Round Three with Banana Republic & I've Found Some Satisfaction...

A few days before the Holidays I was in Banana Republic Outlet (BRO) doing a little last minute shopping with my mother.  I was not there to buy things for myself, so I decided that after Christmas I would go to the store and get the stuff I wanted--possibly at a lower price.

So the Monday after Christmas I decided I would head back to Smithfield and check out the store.  Santa Claus brought me a cute little turtleneck sweater in a smokey gray and I knew, from my earlier adventure, that BRO had that sweater in a pretty dark pink color as well-- a color I wouldn't mind having myself.  And my interest was peeked when my sister told me that she went the-day-after-Christmas and got the same sweater for $14 bucks and basically everything in the store was 50% off-- and this is an outlet store with already low-low prices.

So I take myself to the BRO, thinking that I was going to score a few good deals, get the sweater I wanted, possibly something else in the line of workwear, and beat the crowds because, afterall, it was a freaking Monday.

To my surprise-- BRO was completely crowded with tourist.  There were people from Canada in big chunky hiking boots and enormous back-packs loaded down with shopping bags and they were all armed with handfulls of half-off clearance socks.  There were people standing in line to buy clothing, people in line try on clothing, people in line to look at clothing... it was horrible.  Luckily the shirt I wanted was near the door, so I quickly grabbed an XS size in black (changed my mind about the color) and then began scanning the room for anything else that grabbed my eye.  I spotted a pretty silk sheath dress in a black and white print.  Again, I quickly pulled the size I thought I wore and got in line to check out.

Looking back on it, it was pretty comical.  The lady in front of me was in line with nothing-- she had a sister in the store bringing her things that she was calling out to her that she wanted.  I complimented her on bringing a spotter.  And that was a pretty smart idea-- because in that crowd there was no need to bother trying anything on.

So I finally get to the checkout.  I make small talk with the salesgirl, who seems a little overwhelmed at this point because she couldn't even fold up the dress I was buying.  She asks me if I want a BR card and I tell her no.  The Hubster would just die if I got another credit card.  She hands me the bag and I'm on my way-- happier than heck to be out of that crowded store.

Fast-forward a few hours...

I'm taking the dress and sweater out of my shopping bag to hang them up in my closet when I realize that the salesgirl didn't put the sweater in the bag.  So I get my sales ticket.  I paid for the sweater and there is no sweater!

So I call the store.  I speak to another overwhelmed salesgirl who eventually tells me to come back and they "will try to help me out."  I'm so upset at this point.  I know it was just a $14 dollar shirt, but it was the principle of the thing-- I paid for it, and I will get what I paid for.

So the next morning I take off to Smithfield-- sales ticket in hand.  The store manager walks me over to the sweaters, which have now moved to the center of the store and have been completely reorganized.  The store looks completely different-- not only has the inventory been moved around, but Spring stuff was out on the racks.  A tad bit distracted I take the shirt from the store manager and head home.  Again.

Fast-forward a few more hours...

At home, watching the Young and Restless, it dawns on my that I've not put up the sweater.  So during the commercial break I go to the black sweater and notice that the sweater is not long sleeved or made the same-- in fact it is a completely different shirt than what I had paid for the day before.  This shirt wasn't on sale either.  So I have a $30 shirt with short sleeves that I didn't pay for and still no sweater.

Frustrated I decide to just let it go because I was not going to go back to that store again over a sweater that wasn't that special in the first place.

So there.  At least the dress fit.  Or so I thought.  Which brings me to this past Sunday.  The day of my cousin's baby shower.

I had decided that I would wear my new dress, a black cardigan, tights and my new gray suede booties to the shower.  I go to my room, put on the tights and then the dress and I realize that the dress just doesn't fit right.  Sure, it fit-- it zipped and everything, but it just didn't fit in the right places.  It is funny-- I don't really weigh any more than I did three years ago, but things just don't fit the same?  My mother says that weight shifts.  I believe her.

Anyway.  I decide to take the dress back when the Hubster said, "that dress makes your stomach look like it's sticking out."  So I quickly shed the dress, threw on whatever I could find and went to the baby shower only to worry the entire time that I wouldn't be able to find the sales ticket.

But I did find the sales ticket, under the front seat in my car. 

Today I took back the dress, to a much less chaotic BRO and got a size larger that does seem to fit better.

Finally, some satisfaction.