Ever been shopping and wondered whether the staff were talking about you behind your back?
Normally, this isn’t a justified fear. Most employees are simply going through their workday like everyone else. Some will be more than happy to help you without giving it a second thought.
However, sometimes, it can really feel like a worker is judging you. Especially when, as recently happened to TikTok user Alex (@alexandloveland), you can overhear them doing it.
Here’s how one woman says she was Pretty Woman-ed while shopping at Nordstrom in New York.
How Did This Woman’s Nordstrom Trip Go Wrong?
In her video, Alex recalls that she was in the flagship Nordstrom on 57th Street in New York City looking at jeans. While she says she wasn’t looking at the highest-end items, she still planned to make a significant purchase by investing in several pairs of high-quality jeans.
While in the denim section, she says a woman with a shaved head and a crescent moon tattoo on her forehead approached her. She identifies the woman as either “Mags” or “Mads.”
“Mags started out lovely; she got me a dressing room and was helping me find different sizes,” Alex recounts. “Jeans are hard—you can be anywhere from a 24 to a 28, and it takes a lot to find a good pair. I was trying on quite a few pairs, but for the record, I was not out of my price range.”
Even though Alex says the worker was “so lovely” to her face, once she got into the dressing room, she overheard the worker discussing how Alex “can’t afford any of this.” Another worker joined in on this as well.
“She went on and on about how I had no money, I looked like a child, I couldn’t afford this, I was wasting all her time,” Alex states. “It was dead in Nordstrom. I mean, I went out in a thunderstorm to shop there. No one was there, and I was not being unreasonable.”
How Did She Respond?
Not sure what to do, Alex left the dressing room and asked Mags/Mads to put the clothes she wanted on hold while she continued to look around. The worker later found her and informed her that they had rung up the clothes and placed them in a bag waiting for her.
Unsure of how to proceed, Alex simply left the store, buying none of the items.
“I was so scared, but it really hurt my feelings…That’s my home store, I live a couple blocks away, and now I’m scared to go back because she works there,” she says. “I don’t want to go back, I literally won’t.”
“It’s not like I was spending twenty bucks—my cart was probably like $1,500 that she rang up,” she continues. “I was looking to invest in four or five pairs of nice jeans, but now I just don’t know what to do.”
Alex concludes by saying she will likely simply look for the items she wants online.
Alex Offers an Update
In an email to The Mary Sue, Alex provided her thoughts on what happened.
“I don’t believe the associate meant for me to hear this and I had no indication this was going to happen,” she wrote. “She was lovely to my face until she saw what I was purchasing, and in her eyes, it wasn’t enough. After she saw my ‘pile of yeses’ in my dressing room she started being rude to me and then made the comments to her co-worker behind my back. But she was in ear shot).”
As for what should happen to this worker, her message is clear.
She stated, “I believe this associate should get fired. I was shaking in the dressing room, extremely nervous and anxious to come out and face this woman. I ended up just leaving without any clothes because I didn’t want to give her commission.”
The TikToker continued, “I’m now scared to go back to my Nordstrom. I live a few blocks away and love shopping there.”
She said, “I now feel as if you aren’t spending thousands of dollars, the Nordstrom employees are talking bad about you to each other, and that’s not a culture I want to be a part of. I wasn’t aware this was the Nordstrom culture until recently. “
“I’d love to see her employment terminated and maybe a gift card for my troubles,” she laughed. “I know that will never happen but a girl can dream.”
What Should You Do If a Worker is Rude To You?
It’s totally understandable that Alex didn’t know how to react to the employee’s comments. In fact, no one online seems sure how they should respond to rude employees.
Forum discussions on the topic range from encouraging shoppers to try to be understanding that the worker may be having a bad day, to simply ignoring the worker’s behavior, to refusing to shop there, to reporting them to their superiors.
That said, many find themselves reluctant to perform the latter. This can result in a worker facing severe consequences or losing their job.
@alexandloveland @Nordstrom her name was Mads or Mags at the flagship location on 57th in NYC. Denim section at 2pm 9/6. I will really miss being able to shop in the store ??? I would go to this location to shop at least once a week. Please don’t let your associates treat customers this way, really ruined my day. #nordstrom #prettywoman ♬ original sound – alexandloveland
Commenters Say She Should Report the Worker
Commenters were quick to declare that Alex should take further action against the store and the worker.
“You should DEFINITELY report that, Nordstrom likely won’t tolerate that because they take the customer service seriously there,” wrote a user.
“I was a Nordstrom associate. I would have gone straight to the Mgr and told them what happened & bought the clothes w another associate,” echoed another.
That said, some claimed that this was actually a strategy.
“They do this on purpose – it gets customers upset enough to buy a bunch of stuff to prove they can afford it. It’s a really old sales tactic,” shared a commenter.
The Mary Sue reached out to Nordstrom and Alex via email.
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