Men

The other night, a man came into the store. He was talking on his cell phone and wandering around aimlessly in the petite section. Not wanting to interrupt his telephone conversation, I quietly asked if he needed help. He said he did.

As it turns out, he was on the phone with his wife. He was asking what size she was and what kind of clothes she liked.

Once he ended the phone conversation, he told me that he and his wife live in Panama and he was going to buy her some clothes as a surprise for an upcoming vacation they had planned.

I asked him what size his wife was. In order to help him out, I told him what size I was.

As you may recall from an earlier post, I am a size 4 petite (4P). This man’s wife was also petite, but she weighed 15 pounds less than me, so I figured she would be a 0P or 2P.

The man went on to tell me that his wife was pretty flat-chested, and then he held up his hand and cupped it, as if to show me how big one of her breasts was.

Seriously. He did this.

I couldn’t help but smile and chuckle a bit. I didn’t take offense at all, because him doing this helped me to really understand what size his wife was. He ended up spending over $300 on three different outfits.

After the transaction, he told me he really appreciated my help.

So, for all the men reading my blog, not every female sales associate will be so friendly and look the other way when you make a rather outwardly sexual gesture in a clothing store, but this man did it in such an innocent way that I was not offended in the least.

And another tip for men – know the sizes of your significant other’s tops & bottoms. That will help me to help you. :)

National Exposure

I was at the gym this morning, like every morning, and I was on the elliptical trainer for an hour.

During this hour, I listened to my iPod while watching the local news on the muted TV in front of me.

This morning, there was a fascinating story about the first woman in the U.S. to receive a face transplant. And while the images on the screen were both fascinating and disturbing at the same time, there was another image I was watching carefully.

The lead surgeon for this patient, who was speaking at a large press conference, was wearing an outfit designed and sold by my store!!

I’ve seen this “national exposure” previously – many national TV personalities wear our clothing and I always feel a sense of pride whenever I see this.

The TV spot lasted only for two minutes, but it was fun and exciting to see the outfit (and the transplant, of course) get national attention.

She Man

Just when I thought I’d seen it all…

The other week, a man came into the store. When this happens, the man generally is with his wife, girlfriend, sister, mother, daughter, etc.

This man was alone.

From the waist up, he looked totally normal – blond hair, nice eyes, pleasant demeanor – he was actually attractive and the kind of man I might have been interested in.

But then I looked closer.

He was wearing a black skirt.

And ballet flats.

He tried on several dresses and skirts and my co-worker helped him shop for things that might look good on his… figure. Alas, he didn’t find anything to buy.

Retail World is full of these off-beat, hard-to-believe stories. Seeing is believing.

Responsibility

A few weeks ago, my manager hired a male sales associate. I’ll call him J.

J went through the mandatory training, as we all do, and was put on the weekly schedule to begin working.

I was excited to meet J – we don’t have any male sales associates at my store and I was curious as to what he’d be like and how he’d interact with our clients. I had really high hopes.

J didn’t show up for his first (non-training) shift. He called that day and spoke to my manager over the telephone and told her he was not coming in.

Why? He was too tired from working his other job.

WHAT?!?

What did J think a second job was? What did he think he was training for?

I never did meet J, because he also “no-showed” for his second shift. At our store, it’s three strikes and you’re out.

In J’s case, it was two strikes. By this point, we all knew J wasn’t coming back.

Heck, he never even really started.

All I know is that J was 19 years old and, from what I heard, he was very good. He even “high-fived” a client and she “high-fived” him right back!!

My manager replaced his shifts and did not schedule him to work again.

Here’s my question – does anyone take responsibility for their actions anymore? Why bother to apply, interview and train for a second, part-time job if you’re not committed to showing up?

I’m beginning to understand that working in Retail World is a series of hits and misses. There are some really good, committed women who work in my store, and I am grateful for the consistency. It makes my job a lot easier.

However, more often than not, someone quits after only working for a few weeks or months. I never really get to know these people and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth for all the time and energy we spent training them.

I know I should just move on. I never met J and I never invested anything in him, except for my expectation that he would actually finish what he started.

I Love This and Can’t Live Without It

Have you ever found that perfect top/blouse/pants/skirt/jacket/coat and said to yourself, “I must have this and cannot live without it?”

If this has happened to you, only to find out the store you’re in doesn’t carry your size and/or color, there is generally a solution to your problem.

Have the store order it for you and send it directly to the address of your choosing.

Sometimes, if there’s a particular item you want, it may be sold-out online. The store should be able to order it for you from another store (somewhere in the United States) and have it shipped directly to the address of your choice.

At my store, the shipping costs $7.50. We can even do overnight delivery for $12.

Sometimes it’s worth it if you’re working within a tight time frame and need that perfect dress for a wedding next weekend.

Just ask your friendly sales associate what the options are. She’ll be glad to help you.

Mini Relationships

Those of you who know me know that I’m a people person. I love people.

And I especially enjoy helping people.

I’ve come to realize that one of my strengths in Retail World is helping needy people. I don’t mean “needy” in a bad way, but “needy” in a good way.

For example, some clients come in by themselves – without a friend, sister, mother, husband or daughter – and these folks need guidance and reassurance while they’re shopping. These clients try on a lot of clothes and want an honest opinion on how good or bad a particular garment looks on them.

I always give my honest opinion, ALWAYS.

And I always bring “add-ons” to my clients, in the hopes they will buy something else they weren’t originally planning on buying. Believe it or not, most do.

These needy clients are fun to work with. I usually spend upwards of an hour with them, and we develop a mini-relationship of sorts.

I find out where they live and what they do, and what special event they are attending.

I find out their favorite colors and what size they wear and if they’ve recently gained or lost weight.

I find out what cut looks good on them, and what doesn’t.

I once helped a mother-of-the-bride select a special dress for her daughter’s wedding; I helped a college-bound girl select a suit for a scholarship dinner/interview she had; and I assisted a woman who had a baby five months ago and was unsure what looked good on her, post-baby.

At the end of each of these encounters, I didn’t want the client to leave the store. I wanted to sit down and have coffee and talk about life and get to know her better.

I wanted to make plans to have breakfast and go shopping with her in the future.

I wanted these clients to be my friends.

I develop these mini-relationships often and sometimes wonder how a certain client is doing, or what she is wearing, months after she comes into the store.

I remember all of these clients, not just because I spent a significant amount of time with them, but also because they were so appreciative to me for my assistance.

I felt like I had invested my time and talents in helping them, and they were genuinely thankful and grateful.

This is why, despite being tired a lot of the time and complaining about working my retail shifts, I really am so lucky to have found a great part-time job where I can help people.

Petite or Missy?

It’s no secret that I wear petite-sized clothing.

Generally speaking, petite sizes are for women 5’4” and under.

If you’re one of those women who are right at the cusp of wearing petite or missy, don’t worry – there’s a solution for you.

Let’s say your normal size is a 6. If the item you want to buy is sold out in your size, you may want to consider trying on a size 4 Petite (4P). This usually only works for blouses, tops and skirts. It most likely will not work with pants.

Overall, the fit and cut of a petite-sized garment is going to be smaller. However, some items are made longer, so a petite size may fit you well, if not better than, a missy size.

The general rule-of-thumb is that if you are normally a missy-size client, you’ll need to go down one size in the petite version of the garment, and vice-versa.

Happy shopping!!