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.
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