JCrew, I am now a Fan

A little customer services goes a long way. I was thinking about my recent pants shopping experiences that I had at the mall. The last time I bought new work pants it was when I started my last job in February 2007. So yeah, I am due. My pants are all worn out and, honestly, a few sizes too big as I have lost weight and now, thanks to Clinton and Stacie, understand what "fit" means.

I figured I would go to JCrew and the GAP. My tall friends have said that they have been successful at both locations which made me feel better. I may have no problem finding and purchasing short sundress after short sundress, but pants simply make me nervous. I assume Lady Gaga feels the same way. So, I simply avoid the process as much as possible.

I think it is important to refer to the experts when shopping for something new. All I knew was that I wanted slim fit pants, but wasn't sure what would look good on my frame given that I do have a decent sized ba-dunka-dunk. Therefore, I hunted down a saleswoman at JCrew immediately. She was a little startled when I first asked her point blank to help me find pants, but became extremely patient. Turns out that my instincts were correct with what I had found.

I ended up with a pair of Stretch Twill Minnie pants that fit marvelously everywhere but in the length. They were about 3 inches shorter than I would have liked, and all of the saleswomen agreed. (I might have had a following at this point as I was wearing the Harajuku Lovers shoes) Since the store doesn't stock the tall versions, the saleswoman let me know they would ship me a pair FOR FREE directly TO MY HOUSE. How wonderful is that?!?!

I figured there was no reason to say no at this point. So, she brought me over a phone (with no dial) that was sitting in the middle of the store. All she did was say that she was calling from store number _____ and had an order for a customer she wanted to place. After talking for a few minutes, she handed it over to me so I could give my billing and mailing information.

The pants showed up at my house a few days later and I am just so happy. I love that the store was willing to go out of its way to get their product into my wardrobe. Later that afternoon I went into the GAP and had a similiar experience where the pants fit but were too short. This time, however, the sales woman told me to just go online and order them. When I got home I went to gap.com and found out that I would get charged $7 for shipping. I am sorry GAP, I am now a JCrew fan. That store knows how to treat a customer right and doesn't punish me for being tall. Service like that really does wonders for creating customer loyalty.