Bad experience in M&S fitting rooms

[TwinTantrums]

I’ve recently lost a lot of weight and so need a lot of new summer and holiday clothes.

I came over to M&S this morning and had a trolley full of clothes and other such items, walking up to the fitting rooms and the woman looks me up and down and then asks how much I have, as “8 items is the maximum, to stop some types” from stealing. I offer to split it up and she rolls her eyes and says “I suppose you can”

I go in, try on my eight items, split them into what I do and don’t want and come back out, she then huffs and asks if I really need to go again? I said yes, as I’ve lost a lot of weight and don’t know what size I am. She looked me up and down and then asked how big I had been before if this is the after!! I just took the number from her and went back in.

AIBU or was she totally out of line?

Nothing justifies that last comment (or the others, to be honest) and absolutely does deserve a complaint. The last thing M&S needs or would want, is their staff alienating customers right now.

I'm not in retail but I've managed teams, and if one of my team had spoken to someone like that, I'd have been livid, and action would have been taken.

Please give feedback to the manager.

This is pure bollocks

I’m sorry you had this experience OP. She was so incredibly rude to you and there is no excuse. We are all bloody hot 🥵 I would complain to M&S about this. Personal comments like you received are just totally out of line when you work in retail (speaking as someone who used to work in retail many moons ago)

I would complain. She was unbelievably rude and unhelpful.

God I worked in shops for years, I never used a long shift or a hot day as an excuse for being really bloody rude to someone.

WTAF!

Well done on your weight loss OP. No more cardigans in the height of summer.

@TwinTantrums don’t let her nasty attitude shake your confidence, try your lovely new things on at home and show DH or a trusted friend. I bet you look lovely in them 💐

OP even if you hadn't changed size, m&s clothes sizes are all over the place. Same style and size but different colours or lengths, all fit differently. Sometimes two of the exact same item will be different sizes, no idea why. Made in different factories?
You do have to try a lot on to find the right fit.
Which makes extra work for the staff, but that is what they are being paid for.

Can't believe the people having a good at you for wanting to try clothes on before you buy them.

If I'm going actually shopping rather than buying stuff online it's because I want to try stuff on. It's not just about the size, it's also about whether it looks nice.

I've been a size 10 forever. I'd still try everything on before buying it because how on earth would I know if it was going to suit me or not it I didn't? The OP has lost a massive amount of weight. She'll be a totally different shape never mind size. Of course she needs to try things on before buying them!

And if you're in a customer facing job, not fat shaming your customer is surely a no brainer? Regardless of how grumpy / busy / hot you are?

OMG I can't believe how people are saying to cut her some slack. It's one thing being a bit grumpy but a whole other thing actually making a horrible comment about a customers weight!

That's absolutely disgusting behaviour and I would 100% be reporting that!

She was very rude. For the numerous people stating how busy retail is, all sectors have been cut to the bone, people are doing more in less time - that does not mean you get to be rude to either customers or your colleagues. There’s a huge queue of those who are unemployed and who have retail experience who would love a job in M&S and could manage to be friendly whilst doing it.

She was exceptionally rude. I would complain. Absolutely no excuse to talk to anyone like that much less a customer.

Return them if they don't make you feel good.

But if you like them and feel good in them then keep them. There's no body shape that you must have to wear certain clothes 😘

@DreamingofTimbuktuagain you are quite right, there are hundreds of applicants for every job at the moment. I know a lovely young man who has been looking for months and the only jobs not attracting huge numbers of applicants are delivery driver etc.

Extremely rude of her OP.
Yanbu.
Complain.
Well done on your weight loss.
It is very difficult.

And agree with giving the store feedback about her op.

You can try on as many clothes as you like, and her personal comment was disgraceful.

Congratulations on your weight loss you must feel and look amazing 👏

In what world did you think you were living that any changing room would let you in with so much stuff?

In the same world where changing rooms are there for the customer’s convenience; the one where shops actually want to sell you shit - in fact, want to sell you as much stuff as possible because that’s literally their business; in the one where most shops also make provision for people to exceed the item limit and place stuff on a rack to swap out, rather than keep dressing and undressing and having to repeatedly join the back of a queue.

The OP’s whole experience was shocking - being made to feel like a problem and an inconvenience, and then being horribly insulted. She shouldn’t feel that she was in any way in the wrong for simply wanting to try a few extra things on in a bloody shop!

Complain, OP. To the manager of the branch or the head office. If I had an employee in a customer-facing role treating people like this, I’d want to know, and a bit of hot weather isn’t a free pass for everyone to behave like arseholes.

Absolutely not an excuse to be rude but I also wouldn't want someone to get fired for getting to their breaking point. Would you feel the same if an overworked dr or nurse was stressed out and rude would you want them to lose their job. Like I said previously I would of said something to her their and then

Hot or not there’s no excuse to be so rude to somebody

Nowhere NEAR as "silly" as your post.

How do you think people manage to buy clothes online

Take careful note of what reviewers say of sizing - look at their measuremnt charts and realise may have to send back or need some home adjustments and buy one and see how it is before buying more.

MIL used to work in garmet factories she say sizing always been off - if they couldn't fill one size but had too much of another they'd subsitute hopefully with larger size - said that was standard and since then the cutting worsened and sizing is completely off so she tries everything on. If there's no fitting rooms she goes to toilet and tries and takes straight back if sizing is off. I've had items same style and size and just different patterns but same materials one fits and one doesn't.

I have seen over the years people walking off and leaving clothes on rare occaions fitting staff are abrupt or rude. I'd have done what OP did try them on and feel bad about comments later. If i'm using a fitting room it's because I need to.

I have found M&S customer service often poor and tend not to shop with them anymore becuase of it - though for a few times like cotton uniform and their thin jeans I make exception for.

Wow! How rude!
I do get the restrictions on number of garments but to openly challenge you on your previous size was way out of line!
Personally, I would complain to M&S head office!
And well done on your weight loss 💐

I can't believe pp are saying she was "a bit" rude. Did they not read the last comment! It's incredibly rude! Completely regardless of context!!!
I mean it would go down great on a reading challenge on RU Paul's drag race. But to a stranger! and I would rather die than say that to a CUSTOMER.

The aim is that OP can shop at a shop she likes with decent customer service. She shouldnt need to stop shopping there because of a rude lady. So yes, if she was this rude, she may as well loose her job over it.