Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Dreamcandy]

Namdaemun Market is certainly a busy area with a lot of things to see and so many things to buy for your family and friends and of course, yourself.

Perhaps many of you have seen this large building, near Shinsaegae Department Store, called MESA. According to their website:

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SH/SH_EN_7_2.jsp?cid=273754

it was the first shopping mall built in Namdaemun. It's your typical shopping center that sells clothes, shoes, and there's a small food court on the 8th floor.

My mom and I have gone here countless times to shop and peruse the stores for their wares. There is one particular store, however, that I'd advise you to not go unless you want to be shoved, sworn at, and yelled at by the shop owners.

This is my story that I'd like to share with you in hopes you could spread the word that these women who own this particular "stall" are very unfriendly and they take no responsibility for selling poorly made clothes.

Last week, my mom and I shopped at this particular store, stall number 1086 on the 1st floor, and I bought my mom a blouse. My mom wore it gently once, washed it by hand because she thought it was dirty, and found the fabric started to fray at the cuffs and there was a hole near the collar. We went back a couple days ago to show them what happened to the blouse, hoping they could exchange it for a new blouse with the manufactorer.

At the time, the owner who sold us the blouse was not there but her daughter was. My mom showed this young woman the blouse and the areas that were falling apart. At first, she didn't believe we bought it there and so she called her mother and soon enough, the owner came with her toddler grandson. The owner recognized us and confirmed that it was a blouse she sold. When my mom showed the owner the state of the blouse, both of the women told us there was nothing that could be done, especially since my mom had already worn it.

However, they did say that if we wanted to get it mended, we could leave it with them but we'd have to pay for all the costs. This, of course, was unreasonable and did not sit well with my mom. When my mother had asked how this was fair, especially since it hasn't even been a week since she bought this blouse, the conversation started to get heated.

It got to a point where these women started to raise their voices, telling us that there was nothing they could do. When we asked them if they could contact the manufacturer and ask for an exchange, the daughter grabbed my mom's blouse, crumpled it up into a ball and shoved it at her, telling her to get out. (By the way, my mom is 67 years old). My mom was clearly upset and asked why they were pushing and raising their voices at a customer. The owner responded in Korean with:

"Because you're being f-ing rude."

In the heat of this shoving and shouting war, both owner and daughter had forgotten their toddler grandson, who was crying in the stall, confused at what was going on. (Great role models, huh? I hope he never runs for president...)

I tried to get a picture/video of the commotion, in hopes we could file a formal complaint with customer service and so it wouldn't come down to a he said/she said ordeal but alas, the daughter snatched my phone out of my hand and wouldn't give it back. After I told her repeatedly to give my phone back, she finally did and shoved me a few times, telling me to get out.

Not surprisingly, we had an audience and I could hear these middle-aged women whispering about how unbelievable it was that these shop owners were shoving, swearing, and yelling at us, their customers.

I did manage to take a picture of the stall and so my mom and I went hunting for the customer service center. Luck was not on our side because the office had already closed for the day.

We were given some great advice by friends and family on what we should do and who we should call.

Despite the fact that I'm in my parents' home country, I'm still a foreigner and feel very much like a foreigner. I think writing on this site and telling my story is at least one thing I could do. It's easy to get over being shoved and sworn at... but I'm sure you can agree that if your mom received the same treatment, it'll make you wish your parents made you take Taekwondo instead of piano lessons.

In any case, thanks for reading and if you want to shop at a place where you can buy poorly made clothes for a high price AND be sworn and shoved at when you inquire about what you bought, go to stall number 1086 in MESA shopping mall in Namdaemun. These women will not disappoint.

[CentralCali]

The second they stole your phone, you had a wonderful case if one of you stayed there and the other ran for the police. Now, you've got nothing and this thread's probably going to be deleted or the identifying information of the culprits (the shop) will be removed.

[atwood]

The shop owners have no excuse for treating you so rudely. No excuse at all.

But there is a reason why the goods in the markets are so cheap. I would have never tried to return the blouse, chalking it up to experience and would have just avoided that shop in the future.

[Dodge7]

The quality of clothing you purchased seems par for the course from that place. All the times I've been there the pants button would snap off after a few month, they would tear, the T-shirts would instantly fray as well as other "nicer" looking shirts.
Shoes aren't much better. I had the soles of one pair peeling off after 3-4 months.
I take clothes from those kind of shopping malls for what they are: cheap, and meant to last you a season or two. No longer.
As for the owners. They should be embarrassed, but really there isn't much you can do.
Let it be a lesson learned. Unfortunately you don't have any evidence, so it's your word against theirs.

Just don't go there anymore.

[Steelrails]

Shopping in street areas with bootleg clothing is like downloading random stuff off the internet and visiting shady porn sites. Don't expect things to be on the up-and-up.

[Zulethe]

[madoka]

First, they should not have treated you that way.

With that said, people don't shop at those small stalls and expect spectacular service. Lots of places have a policy of if you wear it and/or wash it, then no refunds. That's the normal policy at most clothing and department stores, such as Macys. Here is the return policy from the Gap:

"Return Policy

We will accept returns of unwashed, unworn or defective merchandise at any U.S. store location within 30 days of original purchase date. We will no longer accept returns of washed or worn merchandise."

In my experience, only the high-end shops are willing to take the financial hit of refunding items in the name of customer service. So while you could perhaps return a worn $2,000 Hermes blouse with defects, you'd probably never get a no name Korean stall to do the same on a $40 one.

It's a family-run small stall and they had their child with them. That right there should indicate that these people are barely scrapping by. You should probably have left it as a lesson in you get what you paid for and moved on.

[atwood]

[madoka]

[young_clinton]

At this point it's obvious you're going to have to just forget about it, except don't forget to avoid Namdamun unless you really see something that looks great and you are willing to wear it once.

Anybody who has spent a significant time in Thailand knows how you feel: engraged. I was shopping for a pair of nice pants and was pulled over to a special selection by the clerk. I couldn't even wear the pants for one day, they fell apart while I was wearing them. The shirt they sold me however was quite nice, even though it fit a little bit funny. Console yourself in the fact that it happens much less in Korea. You are in a much nicer place.

[dairyairy]

So don't buy clothes there. Thank you for telling us what can happen. I know I will avoid that shopping plaza.

[atwood]

[Patrick Bateman]

[madoka]

[madoka]