lululemon — Local services in Kirkland

Worst Lululemon Experience Ever at Totem Lake

This was my first time visiting the Totem Lake Lululemon after moving here, and it turned out to be my worst Lululemon experience ever!!

My husband’s ABC joggers, bought less than a year ago and worn only a few times, had developed 3 large holes in the crotch area. I came in hoping to have them repaired, just to patch up the holes.

The experience with one of the staff, a dark-skinned lady, was incredibly frustrating. She rolled her eyes at me and said such damage couldn’t be repaired. I explained that I’d had the same issue with other ABC joggers in the past, and other stores had no problem repairing them. She then claimed Lululemon‘s policy had changed, and since the joggers were marked down, they couldn’t be repaired. I checked their policy in front of her, which made no mention of markdown items being excluded! She then changed her stance and said I could return the pants for store credit and choose another item today.

Problem solved? Not quite!

When my husband picked out a new pair of Pace Breaker joggers and was ready to check out, this dark-skinned staff member had disappeared entirely. Her manager handled the transaction and completely contradicted her solution, saying the damage was considered “normal wear and tear” and didn’t qualify under the quality promise. I asked why we’d wasted time trying picking out a new item if that was the case, and he said he wasn’t aware of the prior conversation we’d had. 🥲

He then explained “normal wear and tear,” implying we might not have followed care instructions correctly. 🙃 (Ironically, my family practically live in Lululemon leggings and joggers and always follow the care instructions: cold wash, coldest dry). I couldn’t understand how 3 large holes only be worn a few times could be dismissed as “normal wear and tear.” To me, this clearly seems like a quality issue with the joggers! The crotch area of the ABC joggers should be stitched more securely.

The manager’s useful suggestion was to go to the Bellevue store for repairs, and the Totem Lake store wouldn’t handle the transfer—I would have to take them over to Bellevue store myself. 🥲

The dark-skinned staff member did such a poor job; she should definitely be retrained. I’m really curious how she passed the company’s training. Does the training teach employees to freely change company policies to mislead customers? Does it teach them to hide after misleading a customer and failing to resolve the issue?

On the drive home, I ordered the Pace Breaker joggers I’d tried on today through the App because I didn’t want to spend a single cent...

I had the worst experience here after being a loyal customer for years. Trying to return a pair of shoes that were giving me so much pain, one of the staff was extremely unhelpful and repeatedly said no to the return I already initiated online. First, it was because the shoes were worn, after stating the reason, she said she could only return for quality guarantee, then she couldn’t find the email in the system, questioning if I had an account, finally found out the 30 day window had just passed. She had to get help from the manager because she was unable to give a workable option. When the manager came, he’s courteous but didn’t offer any real option except for exchanging for the same item (which would cause me more pain!). He also shared how strict the policy had become over the years.

I’m really disappointed at not just the staff at this location, but with the larger lululemon brand and how the company is being run these days. It has become more bureaucratic and lost its roots. I’ve lost confidence in the brand as a customer. Seeing other people have similar experience makes me worry about the company’s future as a shareholder.

Coincidentally, lately I’ve been heavily targeted by ads from Vuori, this is a good timing...

I went inside the store today 4/4/2025 to return an item that I received online! The person behind the counter ( tall blonde girl) refused to give me the money back in original form of payment and only wanted to issue a store credit. Item just arrived to me, not worn, tag still on. She was very rude and unfriendly, not even trying to make it work. I left the store and went outside, called the customer service and report the issue, not that they refunded me immediately back up the original form of payment, they also gave me $25 gift card send to my email to apologize about the bad in store inexperience and poor customer service that I received! They also told me I can keep the item for FREE & no return is needed! It’s a shame that in store customer service so poor! It’s Kirkland, YOU CAN DO BETTER people! I will continue going to Bellevue, they are much friendlier and much better customer service and there is always solution if you are not happy...