I visited the lululemon in The Grove in Shrewbury, NJ for the first time the other day, and I am sure it will be the last time I do so. Whether it's with intention or not, lulu has the position of catering to fit, confident women, of which I'm not, and the interaction I had as a first timer will have me back with the friendly Old Navy staff 10-times over instead.
Surprisingly, I find it rare to be so off-put by service and retail employees and having a history of being one myself, I am mindful to try to find what I need before I ask a question. I went to the store because my friend, a Lulu manager at a store across the country, sent me a gift of my first ever Align leggings. Unfortunately, they were too short, so she told me to go to a local store to swap them out. Easy enough, right? I went in, searched for my size and didn't see them, so I found the one of four women working that would make eye contact with me. I asked her for help and she was kind enough and prompt in understanding my need. She told me because it was considered an employee exchange (all of my friends information was on the print out that came with the original package), she needed to get her manager. The manager, whose name I didn't get because to simply ask her a question seemed like it would've ruined her day, was working on Monday, May 16 just around 6p. She was quite literally huffing and puffing through her frustration that I simply could not exchange these leggings and that it was basically tough luck that my friend sent them to me and spent her money on it - and as we know, a discount on Align leggings is still a pretty penny. Her dismissiveness was astounding - I stood there, computing what was happening because I didn't understand why there wouldn't be an alternative to ship me another pair-I had also told the original associate I was going to have her run another transaction to add a second pair of leggings at full price, of course, because I liked them so much. The manager, who was so shrill looking down but of course not at me, was furiously scribbling down information on a post it, and I asked "I'm sorry, are you taking down my friends information? She works for this company, I don't want to get anyone in trouble." And she smugly said she had to report it and every employee knows protocol during their orientation. For the record, the discount my friend used was a company wide authorized initiative for Mother's day offered to ALL employees, including the employees of this store, NOT her personal employee discount.
I left, not empty handed, but with leggings that are too short (anyone want them...?) but fully confident that they won't see me over there again. The lack of respect for me as someone who's newly acclimating to your brand. The lack of respect for my friend, your essential teammate, for liking her company's product so much to send a gift for a milestone in my life. This may not get to Lulu corporate, but just advising you if you plan on visiting this location - know your size, get what you need to exchange, don't go to crazy with the pleasantries because you won't be getting them back and certainly don't go in there if you're not feeling confident - because shopping for clothes to wear for comfort and for athletics is personal to some.
I'm good in my Old Navy 3-pack over here. Thanks, Lulu at The Grove and manager on duty. Hope you felt good closing your till that night! read more
