Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Hollister - Home of the Overpriced Clothes and the Overblown Attitudes

Is it written somewhere that to work at Hollister you have to be a snotty little bitch? I mean, is that on the application? Circle yes or no, and if you circle no the application is immediately filed in the big round file under the desk? Is it something they look for when they interview you?

My daughter's boyfriend got her this jacket for Christmas:





Cute, right? Except that he got her a small, and while she's quite flattered that he thought she was a small, and she can fit into it, she really does need a medium. I'm afraid that once I wash the thing, it's going to be too small. Well, I found out yesterday why he got a small. At the store he went to, they only had this jacket in small and extra large, nothing in between. The store "manager", (some barbie-looking bitch) wanted to know if I had a receipt (no, it was a gift from her boyfriend, but the name of your store is ALL OVER the damn thing, which would probably indicate it was not purchased at say, Target), if I had the tag (yes, it's not on the jacket but I do have it), and she's huffing and puffing, and WELL, IF it wasn't worn or WASHED, then I SUPPOSE....SIGH.

Look, bite me, Barbie. I don't want a cash refund, I just want a different freaking size that you don't even have. Seriously, shut it.

So this morning I called to a different store and I want to find out if they even have it in medium before I drive all the way out there. And I ask the same questions, and I get a lot of sighing and hemming and hawing and can you call back in about 30 minutes? Le sigh from this girl too.

I mean seriously...what the hell ever happened to customer service? I've worked in customer service and I'd be the last one to say "the customer is always right", because they're not...but really, common courtesy and a polite attitude you'd think, and at least ACTING like you might be helpful, would be a prerequisite for working in retail. But not in stores such as Hollister, apparently, where I think they're purposely trying to find the bitchiest, snottiest, Barbie-looking cheerleader types on the planet.

Ok, I just called that other "can you call back in 30 minutes" store, and apparently they do have a medium. But she can't hold it for me until about 1pm, when I can actually make it out there. "Oh, I'm sure it'll still be here." You know, it's not their policies that bother me, but their "Omg, you're bothering me" attitude. Ok chica, I'm coming down there, but if it's not there, I'm taking it out of your Barbie ass.


PS. I am happy to report that Operation Hoodie Exchange was a success! And I didn't even have to yell at anyone. The girl at the other mall was actually quite nice and helpful. Of course, she wasn't 17 and she wasn't a bleached blonde bitch. She even went and got the replacement size for me, rather than the process of "leave that one here, and go get the one you want." Well done, salesgirl, well done. You've no idea how much I appreciated the hassle-free transaction.

And the medium does fit SO much better.

13 comments:

Fannie said...

I do believe the only salespeople snottier? Are working are Abercrombie and Fitch. A store I have FORBIDDDEN my daughters to patronize. SIGH - I miss customer service.

Mary said...

I cannot WAIT to show this to my daughter!!! She isn't home right now because she's *cough* working at Hollister.

I almost peed my pants reading this blog entry! I hope I can recover enough to stop snorting!

She had and "incident" happen at work the other day, I'll retell the story on my blog. Oh, Hollister... Hollister...

My sides ache now, can't stop laughing!!!

S said...

Oh, don't get me started on customer service, or the lack thereof, because I'll NEVER stop.

I'm glad it was resolved, though.

MadMad said...

Hahaha! Great minds think alike, huh?! (Or maybe it's just that they are SO DARN AWFUL they get two posts about how awful they are? That's probably it!)

Sheri said...

Abercrombie & Fitch is the worst. They make you feel like it is your priviledge to shop there. I don't even bother going in there anymore.

Shelley said...

Ok, based on the comments, I don't think I'll be stopping into A&F anytime soon!

Mary - Umm...I'm glad you're laughing, cuz I didn't know your daughter worked there. Now I want to hear your Hollister story!

Tell your daughter that I'm sure she's one of the pleasant people that slipped through the cracks during the interview process. Hey, it's bound to happen once in a while. ;)

onthegomom said...

Hollister and A&F are SNOTTY everywhere then! Almost everyone at A&F look at you like "what are you doing here" to me when I walk in. Okay, I am not freaky looking and I don't wear their shit, it's for my KIDS! UGH. I hate those stores.

But, I am sure there are good kids there, too. But they are few and far between!

Mary said...

Abercrombie & Fitch is the same company as Hollister. They even cover for each other.

I haven't been good at blogging lately - I have the hollister story on the top of my list to write about very soon.

My baby is on nap strike so I'm exhausted! Stay tuned....

Anonymous said...

You said they tags were un-attaced, umm..obv. this gives us a reason for us to beleive it was worn. OBV we how it came from our store. we spend all day fixing it for you to mess it up. And if you dont have the reciept...you could have just picked it off the table and brought it up to the counter with your story. so no. we're not stupid and have an attitude problem. we just get anoyed with every coustmer and their problems. when CLEARLY our return policy is tags attached with recipt.

Shelley said...

Dear Anonymous (Original!),
If you read my story carefully, you would see that I did not want a return. I would, of course, never expect a refund without a receipt. All I wanted was a different FREAKING SIZE. And judging from your poorly spelled and worded comment, yes, you are stupid and yes, you do have an attitude problem. If you don't like working in customer service (that's customer, not "coustmer"), then you should find a different job. Preferably one where you don't have to deal with the public. The number of misspellings in your comment is amazing. Perhaps retail person at Hollister is your employment ceiling. I certainly can't see you being qualified for much else. So good luck with that. ;)

HCO Girl said...

Hi there,
I'm 17 and I work at Hollister in Arizona. I don't know where you all live, but the experiences you've had are definitely not a reflection of every A&F store. In the interviews, we are asked to define diversity, not just literally, but also in the sense of "what does it mean to us?" Girls who act stupid and rude are not hired, at least at my location. I'm not saying there aren't stupid people working at some of the stores, but please don't let your bad experiences reflect on every single person who works there. I feel offended to read that I must be "stupid" and a "snotty little bitch" because I work at Hollister when in fact I am working hard to make money to go to college and have gotten straight A's in school all of my life. I volunteer at hospitals and nursing homes, and try as hard as I can to be kind to everybody. I am most certainly not rude to people who I don't know, such as our customers. I really don't appreciate the comments you are all making. They are judgmental and are obvious examples of stereotyping.

Anonymous said...

Hollister doesn't carry extra larges in girls clothes, just so you know :)

Shelley said...

Um...ok? And I care why? I don't think I've ever seen anyone here in Colorado wearing clothes from that store. Snowboarding and skater logos are popular here, not so much beachwear. And none of my girls wear XL, so again, I would care why?