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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

sales assistant sniffs clothing I returned to the store

693 replies

shethinksistink · 29/12/2016 15:56

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?

OP posts:

Thread gallery

DJBaggySmalls · 29/12/2016 18:11

Big department stores used to have a member of staff whose job it was to get chewed out and sacked in front of demanding customers. It would be a shame to see those days come back.

DJBaggySmalls · 29/12/2016 18:11

Big department stores used to have a member of staff whose job it was to get chewed out and sacked in front of demanding customers. It would be a shame to see those days come back.

hooliodancer · 29/12/2016 18:13

Have a look at An Inspector Calls by JB Priestley.

I'm sure your clothes didn't smell. But why don't you accept they have to check? It doesn't take much to embarrass you to the core does it? The shop assistant doesn't know you, it's not personal, she was checking if the clothes had been worn because some people do that. You don't do that, but remember - she doesn't actually know you so how does she know if you are the type of person to do that or not?

You have behaved rather badly.

RubyRoseViolet · 29/12/2016 18:16

Crumbs....you are kidding me! You are completely ott about this. Poor shop assistant. I would be very unhappy to accept clothes that were being returned smelling of smoke. Sorry but I literally cannot believe how over dramatic your account is here! Just leave it!

DailyFail1 · 29/12/2016 18:21

Agree that the Head office and store manager is humouring you. There is no way the assistant will get into trouble for that as it's standard practice in most high st outlets. Even M&S will have a quick whiff.

Also, clothes stinking of smoke will not be resold. At best they'll go to one of their outlets at a loss. I personally would stop going to shops where the clothes on the rail smell of smoke.

PigletWasPoohsFriend · 29/12/2016 18:26

If you want to be barred from the store thenotes yes do it.

PigletWasPoohsFriend · 29/12/2016 18:26

*then

thatdearoctopus · 29/12/2016 18:35

Only if you're a complete bitch.

IWouldLikeToSeeTheseMangoes · 29/12/2016 18:37

So AIBU to consider having a little trip into town tomorrow morning, finding the sniffing sales assistant

Picturing OP stomping around with barely contained rage doing huffy browsing amongst the rails until she matches over to the till and says "I demand to see the sniffing assistant."

giraffesCantReachTheirToes · 29/12/2016 18:44

Martin Lewis was on tv recently explaining shops don't have to take back anything unless it is faulty.

Angela0413 · 29/12/2016 18:45

She was rude in how she did it but I've refused a refund in the past when worked in fancy department store. Dress absolutely reeked of cigarettes therefore was not in a "saleable condition". No one would pay £500 for a dress stinking of cigarettes. Standard T&Cs.

icelollycraving · 29/12/2016 18:49

I work in retail. People demand a refund for bloody everything,aside from a fault, the company do it for goodwill.
I would be totally pissed off to buy any clothing to find it smelling of second hand smoke. The company will be pretending they are shocked,the managers will cascade down a bit of a bollocking & tell her to be a bit more discreet. This time of year there are huge returns. I have sniffer dog skills and you are lucky to get a refund at all.
The bit about going in to see her is utterly OTT & weird. You will lose your assumed upper hand.
Yabu.

GabsAlot · 29/12/2016 19:00

actuallly op i think you should go back in there tomorrow-i could use a laugh when u came back home and tell everyone youve been barred from the shopping centre

people buy things all the time wear them and take them back fact-and heres another-they dont have the right to a refund

user1467976192 · 29/12/2016 19:01

Ice lolly I remember once when I worked in retail a man trying to return a pair of well worn trousers that were 5 years old... his reason they were starting to thin and go in the knees and they should have a life time guarantee

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 29/12/2016 19:06

Wow op, you're still going!

Suck it up love. People have little sympathy for you and Fag Ash Lil and your total non-event.

They'll be having a good laugh about this in the staff room.

icelollycraving · 29/12/2016 19:07

I had a man return a shaving stick caked in blood that he'd had over 10 years as it didn't work so well. Vom.
So many things over the years.

MrsCharlieD · 29/12/2016 19:09

You are bonkers. Hth.

Original poster

shethinksistink · 29/12/2016 19:12

Well it's obvious that many of you have MUCH more problems with the faint smell of secondhand cigarette smoke than I do. No way would those two items have stunk, it would have been very faint at best.

My sister (non smoker) now her car reeks, really reeks, of dog. 2 big wet smelly hairy dogs. If I can help it I never get into her car. But somehow I can't imagine her getting questioned on returning items to a store. I just can't see a sales assistant getting all uppity and eye-rolly with "I think I detect faint whiff of wet labrador on this top".

I think this all has more to do with the current hysteria around smoking than it has to do with clothing returns where there is a lingering trace of a smell. I would hazard an educated guess that many items are returned with faint traces of many smells on them (oil, fat, perfume, fish, food, pets, meat, cooking etc) but thecigarette smoke will be the one that causes the most adverse reactions because so many people have become hysterical where smoking is involved. I see this on MN all the time. the smoking threads are always full of hysteria and vitriol.

I know someone who every time I meet them I smell deep fat fryers. her clothes, her hair, her children, her person, they all reek of chips to me. So if she buys something then returns it a few days later, I imagine it would trace amounts of fat-fryer smell clinging to it. I somehow don't think the reaction would be as hysterical as it was with trace amounts of cigarette smoke.

OP posts:

Blu · 29/12/2016 19:13

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.

OK, retail good practice may be not to sniff stuff in front of customers, but as someone who might subsequently buy the stuff, I am grateful.

Loads of people wear and return - no need to take it all so personally.

DotForShort · 29/12/2016 19:15

This thread has cheered me up so much. The OP's ridiculously OTT overreaction to a non-event was just the tonic I needed.

Of course, the un-funny side of things would be if the salesperson received any sort of reprimand from management. I trust (assuming that decent people work in management positions at this shop) that anyone higher up the ladder would have made the appropriate soothing noises to the OP and left it at that. How unfair it would be if the salesperson faced any negative consequences.

My mother and grandmother both worked in retail jobs at various times. The stories they could tell about unreasonable customers!

Blu · 29/12/2016 19:16

No one wants to buy clothes which smell of dogs, frying, cigarettes or other people's perfume. I don't want to buy new clothes that smell of other people and their habits, whatever they may be.

RufusTheSpartacusReindeer · 29/12/2016 19:16

shethink

Nothing to do with the current hysteria around smoking

As i said in my post is any distinctive smell....so smoke or washing powder or strong perfumes

Trifleorbust · 29/12/2016 19:19

I don't think they should have to take back items that smell. Not in saleable condition.

RitaConnors · 29/12/2016 19:22

What a huge over reaction. She thought she could smell smoke. What was she supposed to do? Pretend she dropped it on the floor and smell it under the counter? Return things that smell and then get into trouble with her boss? I don't think chip pan owners etc. are entitled to return things if they smell. In fact, nobody is entitled to return anything unless it's faulty.

If you have 'no doubt' they had a stale cigarette smell then you are being very unreasonable.

Really I doubt that head office were appalled.

ItShouldHaveBeenJingleJess · 29/12/2016 19:24

I do wonder what happens with clothes that have been tried on multiple times in stores, by individuals who, let's face it, may be a bit sweaty or wearing heavy perfume etc. Do they get a sniff check before they go back on the racks? I buy a lot of my stuff in charity shops and I've had a couple of people make 'ugh' faces at this - but the clothes have (IME) been washed! I don't really see the difference between buying a second hand top that may only have been worn once or twice and is clean (or possibly never worn - hence its donation) to buying something that's been on several bodies before being sold to its eventual owner.

I can see why OP was embarrassed. I can also see why the member of staff had to do this. I feel a certain amount of empathy for both - neither was in a particularly pleasant situation.

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