Ever wondered the best way to get a deal at a clothing store? How about what to do when you put on a pair of jeans for the first time and the button pops right off? Thanks to some helpful retail employees, we’ve got the answers.
Here are six things you need to know about shopping, according to retail employees:
1. Always wash your clothes before wearing
“I can’t stress this enough. A customer returned a shirt once that technically had nothing wrong with it, but it smelled sooo bad…like sweat and smoke…it was just disgusting. My manager just told me to spray it with cologne and put it back on the rack.”
2. Most companies will honour mislabeled sale prices
“Even if that’s not the correct price, the company should honour the price that is labeled. We had jeans that were on the $49.99 rack, but the actual price was $79.99. Even though they scanned in at $79.99, we had to give it to the customer for $49.99.”
3. Always ask to speak to a manager
“If you’re not satisfied with a product, or with service, ask to speak to the manager. We have people come in who complain that they were in the store for 10 minutes with no one helping them, and once they speak to the manager, they will get 10% off or some sort of promo.”
4. The customer is not always right.
“You know the old saying, ‘The customer is always right’? Not always true. People won’t want to help you if you’re being terrible. They are allowed to not serve you if you are being belligerent.”
5. Treat the sales people well
“It makes a big difference. I once had a girl who was really rude and demanded that I check the stock for a product. Even though we had it, I told her we didn’t because I was so angry at how she was talking to me.
“On the other hand, if someone is super nice, I’ll go out of my way to help them out. For example, I’ll put stuff on hold longer than I’m supposed to.”
6. You will most likely get away with returning a damaged product…even if it has been well used.
“If a product is damaged or defective, you should be able to return or exchange it, even with the tags off. For example, one customer had just bought a pair of jeans and as she put them on, the button popped off. Even though it was technically “used,” she was able to exchange it for a new pair without a problem.
"Other customers take advantage of this. I worked at a shoe store once, and I had people come in with two-year-old shoes that had holes in them. They said that it was poor quality that made the shoes get the hole, and the manager gave them a refund for the current price of the shoe.”
