Victoria's Secret & PINK — Local services in Town of Guilderland

I recently had a frustrating experience at the Victoria’s Secret PINK store in Crossgates Mall, where I felt like I was being unfairly accused of wrongdoing. I went in to return a shirt I bought for my daughter that was too small, and I had my receipt in hand. The employee, who had no name tag and didn’t introduce himself, started by saying, ‘I’ll see what I can do,’ which seemed unnecessary since I had my receipt. It should have been a straightforward return.

Things took a turn when he began sniffing the shirt, making it feel like he was searching for a reason to reject the return. My fiancé sarcastically asked if the shirt smelled okay, and the employee responded by saying that sometimes people return clothes that smell like weed or other things. I was shocked and offended by this assumption, as neither my fiancé nor I smoke. It felt completely inappropriate and judgmental.

I asked for his name to file a complaint, and he told me it was Athena. After that, he went on an unrelated rant about how New York is a liberal and accepting state, which seemed especially ironic considering his own assumptions about us based on nothing more than a return.

Sadly, this isn’t the first time I’ve had a bad experience at this same PINK location. About six months ago, I was in a similar situation returning a dress my daughter didn’t like because it was too form-fitting. At that time, a young woman working at the register was also accusatory. Even though I had proof of purchase from my online order, she refused to issue the refund to my credit card and insisted on giving me a gift card instead.

This experience with Athena was the final straw for me. I will not be shopping at Victoria’s Secret anymore. The brand has gone downhill, especially since they started focusing on unisex clothing and catering to the LGBTQ community. My experiences at this location have only confirmed how much the company has changed for the worst, and I’m...

Update 11/6/2019: I'm not sure if something changed, but the customer service has improved since my last two visits. Perhaps its because I came in on a Monday night when it wasn't as busy (store was virtually empty). As opposed to being essentially ignored like the last couple times, this time I was assisted by a couple employees - one of whom I think was a manager. They assisted me with a bra fitting and bra selection and all of them were very helpful, friendly, and great to chat with. Plus they had a great promo on bras going on, but VS often has some kind of nice little promotion. The bras I ended up getting are perfect and suit my needs immaculately. I've been a fan of their push- up bras back when I was a smaller size and younger and I think that won't change any time soon.

OLD: Beautiful store, but most VS stores are pretty. They have their PINK and regular store separated and literally across from each other which I thought was strange at first, but I guess they couldn't get a large enough store-front for both collections. The reason that I don't like this location much in particular is because the customer service isn't that great. The last time I went there an employee at the entrance gave me a snobbish look and the employees there in general weren't as welcoming as the employees are in other VS...

Saw others posting about returns at this location so wanted to share my experience as well. There are two specific employees I encountered, although I don’t know their names, who try everything in their power to prevent you from making returns. I went in with a couple of online returns, had the barcodes on hand and they scanned my code then cancelled the return on their end and said it wasn’t working. They could not explain to me WHY I was unable to make the return. A lady behind me was also making a return and it was at least ten minutes back and forth with her about how they couldn’t take her return or could only do it on a gift card. Sad because just a few days ago I had a great shopping experience with a very nice woman, probably a little bit older in comparison to the kids that are working there. The specific employees I encountered should not be working the holiday season if they cannot handle returns. The “manager” on the floor did absolutely nothing. There was DEFINITELY something more going on there. Very odd...