To think retail stores will never survive if they don’t let customers try things on?!!

[TheNewLook]

How are we supposed to give them our money when we can’t try anything on? Nobody want to schelp into town, buy a tonne of clothes, trail them home only to return most of it?

Same with online shopping. I return far more than I keep. It’s an exhausting process. Ordering, opening, trying, parceling up and waiting at the post office!

Let us try things on!!

I don’t care if the person who tried it on before me was harbouing Covid. It’s highly unlikely to live long enough on fabric to be able to contaminate me afterwards.

I'm sticking to our local shop - she will bring clothes to your house, let you try them on etc if you ask nicely and tell her roughly what you are after. She started this service during the full lockdown, the neighbouring shoe shop is doing the same for the vulnerable

Apparently there are massive queues for the toilets at Bluewater at the weekends- the teenagers are buying multiple sizes, going to the loo, trying stuff on, then going back to store to return what they don't want/doesn't fit.

I broke rules and tried on a couple of coats on the shop floor of John Lewis this week- im not spending more than a tenner on something im not allowed to try on.

I dont see how trying on a coat is more dangerous than being allowed to touch clothes, rummaging for tags to check what it's made of/washing instructions etc.

If you are allowed to touch the clothes without anyone feeling the need to quarantine them, surely its OK to try them on?

I went today to H&M as I ordered a jacket online. I ordered 2 different sizes: M and L as I am size 12-14.
None of them fitted, as absolutely oversized.
I went to my local one today and they had S.
I did not know how that will fit and I did not want to buy another pointless size.
I returned the L in the post yesterday and I went with the M to the shop to see if I can exchange the size.
I could not try, but I did went into lift and quickly tried it on there.
It fitted ok so I went to the till to exchange it.
Then last week I was in different H&M and I spotted a coat which is only available to buy online. Someone must returned it as it had the online label. I asked if I can put it over my clothes, she said yes.
I bought it too.

With coats it’s especially absurd because of how expensive they can be: you’re supposed to spend hundreds on different sizes / styles? Not everyone can afford to do that, not is it even sensible.

They should have a quarantine rack for outerwear.

As my name suggests, I've name changed.

I work as management in retail for a department store who've made a lot of redundancies. We just can't physically cope with opening the fitting rooms and the huge amount of work it would involve to maintain them. We are working like workhorses to just get through the day, everyone is exhausted.

Every item of clothing that is tried on has to be quarantined. So if you've taken three pairs of jeans and three tops in to the fitting room but decide you don't like any of them, the next ten customers do the same, that's 60 items that need quarantining and we have no money in the tills, for three days. If the customer buys the clothes and takes them home then the returns are staggered, we won't have virtually empty shop floors because you're more likely to buy what you think might fit.

If we catch someone trying things on on the shop floor then we ask them to bring the item to us so we can quarantine the item.

I know you're all unhappy, we're not feeling great with the abuse being hurled at us on a daily basis either. But we can't open the fitting rooms, we'd have no stock to sell fairly quickly. The actual processing of stock after its quarantine period is up is also labour intensive.

Please try to be understanding, we're doing our best. We've lost colleagues, we have people having to isolate, we're bloody tired.

Businesses have a choice they can either staff the changing rooms better and control what goes in and out and therefore allow people to try and encourage people to buy or they can accept that people like me won't be spending any money with them. A lot of this is about choices. Shops make the choice to now allow me try on, I make the choice that I can't be arsed to get it home and have to bring it back so I don't buy. Simple.

It's ridiculous. I need new clothes but am very small and need to try stuff on. I've given up now and will just have to wear old stuff for ever.

@OhLookIveNameChanged

As my name suggests, I've name changed.

I work as management in retail for a department store who've made a lot of redundancies. We just can't physically cope with opening the fitting rooms and the huge amount of work it would involve to maintain them. We are working like workhorses to just get through the day, everyone is exhausted.

Every item of clothing that is tried on has to be quarantined. So if you've taken three pairs of jeans and three tops in to the fitting room but decide you don't like any of them, the next ten customers do the same, that's 60 items that need quarantining and we have no money in the tills, for three days. If the customer buys the clothes and takes them home then the returns are staggered, we won't have virtually empty shop floors because you're more likely to buy what you think might fit.

If we catch someone trying things on on the shop floor then we ask them to bring the item to us so we can quarantine the item.

I know you're all unhappy, we're not feeling great with the abuse being hurled at us on a daily basis either. But we can't open the fitting rooms, we'd have no stock to sell fairly quickly. The actual processing of stock after its quarantine period is up is also labour intensive.

Please try to be understanding, we're doing our best. We've lost colleagues, we have people having to isolate, we're bloody tired.

Can the responsibility be handed over to the customer, to quarantine items at home after they’ve purchased them?

I work in retail, the fitting rooms being closed are an absolute pain in the neck.
But PLEASE REMEMBER, this isn't the sales staffs fault. They aren't bitching at you, as a pp said. They are being monitored CONSTANTLY by management, who know audits are being carried out to ensure the store are following the government guidelines.
Added to that, staff have customers constantly walking right up to them,shoving bags at them at the tills, demanding they be allowed to try on stuff etc etc

So cut the staff a break. We don't know really why they are shut either!!!!
But if we turn a blind eye or "be nice as you live out of town", rest assured we'll get a bollocking behind the scenes.

@Redolent given that a proportion of customers are quite happy to strip off, try things on on the shop floor and then ignore our requests to hand them over, then no we can't hand the responsibility to customers.

And please also bear in mind, we don't know when the HSE are going to come in to inspect us. We need to prove we are Covid safe to continue to trade.

I've tried on bras in bravissimo. They quarantine the ones you don't buy.

My husband has bought jeans tried them on in the public toilets and returned them immediately because they don't fit. Nice!!

I'm finding clothes shops just don't have any clothes in them anyway. I find something I like online, go to the physical shop to buy it and get told they haven't got it, try online. What is the point of the shop then??

@Bellesavage

We can order online for the customer instore, and offer free next day delivery to any store or home. And free returns online or instore. We are literally doing everything we can.

@OhLookIveNameChanged thank you for explaining...we understand!

and support you. i'm in retail too. its hard

and customers will not understand. we can't carry out heavy stuff to their cars, but they shout at us about that and 'lack of service'!

@RockingMyFiftiesNot

Agree. I am ashamed of the state of the bras I am wearing at the moment, but even when measured in M&S I need to try on a dozen or more that they bring me of different styles and sizes before I find one that fits.

Absolutely.

I need new maternity bras, ordered my usual 32F as that’s the size all my other bras are. The fucker was MASSIVE. Could’ve got my whole head in it. Now I have to summon the energy to send it back.

Yep! I haven’t bought any clothes for myself all year.

For bras, Rigby and Peller will let you try them on. You take your top off and the lady has a look at you and brings you the size and style she thinks will work.

Thank you @CruCru

And thank you @AntiHop

I was thrilled to find Fenwicks have their changing rooms open if you have one nearby. Also Jigsaw (or at least my local one).

I can't say this bothers me really. Posting things back I don't like because I worry they'll get lost so I tend to go into store to return them, but that's the worst of it for me. I live rurally down I guess I'm used to ordering online and sending back.

Incredibly frustrating but if you had worked in retail you'd understand the sheer volume of clothes that need to be reprocessed from a fitting room. M&S ladieswear fitting rooms on a Saturday could fill in a couple of hours the number of rails you'd get for a whole store stock delivery. Deliveries came straight to the shop floor as there is no being the scenes space to store it. Quarantining clothes for 3 days requires spectacularly beyond the space shops have available. The whole idea of having to quarantine clothes seems bonkers to me though anyway.

Also for those looking for bras, our local independent bra shop is still doing fittings. You can pre book an appointment and they are in face shields and quarantine the ones that don’t fit etc. I know independent bra shops aren’t everywhere but worth looking for one.