新奇事件簿 高档商店打击偷衣贼（在线收听）

An upmarket chain of U.S. department stores has taken action to stop people buying expensive clothes, wearing them once and then returning them for a refund. About 65 per cent of U.S. retailers reported they have been victims of this practice, known as "wardrobing". This form of "return fraud" costs the retail industry an estimated $8.8 billion a year. The store, Bloomingdale's, has started attaching large, black, hard-to-hide tags to the bottom of dresses that cost over $150. The garment cannot be returned if the tag is missing. This means anyone thinking they can have a "free dress rental" might have to think again. The tag means they would be advertising the fact at their party that they are wardrobing.

一家美国高档百货商店正在采取措施阻止人们购买昂贵服装，并将穿过的服装拿回退款。在美国，有大约65%的零售商店称他们成为了此行为的受害者，而这种行为也叫做“偷衣贼”。据预测，每年因退款而给零售产业造成的损失达到了88亿美元。布鲁明戴尔商店已经开始在价格超过150美金的衣服底部贴上了不容易隐藏的黑色大标签。如果顾客遗失了标签，那么衣服是不能退款的。这就意味着那些有“免费服装租赁”的顾客要三思而行了。在派对上，这种标签就意味着宣布他们是“偷衣贼”。

Retail analyst Hitha Prabhakar explained how serious wardrobing was, saying: "What people don't realize is that it's an illegal process." Wardrobing has become such a problem that Bloomingdale's has decided to risk annoying and potentially losing customers in an effort to deter it. They have, in effect, let go a little of the sales mantra that "the customer is always right". Some Bloomingdale's customers believe the tags make them feel dishonest, while others think it's a long overdue solution to unscrupulous shoppers. The National Retail Federation said: "It's a delicate balance of loss prevention and good customer service, and the relationship has to be handled with appropriate finesse."

零售行业分析师普拉巴卡尔讲述了“偷衣贼”问题的严重性，他认为：“人们没有意识到的问题是，这是一种违法行为。”“偷衣贼”问题已经让布鲁明戴尔决定以损失顾客为代价来阻止这种行为的发生。事实上，他们已经不再认为“顾客都是对的”这种魔咒。许多布鲁明戴尔的顾客认为标签让他们感觉他们是不诚实的，还有人认为对那些肆无忌惮的顾客所采取的措施似乎有些过头。美国零售联盟称：“在阻止顾客流失和优质的顾客服务之间存在着微妙的关系，而我们需要用巧妙的方式来解决两者之间的关系。”