Chris wanted me to buy something via a handful of vendors to get some level of cash back in the last week, so the only vendor that seemed remotely interesting or useful to me was Uniqlo. I chose three pairs of pants, which are always a gamble at Uniqlo. The sizing for pants is always, always inconsistent here for me. It could be the exact same style of pants that say they are the same size, but because they are a different color, one pair will be three inches longer than the other pair, and hence will require a hem, while the original pair will be the perfect length. This has never made sense to me. In addition, pants that are two different styles but the same size will NOT have the same waist measurement, even though the “size” label claims they are the same size. We decided that instead of shipping to us that we’d do in-store pickup, so he chose the Hudson Yards location for me to retrieve the items.

I went there this afternoon, and after waiting in an annoyingly long line to try on the clothes to ensure they fit, the expected annoying “fit” issue happened: one pair of pants was the perfect length and fit; a second pair of pants of the same style as the first was about four inches too long, so I had to request a (free) hem. The third pair of pants were a complete disaster — way too big literally everywhere despite having the same size label as the first and second pair.

Uniqlo changed their return policy for online purchases during the pandemic: they do not usually allow for in-store returns on online purchases. But with a friendly plea, a manager gave me some grace and granted me a one-time exception, so I was able to do the return. But now, I still have to go back this weekend to pick up the pants I requested a hem on. And, I have $40 worth of store credit because I had a misunderstanding with Chris, and I thought he used his credit card to purchase, but he didn’t and actually used mine… so they wouldn’t give me a refund back to card and only gave me store credit. Now, I have to find SOMETHING that is at least $40 to buy when I go back to “get my money back. I also forgot to mention: I had to get into a line and wait at least 10 minutes about four separate times in this single visit. This was just yet another reminder to me why I hate shopping in store.