Do You Write Letters Of Complaint?
Michelle Fonville speaking out about her treatment at the nail salon reminds me of another form of speaking out: writing a letter of complaint.
Recently(ish), BFD reader cb wrote in to share part of a survey she’d filled out after shopping at the Gap’s online store, and the response she received. She rated her online experience 5 out of 10 and when they asked why, here’s what she said:
I am a plus-sized shopper, and wear a size 20 or XXL. While I love many of Gap’s products, I am unhappy that I can’t go into a store and try things on in my size. This is a sizeist attitude, and one that I don’t appreciate. It means I have to pay (shipping) to try something on, whereas people wearing smaller sizes can (barring an item being sold out) walk in and try things on.
It would be greatly appreciated if you would bring the plus sizes back into the stores. You have a great line of products through both Gap and Old Navy (Banana Republic does not offer plus sizes), and I would like to feel that my business is important enough to warrant being welcome inside your stores. You are turning away women who are willing to hand you their money by not catering to your plus sized market. My
online shopping experience is as good as can be expected, but I don’t like paying to try on clothes.
The Gap responded:
Thank you for your feedback regarding our women’s plus line not being
carried in our stores. As a company, we are constantly evaluating and re-evaluating our business, and customer feedback like yours is a vital part of the process. We hope you know that it is never our intention to frustrate customers with what we are able to offer in our stores. We can assure you that your feedback will be shared with the appropriate company personnel.
Cb was surprised that she got a response, and added “I really feel like we in the plus-sized community have an opportunity here to tell these companies that we want the opportunity to shop for items IN-STORE.”
I was reminded of her email in the postcard comments thread, when The Binge Diary suggested writing a letter of complaint to the company that produced the postcard—a good idea that simply hadn’t occurred to me.
I confess I don’t really write any letters of complaint at all, although I have really been tempted to write a letter to the Harry Potter theme park, since I really really really want to spend a lot of money to travel to Florida and ride their ride, but I probably can’t. It made me wonder: Do you write complaint letters yourself? Do you think they make a difference? Have you ever gotten results?
Posted by mo pie
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A month or so back I wrote a letter of complaint to the LOLmart. When they first released their t-shirt of the day, the largest women’s size barely fit me. Later on, they released larger sizing for both men and women, around the same time that they “re-released” for a day I think, certain popular designs based on votes. However, the designs were still on the old smaller t-shirts, which really disappointed me because not all of the designs coming out are super nice =/ I still check though, in case something nice catches my eye.
Yes. I would absolutely buy more Gap and Old Navy clothes (cute and affordable!) if the full range of sizes were available in store. But with the fit of clothes being so WILDLY different from store to store (see this weekend, where I decided I was throwing out 3 pair of my oldest crappiest jeans and replacing them. I bought a pair of Calvins and Levi’s from Macys both in a size 22, but then went to Lane Bryant and found I couldn’t even shimmy a 22 up over my thighs…WTF Lane Bryant?), being able to try things on is a must.
And I am the worst about returning things in the mail. I lose the receipts, forget to go to the post office, etc. I have at least half a dozen things in my closet as we speak that are just hanging there, mocking me by existing, because I ordered them online and they just didn’t fit. Sigh.
I write letters of complaint from time to time, not just to sizeist companies but to companies of all types that do something I feel is wrong. However, I do this mostly as a way to make myself feel better and to be heard, not because I expect they will change their policies because of what I said. I am too cynical to think companies really give a damn about what consumers think.
Growing up, when I was frustrated, my parents encouraged me to write letters and tell people what I thought. So that’s what I did, and what I still do. Sometimes it doesn’t get a response, sometimes I get coupons for free and/or discounted things, or a manager asks to talk to me further. And sometimes it results in a soul-less form letter, but at least I feel a little bit better for voicing my opinion.
I can honestly say that I have never, but I do think more people need to take advantage of ding this.
I stopped shopping at Gap for the exact same reason CB wrote about. I was tired of paying shipping to buy their clothes instead of just being able to go to the store and try them on before purchase like everyone else. When I asked my local store the reason, they said there was no room. Really? But there’s room for a zillion size 0? Come on, guys. Then they changed the composition of their pants and they didn’t wear as well, retain shape and were actually uncomfortable. I hope they get a clue and offer all sizes in the store.
I recently sent a letter to Roaman’s over their latest catalog. It had Brylane’s plus living in it, which was fine, but it also had 2 pages of The Biggest Loser kitchen merchandise. I was like WTF!? You’re selling clothes to fat women and you have the nerve to try and sell us Biggest Loser merchandise too?
I haven’t heard anything back from them, and I probably won’t because I told them I was very disappointed and wouldn’t be buying anything more from them as long as they continued to sell BL merchandise. I told them that BL was hateful toward fat people, and that the way BL had fat people lose weight was not healthy, physically, mentally, or emotionally, nor was it sustainable. I also told them that I identified as fat, not plus-sized, that fat was a descriptor, not a pejorative.
It’s been 2 weeks, so I’ll give them some more time, but if I don’t hear anything soon, I may send a follow-up letter.
Oh, I’m glad you reminded me of this! I e-mailed Bravissimo – one of the only companies in the UK from whom I can get bras in my size – to ask why they don’t seem to use plus-size models in their publicity and suggested that their clothing could be in larger sizes (at the time their clothing only went up to a size 16 – I think that’s size 12 in the USA… they now seem to do clothing that goes up to size 18, but still not my size!!
Hope you won’t mind my pasting my e-mail and the response…
I said…
“It strikes me that Bravissimo have a almost unique opportunity to appeal to women of all sizes. However, this doesn’t seem to be reflected either in your choice of models or your clothing size ranges. It is certainly refreshing to see “healthier” looking models on your publicity, but messages such as “Bravissimo girls have every reason to feel good about themselves” ring hollow when thinner models are shown throughout your publicity and clothing is only available up to size 16 – which itself is the national average.
It seems the message that you are sending to fatter women such as myself is that we are a tolerated but not welcome demographic amongst your shoppers. The leaflet I received in the bras I ordered, for example, have women in bra sizes no bigger than 30HH… I appreciate the difficulty of finding HH cups (I am an H cup) but it’s not just the “thin” women who wear them, and it’s not just the “thin” women who need clothing to fit a larger than average bust. And even as an average sized eleven year old, I wore a 32A.
I like Bravissimo products a good deal, but feel excluded by your marketing and advertising. A range of models wouldn’t exclude thinner women with big boobs, but it would certainly be a step towards encouraging larger women to buy your product and to endorse your ethos of “feeling good about themselves”. ”
And the response I got was…
“Thank you for your email; we apologise for the delay in replying to you.
The reason that we tend to use models that are slim with bigger boobs is because there is a common misconception that women with big boobs are a clothing size 16+. While some of our customers do wear larger dress
sizes, the majority of women who shop with us are dress sizes 8-16 (our best selling back sizes are 32s and 34s), but may be anything from a D to a JJ cup, so we try to reflect this body shape with the models that
we use. For this reason, we choose not to use plus size models in our catalogue.
I’m sorry if this is disappointing news but thanks again for taking the time to get in touch. I hope you continue to enjoy shopping with Bravissimo.”
So yeah, thanks for reassuring me that fat people are a welcome demographic… sigh.
See, I’m all about giving feedback, good or bad. Because companies don’t know unless we tell them! But when I try to start a letter writing campaign all I hear from fellow fats is “Oh, it’ll never work!” or “They won’t listen, what’s the point!” So frustrating! I say keep writing and you will be heard!
I’ve never written to a clothier, but I may do that, because it frustrates me that they only show models that are around a 12-14 in their catalogs, even if the garment in question is available in up to a size 34. I’d really like to see a few things on models in the 26-28 range simply so I get a better idea how something is going to look on me. It might fit, but some things ‘hang’ better than others, and seeing garments on women with no hips or bellies to speak of doesn’t really help me. Or hey, put two models in the picture, one from the lower end of the size range, and one from the upper– then everyone is served.
I wrote to ModCloth once, because I really like their stuff, but it all runs so small (and even non-plus sized commenters will say that). I asked if it might be possible to do a search for clothing by size (there isn’t and probably won’t be) and expressed enthusiasm that they would include a larger range of sizes in the future. They did respond back with a fairly generic response, but it was nice to know someone at least read what I’d written.
I honestly don’t write letters of complaint, because I guess I just never think of it. Maybe I’m so used to not getting what I want from stores becuase I’m fat that it doesn’t occur to me to make noise about it. I guess I figured not spending money in the store was a good enough way to fight back.
And I will tell you, honestly, I had no idea that the Gap carried plus sizes on their website. Because they don’t carry plus sizes in their stores I always figured they didn’t sell them at all and never thought to look on their site. But I’m sure as hell not paying shipping to try on their clothes so they still don’t have my business.
Let me clarify my previous comment. When I said “I’m so used to not getting what I want from stores because I’m fat” I didn’t mean that I don’t deserve clothes or whatever. I meant that I’m so used to stores not having my size because I’m fat.
Oddly, I’ve only written one complaint letter EVER, and it was almost exactly the same as the one posted. Except it was to Old Navy, not to Gap. This was in February of 2008, and I never got a response from them.
I write letters of complaint fairly often but never to clothes stores about size issues. Now I’m wondering why that never occurred to me.
I do, however, write to companies that send absurdly frequent and endless junk mail (Time Warner, no useful reply yet) or whose products were defective or not as expected. (Crayola markers that dried up too fast, they sent a 4$ coupon; Edy’s peanut butter football ice cream that had exactly half of one football in the entire container, they sent a coupon for a free replacement; etc. Both enclosed lovely letters of apology, too.)
But never to clothing stores. I’ll have to change that.
Nothing is quite as satisfying as putting your gripes on paper and sending them off.
I’ve written letters of complaint to all sorts of companies over the years, and gotten a variety of results. Most notable achievement: tracking down the VP of Customer Service for $bucks, and receiving an APOLOGY as well as a $25 gift card following my complaints about lousy service.
THE FLIP SIDE: How many of us write letters of COMPLIMENTS to stores or companies that carry the merchandise we want or that have employees willing to go the extra mile? Those companies will never know they’re doing it RIGHT unless we tell them.
Not a letter, but several years back I called the KFC 1-800 customer line to complain about a manager who was rude and refused to take my order at the drive-thru because I asked him to substitute thighs, which they did on other visits. While I didn’t get his name, I gave the person I spoke with the location, day and time. They sent me some coupons, and the next time I went there, this manager was no longer working there.
Helen: I don’t think there’s really anything wrong with the explanation you got as long as the models in the catalogue actually were the sizes that the company said are most common. (I feel like a lot of companies that sell exclusively plus sizes still use models who are smaller than the smallest size the store carries.)
@Helen and M:
“…the majority of women who shop with us are dress sizes 8-16 (our best selling back sizes are 32s and 34s), but may be anything from a D to a JJ cup, so we try to reflect this body shape with the models that we use.”
Although I find it quite reasonable that a company uses models who reflect the average size of its customers (that said, all their models are 28 or 30 bands, not 32-34s), I wonder if Bravissimo doesn’t get many customers outside the 8-16 range because they don’t make clothes that would fit those women? It seems like a circular justification.
When it comes to the power of rhetoric and language, I’m a believer! (I’m also an academic, so go figure…but still.) One letter–maybe someone notices, maybe not (though smart managers know they ought to respond to every virtually complaint. And I managed to talk $100 out of a very recalcitrant U.S.P.S. that broke what I shipped, thanks to some basic training in the art of the business letter.) But if companies hear from even a small percentage of the people they wound, neglect, or offend, then, as Arlo said long ago, then it’s a movement. Write!
I wrote a letter to PETA about their sizist and elitist and sexist issues. I need to write a letter to the makers of the “True Blood” show. I wanted to watch it and couldn’t make it past all the depictions of dead animals in the opening credits. (Stick to hurting people please.)
Hey mo pie,
Slightly off topic, but I just wanted to put out there that I just got back from orlando. My mom, dad and I, all of whom are plus sized. I had read about the issues with people not being able to fit on rides and was honestly kind of terrified that one or all of us wouldn’t be able to fit. I’m a size 16, my mom’s a 20, my dad’s probably about a 46, we were all able to fit in the rides without any kind of problem. They have the chairs to try outside the ride, which has a little green light that lights up if you’ve “clicked in.” Neither my mom or dad could get the green light to go on, but neither had a problem getting secured once we got to the actual ride. The only time I ever saw someone have to get off was someone who was heavy, but also stood well over 6 foot. The employees tried for several minutes to help him click in, but he finally had to get off. From what I can see, It’s more of an issue height, with weight coming in as a secondary issue. Just thought you should know. (Since everyone should go to Harry Potter world, it was AMAZING!!!!)
Cleofaye, funny how they reported the story as “Durr, teh fat people can’t ride the rides ha!” instead of suggesting tall people should consider a height reduction. Well that makes just as much sense as insisting a fat person should be thin!
I wrote to the MTA about a rude station agent, but they couldn’t do anything because I didn’t take his badge number (I had the station and time/date but that wasn’t enough).
I wrote to Linda the Bra Lady when one of her associates was rude and abusive in the store, all I got was an offer for 20% off my next purchase and an appointment “with Linda herself” (whoop dee doo). I wrote back and told them I would only set foot in their torture chamber of a store again if they were applying the 20% to the bra I’d been bullied into buying in the wrong size and if I could watch while the fired the bitch that “helped” me. I never got a reply to that.
Someone ought to make a movie similar to Gentleman’s Agreement from the 1950s, about thinly veiled anti-Semitism in America. Fat hatred is ferocious. I have to do the grocery shopping and my husband has to eat a ton of calories for a medical condition. I can’t tell you how many evil looks I get when I pay for the stuff he will be eating for his health.
I do indeed write letters of complaint, and I write letters of compliment as well. As someone who works for a customer service organisation, we need to hear both to constantly hone our service.
But when you write a letter of complaint, be polite, be clear, ask them to consider your issue and let them know that you will sing their praises if they do act upon your complaint. It works almost every time – even if their hands are tied and they can’t change something, a good business will listen, acknowledge you, and do their best to find a solution that works for everyone.
I used to be an avid plus size shopper at Old Navy when I lived in the states, then they took it out of stores and it was “online only” and I was still kind of okay with it, but it sucked for last minute pre-party shopping. Then I moved back to Canada and was shot down comepletely; they wouldn’t ship to Canada at all. In the spring us Canadians were promised Old Navy online shopping was coming in August and everyone rejoiced. Until the day they opened their online doors and no plus sized section was to be seen at all. I have sent numerous emails, and actual letters, with no response, and I know I am not the only upset plus sized Canadian. Now I feel discriminated against because of my weight AND my country of origin. It’s beyond ridiculous!
I’m not posting as my usual online persona because of my employment status, but I swear I’m not a troll.
I had to jump in here to say: taking the survey when you go to Gap or Old Navy and mentioning your dissatisfaction with the lack of plus sizes in the store is a GREAT idea. As a Gap employee, I can tell you that they take those surveys VERY seriously.
However (and big however), if you take the survey for a brick and mortar store, don’t give them a poor score ~solely~ because they lack plus sizes. (If you get treated badly, of course score them badly.) The corporation will take poor scores out on the employees, so unless you have a beef with them personally, give high scores and leave specific criticism in the comments.
I write both letter of compliment and complaint in all areas, not just shopping. If I have a bad experience, or feel I am being slighted in some way, they surely hear from me.
A few years ago I went to Disneyland and I found one, yes ONE, women’s shirt in XXL, not even 3X which is really my size. I looked in EVERY one of their little shops.
I wrote a long letter about the lack sizes available, and appealed to their pocketbooks. Which is always the best tactic. I said something like, “News reports are always saying that 30-50% of Americans are now overweight. What this means is that 30-50% of your customers cannot spend their hard earned money buying t-shirts, jackets, sweatshirts, etc from your parks.” I probably would have bought a few, they had some really cute ones that didn’t come in plus sizes.
They never did get back to me, but when I went a year later they had several cute styles of shirts in plus size. I got a really cute Alice in Wonderland shirt. It’s too short, but at least they are trying!
I sent them a follow up email as well to thank them from making an attempt with the plus sizes and to keep trying.