American Apparel Archives - I Hate Working In Retail

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Your Favorite Retailers Are Selling You Used Underwear

John Sciulli/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

When visiting the clearance rack at your favorite retailers, there are some things that you are willing to bargain with yourself about: a missing button can easily be replaced; a smudge of makeup on the collar can be done away with a Tide stick; a hole underneath the arm can be sewn. But used underwear is most likely not an item you are willing to bargain on, no matter how astronomical the discount might be. However, the TODAY show comes as the bearer of bad news, releasing its report that major retailers are reselling presumably used underwear and bathing suits, and the worst part is that you might be completely unaware if it has been on the bums of another lone stranger.

The rather gross news comes via a second installation of Jeff Rossen’s investigative series, Rossen Reports. In 2010, the Rossen Reports team went undercover wearing hidden cameras and visiting some of our most coveted stores for lingerie purchases, such as Victoria’s Secret, Nordstrom, Wal-Mart, Macy’s, Bloomingdales, The Gap and Marshalls–all of which were recorded putting used underwear back on their shelves. Now, four years later, the team has gone undercover again to reveal a fragment of improvement (Macy’s, Bloomingdales, The Gap and Nordstrom marked items as damaged or put them in a back room). However, other stores, perhaps those most known for specifically selling lingerie or having extremely low prices on designer lingerie, are still at fault for this dirty act.

When Rossen Reports informed retailers of its evidence in 2010, each responded stating that they would “re-educate” its employees.

However, Victoria’s Secret, Marshalls and Wal-Mart might want to develop a new curriculum that is simple and plain: do not resell used undergarments. AT ALL. Rossen’s 2014 investigation found that employees at these retailers were blatantly retagging returned underwear and placing them back on the racks and shelves before the day’s end. And suddenly, we might have just received a fragment of a clue to our down-there mysteries.

As in 2010, each retailer in the 2014 report released a statement referencing its old, dirty ways. Victoria’s Secret, Marshalls and Wal-Mart stated that they put their customers first and will basically “re-educate” once more. As for looking out for your own behind, Rossen suggests washing all underwear after purchasing and asking an employee to retrieve undergarments on display from the back to ensure its coming immediately out of its packaging onto your bum.

Sourced from bustle.com

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The Things That Will Enrage Fashion Retail Workers

1. Guessing your clothes size instead of saying you don’t know

12 Things That Will Enrage Fashion Retail Personnel

There is nothing wrong with not being sure of what size you are in shirts, dresses and any other number of clothes. The human body is always changing. We as fashion stylists and human beings understand this. What we don’t understand is why you would have us grab seven different sizes of jeans when we are the ones who will have to put them all back at the end of the day. Not cute.

2. Bad hygeine

12 Things That Will Enrage Fashion Retail Personnel

One time a gentlemen with horrible dandruff asked to try on several hats. I could not refuse him. We had to damage every single one out. Also, bathing and wearing deodorant is essential in any situation, especially if you are trying on clothes you may not purchase. No one should have to smell your naked B.O. from the fitting room halfway across the store. It is not fair to the employees or your fellow customers.

3. Making a mess of things for no apparent reason

12 Things That Will Enrage Fashion Retail Personnel

Remember every shirt you just “want to see” must be refolded by another employee, whose manager has to check them out at the end of the night. It’s fine if you take things off the racks or take a sweater off the table, just please put it back.

Adding to that – Ruining a whole stack of folds

12 Things That Will Enrage Fashion Retail Personnel

Folding clothes is the most time consuming task in keeping the floor up to corporate standards. The edges of every pair of folded shirts and pants need to be exactly even. If you know you can’t fold clothes well, instead of ruining a whole stack of to find your size, feel free to ask an associate for assistance. That’s what they are there for and they would be more than happy to help you. They would also appreciate that you asked.

4. Trying to haggle. Everything.

12 Things That Will Enrage Fashion Retail Personnel

You’re broke. We get it. We most likely are too, depending on which store we work at. But we can’t change the price for you. In rare cases, a manager might be able to. But the bottom line is, if you can’t afford it, ask us for an alternative. If we don’t have it, we can probably direct you to another brand that does.

5. Staying too long after the store closes

12 Things That Will Enrage Fashion Retail Personnel

We have friends, lovers, children, siblings, errands, plans and LIVES. It is understandable if you need an extra ten minutes after we close to make your final decisions and get to the register. But when you’re pushing it longer, that’s just inconsiderate. Especially if you know we can’t and wont ask you to leave. Unlike Nicki.

6. Not believing us

12 Things That Will Enrage Fashion Retail Personnel

If we don’t have your size in that shoe, we don’t have it. Why would we lie? We want you to have the shoe too (especially if we are working on commission). Yes we can check other stores for you, we we might have it online. But please don’t ask another associate to go look for you. If anything, just ask a manager if you don’t believe us.

7. Hearing what you want to hear instead of what was actually said to you

12 Things That Will Enrage Fashion Retail Personnel

I would never tell you an item that is marked 15% off is actually 50% off. Hunny, don’t even try causing a scene. I won’t fall for it, my boss won’t fall for it and the other customers watching you probably won’t even fall for it. Getting that worked up isn’t a good look on you. Just don’t.
Also, a sign that says “SALE – up to 70% off!” means exactly that – UP TO. Not every item will be discounted that high or discounted at all.

8. Trying to make us join you in putting yourself down

12 Things That Will Enrage Fashion Retail Personnel

No one looks like a super model. No one looks like Tyson Beckford and Naomi Campbell in the magazines. Even the real Tyson Beckford and Naomi Campbell don’t look like the Tyson and Naomi in the magazines. We are all beautiful in our own unique ways. There is nothing wrong with you. Please, don’t ask us to laugh along with you about your looks. Read Beyonce’s lips, hotness.

9. Trying on half the store and taking slim to nothing

12 Things That Will Enrage Fashion Retail Personnel

We are thrilled that you love our line of clothes and you look great in them! But if you are going to try on more than ten items, please take at least a couple home with you. After all, we will have to put all the clothes away you decided against.

10. Lying

12 Things That Will Enrage Fashion Retail Personnel

Yes, when you put several items on hold and promise us you will “come back for them in a hour,” we know just as well as you do that you won’t be back on 5th Avenue until Earth’s next celestial cycle. And you will probably still want that same handbag from four seasons ago. But we put your things on hold anyway. Just be real with us, it won’t hurt our feelings.

11. Thinking “Hi!” means “Give me your money and leave”

12 Things That Will Enrage Fashion Retail Personnel

We get paid to greet you. Believe me, we don’t want to do it either. But we are expected to greet any customer the first time we see them. Don’t think that means we are trying to push clothes in your hand and money out of your Chanel handbag. And please, don’t shoo us away when we greet you by waving your hand and saying “I’m just looking.” That’s just sassy with a side of rude.

12. Insisting to try something on a mannequin and then not buying it

12 Things That Will Enrage Fashion Retail Personnel

Dressing mannequins is an acquired art, a very difficult one. It can take several minutes, if not close to a half hour to put clothes on/pull them off a mannequin,especially if they are wearing skinny jeans. A lot of care goes into it and those stiff parts do not move. We understand if the last pair of something in your size is on the mannequin but if we pull it off, please take it home with you.

Let’s hear it

12 Things That Will Enrage Fashion Retail Personnel

Sourced from Buzzfeed.com

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Twenty Days of Harassment and Racism as an American Apparel Employee

Twenty Days of Harassment and Racism as an American Apparel EmployeeEXPAND

When I graduated college I moved to a new city and wanted a low-stress job that would allow me time to focus on creative projects. I knew people who had worked for American Apparel in the past, both in sales and at the LA headquarters, so I decided to interview for a part-time position.

My friends had had mixed experiences. I was drawn to the company because I try to make ethical consumer decisions, and I appreciated that American Apparel pays their garment workers well and doesn’t use sweatshops. But I was also very wary of the sexual harassment allegations against the company’s former CEO, Dov Charney. Because he had recently been asked to step down from his position, it seemed like the company was making progress.

I decided to take a diary of my experience.

Interview process: The manager who interviews me seems mostly interested in whether I am “a good fit for the brand.” She asks questions about my modeling background, and emphasizes the importance of employees representing the company well through how they dress. She says the company likes to emphasize that they are “vertically integrated,” but doesn’t know what the term means.

July 22: On my first day, my manager instructs me on how to seek out potential shoplifters: “Look out for black girls, because they’re always the ones shoplifting.” She says, “I know it’s a stereotype, but it’s true.”

July 23: One of my coworkers insists that Dov Charney should not be blamed for the sexual harassment of employees because “it’s not like he raped them” and “it seems like they were into it, too.” She says that people often come into the store and ask employees what they think about their CEO being known for sexual harassment, and she “doesn’t understand why they make such an issue out of it.”

July 24: A coworker confirms my observation that the manager profiles shoppers and employees, by both race and attractiveness. “Every time a girl drops off her resume, the first thing she asks me is if the girl was cute,” she tells me. “And she never hires black girls. We only have one, and she works in back stock.” At American Apparel, there’s an emphasis on having “the right kind of customer” wearing the clothes, and I notice that customers who fit the brand aesthetic (attractive, trendy) are helped with more enthusiasm.

July 25: A man asks for my help selecting underwear, and wants to know what size I think he is. I direct him to a size chart on the wall near the underwear. He offers to pay me to watch him try on underwear and let him know which I think are the best fit. When I tell a coworker, she’s unconcerned. She says that at American Apparel, this “just happens” and that I shouldn’t let it get to me.

July 29: While assisting a customer into a fitting room, the manager passes me a note that says “WATCH HER ITEMS!!!” The customer is black. It’s clear that racial profiling not only occurred regularly, but that as an employee was expected to enforce it.

August 6: A coworker comes to the break room visibly upset. When I ask her what’s bothering her, she says that while helping a man find clothes for his wife, he told her to try them on for him since she and his wife were about the same size. She wasn’t comfortable doing it, since he picked out lots of mesh/sheer items that are intended to be worn without a bra, but she felt like it was her job to help him. When she tried the items on and came out of the fitting room, covering herself, he pulled her arms down so that her breasts were exposed. He then slipped a twenty dollar bill into her pants.

Trembling and upset, she told the manager what happened. The manager replied, “Well, it seems like he’s gone now.” There did not seem to be a protocol for employees who are sexually harassed, and the manager was completely unconcerned when an employee expressed distress over harassment. She was not allowed to leave work early, and she felt like the clothes she was wearing were partially to blame. “It’s because we wear this stuff,” she tells me, gesturing to her backless dress.

August 10: A coworker tells me that the man who harassed the salesperson at the fitting rooms had returned and asked another girl to try clothes on for him. She was also uncomfortable with this, but the manager told her she could do it as long as she wore something underneath, even though she knew that a girl had been harassed in this situation just days before. Another worker called the police upon recognizing the man; the cops encouraged everyone to ask the man to leave next time he showed up.

August 11: I quit the job without giving notice. I know it’s unprofessional, but I feel like the work environment was toxic enough that I shouldn’t spend any more time there for my own well-being. I’ve been deeply disturbed and upset by these unprofessional behaviors that seemed to be accepted by my coworkers and managers, and by the sexualized role that employees were expected to play in the selling of clothes.

I knew this was a design-oriented company, and that appearances are important to the brand. But I didn’t realize is just how image-obsessed the employees and customers were going to be. The climate is hyper-sexual, and employees were expected to fit that image—even to the point of trying clothes on for customers. Workers are considered be models or representatives of the brand, and the managers were really concerned with how their female employees were wearing the clothes. It seemed to work—all of the employees were obsessed with the clothes, trying things on and painting their nails while they were clocked in and spending significant portions of their paychecks on American Apparel merchandise.

In retrospect, I should’ve been more wary of a company with a history of outrageous unprofessionalism. What I hoped would be a low-stress, part-time job turned out to be a major source of anxiety and a cesspool of harassment. The incompetent, appallingly racist management and belittling of employees were commonplace, and created a hostile work environment.

It’s unfortunate that American Apparel requires employees to sign agreements saying they won’t speak ill of the company upon leaving. I’m sure that there are many upset employees (including some that I worked with) that are afraid to speak out.

But it seems like in order to have a positive experience working at American Apparel, one must be quite loyal to the brand and the image that the brand aspires to. Many of my coworkers found community with each other, and emphasized that they enjoyed working there because it allowed them to meet like-minded people. They obsessed over the clothes together, tried things on together, created outfits for going out together. There’s nothing wrong with that. But because of this enthusiasm, the employees often seemed willing to overlook the ways in which their workplace was profoundly unprofessional, or the ways in which they were being flat-out abused by managers and customers. While I was enthusiastic about certain aspects of the company, they simply were not enough for me to look past the practices I encountered.

August 20: Over a week after quitting my job, I still had not received my last paycheck, and had to threaten to report them to the labor board. The check was shipped to me overnight.

Sourced from Gawker.com

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