A woman was left in floods of tears after a personal shopper 'fat shamed' her at a department store in Manchester. Ronnie, 44, had excitedly booked in for a wardrobe revamp for her birthday at House of Fraser on Deansgate but was left 'humiliated' after being contacted the day before to be told they couldn't take her due to her size.
An email sent to the 44-year-old informed Ronnie that they were having to postpone her appointment as they didn't have any clothing in stock beyond a size 14, telling her that she would probably leave feeling 'empty handed'. Ronnie, who wears a UK size 18, said the email made her feel embarrassed about her body and that the response from the store had 'completely ruined' her special day, Manchester Evening News reports.
The personal shopper said in the email: "I need to start by apologising for the short notice, but I think it's best if we postpone your appointment for a wardrobe refresh, until we have a better selection of stock to shop. From your responses I can see that you are looking for pieces in the fuller figure size range, and sadly in store, we currently have little or no stock beyond a size 14.
"It would be of little benefit to you to go through the process at the moment, because you would probably go home empty handed!" Ronnie, who had dedicated two hours of her birthday to attend the style appointment with her partner, slammed the personal shopper for the ''unprofessional'' email and said she's been left ''disappointed'' and ''upset''.
"I was in floods of tears yesterday when I received that email," she said. "It completely ruined my birthday as I had planned my whole day round that experience.
"The email just left me feeling fat shamed. I think it's shocking that a shop that size doesn't cater for women with a broad range of body shapes."
Ronnie, who said she had fallen out of touch with current trends, was looking forward to a full wardrobe refresh and said she had booked the appointment for a confidence boost. House of Fraser claims to offer a unique, tailored service where an experienced team of stylists will 'help find the perfect outfit for a special event or to build an entire new-season wardrobe' on their website.
After she issued a complaint about the unsatisfactory response she had received, Ronnie said the manager sent her an apologetic email and offered her free coffee and cake. "They said they had been ordering stuff in bigger sizes but that they are just not arriving, but I thought they could have at least given me notice," she said.
"I just don't want anyone else to experience what I have. Nobody should be made to feel the way I was, especially on my birthday. I definitely won't be going back there.
"The humiliation was the main thing for me. I just don't think it's fair. The average woman's size is between 16 and 18 so if they can't cater for that something is seriously wrong."
The Fraser Group have been approached for comment.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
