Dear People Who Make Decisions About Customer Experiences at Mimi Maternity,
It does not go unnoticed by me that at Mimi Maternity stores (and I have been to many throughout California over the course of two pregnancies) the sales people are not mothers, but rather young women who have never been pregnant. As such, they are not very knowledgeable about being pregnant, but only about the appearance of the clothes. Not saying I wouldn’t go to an obstetrician who is not herself a mother, but I am guaranteed she has training for the job. Including sensitivity training.
My main complaint is this: Whenever I make a purchase, it seems that your store policy is to ask my due date to enter in the register. How about “None of your business” as my due date? Do you have a button for that? Then your lovely salespeople ask for more of my personal information. (Clearly this kicks off a direct marketing program through which I will receive offers in the mail from a bunch of advertisers who benefit from knowing the exact stage of my pregnancy and eventually the age of my baby.) This makes me feel grumpy. Ok, I already feel grumpy. This makes me feel like you only want me for my future value to you and don’t appreciate that I’m already giving you some money today. Why don’t you appreciate the money I am spending with you today?!
Next, and uh, don’t worry about whether or not I’m in a hurry, have to go to the bathroom (I do) or just want to go find a place to sit down and elevate my feet, I am given a sample issue of a baby magazine… I can’t remember which title… and told that I’ll be receiving three trial issues. Excuse me? I thought I was the customer. I thought that I decide when to subscribe to magazines. All by myself. Having worked on a magazine business in the past, I know that this is a negative option offer and that you will be later billed for the subscription or have to cancel it. More work for the consumer.
Then, you push toward me several brochures for related businesses — cord blood banking and college savings plans — and imply that I must take them.
Each time I go in to your store, I leave outraged because I am simply trying to buy a pair of very large underwear and I am bombarded with sales pitches. Worse, I feel badly for women who go in there who don’t realize that they can say “no” to all these offers. It seems ironic that such a poor experience is given to a target audience who is likely to be already flustered, overwhelmed, or physically uncomfortable.
How to win me over?
Make it clear that you love me, appreciate my business, and understand my pregnancy-related woes. Offer me a cool drink of water. Provide a chair in front of a foot massage machine. Sell bras in sizes larger than E. (Nursing boobs are OFTEN larger than E). Put out samples of nutrition bars that you sell. Make me feel like coming to your store is a treat. A treat just for me because I am pregnant and special.
Display the magazines with a burst-shaped sticker that says, “If you’d like a free trial subscription, ask a sales person.” Put your helpful brochures in a stand where we can take them ourselves IF WE WANT THEM. And hire some better salespeople. If you build it, we will come. Waddling all the way.
Sincerely,
Hopefully never again a Mimi customer,
Whitney
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I totally agree with your letter. Please sign my name as well but add the following:
If I enter the store looking for sale merchandise, I am treated with disdain and (what feels a lot like) mockery. Never mind the fact that these clothes will not last more than a couple months and that I can’t really be sure how they’ll fit me. This goes back to hiring non-mothers as your only staff. I understand that you have an old policy against employing pregnant women and it shows.
By the time I do check out of your store, I am often in a maternal rage from all the pressure and intrusive questioning. It never fails, I can handle a few questions but the breadth and depth of them often leaves me wanting to slap someone.
Also hopefully never a customer again,
Heather
So true!
WORD!!! I thought I was the only one extremely annoyed with them. Motherhood Maternity is the same way, I’m guessing they are owned by the same company. All the questions and annoying marketing (why did they make me feel so guilty for not opening up a credit card that can add money to my unborn baby’s college fund???) definitely made me not want to shop there.
I have had a similar rant every time I leave the store. I’ve actually said to the clerk “CAN I PLEASE JUST BUY THIS?” I always leave feeling violated, like I’m not allowed to buy something from their store unless I give them every bit of personal information they want.
HEAR, HEAR!!!
I was just commiserating with another new mom about this very thing the other day. I happily add my name to your letter! I cannot stand all the crap that has shown up at my doorstep since I bought an overpriced, ill-fitting nursing bra there, fitted by what seemed to me to be a high school student. UGH! Hopefully by the time I want to have a second child they will have heeded some of your wonderful advice!
What about the crappy return policy???
If you take it home, and it does not fit the way that you thought it would, you can’t return anything. You are only allowed to exchange it for other poorly made crap within 30 days with a receipt and only if it has the tags on. (This says nothing for the lack of any good plus size maternity clothing there, either…)
WTF.
Personally, I would order anything you want from Old Navy Maternity on line, and anything you don’t like can be returned in any store for a full refund. (They also have a nice plus size selection, and no size 2 salesperson will turn their nose up at your rapidly expanding butt in the plus size maternity section.)
Thanks. I feel better now.
M.
And can we forget to mention their return policy? Or lack of being able to return anything policy? ugh.
Oh yeah and TALL PEOPLE GET PREGNANT TOO! Why doesn’t anyone make tall maternity pants?
Great ideas!
You should send this in to Mimi Maternity.
***I sent a “suggestion” e-mail to Motherhood Maternity (very similar stance as yours) and received a response within the hour.
Love it!! ESPECIALLY the part about the NURSING BRAS! I was astounded at the ginormousness of my boobs after giving birth and getting milk. And none of the maternity stores had bras that could help me! And the magazine thing – creating more work for the customer is right!! You hit it right on the money.
I am a first time mother-to-be and totally agree with all of this. Everytime I walk in there I feel violated somehow. Most of the time I leave without even looking because I am so annoyed with the sales people. The return policy is absolutly ridiculous and why do the have to repeat the WHOLE thing everytime you purchase something. And when I am checking out it means I am finished shopping so please do NOT continue to try to sell things to me!
Thank you on the tall people thing!!! And not just pants. Part of being tall for me is being long waisted. Please, please maternity stores – make tall shirts! And ones where our enormous boobs that we have sprouted actually fit into the tops!!! There is no sense in providing room for our ever-expanding waistlines while expecting that our knockers will fit into Paris Hilton sized boob areas.
Thank you for allowing me to get that off my *chest*.
Yes!!!
I hate paying at all of their stores (Mimi, Motherhood, Pea in the Pod) b/c of all the questions! Bless my mother-in-law who was with me the first time I made a purchase, she gave her phone number and I’ve been giving them that ever since. “At least” they gave her the choice of not getting the magazine.
Jodi – I’m short but I’ve heard Old Navy has great maternity pants for tall people.
Hail! Hail!
I hate those stores!
I wrote a VERY strongly worded letter to Motherhood Maternity, for making it difficult to find nursing attire (in the back corner of the store) and then pushing a bag of sample CRAP on me, despite my refusing twice, and then angering me even FURTHER when I found one of the samples was a baby bottle!!!!
WTF!!!
I think that was the most angry I ever was pregnant. I cloth diaper and breastfeed ONLY but wasn’t even asked that on their crazy interrogation at the checkout. Instead, I was given IMO tools to be wasteful and bad for my baby’s health AND environment. AND I feel like they didn’t care what I wanted.
I mean, if someone WANTS a baby bottle and plastic diapers and chemical wipes, (not to mention the COUPONS for formula and baby food!) they should find out, rather than just foisting them on unsuspecting crunchies!
Jacki
oh SNAP! I HATE those people. Only visit there in emergencies, when I cant get to southland mall, Eville is just up the street. On the occasion that Im in DESPERATE need for bigger nursing bras(engorgement, anyone) I sure as hell dont understand why you need my social, phone number, email address, shoe size, mothers maiden name and birthdate to buy a goddamn overpriced bra!
At month 6 I popped in there to see what I might find on the clearance rack, and the RRRussian attendant asked me what size I wore so she could help me shop (ie, crap I can neither afford nor want) . “XL” I replied. She looked my fat ass up and down and said in her finest “must find moose and squirrel” accent “we Dont CARRY XL”. Waitwaitwaitwait. is this a MATERNITY store or amercrombie and fitch. ALL pregnant moms are XL, okay!?!?
burn in hell, Mimi!
Ahhhh !!!! Thanks for the idea…I feel better already!
I shop online so I don’t have those problems; however, I would like to know how mimi maternity clothing fits? If you’re a size 10 before your pregnancy, will large jeans be required for the pregnancy fit?
Oh sister, jeans are THE hardest thing to buy in my opinion. You really ought to wait until you’re past about 17 weeks (just an estimate) and try some on in person.
I tried *several* pairs and sizes on in person and still had no luck finding my one true pair of jeans to love. Many articles (and probably books too) have been written on the topic. Good luck!
As for actual size guidance, sure try the L and send ‘em back if they don’t work.
I could have written this! I would like to second your remarks. (Just gave birth to daughter this month.)
i worked for this god forsaken company. most employees are mothers. the fact of the matter is they must do this or they will loose their job. no job, no food for the kids. think twice beforwe you judge the people behind the counter. it is corporate who pulls the strings.
Have any of you tried these? The let me wear my pre-prego pants much longer and were very comfy!
http://www.toplessundershirts.com
I tried to return a product that I purchased at Mimi Maternity as a christmas gift. While I was wrapping it I noticed a tear in it. I took it back to the store to exchange but they did not have the same size/color. I asked that my credit card be refunded. OH NO! I could only get store credit or exchange it! Um, you don’t have the size/color to exchange it for! So, I ended up actually leaving the merchandise in the store, no refund, no store credit.. jsut the hassle of a dispute with my credit card company. They DO NOT stand behind there merchandise whatsoever. There sales people are obviously reprimanded in they attempt to accomodate a patron.
Please,just get over it. How sad that you feel that every salesperson in the store should have been a mom. This is just a person that may need a job desperately and not to be discriminated against.
Also, (couldn’t help it) you sound like a typical stereotype ME ME ME person.Its all about ME! And, no, I am not a salesperson,never have been and never will because of the whining public nowadays!
Yvonne, you are in the wrong arena. Mimi, Motherhood – they demand personal information and the checkout process is ridiculous. Their return policy is unacceptable. Frankly, the whole experience for the customer is a bust.
When you are in a store, and you are shopping and purchasing that company’s merchandise and giving them your hard-earned money, you can be DAMN SURE that it’s about “ME” — we’re the customers!! Do you even know the definition of customer service?
The reason that you’ll never be a salesperson is because you don’t understand the concept of running a business, or how customer service should actually work. In order to maintain a sustainable business, you need to cater to the people who are going to keep you afloat — that’s the consumer – and Mimi is not doing it.
Not to mention that it’s not a problem that the salespeople aren’t mothers or pregant — the issue is that they are clearly under-trained and uncaring about the clientel at a MATERNITY STORE.
So, Yvonne, Mimi Maternity, and all of you out there who clearly have no idea what it’s like to be pregnant or how to run a good business… SHOVE IT.
okay well here it goes…..yes you guys are all right they can be pushy they do ask a million questions….yes they do try to shove a million and one things in your face so they can have a good sale…BUT WHAT YOU ALL DONT KNOW IS THEY DO NOT HAVE NO CONTROL OVER IT!!!!!! THAT IS THERE JOB THEY GET PRESSURED EVERDAY TO DO THIS..AND SOME REALLY DO CARE ABOUT YOURE NEEDS AND WANTS!!!!…some of you sound very whiney and arogant!..and i have been in stores while iam shopping and cant believe how rude some of these moms to be are with the salesperson FOR NO REASON!…JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE HAVING A BAD DAY DOES NOT MEAN YOU SHOULD TAKE IT OUT ON SOME RANDOM GIRLS…AND SO WHAT THAT THERE NOT PREGGO???????THEY WORK WITH PREGNANT WOMEN ALL DAM DAY THEY SHOULD NO MORE THEN US WHO HAVE HAD THREE OR FIVE KIDS!!!! AND YES THEY DO GET TRAINED ! AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS NO!!! THEY HAVE TO BE OVER 18 PEOPLE…….AS FAR AS THE SKINNY THING!!!! GET SOME SELF ESTEEM !!! GO SEE A THERAPIST OR SOMETHING HOW SHALLOW ARE YOU? SOO DO YOU HIDE FROM ANYONE THAT IS THINNER THAN YOU?? YOU GUYS ARE PREGNANT YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO HAVE A BELLY IT IS OKAY!!!!!…..AND AT THE END OG THE DAY IT IS OUR RIGHT TO JUST SAY “NO” TO ALL THERE OFFERS THAT IS ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! N…O…..NO!!!!!!!!!!!
so as a mom and former employee I hear you! I have to tell you though they could care less about you and their employees, seriously the vp is a drunk the former ceo would bang his head on the desk during mtgs if you said something he thought was stupid! as for magazines and credit cards there’s a percentage for each that the store has to achieve or they get documented! you are just a $$ sign to the majority the strategy is to see how much more they can get you to spend! sincerely former maternity specialist
one more thing on bras and big boobs – petite women also get huge breasts when lactating. try carrying size 32 band – in something other than a sleep bra! – please.
thanks for this! enjoyed the venting
As a former employee of Motherhood Maternity (and yes, they are owned by the same company…..motherhood is like their Wal-Mart, A Pea in a Pod is their Dillard’s and Mimi’s Maternity is their Nordstom’s…..as related to price.) I just wanted to say a big I’M SORRY for all the things I had to ask pregnant women for year that I worked for their company. Believe me when I say that we hated asking you even more than you hated being asked! We were rated on our ability to sign people up for the different programs and we were disciplined if we fell below satisfactory performance (example: we would be fired…). I know that it is terrible but please have a little empathy for the poor little sales associates that are earning just a bit more than minimum wage to live on.
However, I am in complete agreement that the company is ridiculous. I would love it if a store really catered to a pregnant woman while she was shopping. It is a fragile time to be trying on clothes. Nothing looks right. You are poking out in all the wrong areas and to make matters worse you have a sales associate that can only focus on adding a minimum of 12 items to your dressing room because that is what she is forced to do! Sad, sad, sad….
To make matters worse the clothes cost an arm and a leg and you know that in a matter of a couple of months you aren’t even going to fit in them! It is time for a maternity clothes shopping revolution! And I think I will start at Old Navy:)
So…I totally have no problem telling these idiots to fuck off when they get too pushy. I do not want panties, bras, creams, lotions, any clothing with ribbons or bows or any other helpful hints. I give them 1 polite declination of assistance, but after that, I unleash. Try it some time. You will totally feel better.
Sales girl, “When you are due?”
Me, “Who knows? Soon I hope. I am really F-ING sick of being pregnant!”
Sales girl, “Can I sign you up for coupons etc.? The formula is coupons are great.”
Me, “No. I think formula is crap and probably has melamine in it. I am breast feeding exclusively (this isn’t totally true).”
Sales girl, “The lotion (which costs like $30/bottle) prevents stretch marks.”
Me, “Really? As a cosmetic surgeon, all of our medical journals say NOTHING has ever been shown in a randomized trial to prevent stretch marks. Where do you get your information?”
Sales girl, “I am a professional bra fitter. I can pick your size for you.”
Me, “I am a professional breast surgeon. I can make a new size for you. At a minimum, I’d recommend a lift!”
Wow. There are some incredibly rude women out there. Behind the counter and in front of it.
Has it ever occurred to you that perhaps one employee with a poor attitude ruined your day, not the entire company or every other employee at this company?
And has it ever occurred to you that this isn’t an easy job? People with all kinds of beliefs come to the store expecting products to meet an enormous variety of needs. One woman only wants organic reusable products. The next woman wants everything to be disposable. One woman wants high fashion. The next woman wants economy. One woman has strong beliefs about pregnancy. The next has no clue where to even begin. One woman wants to breastfeed. The next can’t stomach the idea. One woman is excited to be pregnant. The next didn’t want to be. One client is thirteen and scared. The next is forty-five and scared. Then add hormones, a changing body, discomfort, and insecurities, and you’ve got a day filled with touchy situations.
Perhaps that one employee had just experienced a customer who was having a bad day. How would you feel if someone mistreated you because you are too skinny? Or because you haven’t had a baby of your own yet? Or because you are too young to know what you are talking about? Or because you are too old to know about current trends in pregnancy? Or because you yourself have not experienced what someone else has experienced and as such you are not qualified to have empathy or understanding?
Or what if a customer just tried on over fifty items and left them all in an inside-out pile on the floor? Or a mother just allowed her children to tear a display apart and left crushed crackers throughout the store? Or a poopy diaper change went badly and the associate had to clean up the bathroom? Or a client’s dog just peed all over a fixture? Or a grandmother just unloaded about how her daughter should have had an abortion? Or one customer just vented about how more women should breastfeed in front of another customer whose milk never came in?
Haven’t you also received great customer service from a salesperson who actually cared about you? Can’t you give the next person a chance to actually offer you that assistance?
And diid you ever stop to think that maybe the sales associate is asking questions in order to gauge where you are in your pregnancy to better meet your needs?
Did you ever consider that the associates believe in the products because they’re tried them themselves and received positive feedback from other customers?
Did it ever occur to you that a woman who is a size 2 feels judged and insecure when everyone tells her she’s too skinny?
Did it even cross your mind that a woman who looks young feels discriminated against when you treat her like she doesn’t understand anything?
Especially when she’s had two children? Or almost lost her only child along with her own life due to a complicated pregnancy? Or because she has MS and wanted to experience motherhood before she lost the opportunity? Or helped to raise four brothers and sisters when her father died?
And have you ever thought that one of the women you’re complaining about CAN’T experience all that you’re going through, yet enjoys being able to assist you?
And in this current economy, how can you criticize so harshly when these women are out there working instead of relying upon someone else to support them?
And for reference, it takes EIGHT hours of work for these employees to be able to afford one full tank of gas after taxes.
And part time employees (which make up the vast majority of this company) do not receive any benefits AT ALL. No vacation, no sick leave, no medical insurance, no dental, no vision, etc. So all of their personal expenses as well as those of their families must come out of their near-minimum wage pay. There is no commission at this company.
And yes, they are REQUIRED to greet you at the door and show you around and tell you about the sales. And yes, they are chastised DAILY if they do not meet all of the company’s expectations. And yes, they WILL lose their jobs if they do not meet their selling requirements.
And yes, they often lose their interest in their jobs. And yes, you’ll find people who are burned out. And yes you’ll see employees who don’t care. Wouldn’t you if you had your superiors threatening your livelihood and customers yelling at you when you are simply performing the duties of your job?
If the majority of large American companies weren’t like this, no one would be working in these conditions. So instead of taking out your frustrations on the poor working woman behind the counter, why don’t you make your voice heard by American companies?
And in the meantime, can’t you just offer kindness and clear communication? When associates greet you, simply tell them that you are enjoying a peaceful shopping day by yourself and that you’ll find them if you have any needs. When you reach the register, simply tell them that you are not interested in having an account and that you don’t want any other offers. Then you can have a pleasant shopping day.
A lot of customers appreciate the one-on-one service and have questions or request suggestions. But clerks can’t read your mind. You just need to tell them what you’d like. And with clear communication, you’ll both have a lovely day!