I had a rather unpleasant experience at The Children’s Place, National Harbor. If you're interested in learning more, below is an excerpt of the letter I wrote to corporate.

The purpose of today’s visit was to pick up a rather large order that I purchased online (ship to store items). However, my most recent visit left me feeling incredibly dissatisfied.

Upon arriving at the store, I was able to quickly retrieve the items I purchased several items of clothing for my child, and I proceeded to the fitting room area with the intention of allowing my child to try on one pair of the uniform pants. To my surprise and dismay, I was refused access to the fitting rooms by one of your staff members. She first stated that they did not have a fitting room; however, the fitting room sign was evident on the wall in blue font.  She went on to state that the fitting room area was closed and had merchandise; she further insinuated that I might steal something (which was extremely absurd and disrespectful since I already purchased $145.79 online for the order I was picking up). She offered to allow me to let my child try on pants in a secluded corner of the store and pointed to the toddler’s clothing section. Did she truly believe that a parent would let their child disrobe in a public establishment?

I tried to explain that trying on clothes is an essential part of the shopping process, especially when it comes to children's clothing, as sizing can vary. However, my concerns were met with indifference.  She threatened to call security and walked over to the phone (which I welcomed as clearly they require security to monitor to store since they believe customers who have already purchased several items online would steal clothing in the store). She never picked up the phone although I was quite amenable to her calling security.

I was left with no choice but to leave the store with the items I purchased online. As I closed the store door and began to walk to my car, I thought that I could not in good conscience purchase these items given the lack of professionalism and disrespect. As such, I immediately returned all nine pieces of clothing items and walked next door to The Gap to purchase my children’s uniforms. My daughter was able to try on her clothing in the fitting room at The Gap.  It was a very pleasant shopping experience with helpful staff.

This incident not only wasted my time but also left me feeling extremely disappointed that I would be treated in such a way in my community. It is disconcerting to think that a store I have trusted for so long would treat a loyal customer.

I kindly request that you investigate this matter. Further, if theft is an issue, you should invest in properly monitoring controls to mitigate the risk of theft and not adversely impact honest consumers.