Skip to main content

Help Wanted: Carter's Store in Michigan City

HELP WANTED: Went to the Carter's store in Michigan city to return a duplicate infant outfit.

I've never been much of a kid person, so as the new Mother of a charming three month old Cupcake you can imagine my confusion when it comes to baby clothing! Everything is presented in a range like 0-3 months, 3-6 months and so forth...BUT depending on the actual SIZE of your kid they may not follow the typical monthly sizing. Our dearest Cherub, for example, wears a cloth diaper and diaper cover so her heiny is COMICALLY ENORMOUS and this requires larger sizes. Given that I am not so great juggling math, trying to figure out what size she could be in a month or two plus adding size for her Big Bottomed Girl Self and adjusting for potential change of seasons I am pretty overwhelmed when I finally do have to shop for her.

My dear Father bought The Princess an adorable Carter's outfit we already had, so I took it to their store in Michigan City Indiana to exchange it for something different. The girl who greeted me immediately went to get a manager before even looking at my return. I would think returns or exchanges(the easier of the two) would be very common and that all staff would be equipped and confident in handling them. Maybe she was brand new there? The manager glanced at my offering and even without a receipt she cheerily said "Go ahead and pick something else out!" I was delighted and began to cruise the store. My delight faded quickly.

The floor plan of the store was haphazard with little girl clothes strewn throughout and no organization for items and their uses as far as my untrained eye could see. I was interested in bibs, shoes and sunhats, perhaps a bathing suit. I had to ask for help locating items twice...the first question for bibs gained a vague wave and "They are with outfits." from the first girl who greeted me. I made a few comments about feeling confused and overwhelmed buying baby clothes. Then I asked for infant bathing suits and the same girl waved towards the back wall saying "Three months? I dunno you will have to look over there." I didn't feel like they were too busy to help me more effectively, just too disinterested. Did I mention my Mother-In-Love was waiting in the car with my aforementioned Enfant Terrible?

The price tag on the outfit was $24 marked down to $18, so that is the amount I was trying to spend in exchange...or so I thought! After wandering through the store several times I had selected five items I would need to narrow down to four to stay under my exchange amount. When I plunked the down on the counter I said "Twenty four dollars, right? I'm trying to decide which of these to get." The manager cheerily replied, "Actually this outfit is on clearance and valued at seven dollars, so that is your exchange amount." SEVEN DOLLARS? Are you kidding me? I asked if they had any other outfit sets like this I could exchange and she said no. She said I could just pick a different size, but I explained I already had this set. I was still new to baby togs...I was thinking like an adult where you would not want two of the same outfit! I settled on one pair of tiny pants and completed my transaction.

I left the Carter's store frustrated and unimpressed. It didn't seem like a great deal to trade in a three piece outfit for one pair of pants my Babe will wear for fifteen seconds before she grows out of them. After I was 20 minutes into my drive home, I realized I would have gotten a much better deal if I had simply exchanged the same outfit in a much larger size, say a 15 month size Our Darling could wear next Spring...wouldn't it have been great if the Manager had been helpful with that solution? Since I was so obviously desperate for help it would have been nice if she had explained that I could buy a larger size of the same outfit for NEXT Spring...I was too clueless to figure that out until I was already on the highway home. ALAS. A hard lesson learned.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Help FOUND: Milkbands FREEBIE Contest!

Win a useful & unique gift (my favorite combination!) for any nursing mother...also a fantastic shower gift. I'm offering THREE free milkband bracelets from "www.milkbands.com" and I'll even cover the postage for you. I posted in May about Udder Covers from www.milkbands.com and the great service I received from them. Unfortunately I did not receive my package in a timely manner which surprised me. I called Jenny at their 800 number and left a message. She called back mortified and together we figured out it must have been a snafu at the Post Office. Jenny continued the great customer service streak by reshipping my order that day and including five milkband bracelets for me...super nice. I'm sharing like the thoughtful gal I am, of course. To win, simply comment on this post with a customer service experience story I can share on the blog. It can be good or bad but must be truthful and as detailed as possible. The first three stories win bracelets, ...

Help Found and Wanted: Blackbird Cafe, Valparaiso IN

We moved to Valparaiso, IN almost one year ago and have delighted in checking out a variety of edibles available here. We live downtown so walking is our favorite option to access the charming and delicious downtown square's abundance of foodie indulgences. Last night my hubby and I had a walking date night. We strolled all over looking at houses, talking about our two Peeps and life in general. We ended up at Blackbird Cafe on Lincolnway for a cup of the black stuff and a sugar indulgence. It was not my first visit. The first few times I went for anything from a breakfast sandwich to a piece of pie for breakfast. I was always pleased with the results but grew to expect SLOW service if I ordered anything that needed to be made. I realized the service wasn't slow because they thought a lot of themselves, so I was OK with it. All staff was pleasant and helpful and the quality of the food made it worth the wait. The shining gem of this place I learned while on the phone wi...

Help WANTED: The Apple Store, University Park Mall

The Apple Computer Store: Heaven or Hell? Some of you see this modern technology store as a holy place worthy of a pilgrimage. Well let me tell you, I pilgrimaged and it isn't Heaven. Maybe Hell is a bit harsh...but let me share the customer service experience I had this week. My husband has turned me into a Mac person more because he knows a lot more about these sorts of things than I do. I think the branding of Mac as hip and cool is super effective. As a Mac user I feel ten years younger and twenty pounds thinner not to mention MUCH smarter just because I use a Mac. But here is where I am not thrilled: The customer service at the telephone level. I had called a few days earlier and set an appointment at the Apple store at University Park Mall in Mishawaka, Indiana for 12:15pm Thursday June 30th to have our iMac G5 looked at. It was NOT performing whatsoever despite my hubs efforts to do all the stuff we can do to make it work usually. They asked my name and maybe my...