SYMSsational Bargain Clothing Shopping Experience

When was the last time you felt warm and fuzzy while bargain hunting?

SYMS at 42 Trinity Place in New York densely packs in a huge selection mens, womens, and children’s clothing in well organized racks at fantastic prices. On some items they have those timed mark downs you just don’t see often, that I first experienced at Filene’s many years ago.

Why the Warm Fuzzies?

• 100% of the staff was friendly. Perhaps this is because they’re called “in-store educators.”

• Every so often on the P.A. system, the owners make a warm announcement such as:  “The best customer is an educated customer!”  It made me feel good to be there. This slogan appears on the bags as well.

  After learning they have stores in several states, I’m almost embarrassed that I’d asked an “educator” if  the owners were making those announcements live, as if it were a mom and pop store. Oops. But good for them.

• They also provide tips as you shop such as: “Did you know the price tags are color coded by size?” That idea right there is great. If others stores do this, I’m not aware of it.

On their website you can fill out a survey about your in-store experience and they encourage you to give additional feedback. Of course the bottomline is they paid off: I found great things at excellent prices.

In comparison, we found our old haunt, Century 21, a crazy crowded madhouse with mostly ephemeral  fashions.

Both stores – as with most retailers – have a long way to go in dressing room lighting. But for now I’ll call that the saving grace for limiting my purchases.