Banana Republic

Don’t come here unless u want this woman who looks like she may be in charge (not for certain) keep giving u the stink eye. I’ve been shopping at Banana Republic for 10 years and I must say I usually leave with at least a outfit or two, but not this time. I didn’t last for more than 10 mins in there cause she made me feel too uncomfortable to shop. And no, I’m not the kind of shopper who makes a mess of everything I touch. I do have shoppers etiquette since I worked at Macys for 4 years back in the day. If u come here dont expect a welcoming smile or gesture from anyone here. With that said, you have been warned!

Absurdly disorganized. Rude and crass employees here. It’s BR you MFs not anything high end. I expect that kind of snobbery from LV. Sadly when a store is run by non enthusiastic college kids the end result can only be so.

I stopped by on July 4^th because I was in the area and I had a collection of Banana Republic Rewards that were expiring soon. As usual, BR was having a 40% of sale. Honestly, I think sometimes they are becoming the new JC Penney’s with all the sales they have. It used to be that they would have a sale for an entire week. Now every day its a different flash sale. Anyhow, I am digressing and that really isn’t this locations fault as they are following the company line. Sam was quite helpful in ringing up my purchases. I bought a couple of shirts and he explained to me how only 4 Coupons could be used per purchase. So the 40% off was one followed by $ 30 in rewards. I ended up paying $ 15 each for a couple of shirts.
The selection at this location is quite nice. The clearance aisles were in good shape and it was easy to find clothing by size. The store was well kept and the shopping experience was quite pleasant.

I use to shop here long ago. I loved the quality and prices were moderate. How things changed. It’s become over priced for what it’s worth. Mostly everything in here are delicate fabrics that requires dry cleaning. Sales Associates are ok. They didn’t say much when I was browsing. Not sure if that’s a good thing or not! I left feeling, eh…

Thought I would just take a moment to update you on what transpired after I sent an email to the district & regional managers as well as the automated «contact us» web address on their site. Neither the district nor regional manager ever got in touch with me or acknowledged my email. I got a «standard» response «we’re sorry for your experience» email from Corporate along with a $ 10 voucher to be used in conjunction with my credit card, (which I am about to cancel anyway.) Not impressed really with their handling of this. Not at all.

This is where I purchase all of my office clothing. The Northridge store has a much better variety of men’s clothing than the other local stores. It is not as nice as the stores at the Grove or 3^rd Street, but it works for me.
The staff is always friendly and helpful. The managers always helpful and mention specials, coupons, etc. I’ll stop in there a few times a month while I am at lunch, so I guess I have become a regular.

So it’s not just me apparently who thinks the service at this BR is rude and unfriendly… Came here to exchange a pair of slacks, which they thoroughly examined under fluorescent lights and detective lenses before deciding the clothing was unworn. A quick inspection would have been reasonable but this guy’s aggressive investigation was so insulting I had to double check my appearance to make sure I wasn’t carrying my «will work for food sign» with me that day. But it wasn’t just his clothing inspection that pissed me off… it was his short responses, his cocky tone and his frigid expression… someone really needed to pull the stick out of his @$$ and remind him that he’s just a cashier at BR…
Now there is one person deserving of some recognition. The guy’s name was Michael… he was absolutely friendly and helpful… I spoke with him over the phone before coming in to make sure they had my size… unfortunately, he wasn’t working the registers…

It’s too bad my first review for Banana Republic has to be this one. I love Banana Republic. I have been shopping here for 10 years. I know my size there and their clothes always work for me. It’s the one store I can always find something. In terms of customer service I have received mixed service at the various locations across multiple states over the years, but none so notable to write a review.
The service at this location in the Northridge Mall was notably rude, insulting and rude. Did I say rude yet? Rewind about 3 weeks to a shopping excursion at the Banana on 2^nd Street in Belmont Shore where I found 2 great pieces. My friend and I received high quality customer service from this location. Fast forward 1 week. I wore, for the first time, one of the pieces. Halfway through the day I noticed that there were several tiny holes in the front section of the thin sweater like top. By several I mean about 7 or 8. Where did they come from you ask? I don’t know… but my best guess is it came that way and I didn’t notice the tiny holes when I tried the top on. This brings us to the day I set out to return the damaged top. I was visiting my family in the Northridge area and decided this was the perfect opportunity to return this garment. I came manned with my receipt and told the sales associate at the counter what happened. After she examined the sweater she went to fetch a manager because it was apparently beyond her skill set. This where it gets really good. It went something like this:
Manager: This damage is not something that could have been caused by us and we don’t take back clothes without the tags on them
Me: The tags are not on because I wore the sweater ONE TIME and noticed halfway through the day that these holes existed
Manager: It is not our policy to return clothes that have been worn
Me: It is your policy to take back clothes that are defective upon purchase. I know this because I have been shopping at Banana for 10 years.
Manager: Holds up the top and examines it again. Silence. Looks at the Sales Associate who returns the look blankly. Turns to me and with a look of complete disgust picks a cat hair off the black sweater (because as I noted earlier, I actually wore the sweater and have 2 cats at home). More silence.
Me: Silence back
Manager: Eye rolling. More silence. Then she gets a tag and tells the sales associate who I started off with that she can grant me a refund. Manager does not tell me even though I am standing there right in front of her. She says nothing to me at all. I watch her fill out the tag she stuck on the front of the sweater. She checks off the «damaged» box and then in the space for a description writes, «Dog Claws», clearly illustrating that this was somehow my fault because of the imaginary dog I have at home. No apology. No sorry for your inconvenience. Instead I am blamed for their damaged product.
Me: Fuming. Insulted. Lots of name calling in my head. I won’t even get into the names here… but use your imagination. Deep breaths.
It’s been a few weeks since the return incident and I am trying to put it all in perspective. Not sure when I’ll go back to Banana Republic… I may have to write a letter to their corporate headquarters.