't try it on. When I got home it stank of BO and had fake tan all over the inside.
Luckily I returned it so quickly it was obvious I had no chance to wear it and they accepted it but it was so gross and I'm v happy that assistants check for things like that. If she gets a bollocking she won't anymore which means you've put a stop to good practise.
You got your money OP just stop with all the negativity.

you need to get a grip, and tbh you sound quite unhinged.

OP give your head a waggle. You're being daft

To be honest OP.. its a good lesson for your friend to learn. Anyone spending time in a smoke filled environment will smell, and in a confined space like a car it will be even more apparent.

If she doesn't know that already then what a relief she knows now.

"I dunno... I smoke indoors shock (I have no DCs, so nobody else is exposed to my habit) and have never had this done to me on returning items.

I used to work in a "high end" store, and they employed "sniffers" to do this kind of thing. But not in public view. It was most likely the cigarette smoke she could smell on your friend. Or she was just being an arse.

Forget about it OP, you can't control others' dickish behaviour."

thank you

half the reason I felt so bad was because my friend felt so bad. Like you she does smoke in her own home too. First we bought thought the sales assistant was sniffing for sweat and my friend found that slightly funny as it was me in the firing line, once it became apparent it was cigarette smoke that was the problem, well... she started trying to defend it and got flustered ... I asked her just to stop. I just wanted out of there. It was as horrible for her as for me.

I often read threads here on mumsnet and feel a little bit sorry for smokers as they get harsh treatment in here, but that yesterday made me feel VERY sorry for smokers. To get that kind of treatment yesterday (as well as the loads of "well what do you expect OP you returned stinking smelly items OP" posts in here), I am so glad I don't smoke. I find the level of exaggeration around just how bad smoke smells very high Yes it's not a nice smell to a non-smoker, but it's not that bad in trace or second hand amounts. And even if it is bad, does it deserve the vitriolic (smelly stinking minging) replies? I don't think so.

Do people really have to routinely smell clothes or is it likely that these were given a sniff as the smoke could be smelled?

Hopefully not on the clothes, just the bags.