Unhelpful and offensively impolite shop assistant/No manager present to assist

Good day,

I recently had the displeasure of visiting this store to exchange an item that my partner purchased from Cafe Coton - Canal Walk.

I entered the store and as one does, greeted the shop assistant pleasantly, asking how she was. She was completely disinterested and did not even acknowledge me. I figured I'd state my business and be off.

I explained to her that my partner bought the pul***** without fitting it on in store and when he tried it on at home, we found that it was too small and would therefore like a refund. Without saying a word, she stood there, waiting expectantly for me to hand over the garment.

The pul***** was turned inside-out and slightly creased because of how it was placed back into the bag after the fitting. I laid it out in front of her and she inspected the garment very closely as if to find evidence that it was damaged in some way, which made me feel quite perplexed. I asked her if there was a problem - that the item was tossed back in the bag after fitting and apologised for the state that it's in. She then responded by asking if it was worn. It was at this point that I became annoyed.

I said no and asked her if she was implying that he bought it to wear it once and then return it. No answer. I then asked if we could please just process the refund. I did not want an exchange. I wanted the money back. She said no - she would have to get her manager to have a look at the garment and decide whether it was in the appropriate condition for a refund. *Sigh* I said, fine. Let's get the manager to have a look at it then. The manager was not in the store and I was told that he/she would only be in at 3 PM that afternoon. It was about 10 AM when I entered the store.

So, herewith my complaint. I have worked in the customer services field for years. I have also worked in retail for a short while and therefore know for a fact that this shop assistant was everything a shop owner would not want as the face of their store. She was discourteous, impolite and unhelpful. I walked in there feeling cheerful and lively but left feeling annoyed.

Not only was she unhelpful in the matter, but there was no manager to help either, and would only be in the shop at 3 PM. Would anyone consider this shop to be reputable in this context? I certainly don't.

With this, I request that the manager get back to me to assist in processing this refund.

Thank you, Millicent Victor