An amazingly dumb rule at Reitmans - YouLookFab Forum

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An amazingly dumb rule at Reitmans

Raisin

Veteran

So I was shopping at Reitmans a few weeks ago, and was trying on a sweater. For the color I wanted, the only one in my size was on the mannequin. So I went and tried the other color, in a larger size then asked the sales person to get me the smaller one off the mannequin. She said NO, because they have a rule that they absolutely cannot take any clothing off the mannequins. I was shocked, I have never heard of that before. So I asked her, so if I wanted to buy that sweater on the mannequin right now, you wouldn't let me? And she said NOPE!

Is that crazy? I was kinda mad to be honest, and I thought it was ridiculously stupid in terms of customer service. Maybe it's just me but I've never heard of that happening before. And I noticed that with all their new items they dress the mannequins in the smallest size, which is usually what I want, so they are effectively preventing anyone of that size from buying many of the items there!

Shopping

26 replies

Latest reply was from La Reine

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

Wow that stinks. Once Club Monaco completely undressed a mannequin for me to get a pair of pleather shorts. Luckily they fit and I got them. It's hard to undress them actually.

Jjsloane

Veteran

I can understand your feelings. It does rather go against the idea of styling a mannequin in hopes of a sale. Like not selling items off an endcap? The point of an enticing display is to sell the items. Gives you another opportunity to highlight something else to sell it too!

Anonymous

Wow, that is strange. Ricki's will happily strip their displays I have found.

Raisin

Veteran

It was definitely the first time I've ever encountered that. And she said that rule came from their head office. I'm curious to see if anyone else would have them say that Reitmans. I know I have had many retailers bring clothes off the mannequin for me. It's never been a problem!

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I'd honestly see if it is a company rule, or she's just making an excuse. It's been a long time since I worked retail but we never had such rules.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Wow. That is super dumb. Nordstrom's they ain't!!!!!

Well, they just lost a sale. Probably more than one, now that we have read this.

Susie

Veteran

I remember years ago, when my daughters were young teens, that Abercrombie did the same thing. I wanted to buy an item on display and they said they couldn't sell it from display. Ridiculous!

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

It is pretty dumb: no wonder I don't shop there at all!
Maybe SA just did not want to bother and invented this rule on the spot?

T

Forever 21 has this rule too. I don't understand the purpose though that this rule serves.

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

It's the same at a few stores - including Le Chateau and Forever 21 and H&M. There is no way around this rule either, apparently.

Deborah

Veteran

That is ridiculous! Sales are there livelihood. I would write a letter. I can't help but wonder if that is a directive from management of if she was just too lazy.

Joyce B

Veteran

That's really dumb. I have bought garments that were on display on the mannequin at LT and no one gave me a hard time about it. I also tried on some that were on the mannequin but did not buy them, also at LT and nobody gave me a hard time about that, either.
I try to avoid stores with lousy customer service.

Helena

Veteran

That is truly stupid. Are they worried the mannequins will be cold? Embarrassed? Or what?!?

Suzanne (ambergreen)

Veteran

I heard the same thing the one and only time I've ever been in a Coldwater Creek store.

The reason they gave is that the item on the mannequin could have been damaged in some way by being pinned or stretched etc. and they didn't want to stand behind a below-par item. (It turned out the display one was a bigger size than I was looking for anyway, which was a bit less frustrating in the end...)

I can understand the policy explained that way I guess, but I've also been the pleased buyer off mannequins in other shops. Balances being the buyer of the last pair of size 6 shoes whose right is stretched out and creased from all the tryons. I don't think I've ever heard of a shoe place that wouldn't sell that pair.

Gigi

Veteran

Wow...amazingly dumb is right. The SA must have been a member of the Sales Prevention Force.

shoppingisfun

(website)

Veteran

I've undressed the mannequins myself before if I think I can do it without anyone seeing me. Ha!

@ambergreen, omg, I hate the shoe thing! I wear a 5.5. There is usually like one in stock and it is ALWAYS the display shoe. Who knew that suede shoes can actually fade under florescent lights if they sit long enough? No suede clearance shoes for me.

rute

Veteran

I have already seen, in some stores, a signing saying that the clothes on the mannequim is "reserved".

Aziraphale

Veteran

That bit of information would certainly stop me ever shopping at Reitman's!

Jules

Veteran

Reitman's isn't good enough for you. I mean, I'm not a snob, and used to shop there quite a bit. But for you, fab Raisin? I think not

Raisin

Veteran

Haha thanks Jules! Well I don't shop there much to be honest. They're pants are too large for me but they have some cute shirts sometimes. And I like their recent workout gear. But yah, I find that kind of rule has certainly turned me off from shopping there.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Reitmans is a department store, right? I'll be the annoying one and say their rule makes a lot of sense to me. Probably they've removed the clothes on the mannequin from their saleable inventory, and they may not even have tags. Usually someone else other than the regular sales associates plans out the mannequins and dresses them, according to a promotional schedule. Say the 'window dressers' don't work on the weekend and someone buys an item off the mannequin on Friday night, so then the mannequin is half dressed and looks unappetizing all weekend, their busiest sales time.

I'm not saying it isn't annoying as a customer, but it's understandable logistically.

Thistle

Veteran

huh. Seems odd to me. Why would they not want to sell it when they have a customer? They want it to end up on the sales rack when they change the mannequinns clothes?

Or maybe the SA secretly wanted that top and was waiting for it to go on sale before she changed the mannequinn!

rachylou

Veteran

How odd and irritating. That's a new one for me.

retailgirl

Veteran

Well, the item could be damaged by being on display. Or it could have been written out of stock to be on display...meaning it had no retail value, and was not available for sale. However, the reason is probably that the mannequins themselves are expensive and difficult to maneuver. I have worked places where only visual associates could touch a mannequin. And the visual people are usually off on weekends, when the store is busy! Not great customer service, I agree, and as an employee I would go ahead and take it off! My retail training has been that nothing is wrong if you are doing it to satisfy the customer! (Unless it's clearly illegal.)

ironkurtin

Veteran

Yeah I'm siding with the store not making the wrong call here. Missing out on a potential sale may not measure up to the hassle of dismantling an entire display, done by someone not trained in mannequin dressing or assembly, that would necessitate someone having to come out special to redo the display. I hate to say it, but I would not trust a mannequin furbishment to many sales associates I have met.

There might also potentially be a union issue? Sometimes union rules can be really weird.

Can you find the sweater online?

La Reine

This happened to my daughter at Abercrombie Kids a month ago. She loved a tunic dress on a mannequin and they wouldn't take it off. I see Ironkurtin's point about it being time consuming and potentially destructive for the untrained to strip a mannequin. In that case it would the behoove the stores to make sure their mannequins get changed frequently enough to avoid the understandable customer frustration of not being able to buy something they have so prominently displayed. The clerk said they hadn't had that tunic dress for a couple of weeks and she had clearly been asked about it more than once.