Corporate Response from Bloomingdale's

Well, I talked to someone in the executive offices on Friday. It wasn't the VP, but her assistant. Turns out, that for whatever reason, I gave them part of my OLD cell phone number from when I lived in Florida, and the new one, which is based in California. Well, I *was* pissed off at the time I wrote the email, so I am not surprised.

Anyway, the gal I had on the phone seemed nice enough. I told her that the only form of 'compensation' I was looking for was for them to fix the issue. The bad part is, she told me that they recently 'refurbished' that area. I was like, then they need to go back and re do it again! I was totally floored by that. I told her that I wanted her and her boss to go on walkabout and go up on the 2nd floor. Walk past all the H&M, Chole, Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel, BeBe, etc. Take note of all the pretty, trendy displays with the kick ass clothes screaming 'BUY ME NOW!!!'. Then I want them to round the corner and go into the 'women's' section. The baggy, totally unattractive clothing and the SAME GODDAMNED prices as the Chole, Karl Lagerfeld, and Chanel. I told the gal that I didn't have an issue spending 350 bucks on a skirt, but it damn well better have Chanel, BeBe, and/or Betsey Johnson on the label inside. I also told her that if the buyers were having 'difficulties' in finding haute couture labels for larger sized females, then grab a pen and paper, cause here's a list.

Charles Chang-Lima Designs for sizes 12-20. And don't ask if he will design for smaller sizes, because he says he refuses to do so.

Gok Wan Now has lingerie for larger sized ladies and it doesn't look like it's made out of industrial strength materials. Imagine that!

Isaac Mizrahi Designs for up at at least an 18/20.

Elena Miro Also designs VERY nice clothes for 'larger' females.

FFS, Calvin Klein even has SOME stuff for 'larger females'. Given the fact that the 'AVERAGE' sized American female is a size 12-14, this would be in Bloomingdale's best interest to check some of this out.

I also told her she needed to check out places like Lane Bryant and Torrid, because these are two shops that specialize in cute, semi upscale clothing for larger women. I told her that,' I understand that Bloomingdale's is NOT responsible for my cookie fetish, and I promise to go to Jenny Craig or whatever, but throw me a bone in the mean time!' Since the economy is in the tank, it's an employer's market, meaning those of us, such as yours truly, that are unemployed, need to step up their game. If I can't get a job, I can't shop. And although I loathe clothes shopping, get me into a bookstore or stuff for the house, and it's a whole other ballgame.

I didn't used to be larger than I should be. Once upon a time I was an amateur boxer and I ran half marathons. I was a size 8, but looked like a size 4. I can tell you that There is a distinct difference in the way I am treat now, versus then. When I was thinner, I got better treatment in stores and in restaurants. I'm old enough not to really give a shit anymore, but honestly, occasionally I get tired of being treated like a second class citizen, merely because I am not a size 8 anymore. Yea, I know I need to lose the weight for my health, blah, blah, blah, but this has been an ongoing thing my whole life. Even when I was 'small', I was still 'too big' according to a doctor I had. I had 18.5% body fat, low bad cholesterol, high good cholesterol, a resting heart rate almost that of an Olympic athlete, but since I weighed in at 147 lbs, I was not where I 'needed to be', being only 5'4". Lovely. Ain't that some shit? I even showed the wench the paperwork where I had all of that blood work and heart testing and what all done, and it didn't matter. Only my weight did. So, I found another doctor, and eventually, the weight I had lost came back. I will lose it again, but in the mean time, in between time, I need a suit to wear so I can get a job.

Again, I don't expect much to change. I just want a nice suit and a job. Is that really too much to ask?


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Respectfully submitted,

C.

ZOMG!! A response!

Got two emails from Bloomingdale's. The first one was your typical automated bs. I understand the need for it, as I myself worked in the e-Commerce department of a ladies' swimwear company. Here's the first one:

Thank you for taking the time to write to us at bloomingdales.com.

In response to your comments, I have reviewed your inquiry. We
appreciate your feedback regarding your recent visit to our store
location. I have forwarded your comments to our corporate offices for
further review. A representative from our corporate offices may contact
you, if necessary, to obtain more information regarding your experience.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please e-mail us at
customerservice@bloomingdales.com.

Sincerely,

Kristin
Bloomingdale's Customer Service
Bloomingdales.com Customer Service


And here is the 2nd, which for obvious reasons, I find more interesting than the first:

Dear C:

Thank you for taking the time to e-mail us. We have received your message, and it's been forwarded to Catherine Cook, Store Manager at our Tysons Corner location, for review and response. Please be assured we take your message very seriously. Catherine Cook or someone from the Tysons Corner executive office will contact you in the near future. Thank you for shopping Bloomingdale's.

Gloria Craighead
Vice President, Customer Service
Bloomingdale's


We will see what comes out of this. Honestly, I do not want nor do I EXPECT any sort of 'compensation' for this. I just want the issues fixed. I want better customer service and more importantly, better CLOTHING. I'm sorry, but just because a female is over a size 12, doesn't mean she's a second class citizen. Here's a pro tip: bigger females already feel bad enough about themselves. Treating us like we don't or worse yet, SHOULDN'T exist, just makes us feel even worse, so thank you for that. Like I *want* to be larger than a size 8. Assholes.

I also find the last sentence very ironic: Thank you for shopping Bloomingdale's. Why are you thanking me for doing something that I didn't get to do to START with? Is it *just* me, or did I just get thanked for having a crappy experience in their store? Iuno.... seems weird to me.

I will post if I get any calls and/or additional emails. Like I said, the only 'compensation' I want is for that no other woman (or man) having to have that same experience.


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Respectfully submitted,

C.

Letter to Bloomingdale's

This is the email I just sent to Bloomie's:

To whom it may concern,

I am emailing you today to tell you how horribly disappointed I am with Bloomingdale's customer service and selection of clothing for women over a size 4. Both are so deplorable as render one absolutely speechless.

I had attempted to shop at your store in Tyson's Corner, Virginia the day after Thanksgiving. My sister and I went into Bloomingdale's for the selection of stylish and professional clothing that you are known for in an attempt to procure a business suit for interviewing in. After passing many many sections of stylish and professional clothing, the "Women's" section was not only located in the VERY back of the store, but also contained the most hideous clothing I have ever seen. It was apparent by the 'selection' of clothing offered, that Bloomingdale's does not think that anyone over a size 4 has a right to decent stylish clothing. And apparently, we also do not deserve good customer service, because the LONE saleswoman we saw all of 30 seconds disappeared into the back and we never saw her again. We were never acknowledged, nor were we asked if we needed help. Not that we needed help in deciding to go elsewhere. I would like to point out that at NO time was price a consideration, nor was it even a factor. My sister and I were fully prepared to spend quite a sum of money on not only a suit, but other goods as well.

It is a shame that a store that is supposedly on such a high caliber would offer such piss poor customer service and even shoddier goods. My sister and I went to Lane Bryant in Dulles Town Center and the staff were MORE than willing to assist us and make suggestions. They were pleasant, well informed, and had the kind of clothing someone over a size 4 would feel comfortable and professional in.

One would assume that in this particular economy, Bloomingdale's would make the extra effort, however, it was quite apparent by the attitude of the staff and the wretched selection that this is not the case. Needless to say, Lane Bryant will continue to have our business, while Bloomingdale's will not. Both my sister and I will also make recommendations to friends and family reflecting the same.


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Now to see if the bastards actually respond. :)

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Respectfully submitted,

C.

The sum up

I'm a bottom line kinda gal, and I appreciate things that basically cut to the chase.

With 65 bloody WIPs/UFOs in 2 plastic bins, you can guess how successful I have been at staying off the intarwebz, yea?


I didn't put not *one* stitch in all day. I've basically felt like hell and just didn't feel like it. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

As Scarlett O'Hara once said: Tomorrow is another day...


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Respectfully submitted,

C.