Monsoon

[Awkwardy]

Oh, I'm so bored.

Here they go... twitter.com/MonsoonUK/status/1513811068686155778?s=20&t=zQnlx9T5PprC0S2v-ECHxQ

Another one off the list. Who do they think spends lots of money with them?

Do what women do when they don’t feel
Comfortable or safe in unisex changing rooms. Select outfit and take it home. Return if but suitable.

Or is it just women who should be doing this because a very small number of males ‘want’?

[quote ScrollingLeaves]@LK1972

valadon68
To be fair, there's nothing wrong with male people wanting to try on dresses. It's regressive to say that these are women's clothes only. It's a tricky one. Could an assistant not have supervised the changing rooms (assuming there were secure cubicles for everyone)? I guess easy to say and harder to implement if they don't have the staff.

“The assistant should have kindly escorted this person and their dress to the male changing room, if one is available. Otherwise they can buy online and return if not happy, just like women now have to do if they want to try something on in M&S, due to their fucking lunacy.

If this person is allowed in, I can't use their changing rooms, they have curtains, not doors on cubicles in my local monsoon, ffs”

I don’t think there ever are male changing rooms at Monsoon. So I am not sure what the answer is.[/quote]
Most small or medium size retail outlets don't provide staff on fitting rooms entrances anymore. It was a busy period so the store may have employed someone.
Imo the shop assistant in this instance found an solution. They provide changing rooms which most customers are going to assume are single sex changing rooms. She realises the male wants to try on a item of clothing and went out of her way to assist.

She could have gone, sorry you have to buy it then pop into XYZ shop next door or bring it home to try in and we will refund it if you dont like it.

Instead she asked a customer to wait while she organised a to provide an empty fittingroom. If the customer took offence at the fact that the shop assistant took the needs all her customers into consideration that on the customer not her.

The shop apparently have not been using twitter for active customer engagements for over a year, there was no commercial benefit to try manage the complaintant through twitter. That's the bit I don't get, how did the tweet get authorised?

SolasAnla

Imo the shop assistant in this instance found an solution. They provide changing rooms which most customers are going to assume are single sex changing rooms. She realises the male wants to try on a item of clothing and went out of her way to assist.

She could have gone, sorry you have to buy it then pop into XYZ shop next door or bring it home to try in and we will refund it if you dont like it.

Instead she asked a customer to wait while she organised a to provide an empty fittingroom. If the customer took offence at the fact that the shop assistant took the needs all her customers into consideration that on the customer not her.

Thank you for explaining. I agree that the shop assistant found a reasonable solution here.

Hello. @GoodJanetBadJanet you haven't clarified why you don't have a problem with young white customers making offensive remarks about black women's make-up?

If you simply didn't bother to read the screenshot that @LK1972 was replying to, it would be good for you to explain that.

I found an email address for their CEO online (no idea if it's current!), so have emailed the following:

Good evening,

Could you please let me know the companies stance on allowing male bodied/male visitors to your stores access to the female changing rooms?

I planned on visiting Monsoon ahead of my sisters wedding to try on and purchase outfits for me and my 10 year old daughter.

However, given the news reports that are currently circulating, I have concerns about intimately sharing a space with men who I do not know.

As a parent I take steps to safeguard my daughter from potential dangers in the community, and am extra cautious about allowing her into spaces where she may need to make herself more vulnerable - namely public restrooms and changing rooms where she may be alone, in a state of undress, and accessible to others around her who may seek to cause her harm.

I am extremely conscious at the moment, with the current situation in trying to find a safe space for trans men and trans women, that she may find herself in a position whereby a male visitor to said restrooms or changing rooms is sharing a previously female only space with her (with only a curtain for modesty/privacy).

My own safeguarding parameters are that I will not allow her (or myself) to use a space which is deemed (for good reason) single sex that is no longer actively single sex.

I would champion any store or public space who seeks to create a safe space for its trans men and trans women to visit and feel safe, but dipping into the protected single sex spaces to accommodate trans customers is an unacceptable solution.

Therefore, in order to be able to visit and try on any clothes ahead of my event, I wish to establish the opinion of you as a retailer, so that I can make an informed decision.

Kind regards,

I'll be interested in the respons even if it is only a stock one.

@PurgatoryOfPotholes

Hello. *@GoodJanetBadJanet* you haven't clarified why you don't have a problem with young white customers making offensive remarks about black women's make-up?

If you simply didn't bother to read the screenshot that @LK1972 was replying to, it would be good for you to explain that.

Lol, it's always tumbleweed isn't it.

Now I do have another thing for &GoodBadJanet- I also think Italians are lovely, overall, in my experience, especially Italian ladies of a certain age. Please don't flame me

[quote wishitwasaduvetday]@PonyPatter44 my local one closed down about 6 months ago so if they have now gone it's very recent. But a lot of the high street has gone. All of the Arcadia brands for a start! They never had mixed changing rooms for the decades they had stores in uk. My point is this is not a new thing. Pick your battles. Fight to save the spaces where it makes a real impact... sports, hospital wards, swimming room showers... these need to be single sex. Shop changing rooms being mixed isn't an issue. [/quote]

Why on earth are you so desperate to allow men into areas where women and girls are naked? What's your agenda here?

@PurgatoryOfPotholes

Hello. *@GoodJanetBadJanet* you haven't clarified why you don't have a problem with young white customers making offensive remarks about black women's make-up?

If you simply didn't bother to read the screenshot that @LK1972 was replying to, it would be good for you to explain that.

New name, same MO.

plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

Dear Monsoon CEO, written a reply for you.

You're welcome.

Dear customers,

Thank you for expressing your concern about our handling of an incident involving single sex changing rooms at one of our stores.

Having fully investigated, I would firstly like to express gratitude to the female employee who handled the situation with the utmost care and sensitivity, not only did she find a solution for a male to try on one of our dresses(and I'm very pleased he chose us for his custom) she did so whilst maintaining single sex exemptions. At Monsoon we are aware we have many customers from different cultures, whom single sex spaces are important and I am very pleased our employee was able to balance their needs with the customer who identifies as non binary in question.
Moving forward, we will have to address whether or not we will need to provide male changing rooms, I am delighted to think we could expand our customer base by doing so, but we obviously have to weigh up the practicalities and costs of this move. It is also an opportunity for us to provide more suitable facilities for our disabled customers, something we will keep in mind when making changes.
For now, we are adopting the practice shown by our staff. If a male wants use of our changing rooms staff will aim to clear it as soon as possible. We also have a 28 day refund policy if customers would like to try products on in the comfort of their own homes.

As a male CEO I am aware of the barriers women still face in employment and navigating the world, and so I am commuting myself to providing single sex spaces for our customers; I am also delighted to support trans people to shop in our store and am committed to providing solutions for all.

Oh dear I've probably misgendered there.
Easily solved. Just put 'the customer' instead of he, she, they.

You're welcome.

@PurgatoryOfPotholes

Hello. *@GoodJanetBadJanet* you haven't clarified why you don't have a problem with young white customers making offensive remarks about black women's make-up?

If you simply didn't bother to read the screenshot that @LK1972 was replying to, it would be good for you to explain that.

Let us remember the determining of race via photos on another thread and some of the other rather enlightening posts littered through this board.

And wasn’t there the posts declaring just how much worse the behaviour of the woman complaining about the WiSpa incident was compared to the perpetrator of what we stated was a crime and has been found to be guilty of that crime were.

There are clangers of posts just like that one not acknowledging the derogatory comments about the staff member while attacking posters or other people who are standing up for women all over this board.

There was once a poster who asked me if I thought the Socialist Worker Party "had a point" in issuing a public response that made zero reference, never mind apology to the racist abuse that had been one of the subjects of complaint!

No, readers, I do not think any political party has a point in refusing to acknowledge verbal racist abuse engaged in or supported by party members. The SWP decided to witter on about their acceptance of trans rights instead of actually addressing the point of whether they endorsed SWP members at protests yelling racist abuse at any black person who they saw go past. That told me a lot about the SWP and the poster on here defending the SWP.

But there's a theme here. Racism is okay if a person who identifies as trans is the perpetrator.

@PurgatoryOfPotholes

There was once a poster who asked me if I thought the Socialist Worker Party "had a point" in issuing a public response that made zero reference, never mind apology to the racist abuse that had been one of the subjects of complaint!

No, readers, I do not think any political party has a point in refusing to acknowledge verbal racist abuse engaged in or supported by party members. The SWP decided to witter on about their acceptance of trans rights instead of actually addressing the point of whether they endorsed SWP members at protests yelling racist abuse at any black person who they saw go past. That told me a lot about the SWP and the poster on here defending the SWP.

But there's a theme here. Racism is okay if a person who identifies as trans is the perpetrator.

Yes it’s the sacred, beyond any criticism or admonishment tone that is absolutely galling.

But there's a theme here. Racism is okay if a person who identifies as trans is the perpetrator.

Racism, homophobia, disablism, misogyny, sexism all okay if the person identifies as trans or a trans ally and in the same breath they claim to be 'liberal', 'progressive' and 'tolerant'.

New instalment in the saga. A transwoman, who acknowledges that transwomen are male, has met with Monsoon to express concerns with Charlie's behaviour.

Kathleen Riot's twitter post

Excellent update, thank you, also heartening to see members of the trans community taking initiative in addressing these issues sensitively and reasonably.

Fabulous to see correct decision re stuff member concerned, good on Monsoon.

I feel they are off my list of boycotted shops, for now, as they are listening and trying to deal with the issue with fairness and in good faith.

More shame on the likes of M&S, they must have no need for our money 

So Charlie lie (is there an echo in here?). Tried to get an employee in trouble, as well. I think the Liberal Party should be having words. Kathleen seems great, and well done everyone involved at Monsoon.

Funny how Charlie didn't mention trying to enter a cubicle that was already occupied.

This was the ‘man in pink’ who met with monsoon?

Fabulous to see correct decision re stuff member concerned, good on Monsoon

absolutely

Not convinced here I'm afraid. I have no doubt Charlie was at it, but not convinced by this person at all.

Which one? The intermediary? If it’s the person I think it is… there was something a bit iffy a while back and they went off twitter. Someone will remember…

Yes the intermediary.

Why would monsoon CEO meet some random person with the employee?

Just all a bit fishy and strikes me as someone who wants 5 mins of fame on Twitter.