I saw the perfect Christmas gift for Rosa tonight at Bayshore Shopping Centre. A beautiful red dress in the display window of Suzy Sher. I saw it while on the escalator and I knew instantly that it was what I wanted to give.
I finished another errand and came back to Suzy Shier and walked right in, went straight to the rack, pulled out the only XS/XP and brought it to the clerk. I knew what I wanted.
The clerk said, “All sales are final on dresses.”
“What?”
“All sales are final on dresses. There are no returns and no exchanges.”
“I can’t return it?” I asked.
“No. All dress sales are final.”
“But I want to give it as a gift for my wife.”
“Oh, why don’t you tell her you want to get her something and then bring her in for a fitting.”
“But that’s not much of a gift. How would you propose I wrap that?”
“Sorry, it’s the store policy.”
“So, let me get this straight. I want to purchase this, and give you my money. But your store policy prevents me from giving a gift during Christmas time in a recession?”
“Sorry, it’s the store policy. It’s to prevent someone from buying a dress, keep the tags on, wear it for one night and return it the next day.”
“But that’s not my intention. I can’t buy something that might not fit and I cannot return.”
“It’s the store policy.”
“Ok, then you are loosing a customer. Have a nice day.”
And I walked out.
I contacted the corporation to find out if this the policy for only a single store or if it is a corporate policy. The Customer Service Coordinator at Suzy Shier told me it was a corporate policy. I asked this to be excalated, and it was sent to the Vice President of Sales and Operations, but I have not heard back from her yet.
This policy makes sense only if the amount and value of the business being lost from people ‘renting’ their clothes from Suzy Shier is more than the amount and value of the business that is being lost because no one can buy a dress as a gift from Suzy Shier. My gut feeling is that the policy is incorrect.