Dear clothing store owners, With the hectic season of shopping frenzy for young and old, the clothing stores are packed beyond capacity! After personally surveying the chaos reigning everywhere and waiting on line for at least half an hour just for a dressing room and then almost same amount of time to pay, I’m just wondering from a practical point of view, for everyone’s sake, if something can’t be done to make the shopping experience more efficient and pleasant?
Some suggestions would be:
Hiring more temporary personnel!
Partitioning off additional dressing rooms!
Installing extra cash registers
Installing a tent outdoors like some groceries do or renting out additional temporary store space
This is just from my own observations and I’m sure others have lots more to add.
Of course, kudos to all of you for servicing us so patiently with a smile when you’re exhausted and overwhelmed.
Chag kosher vesameach to all.
(TLS welcomes your letters by submitting them to letters@thelakewoodscoop.com)
What about the 24 hour return policy shenanigans?
Hope this article inspired some to change.
How about price tags?
Would be nice if the stores could extend their hours in the evening. Most stores close at 5:30 (Sunday) or 6:00pm. For those of us coming down to LW to shop, the only time is Sunday, and we all know how stressful it is on Sunday to shop. I know a few are open for a short while a couple nites of the week. And it’s nice to see more stores opening – competition is good.
He come the complaints and brilliant suggestions again.
I went into a dry goods store in town and they had a large sign up that said “No Returns!!”. I walked out and ordered on amazon. Lol. No returns are yesterday.
24 hour shenanigans??? What do you expect from them? How can they have clothing just sitting in peoples houses. I actually went to a few stores on Sunday and was so impressed by the staff. They were all smiling and so eager to help even though the place was flying and clothing were all over the place. Maybe we can also help them by hanging things back where we found them or maybe trying to go to the dressing room quicker. They are doing a great job
Late hours?!
This reminds me of a comment a restaurant owner told me. He has lines out the door erev pesach when he was approached by someone looking to cut the lounge, with the excuse, “I am a good customer, I come every year erev pesach.”
Many of these store barely survive year round, and finally see a few dollars of profits around this time of the year. If they were required to hire additional staff or room, those profits would be wiped out. Let’s all just be patient, and find a way to enjoy the experience. If it really bothers you, you’re welcome to shop a month earlier and put it in your closet until yom tov.
Why is it that only in the frum communities do stores get away with having a ‘return policy’ of 4 hours?! People are forced to overextend themselves and pay double or triple on children’s clothes then on their own – yet there is hardly an opportunity to exchange/return an item. What the children’s clothing and shoe stores are doing is a disgrace. They take advantage of a community by demanding exorbitant prices for basic clothes and then offer almost no flexibility once purchased. There is a middle ground for everything and it’s about time something is done about the industry. We need one store to buck this trend and once the masses start flocking there hopefully the others will follow. This is a serious crisis in our town that deserves all the attention it deserves
When I lived in Staten Island the non Jewish Mom and Pop stores had the same tipe of return policy it is not a frum issuse but a Mom and Pop issuse.
there are people that cant afford anything for Pesach and you are worrying about waiting in line 5 more minutes?
I have no problem with the letter, I was in a couple stores yest & share the concerns, it was polite, respectful, and this is after all a country which allows for freedom of speech, let’s not attack her for expressing her opinion, chag kosher vsamayach to all!!
Unbelieveable. If this reflects a consesus of opinion its tragic. Just another example of this generation “kumt mir” attitude. Did these people not know 2 months ago that pesach is coming? Your poor planning is not someone else’s problem. And if you don’t like the store policy, go elsewhere. One never heard this whining years ago. Where is the chinuch? Derech Eretz Kadma Letoira. About time for these chronic complainers to look in the mirror, and get their act together. Private schools, private stores, and private organizations owe you NOTHING. Do what your parents did; with their own 2 feet and 2 hands. Don’t sit in front of your iphone and pantificate deios.
Lakewood is very in for store owners. Many people from out of town. Let’s welcome everybody and their dollars. Out of town shoppers help the local economy.
For those suggesting shopping earlier, in many cases the stores are not fully stocked with their spring/summer items much earlier. Some stores had their winter items on sale until only recently.
How about having dresses long enough for my daughter who is 5’2″!!!!! If they barely cover her knee, what do all those girls taller than 5″ do??????
Agree with Bd! If your niche is a frum crowd, then you should sell clothing that fit tzniusly.
To shalom her Heisenberg. Some of us have no choice but to wait until closer to pesach because before Purim we are drowning in Purim expenses. I would love to shop early. It doesn’t work for me financially.
Even more annoying is when the late night hours are not included in the same day return policy. If my son comes home from yeshiva at 5:30 and has to try on clothing how is it possible to get to the other side of town by 6:00? Even if the store has night hours they wont allow you to return past 6:00.
I want to thank the Hat Box for always making my shopping stress free. Their response to anything I ask is sure no problem. I cant say many other stores have tried to make my shopping stress free.
I totally agree about the length of clothing. My daughter & I are tall and there are few stores who are accommodating (large hems, extra fabric) I ordered a dress frm a goyish designer. Guess what? It was a perfect length & perfectly tzniusdik. I wish more stores will try to accommodate us tall ones.
As the bookkeeper for a store in town I can tell you this. No one is getting rich off a store. Imagine this. Customer with two daughters takes home 10+ dresses so her daughter’s can just ‘try on’. Then returns all of it because ‘ nothing worked’. (of course that’s followed by “do you have anything else?”). Point is when these dresses are out of the store they can’t be sold to another customer. A 30 day return policy would be devestating to a mom and pop shop. This isn’t Nordstrom. If you want to sift through dozens of racks at the non frum places go ahead. At a local store they do all that to you and pick out the tznuis clothing. This is a service that we should all be thankful for.