Excuse me for ranting. And I don’t mean to "flame" Firefly, the off-price European children’s clothing shop on Seventh Avenue between 4th and 5th Street.
No, they’ve got some gorgeous stuff. Just the kind of things my daughter loves. Sophisticated. Tasteful. High Quality. Some glitter and bling.
It’s what we used to call "Grandmother Clothes." That is, clothing a grandmother would buy as a gift – sweater sets, matching pant and shirt, party dresses. The kind of expensive Euro stuff a mom never buys. Not a mom who shops at Target or
Children’s Place. It’s the special stuff.
And they have great sales. I’ve been known to wander in when they have their big 50% Off Summer Sale sign in the window. It’s hard to resist when my daughter needs just one more summer item, another bathing suit or something.
Well, I did it again. I was lured in by the promise of something really nice and European for a good price. So off I went. Doh dee doh doh…
But there is something about that place. The owner is, well, a little… let me put it this way, she’s really IN YOUR FACE when you shop, which always makes me a tad uncomfortable. "Have a look at this. How about this? What size are your looking for? Isn’t this adorable…"
But she was pulling out some really nice stuff.
Then, I saw a bathing suit and a matching cover-up and decided, y’know, my daughter really does need one more swimsuit…
Big Mistake. Once I got it home, I discovered that European swimsuits run on the small side. A size 10 was way too small for my petite 8-year old daughter. And the striped cover-up was way too short. "Too small, too small," my daughter said handing me back her freshly bought swimwear.
But me worry? The owner had urged me (as part of the hard sell) to take the suit. "Have her try it on at home. You can always bring it back and exchange it," she said. But I guess I didn’t pay close enough attention. She must have said something like: "You can always bring it back and exhange it for something else…that’s on sale." The part about it having to be an item on sale is what I missed.
Well, I went back the next day with my too small swimwear and a saleswoman (not the owner) warned me immediately that I MUST choose something that’s on sale. "Oh, I’m going to exchange it for another suit, I said cheerily. "But what if I don’t find anything now, can I come back?" No, you really need to buy it now," the saleswoman said.
Okay…
Easier said than done. There were hardly any cover-ups left, and certainly none that matched a swimsuit. Finally I settled for a larger swimsuit and a non-matching cover-up. And they were even cheaper than yesterday’s purchases. Woo hoo. I was a happy shopper. For a moment, at least. And when all was said and done the store OWED ME $12 dollars.
I assumed they’d give me the cash. But how wrong I was. "I’d like to do it," the saleswoman said. "But I’d get fired."
Then she suggested that I see if there was anything I’d like to buy for $12 dollars. At this point, it felt like I’d been in the store for what felt like an hour. There was a cute set of rubber duckies I’d had my eye on for my sister’s baby Sonia. But noooooooooo. "You can’t buy that," the saleswoman snapped. "You can only buy a sale item!"
Another saleswoman, she may have been a manager, looked really embarassed, "Oh I think it would be okay." But then she took it back. "No, you better not. It’s store policy. We might get fired."
Well, now I had to search the store to find something for $12 dollars that was ON SALE. And this was no easy task. I did manage to find a pair of French pants for my sister’s baby Sonia for $7 dollars but I still had $5 dollars to go. Then they sent me off to the $5. basket in the front of the store. Gritting my teeth, I was able to find a cute t-shirt with cherries on it and the French word: Cerises. Tres chic, goddamit (I WAS SO ANNOYED BY NOW I COULDN’T CARE LESS).
I brought my items over to the saleswoman and she did the complicated arithmatic on her little calculator.
"You owe us $1.50." she said without any humor.
I was fit to be tied. I didn’t say anything. The aforementioned and embarassed saleswoman said something like, "I think it’s a wash. Just let her have it." She was rolling her eyes as if to say, "This is so stupid." I appreciated that she shared my point of view.
The other saleswoman put my items into a bag and said, "Well, you had to look around a lot." By way of explaining why she was cutting me a deal on that $1.50.
The clothes are pretty nice. I think my sister will like Sonia’s new pants and cherry (excuse me, cerises) t-shirt. Hopefully the other suit and non matching cover-up will fit my daughter.
And if it doesn’t, that’s it.
You won’t find me shopping at Firefly no more, no more. You won’t find me shopping there no more.
fireflyboutique@cs.com
Someone else can do it. Here’s the email address
Amen to everything said here. I have a 2-year-old son; it’s hard to shop for boys’ clothes because they all have some stupid logo on them, usually to do with sports, and Firefly is good about stocking dignified (usually European) boys’ clothes.
But I can’t stand being swooped down on by that owner….
I find an abundance of this kind of retail behavior in Brooklyn, unforutnately. I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I grew up partly in the midwest, but it seems like this petty, rip-offy, behavior happens way more here in Brklyn than any other place I’ve ever been. This kind of stuff drives me nuts — mainly because it’s such bad business for the store that’s doing it.
someone should email “Firefly” the post and comments, that is, if they have email – She should know how some people in the neighborhood feel about her policies… and her over-zealous sale’s tactics. She should give out gift receipts so that a gift can be credited for the same amount that it was purchased at – That’s a must for most stores – see TheGap, JCrew, even Loom gives a gift receipt with the purchase. Now that’s a well run store – and one incredibly sensitive to the needs of the neigborhood – but the place has a lot of integrity too. Lolli is also a good resource – great stuff and nice people. Ive shopped there a few times and had very good experiences.
Oh yeah. That woman is too much. I have left there with way more than I planned on buying or nothing at all because I couldn’t stand the hovering and the attack of the “How-‘Bout-This?” monster. I hate that.
Similar experience with Firefly re aggression of owner. Will not set foot in there again! Not a pleasant experience and way overpriced!
My sister had a similar experience over at Figits a few years ago. She was trying to return a gift for which her friend had paid full price, but had since been put on sale. The store would only credit her the sale price. She had a tiff with the shop owner an left in a huff. A few days later when I was babysitting for my nephew my sister asked me if I would go to the shop to use the credit. Well my sister an I look alot alike. When I went to the store with her baby strapped in his Bjorn, the owner confused me for her and was less than pleasant. I would sooner shop online than worry about a lousy return policy.
I don’t understand why your credit money has to go towards items on sale. It’s still the same amount of money – I just don’t get it. The money is the same value – Is it because you’ve returned an item and they have to resell it? The place sounds like a rip off and you would be better served shopping at a department store or one of our nice boutiques where the owners treat their customers kindly and respectfully. There’s even a dress shop on fifth Avenue, a trendy place for women, that actually will refund you cash – Unheard of at most boutiques. I complimented the owner on the policy and she said, ” I always hated to shop and feel like I couldn’t get my money back if I wanted to” So she established a refund policy in her own place – genius. It always makes you want to buy more when you know you have the option to return… Graciousness can go a long way.