Bed, Bath & Beyond

I did a quick stop at this location because I was in search for a hand mixer. I did not find exactly what I was looking for, but did find some useful kitchen gadgets at an affordable price. The store is surprisingly big and has an average selection of items. There were not many sales associates on the floor and those that were did not really bother in engaging with the consumer.

I rang in the new year with the usual participants: myself, Genevieve, Genevieve’s cat, Smitten, Raquel (who always smells like pâté), Raquel’s husband Jacque, an uninspiring flute player, and a couple of the newer members of our book club. A few of the newer members decided to have one too many glasses of mulled wine and contributed very little to our discussion of «Rousseau in 2016.» Overall, though, it was a pleasant time, and thankfully Jacque forgot his flute at home. Every New Year his attempt at Symphony #9 causes Genevieve and I to run to the kitchen and make loud and obscene vomiting gestures.
The morning after new years I traditionally crack open the seal for the year’s Farmer’s Almanac. This is where I get all my forecasts for the year and I was alarmed to hear how brisk the oncoming winter is predicted to be. I called up Genevieve to accompany me in purchasing a new comforter and, unfortunately, she was too busy making chia pudding with Smitten. She insisted that I travel to the Bed Bath and Beyond in the Upper West Side. «It’s the best place in New York City to nap,» she proclaimed. Although, I simply took that as a sign that they have a wide-​selection of comforters.
I arrived at the store at around noon. On my way to the bedding section I had to pass through aisles and aisles of mindless products. It took me two escalators to finally get to the bedding department and after looking around for ten minutes I was unenthused by the comforters on display.
I started to make my way out of the premises when an employee, with a nametag that read Ralph «KING SIZE» Hernandez, tracked me down. «Whatchu looking for bro? I got whatchu need to make ya feel good.» I gasped; I could not believe an employee was soliciting me with illegal drugs. «No, no, no bro, you got it all twisted. I can show you some great comforters. I got 100% down, imports from Egypt, duvet covers hand-​sewn by women from an endangered Native American tribe,» Ralph explained to me.
Ralph took me to a back closet that opened into a display for some exquisite bedding items. My mind could not believe what my eyes were seeing. Ralph informed me that, «The purpose of the secret room is to catch the customers who are smart enough to realize that Bed Bath and Beyond’s selection has nothing actually worth purchasing.» An interesting business model and one I could ultimately not support.
²⁄₅ The black market for bedding runs deeper then I ever would have imagined
Your frigid critic,
TheReverend57

It’s a good location, not my favorite in the city (Chelsea’s is). However, it’s usually well stocked but everything feels a little cramped and I feel the items they have available suffer from that. Also, horrible cell phone service, so if you are trying to coordinate with someone or check prices online, very, very annoying if at all possible.

Definitely the most disorganized of all Manhattan locations. Items of the same category or sometimes lost in different sections which make it overwhelming when if you want to be in and out. Staff is easy to find but even they can’t find things sometimes.

They pretty much have everything you need when moving to a new place as far as curtains, and bathroom supplies.

Staff was helpful and plentiful. The store is stocked with all the gadgets you’d expect to see at a Bed, Bath and Beyond. The store was reasonably arranged. It’s easy to get to from the Lincoln Center stop.
I didn’t end up buying what I came to look for because everything was so expensive. I did buy a bunch of other things and I enjoyed looking at gadgets that I would never actually pay for. It’s a fun store. I was really tempted by a fairly cheap pitcher for mashing fruit and infusing herbs. It’s a strange impulse buy, but that’s what’s cool about this place. Still, it’s easy to see how Amazon is killing retail. I’d pay a little bit more to have what I want now, and have employees helping me, but prices for some appliances were literally twice Amazon’s.
For other categories of items it makes sense to shop here. Container Store types of things: dish towels, hangers, plastic boxes and so on are on the bottom floor.
I will return, but I don’t expect to even buy anything very big here.

My Fiancé and I went here yesterday on a whim to get our registry done and they were nothing short of FANTASTIC! As NYers in a cozy one bedroom we had no idea what we would need/​want for our future life together! BBB made that process so simply with providing us a registry professional. Abby was AMAZING! She was a human checklist of anything we may want. She was so knowledgable about the best/​affordable brands and really helped us pick out some excellent items! She spent over two hours with us and now we have a living online registry for all of our guests to see via our wedding website! So awesome, fun and simple! I highly recommend BBB for registry creating and ask for Abby… She was a Rockstar!!!

Three floors of all sorts of houseware merch. Helpful staff, fast-​moving pay line.

Cons: 1) asking question why I return the item, obviously cuz I didn’t like it. Just ask if it’s broken or not.
Pros: 1) you can return items whenever you want, no time; 2) huge shop and a lot of choice of products; 3) nice door men’s opens for you door, very nice :)

I was looking at the last pillow of a certain type, and walked a few feet away to feel the display pillow. When i came back to it about fifteen seconds later an employee asked if i was looking at the pillow, said «me too» and proceeded to open the box up, bury his nose in it to sniff it, and then took it away. He was definitely on shift, wearing a gray shirt and was bald. I didn’t catch his name but I did see him pointing at me later and laughing to another employee. This was about 6pm today, July 14^th. Highly unprofessional and I put most of my items back.

I prefer this location over the others. It never seems to get crowded and the line moves fast. They also have one of the nicest doorman in the city. They are very well stocked, carry much more items than the other stores in Manhattan. The bathrooms are located on the lower level which is convenient if your there a long time.

Lovely customer service from the manger Billy and cashier Ceann. Thank you for dealing with my annoying return so graciously.

I can’t decide how many stars to award this BBB, so I’ll give it three stars. I came on a Saturday afternoon.
* Five stars
—-An obvious and helpful presence of personnel. Everywhere I turned, there was a friendly associate who asked me if I needed help. This is unique to this store and very nice to have.
—Very organized, clean and neat, and loaded with anything you may, or may not, need.
—Eager to help you get discounts with your coupons — as the rep did with me and my random assortment of applicable (or maybe not applicable) store coupons.
—Great location. No need to trek to 18^th Street (although I really like that BBB).
*Two stars
—Rats in a maze. That’s all I could think as I attempted to walk around this confusing layout.. .. I kept feeling disoriented as I made my way through the store. Unlike most BBBs that have a circular-​type layout, this one is broken up in random levels and paths. It’s not a circle, so you will unsuspectingly end up in various dead ends.
–Example 1 — I was in the bottom level and wanted to go back up. I saw the wooden stairs and thought I’d walk up them, rather than go around and try to find the escalator. Next thing I know I’m in a nook of the store that feels like I found a secret treehouse full of all the bedding! Only way out is via the elevator or the same set of stairs.
–Example 2 — After I paid I walked to go back up the escalator to the ground level to leave the store. I went in a huge circle and one of the personnel asked me if I needed help. I told her I was trying to leave the store; she directed me to go back around to the escalator on the other side.
Overall, I didn’t realize that I felt trapped in the store until I reached the ground level and saw daylight.

Why does this place smell so toxic?
I’m dreading the times I have to run errands in this store for work. I don’t understand why the whole store smells like cheap chemical air fresheners.
I usually try to be fast and get the hell out as fast as possible!
I feel for the poor people working there, they might be used to the smell but it’s really not healthy to breath such things all day long!

I love this place! It is two levels underground, so it’s huge and packed full of house goodies. Everything from bedding, toiletries, kitchen gear, even bulk granola bars and other snacks. And be sure to check out the clearance section!

This store saved me from a long personal nightmare.
For two weeks I’ve been trying to get a replacement Sodastream canister so I can enjoy my fizzy water. I usually go to Williams Sonoma but they were out. I waited and went back and they were out again. Checked Sur La Table… they were out. Went to Best Buy. They had new canisters but they would not trade in an old one for a new one, so I would have had to pay $ 30 instead of $ 16. No thank you.
Finally, I staggered into Bed Bath & Beyond, feeling wretched after my long, arduous journey. I mean, I had to walk 10 blocks and I was rejected at the first three places that were right on my way, so you know I was a mess.
The friendly clerk there happily exchanged my canister and told me about other things I could get there. I was so happy! For having a super nice cashier and for getting me what I needed, I grant this BB&B four stars.
As a bonus, I treated myself to a Mr. Softee when I left the store because the truck was parked right on the corner. I couldn’t resist! I’m not made of stone, people.

A strange layout for a store with two subterranean levels makes this Bed, Bath & Beyond one of the more uninviting of its locations. Keep walking along the first level’s path, and you’ll end up at a dead end, unlike the fully navigable semicircle of most BB&Bs.
Despite the barrage of items offered for sale, with a multitude of options for nearly every kitchen accoutrement imaginable, I could not find a single butter knife. A spreader? Sure, but that’s apples and oranges.
Given that just about everything is cheaper elsewhere or online, the only reason to come to one of these behemoths is if you need it now.

Extremely crowded, and checkout wait times can be long. Wish they had better signage to designate the departments of the store.

I asked a question.
Employees helped me.
But longest line ever?
I only had one item and had to wait 20 minutes on the line.
Have they ever heard of express line?

What was I doing in a Suburban Hell Nightmare in the middle of Manhattan? Oh, the part of my biography where Steven King had full reign.
I needed a safe container to stow my cookies and croissants so that my carry on bag and the space underneath the seat in front of me on my return flight home wouldn’t smoosh everything into a one inch flaky cube. Duh!
While walking through this labyrinthine Hell reminiscent of The Shining, I noticed something. The employees were really polite. I also wondered if I needed a blanket I could touch for my hotel room or a lower lumbar pillow for my return flight home.
Next time.
Oh, the 12 cup OXO container? It was a bloody brilliant plan AND it fit perfectly in one of my carry ons with room to go. And so began Gretchen’s cookie-​safe transport system (GCSTS).
So why the four stars for a big box where I wouldn’t normally shop — ever? It was exactly everything that I needed it to be, WHEN I needed it to be what I needed it to be. Then it went a few steps beyond my needs.