SAUDI Arabia may be one of the best places in the world for shopping. New malls are opening in almost every neighborhood. Designers‚ haute couture and famous brands of clothing are easily found. And best of all, the prices are reasonable. They seem to suit different customers and different pockets. Yet, most shoppers complain of one problem and the same problem: the absence of fitting rooms in clothing shops.
Since the sales clerks are all male, shops are not permitted to have their own fitting rooms. Many malls and shopping centers have tried to solve the problem by building fitting rooms near the women’s bathrooms. This, however, creates inconvenience for both shoppers and sales staff.
When women want to try on clothes, they have to carry the clothes to the floor where the fitting rooms are. If they want a different size or color, they will have to go through the hassle of returning to the shop, changing what needs to be changed and then going back to the fitting room.
In Al-Mossa Shopping Center in Riyadh, bathrooms and fitting rooms are all located in the basement near the underground parking. Not many women feel safe going down there. Those who do are shocked by the horrible state of the rooms: dirty, smelly bathrooms, water on the floor and two other small narrow rooms used by women to try on clothes.
In Sahara Mall, the fitting rooms are also located inside the women’s bathrooms and they are cleaner. In Al-Nasser Mall, opened only a few months ago, only one fitting room was built. The room is spacious and clean but it is located in the family food court area. In Al-Faisalya Mall, now Riyadh’s hottest spot, the management takes good care of the fitting rooms. The rooms are located on the third floor in a separate area near the women’s bathrooms. Still, in a mall that expects hundreds of shoppers everyday, four fitting rooms are never enough to accommodate the numbers. The rooms are often so crowded that women have to stand in queues waiting for their turn. Some women choose to go to the women’s prayer room, close the door and try the clothes on.
Whatever the situation, fitting rooms are a convenient solution for women who can’t make up their minds about an item of clothing without trying it on. At the same time, this has certainly caused difficulties for shop clerks.
Before these rooms were available, customers used to buy the item and try it on at home. If the item did not fit, most shops allowed exchanges within a certain fixed time limit. Other shops would even give a cash refund. But now, some shoppers insist on depositing some money and taking the clothes, claiming to be going to the fitting room. And then they are never seen again. A clerk in one shop recalls an incident that cost him a big deduction in his salary. “A woman once came looking for a night gown. She asked if she could try it on before buying it. I reluctantly asked her to deposit some money but she refused. Instead she offered to give me her ATM card. I waited for her but she never came back. Apparently, the card did not even belong to her. The owner of the shop deducted the price of the garment from my salary.”
A clerk in another shop recalled an incident in which a woman paid the full price of a skirt she wanted. She asked, however, for a bigger size to see which one fit better. Neither was returned.
One salesclerk at “Zara” said that their stores require full payment for clothes taken out of the shop even if for trial. “Our policy allows the customer 30 days in which to exchange garments. Cash refunds are also given but within four days only.”
What most women in the Kingdom hope for is that shops will build their own fitting rooms on their own premises. Or at least build them in more than one area in the malls. What is left is only approval from the authorities.
