AIBU to want to buy the display dress?!

[SmartLady]

Went into Next and tried a dress on but it was a little big. Asked whether they had the next size down and was told it was on the shop floor. I hadn't seen it so went to look again and eventually realised the mannequin was wearing it. I asked if I could buy the display one and was told no.
AIBU to have wanted them to let me?!

A sale was a sale when I worked retail.
We often checked the mannequin last for its size if we didn’t have any on the shop floor or in the back for the customer. Saying that, we did explain if it had any issues and that we’d give a small discount but it was non-refundable.

I worked at Next in 2021/2022 and definitely wrestled things off mannequins once or twice for customers!
Shame they wouldn't do it, YANBU.

Undressing a mannequin is a nightmare at the best of times let alone when a store is full of people. And leaving a nude can be a huge no no if a store is visited by head office. Based on my time in retail I’d give a polite but firm no to the request.

There probably wasn't anyone who could take it off. When I was in retail if it was a proper mannequin I wouldn't touch it. Or if it was in the window during the day. They're too finnickity and expensive.

I would undress mannequins all the time when I worked in retail and would be incredibly disappointed in any staff who would refuse. That's really shit customer service

Interesting that people who've worked in retail say it's more complicated than I assumed it would be to get a dress off a mannequin. I don't think you were unreasonable to ask but maybe they weren't unreasonable to say no.

Barbie dolls are a nightmare to dress. Imagine one five and a half feet tall and 40kg. Worst job in the shop (apart from checking the fitting rooms for left behind “deposits” 🤢)

I work in Next and our mannequins are a nightmare to take apart. It usually takes 2 people to do it safely as they are very heavy and have glass stands.

If they were busy and didn't have enough staff to do it then I don't blame them.

I probably would have refused too.

Can you get it online OP? I was just literally on the website and have stepped back because I fell In love witha few dresses but can't justify the cost! They often do next day delivery too

I think even if you had to come back later, surely the wrong size dress could have replaced the one on the mannequin?

Based on the fact that most shops seem to be staffed by about 3 people regardless of size, I'm not surprised!

I thought that if a shop is displaying something in the window, then they are legally obliged to sell it to you if you ask? (Provided it is something the shop normally sells, so if it is a clothes shop, they have to sell you the dress in the window display, but not any props like chairs etc). Maybe the law has changed though.

That’s not true at all. Shops aren’t legally obliged to sell you anything (notwithstanding generally applicable laws like The Equality Act 2010).

OK, I'm not a lawyer, it was just something I'd been told - that the Trades Descriptions Act says that if you present something in a shop window, then that is interpreted legally as an offer of sale, and the shop can't then say "no actually that's not for sale". Not trying to start an argument, just curious.

You can have it the next working day or they can order if for you .

We can't take it off in working hours because of health and safety

Why didn't you let them order it for you ? You could have had it in less that 24 hours

Also the display ones are often very manhandled , I wouldn't want it !

If it was on the shopfloor then yes they could have taken it off for you, if in the window then no as they're dressed by a window dressing team.

I didn’t order it because I wanted it for the same day for a party! I did have something else at home but saw it and fancied buying it. Thanks for the answers- I didn’t appreciate how hard it might actually be to get the dress of a mannequin as I’ve never done it!

Yabu. On a busy shopping day, taking a staff member away from other duties to undress and redress a mannequin, alongside how offputting and unprofessional other shoppers would find it to visit the store while it was being restyled, would cost the store more in lost trade than the tiny margin of profit they could get from selling to you.

Also not a lawyer but can tell you this is nonsense. There is no obligation to sell anything just because it’s out on a shop floor. It’s what is called an ‘invitation to treat’.

I don’t think OP is BU! The items on mannequins are there to sell them - that’s literally the point of it. So to make a customer who wants one go home empty handed is just stupid and lazy. And I say that having worked in retail.

@SmartLady yes we are told not to in case the mannequin fell on anyone ( ourselves included ) .

They are very heavy and the leg is stuck on a long pole to prevent tipping so it's a two man job and tricky if there are people or children milling around .
I'll always try to help but in retail we are doing our best and aren't difficult for the sake of it .

I mean, it wasn't busy, it was 9.30am. There were lots of staff and next to no customers yet in store. But I've already said, point taken. I went to the party in something else.

Definitely depends on the shop.

Our VM definitely didn’t care because either we didn’t have the items yet or it was sold out. We changed the mannequins ourselves. I’ve changed plenty of mannequins including putting wedding dresses on them throughout my work career. Some mannequins are harder than others, but it’s not that hard and if a customer is willing to wait, or come back, not usually a problem.