Why is clothes shopping so awful?
Feb. 11th, 2011 03:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
girlofpreyI did not end up going to my getting-back-to-work service appointment yesterday. What happened was that I decided to go get the dresses and that jacket I liked, and to borrow the money from my savings account and pay myself back later - you may judge me for excessive buying at will - by getting up early yesterday, going to Leeds, and then going from Leeds to Wakefield for my appointment. I didn't want to get up too early, because I didn't really get to bed early, and I thought I'd probably sleep through an alarm that was too early, and then possibly sleep in too late to go to my appointment in Wakefield as well. So I set my alarm for 11 o'clock. And I got up for my alarm. And I managed to get out of the house and get a bus at about 12 o'clock or just after. And there was a bus going to Leeds from my local bus station a few minutes after I got in. I got to Leeds, in quite nice weather, for about 1 o'clock, and then I had two hours to go to New Look, buy these things I had already tried on, and then go get the bus to Wakefield. Which seemed very reasonable.
I went to New Look. They had, overnight, changed around a display that had been the same on Wednesday as the time I saw it in early January. But it was okay, I managed to find the first dress I was looking for. But on Wednesday I'd tried on the 16 and the 18 and I was pretty sure the 18 looked better, and I couldn't find the 18 on the rack. I went to a floor worker and said I couldn't find a dress I'd tried on the day before, could she check if it was on the rack. She checked and it wasn't there. Then she went to either look around the store or look in the back and she couldn't find one. She suggested either trying the website or trying the other New Look store in Leeds. Then she offered to call the other store and check if they had the dress in my size, which she did, and told me they didn't. So I guessed the 18 had sold, and I'd have to either get the 16 or not bother. I went round the store to get the jacket and the other dress though, and I knew that dresses sometimes ended up on racks they weren't supposed to be on, because I kept finding them. So I had a quick scout around, and found the 18 I'd been looking for on a rack in front of the tills. Hurrah.
So. I had the jacket and the dress, so then there was just this other dress. And given that an 18 had looked better than a 16 in the other dress, I thought I should check which one looked better, so I grabbed a 16 and an 18 and went off to the changing rooms. I tried the 18 on first and, having already tried the 16 on a week before, I didn't know if it didn't look better, a bit looser and moving a bit better. I came out and the floor worker - the same nice one who'd tried to find me the 18 in the first place - said it looked nice. Then I tried on the 16 and didn't think it looked as good, but when I came out the floor worker woman said she thought it looked better. And the pockets were hanging loose and ruining the line on the 18, so I thought fair enough, the 16.
But then, I thought "What the 16 really looks better in that first dress, and I'm just kidding myself because it's a bit looser?". So I tried on the 18 again, and it did look a bit loose. But the nice floor worker had gone from the changing rooms, replaced by a male floor worker I didn't know, so I had no second opinion. So I went out, gave the 18 in the second dress to the new floor worker man, and ran out to get a 16 in the first dress. I tried that on. It possibly fit a bit better, but there was a weird sag of material at the front, and it was a bit tight at the top, and just looked a bit unbalanced to my eyes. AND THERE WAS NO WAY TO BE SURE WHICH LOOKED BETTER. AND THE 18 HAD A HABIT OF GOING WALKABOUT IF I LEFT IT IN THE SHOP. So I tried on the 18 again. After a lot of looking, I decided I really did think that looked better. So, at about 2 o'clock, I finally went over to the tills.
All these clothes cost quite a lot, so when the floor worker (the nice lady one again) asked if I wanted a store card, and a discount of 10-15% on my purchase, I decided that yes I did. It turned out to be a mistake. The woman gave me a form, but she had to read out a statement to me while I filled in the form, and she couldn't find the statement. She didn't even seem to know what the statement was, just that it was about the card and she had to read it out to me. I couldn't start filling in the form because she had to read the statement out to me while I was filling it in. Another man came over, and he didn't know where the statement was, but he knew some of the terms and conditions, so he told me those. Then the woman said I could start filling in the form while she looked for the proper statement. Then the manager came over, the woman asked her about the statement, and the manager said "Oh, we need the new forms". I stopped filling in the form, and the woman tore it about. The manager came back and she gave me the new form and gave the woman the statement. The woman read out the statement while I filled in the form, and I could barely listen to it because I was too busy trying to remember my various details, including my address in Nottingham and whether I had any credit cards at home. Then the woman had to call it in to the finance company, and basically read out everything that was on the form. And she called me over, because she had to give them the last few digits on my debit card. And then I had to correct several capital letters she got wrong out of my email address. Finally the call was finished, and she said the finance company hadn't approved the card, they were referring me. Which apparently means they'll write to me in 9 working days, and probably just want some more information. But because I didn't have the card, I couldn't get the discount. Oh but I'd get the discount when I got the card. But that didn't help me yesterday. So anyway, I finally paid for the clothes, and ran out at about 25 past 2.
But I thought it might be okay, because I'd gotten a bus from Leeds to Wakefield a few weeks before, for perhaps the first time ever, and it hadn't seemed to take very long. I ran down to the bus station and got there for 25 to 3, and saw that there was a Wakefield bus leaving in 3 minutes. Having not eaten anything at all by then, I ran to Greggs to get a sandwich and a drink, and then ran back to wait at the bus stop. The bus was a little bit late, but finally came, and I got on, and hurrah. And then I noticed that it was going a different route to the one I'd gotten on before. And I thought it might actually be taking the long way round. And really, the fact that it was going "via Castleford" should really have tipped me off before I got on. But it didn't. We went all the way to Castleford. The bus stopped and changed drivers at Castleford. It was already about 10 past 3, and I didn't have any letters or anything with me, so I didn't think I could call the place to say I was going to be late. I have just confirmed last night's suspicion that actually, their number is one of the few I actually have on my phone. But anyway. I didn't think I had their number.
A load of people got on at Castleford. By the time the bus turned off again and started going through Normanton, I was almost ready to pull out my own hair. I properly nearly started crying, but I sort of got over it and was feeling a bit better before too long. At about four o'clock, or just before that, the bus pulled into Wakefield bus station. I went along down to the building, and said that I was meant to have an appointment at 3 o'clock and just wanted to explain why I hadn't been there for it. Luckily, the woman I was meant to be talking to was free, and she managed to find a free room for us to talk in. She eyed up my New Look bag a little bit when she saw it, but I just explained that I'd gone to Leeds to get some clothes I thought were about to sell out in my size, and then I ended up trying them on, and then I went to get the bus and thought it would be quick, but it totally wasn't and I didn't have the number of the service to call them. She was very understanding, and said it was fine, and she knew the buses from Leeds to Wakefield were a bit weird sometimes, and we rescheduled the appointment for 10 o'clock on Monday. That is quite early, especially for me, but at least I won't be trying to fit anything in before it.
Anyway. I came straight home after that. But between running around Leeds on Wednesday and running around in Leeds and Wakefield yesterday, I am feeling pretty tired today, so I probably won't be doing a pairing picspam. Which is kind of a shame, because Daniel/Eli is a really big pairing of mine, not just in terms of films. Oh well. Next week, maybe. I'm quite happy about the dresses and jacket though. Although I'm still planning on getting my mum's opinion about the 18 I got, just in case.
I went to New Look. They had, overnight, changed around a display that had been the same on Wednesday as the time I saw it in early January. But it was okay, I managed to find the first dress I was looking for. But on Wednesday I'd tried on the 16 and the 18 and I was pretty sure the 18 looked better, and I couldn't find the 18 on the rack. I went to a floor worker and said I couldn't find a dress I'd tried on the day before, could she check if it was on the rack. She checked and it wasn't there. Then she went to either look around the store or look in the back and she couldn't find one. She suggested either trying the website or trying the other New Look store in Leeds. Then she offered to call the other store and check if they had the dress in my size, which she did, and told me they didn't. So I guessed the 18 had sold, and I'd have to either get the 16 or not bother. I went round the store to get the jacket and the other dress though, and I knew that dresses sometimes ended up on racks they weren't supposed to be on, because I kept finding them. So I had a quick scout around, and found the 18 I'd been looking for on a rack in front of the tills. Hurrah.
So. I had the jacket and the dress, so then there was just this other dress. And given that an 18 had looked better than a 16 in the other dress, I thought I should check which one looked better, so I grabbed a 16 and an 18 and went off to the changing rooms. I tried the 18 on first and, having already tried the 16 on a week before, I didn't know if it didn't look better, a bit looser and moving a bit better. I came out and the floor worker - the same nice one who'd tried to find me the 18 in the first place - said it looked nice. Then I tried on the 16 and didn't think it looked as good, but when I came out the floor worker woman said she thought it looked better. And the pockets were hanging loose and ruining the line on the 18, so I thought fair enough, the 16.
But then, I thought "What the 16 really looks better in that first dress, and I'm just kidding myself because it's a bit looser?". So I tried on the 18 again, and it did look a bit loose. But the nice floor worker had gone from the changing rooms, replaced by a male floor worker I didn't know, so I had no second opinion. So I went out, gave the 18 in the second dress to the new floor worker man, and ran out to get a 16 in the first dress. I tried that on. It possibly fit a bit better, but there was a weird sag of material at the front, and it was a bit tight at the top, and just looked a bit unbalanced to my eyes. AND THERE WAS NO WAY TO BE SURE WHICH LOOKED BETTER. AND THE 18 HAD A HABIT OF GOING WALKABOUT IF I LEFT IT IN THE SHOP. So I tried on the 18 again. After a lot of looking, I decided I really did think that looked better. So, at about 2 o'clock, I finally went over to the tills.
All these clothes cost quite a lot, so when the floor worker (the nice lady one again) asked if I wanted a store card, and a discount of 10-15% on my purchase, I decided that yes I did. It turned out to be a mistake. The woman gave me a form, but she had to read out a statement to me while I filled in the form, and she couldn't find the statement. She didn't even seem to know what the statement was, just that it was about the card and she had to read it out to me. I couldn't start filling in the form because she had to read the statement out to me while I was filling it in. Another man came over, and he didn't know where the statement was, but he knew some of the terms and conditions, so he told me those. Then the woman said I could start filling in the form while she looked for the proper statement. Then the manager came over, the woman asked her about the statement, and the manager said "Oh, we need the new forms". I stopped filling in the form, and the woman tore it about. The manager came back and she gave me the new form and gave the woman the statement. The woman read out the statement while I filled in the form, and I could barely listen to it because I was too busy trying to remember my various details, including my address in Nottingham and whether I had any credit cards at home. Then the woman had to call it in to the finance company, and basically read out everything that was on the form. And she called me over, because she had to give them the last few digits on my debit card. And then I had to correct several capital letters she got wrong out of my email address. Finally the call was finished, and she said the finance company hadn't approved the card, they were referring me. Which apparently means they'll write to me in 9 working days, and probably just want some more information. But because I didn't have the card, I couldn't get the discount. Oh but I'd get the discount when I got the card. But that didn't help me yesterday. So anyway, I finally paid for the clothes, and ran out at about 25 past 2.
But I thought it might be okay, because I'd gotten a bus from Leeds to Wakefield a few weeks before, for perhaps the first time ever, and it hadn't seemed to take very long. I ran down to the bus station and got there for 25 to 3, and saw that there was a Wakefield bus leaving in 3 minutes. Having not eaten anything at all by then, I ran to Greggs to get a sandwich and a drink, and then ran back to wait at the bus stop. The bus was a little bit late, but finally came, and I got on, and hurrah. And then I noticed that it was going a different route to the one I'd gotten on before. And I thought it might actually be taking the long way round. And really, the fact that it was going "via Castleford" should really have tipped me off before I got on. But it didn't. We went all the way to Castleford. The bus stopped and changed drivers at Castleford. It was already about 10 past 3, and I didn't have any letters or anything with me, so I didn't think I could call the place to say I was going to be late. I have just confirmed last night's suspicion that actually, their number is one of the few I actually have on my phone. But anyway. I didn't think I had their number.
A load of people got on at Castleford. By the time the bus turned off again and started going through Normanton, I was almost ready to pull out my own hair. I properly nearly started crying, but I sort of got over it and was feeling a bit better before too long. At about four o'clock, or just before that, the bus pulled into Wakefield bus station. I went along down to the building, and said that I was meant to have an appointment at 3 o'clock and just wanted to explain why I hadn't been there for it. Luckily, the woman I was meant to be talking to was free, and she managed to find a free room for us to talk in. She eyed up my New Look bag a little bit when she saw it, but I just explained that I'd gone to Leeds to get some clothes I thought were about to sell out in my size, and then I ended up trying them on, and then I went to get the bus and thought it would be quick, but it totally wasn't and I didn't have the number of the service to call them. She was very understanding, and said it was fine, and she knew the buses from Leeds to Wakefield were a bit weird sometimes, and we rescheduled the appointment for 10 o'clock on Monday. That is quite early, especially for me, but at least I won't be trying to fit anything in before it.
Anyway. I came straight home after that. But between running around Leeds on Wednesday and running around in Leeds and Wakefield yesterday, I am feeling pretty tired today, so I probably won't be doing a pairing picspam. Which is kind of a shame, because Daniel/Eli is a really big pairing of mine, not just in terms of films. Oh well. Next week, maybe. I'm quite happy about the dresses and jacket though. Although I'm still planning on getting my mum's opinion about the 18 I got, just in case.
