I don't frequent BCF's but I've been known to go there a time or two for coats when I'm getting ready to travel outside of south Florida in the winter months. However, today I went to Dicks Sporting Goods and there was a woman inside showing her friend a super cute dress she'd just gotten at Burlington and since I needed summer dresses I was like, WHY NOT?
Things went bad from the moment I entered. As soon as I walked in, I couldn't enter because there were stanchions at the entrance stopping me from entering. Then a man walked up and says something along the lines of, "Hello ma'am...we are conducting security surveillance in the store today and wanted to inform you. Thank you for your time and patience." Then he removed the rope and let me in. I immediately felt like, WTH?!!" But then I was like, just be patient. No one else seems upset. So I go to the women's section and pick out several dresses to try. I go to the fitting room, try on, didn't like anything. Went back out to look for sets, found several very cute lightweight pants and short sets. Grabbed about 6 sets and returned to the fitting room. I got inside and began attempting to try on the first set. However, the set was clasped together with one of those security devices so I couldn't even separate the top from the bottom. I looked at all the other outfits I had and they all had this issue. How are you supposed to try anything on if it's clasped together?? Sooo I get dressed and go to the fitting room attendant and ask her to remove them. She says, " ohhh yeah...you gotta go to the cashiers station because I don't have the things needed to remove those." I almost left but a few of these outfits were SO CUTE so I decided to just go with it. I walk up and the line for the cashiers area was super long. I asked the security guy if he could take it to the counter and have them remove them for me. He reluctantly did it, saving me from being chewed out by people who had been waiting in line. The cashier said she would remove the devices but then after standing and waiting for her for 9 minutes, I finally waved at her and she looked at me and said, "oh I forgot about you!" (Maybe not those exact words but that's basically the way I took what she said) She removed them and I returned to the fitting room only to stand in line to get into a room. I finally got into a room and tried everything on. But as I'm standing there in my underwear, I saw red stickers on the mirrors that said "shoplifters will be prosecuted" and it made me wonder if that's what it meant when the man told me they were surveilling so then I felt completely mortified like WERE THEY WATCHING ME GET DRESSED AND UNDRESSED THIS WHOLE TIME?!!!! So as I was exiting the fitting room, I said to the attendant, "you know this feels a bit like overkill! This surveillance thing is scary, the security tags clasping two piece sets together is insane, the security checkpoint at the entrance is diabolical! Like as a customer, the last thing I want to do is feel like a shoplifter. I don't shop lift and though I know there are people that do this, THE ENTIRE CUSTOMER BASE HAS TO SUFFER and be treated like criminals too. Like I was even nervous to place my cell phone in my pocket because I thought I'd look like I was stealing. Not good!!! The way I see it is this...people shoplift and people shop. Don't make the shoppers suffer for the wrong doings of others. If you have surveillance in the ceiling, cool! But if I enter the fitting room, they count my items and hand me the number that coincides with the number of items I have and then when I leave and you count my items and it matches the number you gave me, then that means I DIDNT TAKE ANYTHING. BUT THEN YOU ALSO HAVE OTHER MEANS OF SURVEILLANCE AROUND THE STORE SO YOU NEED TO RELY ON THAT. Stop making the customers feel like a part of your problem. I hate feeling like I've done something wrong just for simply existing within the walls of your store. Do better!! And this isn't just for BCF...all stores that go above and beyond to make sure their customers feel like criminals is bad business...very bad in my book! I will NEVER EVER RETURN HERE. I WILL SHOP WHERE I FEEL APPRECIATED AND WHERE STORES UTILIZE THEIR SURVEILLANCE TO SURVEIL THE STORE instead of putting on the security heat within the store and making us feel uncomfortable. That is RIDICULOUS!!! read more