Speedy Canizales: Kiss and Make Up

About two years ago H&M and I had a falling out. My family and I were shopping at the H&M in New York’s Herald Square, and when it came time to pay the cashiers were rude to my mom. My mom picked up a pair of jeans in a rack that said $19 but at the register the jeans rang up as $49. My mom pointed to the rack where she got the jeans from, and the cashier (who clearly had NO idea what customer service meant) rolled her eyes and said something along the lines of “the jeans are $49 live with it.” What upset me wasn’t what she said but her tone and attitude were so condescending, like my mom deliberately tried to cheat them out of money.

After my mom finished her transaction I went back to that cashier and told her she was rude. I told her that I didn’t like her disrespectful tone towards customers and that last customer happened to be my mom. She was nonchalant about my complaint, like I was nitpicking the way she folded clothes, and even asked her co-worker if she was rude to customers. Her co-worker said that if someone didn’t know the price of jeans then that wasn’t being rude – that was just setting them straight. So I asked her why didn’t she explain that it was on the wrong rack, that it happens all the time – why the attitude? To make my point I returned all the stuff I just bought and told her that I wasn’t going to shop there ever again. There are so many other stores out there that deserved my business, so why should I waste my time with one that clearly did not appreciate my business? For two whole years I avoided H&M like the plague.

I’ve been living an H&M-free life until today, when I went to the mall to get my watch battery replaced. There was an H&M store nearby, and since I had twenty minutes to kill I decided to go in. There were some good deals – cute summer dresses for $16 and accessories under $5. Then and there I decided that two years was long enough to make my point. After all, that H&M was in NYC, a city that seems to have it out for me (every time I’ve gone to New York someone’s been exceptionally rude to me). Customer service in LA is different – for the most part cashiers are pleasant and eager to make a sale. When I got to the register I was greeted by a nice cashier who asked me if I found everything ok, and I was all why yes, thanks for asking. Then H&M and I went to the back room and made out.

These are the things I bought, all for under $30:

A light summer dress perfect for the season