I wish I could give this store a higher review, but, although their clothing is super cute, I had a decidedly mediocre shopping experience here today.
I was welcomed upon arrival in a friendly manner, then completely ignored while browsing for about 30 - 45 minutes. That in and of itself didn't bother me very much. I thought that if I had a question, I could always find someone and ask.
When I walked up to the dressing room, a staff member showed up within one minute to let me into the dressing room, and she was very nice to me. She even apologized for keeping me waiting, but I really hadn't been waiting - she got there right away. However, she seemed harried/preoccupied/distracted, and she only offered to help me with my clothing choices after I emerged from my dressing room (feeling slightly annoyed) needing a size Medium of a particular dress. I'd tried on the Large and it was way too big. I was between an extra-small and a small for many years, but now, after gaining some weight, I'm typically right in between a medium and a large. (For those who don't already know this, the j jill brand tends to run slightly on the larger side.) I couldn't quite tell if I would need to get the different size dress for myself or not, but she did meet me at the dress rack and looked like she'd been planning to get the new size of dress for me.
When I arrived at the cashier station, things started to go downhill. I worked in a mall retail store as a teenager, so I understand things from that side, and I know that store employees are sometimes required to ask customers about things like signing up for the store credit card. Because I've been on that side of things, I tend to give a lot of leeway/grace in these situations. However, I am also good friends with someone who facilitates a consent workshop, and it's a good thing I've had a lot of practice saying no... I think I had to say no to the cashier regarding signing up for the store credit card 4 times, which is getting a bit ridiculous.
At one point I felt so pressured and so uncomfortable that I considered changing my mind about my clothing purchases and not purchasing them after all. However, I do really love their clothing, and I found some super cute items for my fall wardrobe for this year, so I went ahead and bought all of my items.
I feel like this store is unusually high-pressure, even for a retail mall establishment. Some shoppers don't mind that, but I don't like the super-high-pressure sales approach - it actually makes me want to buy less, or else it makes me want to buy nothing at all.
Also, they had a big 40% off sale today, but 80 - 90% of all of the items on sale were for petite sizes. I'm sure some petite women do shop there, but I was one of 7 customers there this afternoon, and 0% of us would fit into the petite category. (In addition to having gained a little weight, I'm also a bit tall at 5'8".)
I do think it's sweet that j jill has an extra 10% off for school teachers through September 8th, if the teachers show their employee ID. My sister was formerly a school teacher (before she became an assistant principal in her 30s! Yay Heidi!), and I think it's really nice to appreciate teachers in this way.
I have purchased from j jill online before, and I'd almost for sure shop online again in the future (rather than in-store), which is a little sad since it's nice to see how clothing fits first prior to buying it. read more