An Australian shopper was left furious by her experience in a well-known clothing store where she claims she was met by a staff member’s ‘disgraceful attitude’ when she asked for a dress in a larger size.
In a video posted to TikTok, Adelle Petropoulos said she was trying on dresses at a Kookai store and had an unpleasant exchange with a ‘disrespectful’ assistant when asking for a dress above a size 10.
The hair and makeup artist’s video blew up online prompting Kookai to respond to the allegations and ‘investigate’ the ‘disappointing and disheartening’ incident.
While Adelle said that while she thinks limited size ranges and some attitudes towards customers who wear above a size 10 is ‘a massive problem’, she doesn’t wish for this team member to lose their job.
Melbourne shopper Adelle Petropoulos (pictured) claims a retail worker from popular clothing store Kookai had an ‘extremely disgraceful attitude’ when she asked for a dress in a larger size
Adelle said although she hadn’t been in a Kookai store in about three years, she ‘went in on a whim’ during a shopping trip because she spotted some ‘cute’ clothes inside.
She said she is comfortable in her body and typically wears an Australian size eight on the top and a 12 on the bottom.
‘I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m skinny, I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m on the larger side, I’m sort of mid tier. Now when I tell you nothing in this store fit me, it’s not a word of a lie,’ Adelle said.
She was trying on dresses when she asked the retail assistant if they had one of the garments in a larger size.
‘She looked me up and down and literally said, ‘Doll, we don’t stock any larger sizes’,’ Adelle said.
‘Now in hindsight I should have roasted her right then and there but I wasn’t about to tear into the retail assistant because of her poor attitude so I asked for her manager.’
Adele said the change room assistant ‘looked her up and down’ when she requested for a dress in a bigger size and asked to speak to the manager who suggested stores for ‘larger girls’
Adelle claims the manager listed some stores ‘that stock larger sizes for larger girls’.
‘I prefaced by saying I understand the sizing issue you can’t do anything about, it is a company thing, I get that,’ she said.
‘What you can control is your staff member’s attitude to larger women who don’t fit into your size category.’
She said she told the manager she thought the change room assistant’s attitude was ‘extremely disgraceful’ but they continued to suggest alternative stores.
Adelle’s video quickly went viral prompting a Kookai spokesperson to reach out via Instagram. They said they were ‘really disappointed’ to hear about her experience, are ‘looking into it’
‘I said clothes are meant to fit us, we are not meant to fit clothes and once you have staff that understand that concept and respect everyone around them, absolutely not is it ok for you to be hiring people like this,’ Adelle said.
In a follow-up video, the TikToker revealed she had received a message on Instagram from a Kookai spokesperson.
They said they were ‘really disappointed’ to hear about her experience, are ‘looking into it further’ and asked for some details to ‘investigate’.
‘Our customers’ experience in-store is incredibly important to us and it’s disheartening to hear about your visit and interaction with our staff,’ the message read.
‘We would like to apologise to you and let you know we will look into this further.’
However Adelle chose not to respond saying she doesn’t want to ‘tear other women down’ or for any of the workers to lose their jobs.
‘Me being me a little bit angry by the situation, seeing everyone’s comments with people experiencing the same thing, I was furiously typing away. I did delete the message and I didn’t send it,’ she said.
‘No matter how I am treated, because I know I’m really strong and I am not insecure about how I look that I will stand my ground but I will never ever ever think of abusing another person’s right to work, especially another women’s right to work.’
Adelle hopes her experience will prompt stores to think about each customers’ shopping experience ‘from the very moment they enter the door to the very moment that they leave’.
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Kookai for comment.
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