As tends to happen with me, I had the receipt, and thought I'd put it in my purse, but when I went to return it, I couldn't find it. So I shelved the task of trying to return it for a while, hoping the receipt would show up. It didn't. So yesterday when I was buying a dress to wear to The Cove, because that is how I cope with stage fright, I asked the clerk at that same store, 14th/6th, what to do. She told me to show up and tell the security guard and they'd take care of it.
Today I was near the store on 2nd Avenue and 9th Street, and when I walked in and beeped, they told me I had to go back to the original store, so I did. I explained the issue to the security guard, who got the manager, who told me that unless I have the receipt, they can't take the anti-theft device off. "Okay, I'll keep looking for it...or throw it away," I said, because those are pretty much my only options (note: by "throw it away" I mean add it to the four bags of clothes I sorted today to give to Goodwill).
the dress in question
"Do you think you have it at home?" he asked. But what's the point of asking that? I either do or I lost it, and if I lost it, I'm SOL. I was disappointed that there was no other recourse; I could look up in my bank's records the original date of the transaction. I realize that without tags, I could have stolen the dress, and they have no real way to know, but the fact of the matter is, I didn't, and I've been a frequent customer. In fact, just last night, a girl entering The Cove complimented my tights and I told her where I got them; this happens a lot.
But since this seems to be my year of giving up activities (drinking, dating), I'm adding shopping at Urban Outfitters to my list. I unearthed more than enough clothes today to keep me going for a long while, and I can find other places that have better customer service. And yes, I will be adding a pouch to my purse for receipts and trying to develop a Getting Things Done-type system to purge my receipts. The irony is that I have amassed probably thousands of receipts over the years, and they litter, literally, my apartment and my bags, but I can never find them when I need them. I guess I needed another costly lesson in receipt losing to make it sink in that I need to take better care of my possessions, and the onus is on me to be diligent. Still, I think they could've found a way to handle this better. Maybe I'll find the receipt, but either way, I'll be doing my shopping elsewhere.
My new tights, in my in-progress living room:
