Lululemon Athletica - A Short-Lived Romance

If you see the logo above, RUN! It seems fun, it seems trendy, and it seems comfortable. And yes, the clothes are - but their service sucks ass.

So here's a product non-recommendation. Well, the product is great but the service is HORRIBLE. We have spent hundreds there, I've raved about lululemon ever since one of my friends turned me on to their "yoga" wear. I've gotten gifts from there, I've bought gifts from there, etc. I buy a sweatjacket, and they didn't have the smaller size but with what I was wearing when I tried it on, it was fine. As with many of my shopping excursions, I come home, keep all the receipts, cut the tags, put stuff away - whatever. Normal stuff. Here's where things get dicey:

I buy this sweatjacket ($100 for cotton is a bit high no?) and I'm kind of excited about it, even though it's nothing that you couldn't pick up from American Apparel. I like it and I like what the company seemingly stands for. After wearing it to a friend's house, I realize it's too big. So I decide to find the receipt, I'm within the two-weeks that they require you bring something back (which in itself is somewhat ridiculous), and I was prepared to exchange it for something else in their overpriced store. Much to my chagrin, I was refused - flat out. Why you ask? Because I don't have the tags STILL ATTACHED. It was spotless, receipt presented, all that stuff. But because I don't have the tags attached, they won't even help me. Can you believe that???? So now I'm stuck with a relatively expensive basic cotton sweatjacket that I won't wear. And to their detriment, here I am telling all of you and I will never buy another thing from them again. EVER. 

Disclaimer: I must say that I totally understand how people are constantly bringing things back, heavily used, and it's a major pain in the ass for companies. I also understand that it might be "their policy" to handle returns this way. Having said that, Nordstrom is known for their customer service and will take nearly anything back, no questions asked. Even without a receipt! In that case, they'll give you the lowest price they currently show for that product. This kind of exemplary service is what makes me want to be a better consumer and a better customer. I actually have felt bad if I had to return something to Nordstrom because of how well they treat me. So maybe lulululululululuemon (felt like doing that) should revise their policy, you know, as in there's the letter of the law and the intent of the law kind of thing. It was SPOTLESS and I wore it once for a very short period of time. The intent of the "law" is that they don't want people abusing the return policy, and if it had stains, stunk, and had been shrunk three sizes, I would understand. I should have left the tags on it and rolled around in the mud - let's see what they would say then!  

Apparently Lululemon is only in it for the money, but I don't suspect they'll continue making that much money if they don't treat customers better.

So long you bastard company, you don't deserve my patronage. And oh yeah...