”
I won’t lose any sleep over it
”
the salesman said sarcastically. These words hit me like
fingernails on a chalkboard.
“I won’t lose any sleep over it” the salesman said sarcastically. These words hit me like fingernails on a chalkboard. They were spoken by a salesman at a Gilroy Halloween store. Like everyone else, I went in to buy a costume. After browsing the day before, I decided to come back first thing the next morning when people were more likely to be at work or at school.
I waited in the early morning air with half a dozen other people, eager to make my selection. When we were finally allowed in, I found what I had already seen and selected it from the wall. I walked to the back of the store where the dressing rooms were, but nobody was there to gain access.
I waited for a few minutes for an attendant to come, but none did, so I wandered up to the front of the store and asked a female clerk if I could try on the item.
She told me I couldn’t because people were damaging the costumes and they weren’t allowing fittings anymore. I can see how that would be a problem, but this was a $120 costume. I felt that I should be able to try it on, and I promised that I would be “extra careful.”
I’m thinking to myself that a $120 costume should not be that fragile and classified as one that would break in the dressing room. But I was willing to buy it if it fit. The girl reiterated that I would not be able to try it on.
Honestly, I was flabbergasted. I managed to repeat my dilemma that I could not justify purchasing such an expensive costume without knowing that it would fit.
She offered to let me take it out of the bag and hold it up to me to check the size. So, I’m thinking, “just how fragile is this thing?” and I knew that “holding it up” was not going to be good enough. I “hold up” $10 t-shirts and pajama pants, not expensive and non-refundable things like this. I don’t expect to try on Dracula teeth or for my little girl to try on a child’s princess costume, but for crying out loud … $120 on a costume that “might” fit? I don’t think so!
I took a breath and stated again, slightly confused and for the third time, “but … I can’t buy the costume if I can’t try it on”. Then a tall, male salesman pipes up from the end of the register counter and states in an apathetic tone, “I won’t lose any sleep over it!” I responded “neither will I”, and I hung the costume up on the wall and left the store completely disgusted with the idea that I was being asked to spend $120 on a non-refundable costume that may or may not fit.
He could have said, “I’m sorry, we can’t change the policy” or “I wish careless people hadn’t ruined this for you.” Or how about offering to let the female clerk assist me in the dressing room with the costume? But no, instead I get an indifferent guy who couldn’t care less about what I was in his store to buy.
Are these people making so much profit on our community that they can afford to cut a customer loose that way? Then I was even more ticked off that they are selling costumes that will fall apart on the dressing room floor for an outrageous amount of money.
I left there feeling really annoyed and wondering what has happened to customer service. I parked in front of the other Halloween store on Monterey, near Fifth Street still grumbling to myself about what had just happened.
I went in and was greeted with a smile by a pretty, tall, brunette woman. How refreshing! She showed me what I was looking for and was actually willing to let me try on the costume. Of course I left with a better costume than the first one and I saved a ton of money!
During the course of this past week I went back to the pretty, nice lady at the store on Monterey and bought more accessories for my three kids, my husband and myself.
I know this seems petty to some people, but if we don’t demand good service in return for our hard-earned money, we will continue to be treated like we don’t matter as individuals. Don’t let vendors push you around. Demand better service and demand a higher standard. You deserve it!
Lydia Eden-Irwin and her husband were both raised in Gilroy. They have three children
collectively. Lydia can be reached at ed*****@*ol.com.
