新奇事件簿 商场出台政策应对欺骗性退款

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 refund¹. About 65 per cent of U.S. retailers³ reported they have been victims of this practice, known as "wardrobing". This form of "return fraud" costs the retail² 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 rental⁴" might have to think again. The tag means they would be advertising⁵ the fact at their party that they are wardrobing.

美国一家高级连锁商场采取行动制止人们购买昂贵的衣服穿过一次之后再退货退款的行为。大约65%的美国零售商报道他们是这种行为的受害者，这种行为叫做wardrobing。这种“退款欺诈”行为导致整个零售行业每年大约88亿美元的损失。布鲁明戴尔百货店开始在服装的底部挂上大大的，黑色的，难以隐藏的标签，成本超过150美元。如果标签丢失，服装就不能再退。这意味着那些想要享受“免费服装租赁”的人要三思了。那么显眼的标签意味着他们将自己wardrobing的事实广而告之。

Retail analyst⁶ 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 decided⁷ to risk annoying and potentially losing customers in an effort to deter⁸ 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 overdue⁹ solution to unscrupulous shoppers. The National Retail Federation¹⁰ said: "It's a delicate balance of loss prevention and good customer service, and the relationship has to be handled with appropriate finesse¹¹."

零售分析家Hitha Prabhakar解释了wardrobing的严重性，“人们没有意识到的是，这是非法的过程。”wardrobing已经发展为非常严重的问题，以至于布鲁明戴尔百货店为了抵制这种行为不惜激怒甚至损失一些顾客。实际上，他们甚至有点放松了“顾客永远是正确的”销售口号。布鲁明戴尔百货店一些顾客认为这些标签让他们觉得不诚实，而其他人认为早应采取措施对付没有节操的顾客的。零售业联合会表示：“预防损失的措施和优质的客户服务之间需要取得精妙的平衡，必须以适当的技巧来处理这种关系。”

1 refund   

v.退还，偿还；n.归还，偿还额，退款

参考例句：

• They demand a refund on unsatisfactory goods.他们对不满意的货品要求退款。
• We'll refund your money if you aren't satisfied.你若不满意，我们愿意退款给你。

2 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

3 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

4 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

5 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

9 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

10 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

11 finesse   

n.精密技巧，灵巧，手腕

参考例句：

• It was a disappointing performance which lacked finesse.那场演出缺乏技巧，令人失望。
• Lillian Hellman's plays are marked by insight and finesse.莉莲.赫尔曼的巨作以富有洞察力和写作技巧著称。