Belk — Local services in Charlotte

One of the only departments in the store where you absolutely NEED a clerk is the shoe department. Because the stock is not accessible to the customer one cannot purchase a pair of shoes without an employee fetching it from the netherworld of "the back." Since there are never enough staff, I usually wind up wandering around the department with a coupld of choices in hand and NOT purchasing them/

Yesterday was no exception. When I arrived around 730pm, I saw one clerk on the phone helping a customer with some order issue .. that phone call lasted the entire time I was there looking over nearly every pair of shoes in the department .. during that time he was utterly useless to anyone else. The other clerk was behind the register alternately ringing people up and searching for shoes. There was no other service person. A few women sat on chairs holding their selections and chatting ... waiting endlessly for godot ... I walked around with two shoes for about 15-20 minutes and then left, purchasing nothing.

From there, I went to the costume jewelry section where most of the items were on display with easy access and yet was approached by two different clerks offering help.I bought two necklaces --costing a small fraction of the price of the shoes I would have purchased.

Here are a few reasons I am unlikely to return to Belk: First, this inexplicable failure to assign employees based on what is absolutely necessary to make a sale (CUSTOMERS CANT GET THEIR OWN SHOES!) makes shopping here a chore. (If you cant afford the clerks -- put more shores outside ... let customers get their own shoes) The other is BELKS annoying use of coupons!!! STOP!!!! PUT STUFF ON SALE .. BRAG ABOUT NOT HAVING TO DEAL WITH COUPONS!!!

COUPONS PRESENT A REAL PSYCHOLOGICAL DISINCENTIVE to shop at Belk on the fly! There are no coupons in the store. When you realize that the person ahead of you is getting a better bargain for the same item because they did their homework and cutout coupons! OMG I suddenly dont want the item in my hand! Do you really want people deciding against shopping there because they feel they are getting a bad deal?! INSUFFERABLE!

And lastly, the comments of the other reviewers about getting the once over by some of the staff is true! I was a bit lost as I entered the area near the make up counter. Three 'make up artists' were gathered and one was kind enough to ask if she could help me because I clearly looked lost. The other garrishly made up clerk gave me the once over more than once as she pointed the way to the parking lot ... I joked about being too easily turned around but none were smiling just staring through me and looking at my clothes or my behind or something, I cant tell. Was just glad to get in my car and drive away.

Americans like to shop. We buy more clothing, make up and household items than any other nation. It behooves a chain to enhance the experience of shopping --since customers, especially those not buying essentials, have so very many choices. $250 patent leather flats, while very nice , would have been just one more impulse buy --that Belk showed me how easily I could live happily ever...

Went to Belk at SouthPark Mall the week after Christmas to exchange a gift I got for Christmas. It was a fashion jewelry necklace and earrings that came in a Christmas like gift box. When I got to the store I asked for help from a old lady with short blonde hair that was inside the fine jelwery counter. She was nothing but rude and didn't want to exchange the gift stating I didn't have a gift receipt. The funny thing is that the woman that was being helped beside me by another assistant also didn't have a gift receipt and no one never said anything to her. After insisting that I wanted to exchange the gift and that I never had a problem in not having a gift receipt the woman finally went to the fashion jelwery shelves and saw that they had the same jelwery set there and agreeded to exchange the gift for a gift receipt. But not before making the worse comment I have ever listened from a store associated! She literally said in her own words: "Next time you bring the gift bag that you received with the gift so we know you didn't picked up the jelwery set from the shelf and is trying to return it." I couldn't believe what my ears were listening. I politely told her that my brother-in-law gave me the gift exactly like that inside that box and not inside a bag. What I really wanted to tell her is that having a police officer as a husband that has a very high rank with the CMPD she was just accusing the wrong person and how in the world would I want to steel a $20 jelwery set and that I would never and never have stolen anything in my life! She was so offensive that I felt like calling the police on her for falsely trying to accuse me of a crime and embarrassing me in front of other people. I am not sure why she said what she said, if it's any type of prejudice or just because she is just an unhappy old lady that is working behind a store counter at this point in her life. What I know is that I will never shop at Belk ever again and will tell all my friends and family not to and I am also canceling my Belk credit card which I used to spend a lot...

My girlfriend and I had went to visit Charlotte, North Carolina for the first time. We had stopped by South Park Mall on VALENTINES DAY to have a mini shopping spree for the holiday. She wanted to go into Belk and look at the shoes, so I browsed around in the Men's department. Apparently, I can't leave my girlfriend to shop on her own due to the fact that their was an associate that treated her like low class. My girlfriend is African American and she mentioned that there was a Caucasian woman also in the same shoe section receiving help from the same associate who "helped" her. The difference is they both received two completely different types of service! Being Caucasian must be the preferred race in Belk or maybe just in this specific shoe department, since the associate Ali (heavy set Italian looking guy) made it clear that my girl's money was unwanted along with her period. His whole tone switched up when he was finished helping the Caucasian lady and turned negative and rude when she asked for a shoe in her size. He than brought back two shoes, 1 for my girlfriend... he handed her the shoe over a shoe display (couldn't even just walk it to her), and then took out one of the shoes and placed it on top of the shoe box to display the shoe to the Caucasian lady. What's that about? Last time I checked we all are shopper's who spend the same type of money. Everyone deserves the same treatment. This was disgusting and made her uncomfortable to even ask for another shoe size since this one was a little small so she decided to leave!!!

We will NEVER EVER SHOP IN BELK EVER AGAIN!!!! There are some things I just will not stand for or tolerate and the level of disrespect, unprofessional behavior and what appeared to be racism are a just few!

And to the associate ALI, even though you need a lot of training, you failed to ruin my girlfriends Valentines Day. PS. YOU ARE THE REASON I will no longer be a shopper at Belk. I will be sure to pass this along to my family...