<p>My D just finished her last day at Delia’s before leaving for college this week-she’s worked there for about 2 years and will fill in during school breaks and is able to transfer to the store near her school if she so chooses. Each the stores does have a “look” but it’s very interesting to note the behavior of the employees within the confines of the store itself. In Hollister, the kids who work there have to wear the store’s flip flops and it’s not uncommon to see them texting away on their cell phones while on the sales floor. It’s the same at the register, two girls chatting with each other, while only one clerk is ringing people out, and yes, they deliberately put the guys on the girl’s fitting room side and vice-versa. Mix in the pounding music and the inability to find anything and I can’t figure out why anyone goes in there; my son’s stepmother always gives him gift cards there because she sees the logo on shirts everywhere (THAT’S advertising that works!!). A&F? Well, let’s just say that I remember when that store stood for great tattersall shirts, tweed jackets and wide-wale cords- I feel old!! My D was just saying tonight that she is glad to have a job in a store which at least has clear rules for the staff and decent training, not to mention “mystery shoppers” to keep everyone on top of things!</p>
<p>I worked at a party store for a few months (think balloons, not liquor) and a boy came in to ask for an app and my boss told him we weren’t hiring, and the moment he was out the door he turned to me and said, “if you have any girlfriends who want a job, tell them to come in. I just don’t hire guys.” And then went on a whole ten minute speech about why guys aren’t good workers. Which is unfortunate because hauling helium tanks and climbing up and down ladders all day is heavy labor and I had to do it all as low woman on the totem pole, despite the fact that not me nor any of the ladies I worked with were aptly built for trying to move the tanks without injuring ourselves. I think he just liked being able to say, “oh, I’ll get one of my girls to help you.”</p>
<p>My last day of work he was reading to me and my obviously female coworker out of the newspaper, slow day I guess, and a woman had been held up at gunpoint in a parking lot across the street from us. And he said to us, in all seriousness, “if she had been home taking care of her husband like she should have been that wouldn’t have happened to her.”</p>
<p>There are some pretty repulsive people out to hire teenagers. That was my first job and without question the worst experience of my life. I exclude that experience from job apps now because I know he’ll say bad things about me-- as it turns out I was right. A girl I met at school worked there and couldn’t find a job after she quit, her mom ended up calling pretending to be a potential employer and was told all about how friend stole from the register and everything. No one was even allowed to use the register except him, we aren’t even trained to use it and would get in trouble for standing at the counter even creating the impression we could use it. So that was an outright lie.</p>
<p>Nobody in my social network has ever worked at or worn Hollister or Abercrombie and Fitch, however my friend does work at AE and they are required to wear the store’s flip flops, recently were told they have to wear the store’s board shorts under their pants (I don’t even know what those are?), and have been encouraged to text on the job. I guess it makes them look well liked or something that their friends just can’t let them be long enough for them to work a shift. I think I might actually take Partyland over that.</p>
<p>Ha! They used to beg my D to work every time she went into American Eagle. She was definitely their type. However, my D recently told me she has been offered a job at Victoria’s Secret. Twice!! She is not crazy about being the same size that her friends hope to achieve one day with surgery. She is not BIG, just nice. She would rather be small. I always try to find the positive. I did get her to smile about it when she told me about the job offer!</p>
<p>My D snickered when I told her there was a thread about this on CC. A & F is so over where they go to school.</p>
<p>Like another poster (Packmom, maybe?) my kids forage around Goodwill for ironic t-shirts – not the pseudo-ironic stuff sold at target or wherever, oh no, that would be too easy. They want the real deal. In terms of stuff to wear over (we ancients would call it ‘outerwear’) they buy stuff at Mexicali Blues or stuff from sustainable or exotic sources. As far as I can tell, all their friends do the same. The boys wear whatever jeans or cargo pants/shorts and don’t make a big deal about it. My D will only wear jeans that fit her a certain way, so once or twice a year I stock her up on the 2 (not-cheap) brands she will wear.</p>
<p>On college campuses it seems like the only people wearing A & F are visitors who seem really young. I’m not sure who shops there now. At the mall, we cruise by as fast as we can, because the cologne makes your hair reek if you so much as poke your head in. Also, the lighting is sepulchral and music headache-inducing.</p>
<p>Could be worst. I always get asked to star in pornos, films, and modeling.</p>
<p>I don’t think a retail store has ever asked me to work for them.</p>
<p>^^^^ Yikes! Reminds me of a story from a mom of one of D’s friends. This mom had been a competitive figure skater “back in the day,” and had been on tour in Europe with Ice Capades or some such group. When she came back to the US she found out that one of the Vegas casinos had started doing an ice show, so she went to apply. When she got to the casting office she found out they had no openings for the ice show. The casting director then looked her up and down, then said, “We are hiring for the topless show upstairs. Do you want to apply for that?” The woman replied, “No, thanks.” And that was the end of her performing career.</p>
<p>The only store where D was approached with the “apply for our open positions” pitch was some Ann Taylor store (did D ran out of clean jeans that day and had to wear a dress and what the heck was she doing at that store? :)).</p>
<p>Thought some of you criticizing A&F might enjoy this:</p>
<p>"A U.K. law student won her lawsuit against Abercrombie and Fitch. The clothing behemoth had relegated her to the stockroom because her uni-armed look didn’t fit in with the company’s dress code. The BBC reports: "</p>
<p>etc.</p>
<p>Source is abovethelaw.</p>