The Bay

Went into the shoe department today at lunch and saw a pair of Steve Madden boots I wanted to try on. I could see 2 store employees working in the shoe department but neither were helping customers. I had to go over and ask one gal if I could try the boots in my size and she didn’t seem impressed. She said her coworker at the desk would have to help me as she was busy. She took the display boot to the desk and I have no idea what she or her male coworker were doing but the boot stayed on the counter and neither of them seemed to want to help me. I was fully intent on buying them if the fit was good but if it’s too much of a hassle to get the store employees to help me then the store doesn’t deserve my money. The Bay lost a sale over $ 100 that would have taken the employees 5 minutes of work to complete.

The net rating for this review is 3 stars.
The service when you find someone is 5 stars. The person I dealt with in the men’s department was really good but unbelievably busy. They were quick and very professional
I got the pair of shoes I wanted at a great price.
The system or the company gets –2 starts. They are just too understaffed. I could only see staff at the register. There was a big line up and elected to go to the register to get a staff member to get the shoe and size I wanted.
For the shoe section my suggestion is to make things easier is to leave all the shoe sizes out because of the lack of staff.
It took about 25 minutes to get in and out of the store. I already knew the shoe size and type I wanted before I got in the store.
Oddly the cosmetics section has so much staff you could say hi smile and have a conversation with them? The — 2 stars was for management at the corporate level.

I pop in here every once in a while to pick up something quick like socks, underwear, shorts, dress shirt, etc, ’cause they have all the men’s clothing in one place and it beats walking the Mall. But, this place is under staff and badly in need of a major renovation. The clothing are always tossed and trashed all over the place; It’s difficult to find sizes and get help. The escalator hasn’t been working for awhile. If you have arthritic knees, then skip shopping here. Only come here if you are desperate or if they have a pretty good sales.

It’s great when you can find staff but this location has been drastically understaffed for years. For gift registry purchases you get great service but have to wait at least 15 minutes for someone to help you. The men’s dresswear and cosmetic sections always seem well staffed, everywhere else is a ghost town.

A classic, a staple here at this mall.
Truthfully, I still use them, literally, to get through the mall, and in this case, the food court, it’s right by the inside entrance. And parking here by Kingsway is a lot easier underground than the surface lot where tons of commuters are circling around by that small section by the toy store and sushi place.
The men’s on the upper floor is quite extensive, and so’s their kitchen/​bath departments.
Usually good sales by signing up for their Bay card, and on weekends, further discounts on sale items.
Service here can be hit or miss.
Washrooms could use a better upgrade, located upper floor by the china department lol but it’s pretty deep in, so not the best if you need it in a jiffy.

I booked a appointment to get my makeup done at the mac counter at the Bay. The girl who was doing my makeup was very young. I was a little worried but I didn’t have time as I had a event I had to get to. A little over a hour Into my session she stopped and said she was off now and she had to go. My face was less then half done. She told me I had to wait and someone else would come to finish my makeup. I was shocked. I find this very unprofessional. I waited for 15 minutes for another makeup artist to come over to me. By this time I was very upset. Why would i be scheduled with her if she had to leave half way through? The new makeup artist didn’t know what was going on. She didn’t know what products were used and the look I was trying to achieve. I ended up leaving with half my makeup done That I had to fix my self. So what did I pay for? I will not be going back to this location. I’m in shock this is the worst makeup experience I have had.

The Lancome stand at the Bay is pathetic. Unless you are Asian you cannot even get their attention, and if you manage to get their attention the service you get is terrible, ohming and ahming like you are bothering them and you better go somewhere else. Especially Vicky (the skinny Asian bitch with bad acne covered with ton of makeup) she is so rude, cannot even match your skintone, you better double check it yourself. You cannot even bring it to managers attention since she wasn’t around and calling her later on didn’t work either. Consider yourself warned and take your business where its appreciated.

The Bay seems like one of those dying department stores. It’s always so empty compared to places like Wal-​Mart and Target.
In any case, I’ve always had a beef when it comes to sales. The number of exceptions and the number of rules applied. When you have a full range of sizes of one style of clothing on a rack that says «40%» off, you’d expect it to be set up correctly. This wasn’t something misplaced by another shopper.
In any case, the items scanned in at full price. We complained, the salesclerk looked over and agreed to give us the discount. She was very friendly about it so I’ll give them points on that.
I do like shopping here. They tend to carry higher quality brands and honestly, the service levels are just better than many brand stores I’ve been in.

The only reason I really come here is to buy perfume for my mom during mother’s day or her B-​day. As a chain I appreciate what they’re going for, however, it makes no sense for me to shop here when there are other stores that sell similar things that are more boutique and individualized in the mall. My mom and I come here for beauty nights. Service is weird in the perfume department, they come to you like shit on flies. I buy Bay gift certificates in person ’cause my mom finds clothes here.

Finally — a store that has good customer service.
I can’t say great service, because they do have some staff
that are unpleasant and unhelpful, like any place, really.
It is peaceful, not crowded, I usually find what I am looking for,
and 75 percent of the time if I want some assistance finding an item
there is someone, though I may have to search a bit.
This is a nice surprise for a Bay store —
the one downtown, with some exceptions, seems to be one
gigantic loony-​bin– they play horrific noise that passes there for music
at ear splitting levels on the main floor, and way too loud on the other floors.
I had to quit shopping there, the noice made me literally feel neauseated.
Furthermore, if the have any staff actually working on the upper floors,
I can never find them. Nor does anyone usually answer the phones if I have
to call to check if an item is there. I did write a letter of complaint to management
and got some silly reply the indicated quite clearly there would be zero changes
and that no one really cared all that much about customer feedback. So fine,
lose another customer.
However the other two smaller Bay stores in Metrotown and at Oakridge
are the opposite — meaning pretty good shopping.

Is there a way to give a negative star?
I sure wish they were more competition so The Bay can smarten up. Maybe then we will get decent department stores. Service is slow and surly at best. Store is disorganized and changing rooms are disgustingly gross let alone washrooms. Yet, they charge prices way higher than Macy’s for last year’s fashions at this year’s price (shake head)

Very disappointed by the service I received.

I just had the most horrible shopping experience at HBC Metrotown. In Gift Registry Area, no sales staff to assist! We finally located an item to purchase on our own then tried to locate an associate for assistance. I used internal phone twice to call for an assistant and two people who said they didn’t work in this dept came by. No help ever showed up — even when we said we’d just leave rather than try to shop in this store. They must be making lots of money since they didn’t want any of ours. I suggest if you go there to shop, allow lots of time

I’m not a department store girl.
I like to be in and out of a store fairly quick and with or without the help of a sales staff. I usually cannot find anyone to help in department stores because it’s just too darn big.
However, this past weekend The Bay has changed my shopping experience. I had to buy a bath towel set so I decided to drop in. I found a set of hand, face and bath towels but the price tag had fallen off. As I turned around to look for assistance, the sales staff asked me if I needed help and started to walk toward me. Wow, that was quick! She told me the price she said she will grab the other set on the high shelf for me because the one in my hand had a loose thread. Thanks!
After I decided to go with the bath towel set, I went to go check out. I remember being tired and grumpy since I had a very long day.
The gentleman at the cash register was extremely patient and kept his cheerful mood. He asked me if I had an HBC card, which I did, but never remember to bring out. He proceeded to look up the number and when he finally found it, the transaction wouldn’t go through. He called into the credit department to figure everything out for us. It took quite a bit of time to get it completed, but he kept calm and told me not to worry and he would fix it. Everything was finally resolved and the transaction was completed. He also explained to me that if we had our points card along with the credit card, we would get extra points. I forgot about that, so that was a good reminder from him.
This is definitely the best customer experience I’ve had in a long time. The Bay is a Canadian company so I will definitely be shopping here more in the future to support Canada and The Bay! You’ve changed my mind!

OK,
This is going to be wierd.
I came here to buy Mac cosmetics Studio Tech NW15.
I always get it at the Bay, either this location, the Richmond or the Oakridge location.
Service is good, Men always seem to get quick and efficient service without all that girl talk. In and out, efficient shopping and no embarrassement for the male ego. You enter and leave intact.
It’s bad enough I had to look all over town to find some Hair masque from France. (which I did find later, just not here).
So, guys, if you, for some reason, have to go on a Makeup Run for your significant other. Go to the Bay and save yourself some trouble. They’ve been in business for eon’s, so they should know their business by now.
DON“T waste your time trying to buy makeup at a corner store or superstore or Costco. Seriously, if you do. You’ll be wearing the makeup and making your own bed. Eventually you’ll end up owning a Murse (probalby bought at the Bay) which will lead you to understanding and appreciating the value of a $ 2,100.00 Fendi or Prada or $ 6,000 LV limited edition bag.
**not typed by dreaded I-​phone.

This Bay is pretty small though. But the make up section is good enough. I came for a spring coat the other day and noticed they were having huge sale. 50−60% off many coats! 60% off Betsy Johnson! Alas, none of the Betsy Johnsons worked for me for one reason or another. However, I did leave with 2 spring jackets! But only one of them was on sale so I was a little dismayed.
But they still have Olympic gear on sale!