Zara — Local services in Barcelona

Firstly, there is only 1 fitting room for women for a 3 storey outlet. So the queues are long. Also, the fitting rooms are incredibly warm.

Secondly, if you’re a tourist, and do not look Caucasian, I’d strongly recommend to only visit for the interior, take a few pictures and leave. You would get better service from the Zara staff at the Passeig de Gràcia outlet which is about a 7 mins walk away from this one. The staff at that particular outlet (Passeig de Gràcia) is incredible, prompt in helping you out and is willing to go the extra mile to help you.

My experience at the Placa de Catalunya outlet: When I was asked if I wanted a tax refund, I opted yes. The staff has to come and help you do the tax refund detailing. Let me preface this by saying that I definitely said my “hola”when I saw the staff approaching. When it came to inputting my exit country for tax refund she input “Spain”. I’ve kindly told her that my exit country should have been “other EU country” as I would be ending my trip in Italy and not Spain. I knew this because the Zara staff at the Passeig de Gracia input “other EU country” for me after confirming with me that I’m returning home from Italy. I’ve told the staff as much, she insisted and in her own words said “I don’t care if you’re leaving from Italy or if you come from (my own home country), it’s for me to input Spain”. I did not want to pursue further and accepted it for what it is. I’m not sure if I’ll be entitled to the tax refund, however, I definitely did not appreciate the tone nor the attitude.

I would like to give this experience the benefit of the doubt and attribute this employee’s behavior to one of someone that is just extremely overworked instead of labelling this as some form of racial discrimination. My experience in Spain so far has been pleasant and its people are welcoming. However, an incident such as this has undoubtedly tainted an otherwise pleasant impression of this...

I spent almost 500 euros in this store a few days ago and they didn’t have a dress in my size, I popped back to see if they had it and they did, I was in a rush and feel really anxious in fitting rooms anyway, so threw it on over my clothes. And like almost all Zara employees I’ve ever met one rudely storm’s over and tells me I’m not allowed to do that. Seems like such a stupid and pointless rule considering there is so much shop lifting etc that happens in the fitting rooms and I was quickly trying something on. I would never have done that back in my retail days as I was just doing 1 item and not making a mess. Feels like a pointless rule they wanted to enforce for no reason and they need a reason to be rude to customers. I was about to buy the dress but I said alright I won’t buy it and hung it back up nearly as I always do. Not sure why I come back to Zara probably gonna avoid it from now and try and buy less fast fashion anyway. Not like the service is bringing me back in. I’m sure they don’t care about losing my sale on that occasion but...

I’m very disappointed with my experience at Zara in Spain. I was trying on clothes in a fitting room and stepped out for two minutes to show an outfit to my friends. When I came back, my fitting room had been given to someone else, and the staff had removed all of my belongings without saying anything.

I don’t know if it was carelessness, a lack of consideration, or something deeper… but as a Black woman, I can’t help but wonder if I would have been treated the same way if I looked different. The staff didn’t apologize, didn’t offer me another fitting room, and had already put the clothes I was trying on back on the shelves. They simply handed me back my things with no explanation.

I felt dismissed, ignored, and humiliated. This is unacceptable behavior, especially from such a well-known brand....