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Back before we knew our new baby was going to be a boy, Krissy gave me a TON of baby girl clothes her (adorable) twin girls had outgrown. I was so grateful and excited about it, too. I think the main attraction of having a little baby girl, to me, is that there are a whole lot more cute girl clothes.

But of course, it was not meant to be. So I decided to take the clothes to a store called Once Upon a Child to see if they'd buy any of them from me. Once they buy them, one gets cash or (10% more) store credit. I'd done this with Caleb's stuff at the Tacoma store and it is a great option for getting cute like-new clothes for a fraction of the regular retail prices of the mall. (I can't shop at regular stores anymore without experiencing sticker shock!)

So I went to the nearby Once Upon A Child and experienced some of the most rudeness I have ever experienced in a retail store. Here's what happened:

I arrived at the store and hauled a VERY HEAVY laundry basket of clothes out of the car. A gentleman exiting the store held the door for me and noticed I'd dropped something on the sidewalk. I stopped so he could pick it up and put in back in the basket. Side note: Thank goodness for the gentlemen left in the world. Anyway, I walk into the store at 5:59pm. I know they stop buying at 6pm. I waddle up to the counter and say in my nicest, most apologetic voice, "I know I'm cutting it close, but is there any way you could look at my stuff?"

There are two women behind the counter. The one who appears to be in charge looks at me and says, very curtly, "Actually, no. I'm not taking anything else."

Ok. I get that I'm there at the last minute. But in my experience as a sales associate in two separate clothing retail store (and I'm sure any store!), you treat the customer with courtesy because if they're not happy, they're not going to do business with you. (Read on!)

Had it been me, I would have said something like, "Gee, I'm really sorry, but we can't take anything else today." Or, "Well, no, but you could come earlier tomorrow."

Right at this moment is when I lose my grip on the VERY HEAVY basket I'm carrying. The thing tumbles to the floor and lands sideways, spilling about half of its contents. Nevermind that I'm very obviously pregnant (I look "ready to pop" according to some people), have a small child with me, and I'm right in front of the opening where the clerks go behind the counter. They stand there and watch me pick it up (I assume they watch, I don't look at them, but there is no way they don't realize what's going on). This takes at least two minutes, which seems like an eternity when I know they're just standing there doing nothing. It would have taken longer if my three year old son didn't have 10 times the manners of those "ladies". HE helped me put the clothes back in the basket! (I love this boy!)

I am soooo angry when I get outside. With much difficulty I put the basket into the back of the car. (Bryan had put it there for me at the house.) I get Caleb in his car seat, I buckle myself in, and proceed to start crying. Why?! I guess it was the disappointment of having to do all that work for nothing on top of how rude I think they were.

Back to Caleb for a second, he hears my voice change and asks me in his sweet little voice, "You tired, Mama?"

I say, "No, I'm not."

He is trying to figure out what's going on here; I'm avoiding looking at him thinking this will be better (probably wasn't) . He figures out I am crying, since I'm no actress. He asks me, "Why you sad, Mama?"

What do I tell him? He knows I'm crying, I can't tell him that I'm not sad. So I say, "Oh, those ladies were not nice. They didn't have manners, and it made me sad." I'm not saying this was the best choice of words, but at the time, they were the best I could manage.

"You('re) ok, Mama. (It)'S ok."

This makes my heart grow and I wipe my tears. How can I not feel incredibly lucky to be loved and cared about by this tiny little boy? How can the (in my opinion) rude behavior of two strangers not pale completely in light of the grace of my flesh and blood? I feel blessed, and I thank Caleb. I tell him he's right, I'm ok, and off we go to get some dinner.

!!Retelling this makes me cry again, knowing the blessing this child is on my life!!

Anyway, when Bryan gets home I tell him what happened. He agrees with me that it was rude. He's not as outraged at their poor customer service as I am, but he's not the type to be outraged at much anyway. So I get online and start looking for other similar stores. They seem to be increasing in popularity, but most are still consignment shops. I don't really want to have to wait to see if the clothes will sell and then get some money for them, so I'm avoiding those. But what is this? Kid To Kid, grand opening July 20th, is buying now! Color me there. I shoot them an email saying I have stuff for them to check out and asking for an appointment.

I receive a call from Kid To Kid the very next day and get an appointment for today. The lady I spoke to was very polite on the phone. I was encouraged.

So today I load up the clothes again (this time in a Sterilite tote with a lid I tape on just in case) into the car and drive over there. There are three women working in the store, and one of them offers to go get the box for me from the car. (I love you!) I tell Caleb to hold my hand so we can show the lady to our car. She says he can stay in the store and play (they have a play area set aside for customers' kids). Ordinarily I wouldn't do this, but since the store was closed and we were parked just in front of the store, I agreed. (He happily went to play "cooking" with a tea set and a toy microwave.)

I have to say, this store is 10x better than the local Once Upon a Child. It is much more organized, which to me is very important, and they have a lot more "gear" than OUC. They also carry a small selection of maternity clothes, which OUC does not have. Already the customer service is 100% better. I don't know about the clothes I brought with me, but I'm sold! After they sorted through what I brought (they have to be very picky), they offered me $90 in store credit and I took it. I could have gotten cash (20% less) but I know I could spend that $90 with ease in that store. I already have a double umbrella stroller in mind. Too bad I have to wait until the grand opening.

So, I'm not saying Once Upon a Child is a bad store. I had nothing but good experiences at the Tacoma store. But I will definitely not be recommending the local store to anybody I know or meet, and I will definitely be raving about Kid to Kid to anybody with a child!

The items they didn't buy, and a few winter-weight things I didn't even take in, I plan to hand off to my sister-in-law who just had a baby girl. I feel like I've benefited enough from Krissy's generosity and I can spread the wealth a little. :)