Horrid Torrid

Torrid is a clothing outlet for women who have difficulty finding clothes that fit in ordinary stores. Stores like Torrid and Lane Bryant meet a need that can be a savior for people like my fiance, who battle the war to find clothes that make her feel good. The prices are often higher, which is accepted because there is little alternative. 

However, the service has much to be desired.

Last winter, we first visited Torrid in the Mall of America. Fiance spent 90 minutes trying on various clothes with help from the staff. I spent 90 minutes wishing I wasn’t there, because I’m a guy, and getting me into the Mall of America in the first place is a major coup. Sitting outside the fitting room while fiance tries on clothes is about the most boring part of being a couple. I bring books, or my podcasts, to pass the time.

Fiance finally found several items that worked, and we went to the counter. However, she then discovered that she had misplaced her wallet. The clerk behind the counter went blank, an unconcerned manner that couldn’t care less about our predicament. Fiance and I searched all over the store, all the fitting rooms, anywhere it might have been. The clerks went about their business. I asked if there was some security they could call. The clerk said there was a number, but wouldn’t call it. Instead, fiance and I walked out of the store to go find an information station. The security person said that the wallet had been located and turned in at another station.

I nearly peed in relief.

We got the wallet back. A nice mother and daughter had found it on a mall chair and turned it in. They left no names. Everything in the wallet was in order. 45 minutes of panic was eased, no thanks to Torrid. We didn’t go back to purchase the items.

After 10 months, fiance had put the incident behind her enough to return. This time, however, she figured she would bypass the store and just order the clothes online. She was down to one pair of useable jeans, which would not last through the upcoming honeymoon, and Lane Bryant no longer carried her brand. We got the order in the mail. She tried on all the clothes, about $700 worth.

While a few things worked, most of it didn’t. The jeans sometimes fit around the waist, but were about a foot too long. In any case, they didn’t fit, and could never fit due to the fact that we are done growing taller.

So we returned to the Mall of America last night to return the items and give Torrid another shot. I left fiance to do her thing while I searched the Mall of America for an oil candle wick we need for the wedding. 

Candle wicks are the one thing you can’t find at the Mall of America I discovered. You need magnets? There’s a magnet store. You need oxygen? You can go to a store and pay them for the pleasure of breathing fresh air. But you can’t find a candle wick. Even at the Yankee Candle store, which only carries wax candles and accessories.

I came back to Torrid after my fruitless search. Fiance was at the counter, she beckoned me over.

Me: Hey

Fiance: You need to go outside, or you will just get mad.

Me: OK.

Later, fiance would recreate the story for me. Here’s how it went...

Clerk: Some of these clothes can’t be returned.

Fiance: What?

Clerk: Some of this is on clearance, and can’t be returned or exchanged.

Fiance: But there was nothing on the website that said that. I woudn’t have risked it had I known.

Clerk: I know. The website doesn’t let anyone know what is non-refundable.

Fiance: But you can’t return it?

Clerk: Correct.

Fiance: I bet people get really mad at you about that.

Clerk: Yes, but I am just a clerk. I can’t do anything about it.

Fiance: So how much is this stuff?

Clerk: $147

Fiance: I have to just eat that?

Clerk: What?

Fiance: So I have to just throw away $147 on clothes I can’t wear or return because your website doesn’t indicate what is clearance and what is returnable?

Clerk: Yes.

Fiance: My fiance is unemployed. We don’t really have the ability to just let that go.

Clerk: You are welcome to call customer service.

Fiance: I’ll do that.

Clerk: I hate my job.

So congratulations Torrid! You have successfully created a business to cater to larger clientele who depend on you to feel good about how they look. They pay more for this service, which is understandable. But that wasn’t enough. You had to go ahead and set up a system that allows them to buy things that can’t be returned, that can’t be exchanged, to take away more of their money. Please, take some more of our money as we try to go on a honeymoon, as we try to find me a job, as we go over budget on clothes because we’ve been wearing our old ones so long they have holes and finally had to come crawling back. Please, take our money. God knows we don’t need it for things like food and such.