Ben Sherman bums me out

Dear Ben Sherman,

I'm pretty disappointed that I can't exchange a jacket I bought my husband for Christmas. It's his size; it just never fit quite right. It seemed a little short in length. I was assured by the floor staff that my husband could exchange the jacket if necessary, and I never bothered to read the admittedly not-so-fine print on the receipt. My bad.

But my bad is your bad. That's because even a well-posted return policy doesn't make a customer happy if the policy is...well, not so great. I had assumed a standard 30 day window. You had a short two-week return window that began from the date of purchase, which was, of course, before Christmas, leaving little time after Christmas to make an exchange.

You're not a cheap shop so I expect a little more for the money, not only in product quality and style but also customer experience. A premium store affords premium customer experience, and that continues after the customer has left the store. Once a purchase is made, customer service transforms into pride, word of mouth, or simply the pleasure of giving the product as a present and knowing the recipient will find value in it.

Unfortunately, I wrongly had this pleasure. My bad. Now I see that ill-fitting jacket hanging in our closet, and it always gives me a bummed out feeling. I don't think, I now know the policy and won't make that mistake twice. Instead, I am reminded to never buy a gift from your store again.

This experience made me realize that return policies are what we designers call "affordances." They suggest to people how to use the product. Your return policy suggests that your clothes should not be given as gifts--and certainly not Christmas gifts.

It's hard not to compare your return policy to others. There's Target's policy, which enables blissful spending and I suspect uses a return as a way to make an additional sale. After all, the customer has walked back into the store, and each visit is a sale, whether it's an actual purchase or another opportunity to serve the "kool-aid," so to speak.

There's also REI's generous policy. Incidentally, I had to return a pair of snow pants to REI after Christmas. I dragged my feet in search of the receipt. After my fateful encounter with you, I called REI to ask about their return policy. Guess what? No rush, and I didn't even need a receipt. Sure, my love for REI is an open secret, but that's because they have a culture (including a return policy) that affords it.

A return policy should not be about bottom lines. Rather, it's about your commitment to a future relationship.

-joanie