Jules brings up a point that I hadn't considered. I agree with her assessment. We are demanding (in a good way).

Thanks Style Fan!

Thanks Jules. Maybe we YLF shoppers ARE more demanding than others as you suggest. I just hate throwing money away on discretionary items that I don't like If I have to buy a new car or toaster and am not crazy about the choices, I'll pick one and live with it because it's a necessity, but a sweater that doesn't fit right and can't be altered, NOPE!

Sterling, agreed!

Hi there, I realize this post was made 4 years ago, but I would very much love to know if you have been allowed to have your account reinstated after all these years? Yesterday I received the same letter as you via email. I tried calling, but it asks for me to leave a message. I hung up because I was feeling too emotional at the time. As you said in your other post, there are more important things to worry about than shopping at Nordstrom, but it's still a crummy feeling. Just hoping you can update what changed, if anything, after 4 years. Thank you!

Hi molly283! The answer is no, they have not let me be reinstated. I have asked twice, once about a year after the initial “firing” and again a year after that. I haven't tried again. Every now and then I look at their online selection and find so little that interests me and would fit that I don’t miss them. Shoes are the one exception … I look for things I might like and most of the time can find them elsewhere.

Thank you very much for replying back! Wow, I am really amazed that after a few years they wouldn't reconsider. I won't keep my hopes up then. Life goes on. Thank you again and all the best to you!

Wow I had no idea that Nordstrom did this. Thanks for sharing.

Well, Chris, Nordstrom still hasn’t fired me despite my (just guessing) 80% return rate on my Nordstrom.com shopping. I make all my returns to the store and buy nothing in person. The return associates knew me at the flagship store that closed last year. My net purchases add up to quite a bit however since I am too lazy to shop elsewhere. The alterations benefit keeps me returning since Petite sizes have grown harder to track down and styles tend to be boringly conservative, not that Nordstrom isn’t, lol.

I just find the discrepancy in our experience infuriating, at least for you. Reminds me of my and my lab partner’s physics grades in high school. Our work was identical but the teacher would always give me higher marks — simply because my standardized scores (which the teacher had no business examining) were higher than hers. The unfairness has stayed with me after 55+ years.

Wow, Chris! I somehow missed this whole thread when you first posted it a few years ago. Even though I’d heard of Nordstrom canceling customers for high returns, I didn’t realize you’d done all this footwork, and to no avail. Kudos to you for addressing it in such a level-headed manner.

The pandemic really hit local b&m retail hard. The nearby Nordstrom closed, and the next closest one is 45 minutes away and doesn’t have nearly the selection they used to have. Online shopping is totally a necessity if I am to shop with Nordstrom now. I pick up the packages at the Rack near me (which seems to still do a strong business), and immediately try on in store so I can process any necessary returns in the same visit. Out of curiosity, I just looked through my account app and did a quick tally — over the last year, my return rate looks to be about 70%. Considering this is doing things like ordering several pairs of silver sandals to find one pair, and ordering a skirt in two different sizes to determine which one works better, I think that is pretty good and is around the ratio I would expect. I wonder how their algorithm works for determining customer return habits that they find negative — are they solely based on $$ or do they consider broader patterns so they know whether they are alienating a customer who may be worth the bother to them in the long term. Ah, just a rhetorical musing, but at any rate, it does seem to be less than stellar customer service!

molly283, EXACTLY, life goes on. For me this fits in the category of things I can't change but can change how I react to them. I've moved on!

Lisa, this post is 4 years old, and until molly283 replied to it very
recetnly I was in the FIred-By-Nord-For-To-Many-Returns club by myself as far as I knew I guess molly has now joined the club, not voluntarily I would imagine/

DonnaF your situation is fascinating. I guess you haven't hit whatever $$ amount plus % return threshold I hit. I asked them for the formula and said I'd be happy to live within it if I knew it, but they were not willing to reveal it. I'm completely over it, so don't stay annoyed on my account.

Janet - your questions about how many returns got me fired are exactly what I asked them, but they would not tell me. My online ordering patterns are as you describe, two different sizes of something to find which fits, a few similar styles of shoes to see which works etc. I think that's probably the norm for most of us. The 12 month period that got me fired was mid-2019 - mid 2020 - so only 3 months or so into Covid when the full impact on retail had not hit yet. This policy was clearly in place well before Covid.

I didn't save the exact $$ amount and % returns that I tallied up 4 years ago, but it was maybe 80% returns and total spend (before returns) in the ranges that would have gotten me early access to the NAS So a LOT for sure, but I was in an experimental mood back then. I guess I really was the type of customer they don't want.

I've considered buying in-store with cash (so I could be anonymous), but the 2 Nordies near me have almost nothing that appeals. No petites, a small amount of high end stuff that won't fit me or my lifestyle, lots of pricey skinny or wide leg jeans, and shoes and bags that are never quite what I want. Online selection is a little better but I've been able to do just fine without them. Over it!

I know this post started years ago but it got me curious about my stats. I don't feel like I've had a successful shopping year at all, just not seeing things I like. Well, from August of 2023 to the end of July 2024 I've had a 68% return rate. The toxic chemical sweaters didn't help, and whose fault is that? Maybe I'm keeping less because quality has declined. The page didn't go back further than 8-23 but I feel like my return rate was lower in the past.

It just seems like a bizarre concept for a store to fire a customer. I wonder how long this has been a thing, and what other stores do it. I understand it's a complicated issue...there are YT people who buy gobs of clothes just to make videos on them and then return it all...but the average customer worrying about being fired seems weird. And can backfire...if I'm worried about my stats catching someone's attention I am more likely to order less instead of keep more.

I remember this conversation vividly as it alarmed me. I thought of it as a cautionary tale. Looking at my purchases over the last 12 months, I have returned exactly two thirds of them. As Angie said originally, I buy a fair amount of beauty products at Nordstrom, or this percentage would be much higher. With clothing and shoes, I am always buying sizes or colors that are not available in the store, or buying multiples to compare fit, fabrics and cost. I also want to have the item at home to try out with my wardrobe at my leisure.

It seems they aren't looking at the overall cost, as the things I keep (an eye pencil, hand cream) are never as expensive as the things I return (clothes and shoes). And I never mail anything back, but instead return them to the store. I wonder if that has any impact?

Finally, my online shopping is done without any help from a sales person. I pick out my own stuff and check out myself. Someone has to pick and pack the items in some warehouse somewhere to ship them, but wouldn't they be doing that if they were stocking the actual store?

Clearly I am very interested in the nitty gritty details of their decision making process.

Peri, good points. I am no longer thinking about this in detail like I did 4 years ago but I agree with your thoughts.

Roberta, I too was very interested in the nitty gritty details but they would not tell me how they did it, so I just had to move on