to have sent this letter of complaint? (Bit long, sorry)

[FilledWithRage]

I feel I might have been a bit 'OTT', having calmed down slightly since last week. I still feel shoddy service should be reported though.
No response yet. Here is the letter, sorry it's long.

"I am contacting you to register my concerns regarding the service, or rather lack of service, which I recently experienced at your (town name) store.

I visited on Thursday 12 and Friday 13 March.

Complaint 1: On both occasions the shop was hardly busy, myself and maybe two other customers, yet I was not once acknowledged, approached, greeted or offered any assistance during the course of a 20 minute browse. (I appreciate it is nice to be left to browse in peace, but I do value a smile and a friendly greeting, and an offer of assistance later on if required. This encourages me to shop and provides a relaxing and welcoming environment.)

Complaint 2: Worse, when I approached the changing rooms with a selection of items to try on, I was greeted by blank unsmiling stares, and (here I trust I am not entering the realms of paranoia) what seemed to me to be stifled sniggers. When I asked 'May I try these items on?' I was greeted with a curt 'yes, there' and a finger pointing towards a changing room. No friendly greeting, or 'We'll be here if you need any help'. Once I was in the changing room cue whispers and more laughter. Whether this was related to such an apparent spectacle as myself is, of course, indeterminable. But it was unprofessional and off-putting.

Perhaps you could advise these extremeley unhelpful and seemingly immature staff of the following salient facts:

1. If they find my size 12 post-caesarean figure - no doubt considered obese if you are a 19 / 20 year old - so objectionable, there are many more stores one could (and given recent experiences, definitely will!) choose to give custom to.

1. Shock! Customer is clad in 'old clothes' rather than the latest offerings (for which these staff are presumably given a liberal 'uniform' allowance). Er, yes, I have a baby and can't spend hours getting ready and co-ordinating. Also, that would be why I am shopping - to buy new clothes.

1. They are employed (presumably) to provide a service, and were it not for people like myself (ie a customer) visiting the store and spending what is probably the equivalent of a couple of days' pay for them (if not more), they would not have a job in the first place.

I find this blase and even hostile attitude unacceptable at the best of times but utterly astonishing given the current climate. If customers are not valued, made welcome and assisted at the moment, what hope is there?

I found the whole experience very unsettling and off-putting, the absolute anthisis of welcoming and relaxing.

I read on your website that 'store teams are carefully selected to ensure that they can offer our customers friendly, genuine, knowledgeable and impartial advice in a relaxed environment'. This is laugable, and is certainly failing as far as the (town name) store is concerned.

I was left with the abiding impression that Jigsaw (town name) ticks along quite nicely without the interrruption of customers, thank you very much, therefore I am not currently needed and will not be returning to this shop in a hurry, if ever."

oh bugger, then - well, nothing!

Yes Compo, I did point that out in the title of the thread.

I went there 2 days running to see if it was as bad the second day, and sure enough, it was!! So not just an off-day (which would have been excusable).

I don't feel at all superior RuddyNorah. In fact I felt very sad and depressed. I am not trying to make myself feel better, I am trying to ensure the service improves.

ok, well hope to hear a response from them

Are you feeling OK apart from your visit to Jigsaw? Your letter reads as if you are feeling quite harsh about yourself?

you are 'filledwithrage' about some shop staff? you went back to the same shop the next day just to see if it was still bad?

I was feeling great Tigger. The shopping (I thought) would cheer me up and generally make a good day better, although it had the reverse effect, and I am now feeling quite low about everything. I thought I looked OK. It's not very nice to be laughed at (2 days running).

Yes Ruddy. Do you find that wrong?

your letter reads like you are trying to come across as superior to the shop staff when between the lines you clearly have self esteem issues.

Ok, thats good, as a possessor of a size 12 post c-section figure myself, I was a bit worried to think it would be something that would get laughed at in shops.

no not wrong, just a little extreme.

Oh I see Ruddy. Well thank you for that. That wasn't the intention. But if I didn't have self esteem issues before, I certainly do now!!

Even if the shop assistants weren't actually sniggering at Filledwithrage, if they'd been doing their job and making her feel welcome and comfortable instead of standing around having their own private conversation, she wouldn't have had anything to feel paranoid about.
It sounds like awful customer service and if the manager has any sense at all s/he'll give them a bollocking.

due to a couple of shop staff?

I do think that shop staff should not be laughing at customers or making them uncomfortable, especially since we are in a recession.

FilledWithRage - sorry to hear you felt this way, it's a shitty way to feel

I don't write to the shops or I wouldn't get anything else done!! I think it's good that you did though and I hope the girls get told (not told off, just told) that they made you feel bad and I hope it makes them think twice about how they behave around customers (even if it wasn't you they were laughing about, it made you feel that way). Yeah, your letter is a little 'emotive', but hey-ho...

I used to be a petite, 5ft, size 8. I'm not anymore (more an 18+) and I detest clothes shopping

You know what? My local Jigsaw is awful, too. Where do they get their staff? I quite like some of their clothes, but can never be bothered actually trying them on and dealing with their sales people.

I don't think you were being over the top - their actions made you feel that way, and have probably made many other customers feel that way too.

I had to go looking for an evening dress recently, and I'm 5 months pregnant! Fortunately I found a wonderful sales assistant who couldn't be more helpful, and found a dress I quite like that shows me as being clearly pregnant and not just overweight, and only because she went through her section finding all the dresses she thought might suit.

Hmm, I should have noted down her name and sent in a letter to complement her, actually!!!

Ruddy, it is difficult to capture the situation in words, but I bet you, you would have felt very uncomfortable in my shoes. It wasn't just a co-incidence. They were laughing. Both days.

i 100% agree you had terrible service

but next time I would honestly tackle in with the manager first to see what they can do

i do think in any letter of complaint it is always better to stick to the facts and not include supposition etc

I think I understand where you're coming from FilledWithRage. After DS1 was born I went into a shop to buy some nice underwear to perk me up a bit.

There were two pretty young things on changing room duty and after giving me the ticket thing and entering the cubicle I could hear them laughing and one of them clearly said "No fucking chance saggy". To say I was upset would have been an understatement.

I went home in tears and salute the OP for her letter as I felt to ashamed to complain. A lot of these girls(not all!!) do look down on "non perfect" cusomers as they can never imagine their bodies being anything other than they presently are.

And as for the OP having body issues, well if she didn't before these kinds of things certainly make you question yourself.

I dont think your letter sounds superior, but i do think it is emotionally focused on your self image, i agree it sounds like bloody awful customer service, and you were right to complain

I know my letter was emotive, but I thought may be that would 'get through' better and depict how unhappy I felt batter than just a dry factual missive.

there being a recession ahould make no difference to how polite people are. It does just seem from your OP that there's no real evidence that they were laughing at you or intending to make you feel uncomfortable.

i hope you get a satisfactory response

equally, most stores are mystery shopped fairly regularly ... I wonder if this is something that has been picked up on before

Rubyslippers, what if one of them was the manager?

Toilet roll, I know how you felt, shitty isn't it?