Precisely Folded Stacks of Garments

I work in a specialty women's apparel store which, in some areas, has
neatly folded stacks of tops and jeans on shelves.
The jeans all have clearly visible edge labeling which states their
sizes, plus leg style ("boot–cut" or "straight–leg") – this is very
informative and presents no problem at all. It's easy for a customer to
see what's available at a glance, and easy for salespeople to stack
them back in size and style order.
The tops, however, are a different story. On them, there is no
folded–edge labelling indicating their sizes, so a customer has to
manually flip through the stacks of folded sweaters, t–shirts, or tank
tops (some very plushy, thick, fluid, soft, thin, or limp) so that they
fall out of alignment when anyone handles them to find the desired
size.
Our managers tell us salespeople to constantly keep the folded stacks
of tops precisely folded, with knife–sharp edges and precise alignment,
with the paper price tags – which also display the sizes – tucked
INSIDE the necks or sides of the garments. Therefore, for a customer to
find her size, she MUST disrupt this precision stacking and folding and
tucking, to some degree. We frequently hear customers expressing regret
for "messing up" the displays of garments simply to find their sizes. I
don't think this is right. In our busy store, this happens constantly,
and of course we understand why, but, oddly, the managers don't.
Have any of you experienced this, as a customer or as a salesperson?

I sympathize with you wholeheartedly!!! When I worked at Banana
Republic, we were taught to always tuck the tags inside the shirts
while we folded the piles of tees, tops, or sweaters– of course, an
hour later, the piles would be destroyed since the customers would have
no choice but to pull each item out and check the size tag.

the visual people at corporate had mapped out how each top
would be folded (wide–fold or longer with a board) and if a district
manager were to see it, we would get points reduced from our store
visits.

Even for items that were hanging, all the tags had to be
tucked inside the top, but I cannot tell you how many delicate nylon–y
blend tops we had to damage out because the tags' sharp edges would
cause snags in the fabric.

Have any of you experienced this, as a customer or as a salesperson?

I work in a specialty women's apparel store which, in some areas, has
neatly folded stacks of tops and jeans on shelves.
The jeans all have clearly visible edge labeling which states their
sizes, plus leg style ("boot–cut" or "straight–leg") – this is very
informative and presents no problem at all. It's easy for a customer to
see what's available at a glance, and easy for salespeople to stack
them back in size and style order.
The tops, however, are a different story. On them, there is no
folded–edge labelling indicating their sizes, so a customer has to
manually flip through the stacks of folded sweaters, t–shirts, or tank
tops (some very plushy, thick, fluid, soft, thin, or limp) so that they
fall out of alignment when anyone handles them to find the desired
size.
Our managers tell us salespeople to constantly keep the folded stacks
of tops precisely folded, with knife–sharp edges and precise alignment,
with the paper price tags – which also display the sizes – tucked
INSIDE the necks or sides of the garments. Therefore, for a customer to
find her size, she MUST disrupt this precision stacking and folding and
tucking, to some degree. We frequently hear customers expressing regret
for "messing up" the displays of garments simply to find their sizes. I
don't think this is right. In our busy store, this happens constantly,
and of course we understand why, but, oddly, the managers don't.
Have any of you experienced this, as a customer or as a salesperson?

It drives me crazy as a customer, but as a marketing professional, it
fascinates me. Since it's such a common retail practice, I figure there
*must* be a marketing reason!
Far as I've been able to figure, it is a psychological thing: perhaps
they figure that if a customer goes through the pile digging for their
size, and makes a huge mess, they will be more likely to buy due to the
guilt factor?
"Welll... it's okay but not quite perfect but I spent so much time
going through the pile looking for my size, and I made such a mess ...
I might as well buy it"...
Otherwise, I have no clue!!
jen

I work in a specialty women's apparel store which, in some areas, has
neatly folded stacks of tops and jeans on shelves.
The jeans all have clearly visible edge labeling which states their
sizes, plus leg style ("boot–cut" or "straight–leg") – this is very
informative and presents no problem at all. It's easy for a customer to
see what's available at a glance, and easy for salespeople to stack
them back in size and style order.
The tops, however, are a different story. On them, there is no
folded–edge labelling indicating their sizes, so a customer has to
manually flip through the stacks of folded sweaters, t–shirts, or tank
tops (some very plushy, thick, fluid, soft, thin, or limp) so that they
fall out of alignment when anyone handles them to find the desired
size.
Our managers tell us salespeople to constantly keep the folded stacks
of tops precisely folded, with knife–sharp edges and precise alignment,
with the paper price tags – which also display the sizes – tucked
INSIDE the necks or sides of the garments. Therefore, for a customer to
find her size, she MUST disrupt this precision stacking and folding and
tucking, to some degree. We frequently hear customers expressing regret
for "messing up" the displays of garments simply to find their sizes. I
don't think this is right. In our busy store, this happens constantly,
and of course we understand why, but, oddly, the managers don't.
Have any of you experienced this, as a customer or as a salesperson?

<<< Have any of you experienced this, as a customer or as a
salesperson? >>>
I sympathize with you wholeheartedly!!! When I worked at Banana
Republic, we were taught to always tuck the tags inside the shirts
while we folded the piles of tees, tops, or sweaters– of course, an
hour later, the piles would be destroyed since the customers would have
no choice but to pull each item out and check the size tag. Our store
managers told us that the tags could not be hanging out the back (even
though it would no doubt be easier for our customers) since it looked
"messy" and the visual people at corporate had mapped out how each top
would be folded (wide–fold or longer with a board) and if a district
manager were to see it, we would get points reduced from our store
visits. Even for items that were hanging, all the tags had to be
tucked inside the top, but I cannot tell you how many delicate nylon–y
blend tops we had to damage out because the tags' sharp edges would
cause snags in the fabric.
IMO, I think it would help sales if the tags were to be hanging out the
back. Using myself as an example, sometimes I'll be shopping and see a
stack of perfectly folded tops. I wear an XS, so my size is usually on
the top, but sometimes the piles are not sized and I don't want to go
searching through and have it topple over or make a mess, so I just
don't bother (unless it's an item I really, really like upon first
glance).
I can understand their reasoning as it does look neater and it does
look disorganized when there are tags sticking out all over the place,
but, at the same time, I do sympathize with the customers. I love it
when stores have size stickers on the edges or brands that have their
size printed inside the top– it makes things a lot easier!
Good luck with your retail sales this season :–)
––Laura

I work in a specialty women's apparel store which, in some areas, has
neatly folded stacks of tops and jeans on shelves.
The jeans all have clearly visible edge labeling which states their
sizes, plus leg style ("boot–cut" or "straight–leg") – this is very
informative and presents no problem at all. It's easy for a customer
to
see what's available at a glance, and easy for salespeople to stack
them back in size and style order.
The tops, however, are a different story. On them, there is no
folded–edge labelling indicating their sizes, so a customer has to
manually flip through the stacks of folded sweaters, t–shirts, or tank
tops (some very plushy, thick, fluid, soft, thin, or limp) so that
they
fall out of alignment when anyone handles them to find the desired
size.
Our managers tell us salespeople to constantly keep the folded stacks
of tops precisely folded, with knife–sharp edges and precise
alignment,
with the paper price tags – which also display the sizes – tucked
INSIDE the necks or sides of the garments. Therefore, for a customer
to
find her size, she MUST disrupt this precision stacking and folding
and
tucking, to some degree. We frequently hear customers expressing
regret
for "messing up" the displays of garments simply to find their sizes.
I
don't think this is right. In our busy store, this happens constantly,
and of course we understand why, but, oddly, the managers don't.
Have any of you experienced this, as a customer or as a salesperson?