Isabelle King
Google
My friend and I visited the Skims store this past Tuesday in the afternoon. We were literally the only customers in the store. I already own two of their hoodies and just wanted to see if they had another color in stock.
We were greeted when we walked in, and I headed toward the back where the sweatshirts were. I touched a grey one just to check the style and realized it was a zip-up, which I didn’t want. So I moved a few feet over to look at another one in a different color and the style I was actually looking for.
While we were deciding, an employee from the dressing room area walked over, not to help, not to ask if we needed anything, but to silently inspect the first sweatshirt I barely touched. She checked the tag, the sleeves, even the one behind it that I never went near. It felt weird, but I tried to shake it off.
Then, less than a minute later, another employee came from across the store and started inspecting the same sweatshirt in the same way. The first one even told her, “I already checked it.” That’s when I walked out — leaving the sweatshirt behind, not because I wasn’t interested, but because I felt so uncomfortable.
The store was completely empty, yet somehow it felt like I wasn’t welcome to just… shop. The vibe was so off like I had done something wrong for browsing. I shouldn’t feel scrutinized or watched for simply looking at a sweatshirt.
The only pleasant part of the experience was the polite employees at the register who told us to have a good day as we left. But that small moment of kindness didn’t make up for how uncomfortable and unwelcome I felt in the store overall. I left feeling disappointed and I definitely won’t be rushing back.
