A Nobody Shops For Jammies

/ Ally Bean

A few doors down from Ulta, which I adore, is a Soma.  I was in Ulta and on a whim, being in a good mood, I walked over to Soma.

They sell bras + undies plus PJs. I thought that I might treat myself to some new pajamas.

I got the idea of indulging in new PJs after talking with some friends about how we adore cotton flannel jammies, the epitome of autumn/winter comfort and practicality.

Not to mention, flannel jammies are classic.

Timeless… or so you’d think.

# # #

# # #

I walked into Soma, intent on buying some PJs, but when I noticed lots of gorgeous bras + undies I thought to myself: “I think I’ll get some of these, too, while I’m in here. I deserve to upgrade my unmentionables.”

My mind was in a happy place, giddy with possibility.

Eventually one of the employees came over to wait on me. I asked her if they had any 100% cotton or mostly cotton PJs, summer or winter, I didn’t care which season.

With a dismissive laugh she told me that: “No, we don’t carry things like that. NOBODY WANTS COTTON PAJAMAS!”

[Considering that I was SOMEBODY standing in front of her this statement was factually incorrect. But out of the largesse of my heart I chose to not mention this lapse in logic to her.]

Ignoring her attitude I told her that my friends and I liked cotton flannel jammies, and suggested that: “I’m sure there are lots of woman who want 100% cotton pajamas. I think that my friends and I are the norm.”

Could be wrong, but kinda think I’m not.

# # #

# # #

She shrugged, indifferent to me, the NOBODY standing in front of her, and started to wander away from me. As she turned her back on me I told her: “Tell the corporate people that we want 100% cotton PJs. You got that?”

She just walked away from me, without a word.

No apology for not having what I, the customer nobody, wanted. No sympathy for what I was asking for. No suggestion of where I might go to buy what I wanted.

No indication that she cared in the least [because she didn’t].

Now you’d think I’d be mad about this, wouldn’t you, my gentle readers? But really, can you blame her for behaving this way?

After all, I was, quite obviously, a NOBODY.

52 thoughts on “A Nobody Shops For Jammies”

  1. The new movement: “Avoid Soma – just drive Home-a.” Boggles the mind that anyone would act that way, but here we are talking about it. Hope they fail miserably. And, my Dear Bean, you are indeed a grand, major, significant SOMEBODY!!

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    • Zen-Den, I like your catchphrase & the idea that I’m a SOMEBODY. 🙂 I’m not much of a shopper, as you know, but I don’t think it’s unrealistic to assume that Soma would have a variety of women’s PJs… considering that’s half of what they sell.

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  2. I get my wife 100% cotton PJs from Target (she asks for them). Never visited a Soma, but with that kind of attitude from the sales people, I doubt I would make it past the first visit. It helps that I don’t buy those things for my wife either, some things are better left for her to shop for 🙂

    The arrogance of some people to treat others as “nobody’s”…. She obviously thinks of herself as a nobody, otherwise, she would treat others differently.

    Liked by 1 person

    • w1nt3l, I’ll look in Target. Thanks for the tip. I only went into Soma because it was nearby to Ulta, and I thought that it might save me a trip elsewhere. I was wrong.

      I never thought about how if someone thinks he or she is a nobody, they’ll treat other people the same way. Good insight.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. I like cotton everything ~ much more comfy than itchy lace. I sleep in cotton t-shirts. If I lived where it was cold, I would want cotton flannel pj’s.

    I will not add that sales minion to my Christmas Card list.

    Liked by 1 person

    • nancy, you’re saying exactly what my friends and I say about cotton’s extraordinary comfort. We don’t want our sleepwear made from some drape-y slippery itchy fabric. Considering that I was a potential first-time customer in Soma, laughing at my basic request was, shall we say, off-putting.

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    • lorriedeck, thanks for my laugh of the day! You and me both, darling– I’d slide off the bed, too. There are lots of women out here with money to spend on 100% cotton pajamas, so why doesn’t Soma have them?! That’s the real question, forget about the rude sales clerk. She’s a whole different problem.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Did you buy the bras and underwear? If not, you could have asked to see the manager and told her that they just lost a good paying CUSTOMER because of the attitude in the store. Probably won’t make them add cotton PJs to the inventory but it might get that salesperson into a training class. I’m afraid I’m not the cotton PJs kind. I love a good slinky nightie. (Does that make me a somebody?) Side note: My daughter worked at Ulta for several years and never treated anybody like a nobody. I raised her better than that!

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  6. Ugh, all the best people like cotton pajamas. Cotton is comfort. Cotton is everything. Cotton is life. Cotton sheets, cotton quilts, cotton pajamas. Breathable cotton is where it’s at.
    Summer jammies Cotton Mayfair from VS and winter flannel jammies from LLBean or Land’s End.
    This nobody lives in cotton.

    I hope you went somewhere else for your unmentionables.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Drat…. that would have been the perfect response to the lady that came in five years ago wondering where the Bon Ami cleanser was (We’d never carried it before, and I hadn’t even heard of it)…

    “HA! Nobody uses Bon Ami cleanser anymore! Sheesh, lady! Here, try some Comet!”

    I am so glad we are closed during the majority of my shift….

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    • evilsquirrel13, Bon Ami cleanser is an old-time one. I love the stuff, but wouldn’t think to ask for it in a big box retail store like yours. It’s more of a specialty thing, which I find at Sur La Table. But to your point, yes it’s good that you and the paying public are kept apart as much as possible. 😉

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  8. That reminds me of a former NYC model who is a Facebook friend…she’s retired from modeling and is now a content writer/blogger, which is how I know her. She posted that a coworker brought around T-shirts with the company logo for everyone to wear and she was HORRIFIED. NOBODY with fashion sense wears T-shirts, she said. (Yes, you can imagine my eye roll!) She also once posted that NOBODY in NYC would be caught dead in yoga pants unless they were on their way to/back from yoga class. I doubt very seriously that’s the reality outside of her circle of friends. She had to go to the ER over the weekend because she fainted due to malnutrition. Yep. Most of us get to a place in our lives where we’re beyond how we look…we just want to be happy, healthy, and comfortable. For the shallow 20-something set, though, there will always be places like Soma!

    Stephanie
    http://stephie5741.blogspot.com

    Liked by 1 person

    • Stephanie, what a story! I cannot imagine being trapped inside a mind that lives for external validation to the degree that your model friend does. Malnutrition? She doesn’t know how to feed herself properly, but is absolutely certain about what not to wear. Kind of sad, kind of funny.

      And yes, no Soma for me, in the future there will be.

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    • bobcabkings, I can be a unicorn, preferably one in cotton flannel jammies! Did Thurber ever explore that idea? Seems like the time has come to do so: goats in jammies, unicorns in jammies– it’s a brave new world. 😉

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Wow. Where did she get her sales training?

    I vastly prefer cotton for pajamas. As a matter of fact, I reclaim all my husband’s old cotton tee shirts when they get a hole in them. They are my exclusive jammies, period.

    If I were you, I’d write a little note to the company, describing your experience at that store and how you felt, especially if it was your first impression of the store/brand. In this age of social media, they really don’t want this kind of exposure. They’ll want to Make It Right.

    Liked by 1 person

    • nance, I wondered the same thing about her training. I used to hire and train sales associates so I have a pretty good idea of how a sales clerk is supposed to act. And I’m overly tolerant of mistakes, but this woman did. not. care.

      I thought about contacting the company, but decided I had no interest in giving them a second chance. If someone from Soma reads this post and wishes to contact me, so be it. But if a major upscale women’s lingerie and pajama store doesn’t have the sense to sell 100% cotton PJs, I’m not sure what we’d talk about.

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  12. Never heard of Soma but I just found out there is one near me. I will be stopping at that store next time I am near it and will ask for 100% cotton pajamas. I want to find out if that clerk’s response is part of Soma’s store culture or just her own bit of retail snobbery.

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    • Colleen, that’s a brilliant idea. I’ve only been in this one Soma location which is in a lifestyle center. It’s a pleasant shopping center, with lots of retail stores, filled with pleasant sales help. Or at least, most of the time.

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    • Akilah, “the touch, the feel of cotton…” Apparently this whole company doesn’t know about the fabric of our lives. I like your idea about black cotton undies, would be useful.

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  14. Flannel pjs are the BOMB! However, they are becoming difficult to find. I also love soft, and warm cotton. I have to remind myself that I am 60, and very into comfort and not sexy nightwear. 😉

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    • Margaret, exactly! Flannel jammies are what all my friends are looking for this time of year. If Soma doesn’t want to carry them year round, that’s ok. But I don’t think its out of line for me to expect this store to have some in the fall and winter. *humph*

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  15. I too wear only cotton PJ’s – that woman’s response is dreadful – think she’d ever cotton on to her quick loss of a customer? I don’t think so. Love the little lambs in their stylish gear.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Susan, great line about “cottoning on.” I haven’t heard that turn of phrase in years! In answer to your question, I doubt that this sales clerk is aware of much beyond her own self, as some people are.

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  17. Wow that was crappy! We have 2 Soma stores locally. I buy bras there because they carry a very wide range of sizes (and I’m a very weird size). I’ve never experienced that kind of attitude. I’m surprised because cotton is very popular as a “natural” fabric. I wear jersey knit nightgowns and I don’t know if they are made from cotton or not. It’s a very judgmental comment to make as a sales clerk. You’d think she’d try to talk you into another sale rather than say you’re out of touch.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Kate, you said it! I was surprised because it’s an upscale store and because it’s in a lifestyle center that is usually staffed with pleasant people. lt was a weird unexpected experience that struck me as odd in so. many. ways. Go figure, huh?

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    • Zazamataz, I dunno what was really going on in that store on that particular day with that woman, but I won’t be back to investigate further. It’s not too much to ask for cotton flannel jammies in the fall to be available in a store that sells PJs. Really. Not too much.

      Liked by 1 person

      • You know, I always try to consider that maybe someone is just having a bad day or something, but sometimes maybe that person is just a rude little twit. Who knows?

        If you’re still looking for flannel pjs, check out the Company Store’s website. They have terrific flannel.

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