This one is for you. Thank you for bringing our community so many beautiful options to clothe our kids and ourselves for Yom Tov.

Without even discussing the price tags (which are already above the means of the average local family), I want to bring up something that has been upsetting from year to year (not exclusive to Yom Tov, but it definitely stings when it happens during this time).

Especially before Pesach, as you are well aware, most mothers are busy trying to catch their tails as they deal with cleaning and cooking, shopping, and errands as the clock ticks closer to Pesach.

It’s an impossible situation, and traffic in town, alongside the lack of parking availability, makes heading to the store (especially with kids) a dreadful and heart-stopping experience.

Oftentimes, there is simply no time at all to do proper shopping. And when you do get to the store, the mob scene, with thousands of families trying to compete for salesladies and dressing rooms (not to mention the lines at the registers), makes most mothers want to escape before they even start.

But then comes the problem. You find some “maybe it will work” options to try, the dressing rooms are full, the kids just want to watch Uncle Moishy or Twins from France, and the baby is crying. You’re waiting for the right sizes to be brought, you’re not managing to get the kids to stand still while they try things on, and your other kids are not with you, so you need to guess their sizes.

Simply put, you can either walk out with nothing or try what you have and hope it fits. But when you get home, it doesn’t fit.

The same goes for the two or three dresses you grabbed for yourself that you didn’t have time to try on because the kids were calling from home that they needed you urgently.

Shopping at a department store would make this crazy scenario a bit more manageable, because you can return items and get your (almost non-existent) money back, often with a decent grace period as well.

But for some reason, our stores make it so difficult to return and exchange. I have lost several hundred dollars to stores because I simply could not make it back that day, and in some cases, even the next day.

One year, I finally emerged from the house a day or two before Pesach to get something to wear for myself. The dresses I tried on quickly seemed to fit, but when I got home, I realized that they were not fitting tznius standards. They were not cheap, to say the least. I thought I’d return them the next day, but I missed the few hours they were open, and then I was stuck until after Pesach. When I tried to at least return or exchange them after Pesach, they said no. There was apparently a sign at the counter that said no returns after Pesach, so I had to swallow the loss of several hundred dollars.

I dread going to that store ever again.

So, my dear store owners, I understand that you need to protect yourselves.

But let me speak to you as a human, not as a business. Can you hear us customers as humans and not just business transactions? As hard-working mothers with such a tight, difficult balancing act, and pockets that aren’t endlessly filled with dollar bills?

Can you try to be more accommodating and understanding, with fair policies and not rigid, textbook answers relaying, “Too bad, your loss, we have your money now, and that’s all we care about”?

Thanks for listening. I know you’re not changing, but maybe a seed will be planted… maybe someday.

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