I blogged on Tuesday about my experience dealing with Lane Bryant Customer Service over my anger that their new high-end runway-inspired line was only going to size 24 – especially when LB typically goes to 26/28. You can read the entire blog here. The gist is that they thank me for taking the time to contact them repeatedly and also say:
- “I do apologize, at the current time the size availability for the Lane Collection are not intended to change” Sheri A.
- “Please know that we received word that, at this time, there are no plans to offer the 26/28 option for this particular line, I sincerely apologize.” Shawn C
When I repeatedly asked for an explanation I was told that “Unfortunately, the reasoning was not included in the response we received and are unable to determine why this merchandise is not offered.”
Finally I was told “Please know that the decision is subject the change at any time and that your comments have been forwarded to our Merchandising department.”
So I sent this message:
Hi Shawn,
It’s unfortunate that you can’t get your own company to answer your questions on behalf of your customers. Just wanted to let you know that I blogged about this today to my 5,680 subscribers. In less than 24 hours there are over 106 comments, most of which are offering suggestions for how to avoid shopping at Lane Bryant. I could not be more disappointed in Lane Bryant as a company or more happy to have so many options to avoid spending money with you.
http://danceswithfat.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/lane-bryant-letdown/
~Ragen
Today I received an e-mail from Lou-Ann Bett, Chief Merchandising Officer at Lane Bryant. It said
Hi Ragen,
Your blog dated November 27, 2012 regarding the sizing of the new Lane Collection was brought to my attention today and I would like to share with you some exciting news. Starting in Spring 2013, the Lane Collection will be offered in size 26/28!
In our excitement to deliver the collection before Christmas, we were unable to perfect the fit of all of our traditional sizes and thus could not execute the 26/28 in time. Perhaps we should have waited, but I assure you we remain committed to serving all of our customers and look forward to showcasing our spring and summer Collections for 2013 up to sizes 26 and 28.
I sincerely apologize for any miscommunication we may have provided and hope that you will take the opportunity to try the exciting new pieces we’ll be offering and sharing this news with your blogging community and readers. And, if you are ever in Columbus, we invite you to contact us, so we could meet you in person and show you some of our new collections.
Sincerely,
Lou Ann Bett
SVP, Chief Merchandising Officer
Victory! Butt shaking happy victory dance!
Was this really the plan all along? Who knows. It’s the plan now and that’s what is important to me. I know that a lot of you sent e-mails to Lane Bryant and left the comments that I was able to forward to them and this victory is yours – thank you so much for rocking so hard. Now, I know as soon as I publish this, someone will point out that there are still problems with LB – that they aren’t perfect. There are, and they aren’t – but “never enough” activism is just not my style. One thing that helps me is to celebrate the victories big and small. This work can be difficult and unforgiving and sometimes it can feel like we’re Sisyphus pushing the rock up the hill. But our hard work is paying off. We are gaining ground. We deserve to celebrate the battles that we win even as we keep fighting the war. Activism works, and butt shaking happy dances are sometimes their own reward.
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I do size acceptance activism full time. A lot what I do, like answering over 4,000 e-mails from readers each month, giving talks to groups who can’t afford to pay, and running projects like the Georgia Billboard Campaign etc. is unpaid, so I created a membership program so that people who read the blog and feel they get value out of it and want to support the work I do can become members for ten bucks a month To make that even cooler, I’ve now added a component called “DancesWithFat Deals” which are special deals to my members from size positive merchants. Once you are a member I send out an e-mail once a month with the various deals and how to redeem them – your contact info always stays completely private.
Speaking Schedule 2013 – I am now working on my speaking schedule for next year. If you would like me to give a talk at your university, job/company, or organization just e-mail me at ragen at danceswithfat dot org and we’ll talk about the options to make it work for your situation and budget.
