The Bay

Clothing department staff: learn to take security tags off. Also, learn to work a till. Every time I come here I experience unnecessary challenges from the inept cashiers.

When i went to the bay today i was looking for a washroom and i went inside the ladies washroom where the mens washroom used to be at then the lady who work there say there is no longer a mens washroom in the store the last time i used the washroom at that the bay it had a mens washroom now its now its not convenient for the men who is shopping at the bay now they have to go to the mall to use the washroom there that is really stupid that the bay got rid of the mens washroom

The Bay at downtown was renovated and getting more designers brands and upscale things. Unfortunately, it still not good enough to compare with Nordstrom or other US stores! As a Vancouverite, I have no other choice to shop here! But, I had a good experience this time.
The sales girl was friendly and smart! She tried to sell us fancy coffee machine and told us the best deal ever had! Nespresso offered $ 75 coupon if purchase Vertuoline coffee machine and she asked my husband to apply The Bay visa card to get extra 20% off! Yes! We got $ 145 off for the coffee machine in total!
In addition, we got extra 10% for all purchase on that day! Of coz, I didn’t miss any chance for saving! I spent extra few hundred dollars at cosmetic counter.
No wonder the typical Canadian like the BAY DAY! I like it too!

Solid 3.5 stars; while the men’s section at Oakridge is bigger and better, the suits section here is well organized. Convenient too if you park on the north side by Westminster.
With the new renos, and still ongoing, it’s much brighter with the recessed ceiling pot lights, a hint of elegance.
What’s great too with the Bay that there’s always sales on top of sales. When you open up a Bay credit card, that alone can be another 10% savings.
One of the only 2 areas here at the mall to have covered parking, by Minoru Blvd entrance, so to stay dry as they have 2 main doors.

Recently renovated and looking all the better for it. However, step into the washrooms and you’re transported back to the 1970s. Judging by the smell, that’s the last time they were cleaned too.
C’mon Hudson’s Bay, it wouldn’t have hurt for you to give the toilets a makeover too. Even a once-​over with a bottle of bleach would have been better than nothing.

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.

The Bay has come a long way since my memory of it as an outdated and tired granny store to an constantly updating fresh store.
It carries a lot more brands and quality brands from across the categories, and features special product sections for coach, high end cosmetics etc, and frequently puts on AWESOME sales deals that cycle through various types of customers.
I love the mail-​in discounts, the scratch and save, the weekend blow out and hbc card discounts man you can get wicked prizes to take home. So I’ve changed my habit to drop in once in a while.
Cheerio.

WTF a department store that no longer carries baby clothes, baby gear or kids clothing?! The café is even gone now. This is not the Bay I once knew and loved. This Bay has turned into a haven for the Asian crowd, but surely Asians have kids too! When I asked the cashier where the baby section was now located, since they recently renovated, she replied «it’s been gone for six months, but Metrotown still has their baby section.» I live in Richmond, why would I make the trip all the way to Burnaby for baby items? Disappointed!
Oh yea and another thing, walking into the store there were employees handing out makeup samples, if you aren’t Asian they ignore you… taking my business elsewhere.

This is some of the stuff that will be found in the cosmetics department: snake serum for fine lines, arm cream, boob job cream. I know many people in western civilization use at least a few cosmetic products, but do women really think that a cream will firm up their breasts or make their arms less saggy? Do they really think that this is work? I digress…
Some notations on this particular Bay:
* After the boxing day sales have dissipated… I’m talking late January you will find some beautiful jackets here. No, not ones which no one wanted or double XL sizes, jackets that rival some of their more expensive counterparts, marked down to half or even more. I got a Calvin Klein trench-​coat for over half off, if I remember correctly it was probably 60% off. I believe the only reason for this is because many people don’t look at The Bay to get their jackets.
* The bag department has been renovated, but its still pretty lackluster. However with the coats, you can find some amazing deals on bags. I do see bags on sale at the downtown location, but here the bags are more plentiful, and generally nicer.
* There is also a watch repair man right by the escalator coming down from the second level.
* The women in the fragrance department are hags. :)
* The women in every other cosmetics department are friendly… but good luck finding someone at certain cosmetics counters.
* As with the jackets, the women’s clothing is sometimes marked more than half off, so its worth it to check!
* There are many mens socks available here too. ;)

One thing I like about department stores is that they pretty much always have «sales». Even though you aren’t really saving that much more than if you had come a month earlier, you still get that same warm fuzzy feeling.
Parking is plentiful as it’s part of Richmond Centre.
The interior of the place is quite well-​labeled, so you can go straight to the department you need.
The cashier was quite helpful, and even took the time to explain how Bay points work. Very nice guy. I just wish there were more staff floating around the store. (read on)
My main complaint is the fitting rooms. First, the signage for them was quite poor. I had to wander around for several minutes while looking for non-​existent staff. Turns out it’s in the middle of the store and not along the walls. The rooms themselves are also quite tiny. The shelves inside weren’t even large enough to place my shirts on. Poor design. Guess they had to do that to cram an extra room in there.

I’m regular of this HBC because I purchased my very first Shiseido product here. My sales rep Annie is very helpful all the time. She calls me when there are events and gifts. However, I once went there when she wasn’t working and the none of the 3 ladies behind the counter stepped over to serve me until the lady at the Clinique counter went over to them and told them there’s a customer! I was actually very disappointed.
I’m not someone who expects to be greeted everytime I go to a store, so I’m ok with no one asking me «how are you doing with sizes?» BUT I do expect to see a rep close by when I need help.

I like The Bay and I’ve been their customer for a very long time, I have both their credit card and rewards.
This is the worst location I’ve ever been to. Have you ever walked in the department and the ladies just stand around and doesnt do anything or say hi to you? Until you start looking at something.
I wanted to quickly refill on something I had run out but I was pushed to buy stuff I did not want even after I had said no but she insisted and I don’t have to pay much, she used up my points from my rewards card without telling me and said it would save me money. But i did not want the item or use my points on this, fine since its already paid I’ll just come back and return it. The next day I went to return it the manager had told me to go to a different location… It was brand new with receipt but the short asian manager at the Nars counter would not return it for me except for exchange and the manger was talking about me to her associates.
They’re so desperate for sales, or to make commission they’ll do anything.
And it really makes me think twice why she would even be a manager, lack or responsibility and professionalism.
I had to try and return it at another location (Oak Ridge) I had told them my story and they were kind enough to do so. She explained to me how the sales work and the reason why they probably didn’t want to make the return.

Working in retail, I understand how hard it is for managers to schedule enough people at different areas of the store. I mean COME ON! The bay has EVERYTHING. They have to schedule people accordingly or they could easily be overstaffed and be losing a lot of money. That being said, I went in yesterday to look at their boots that are on sale (25 – 50 percent off). They have an amazing selection at okay prices. I felt so bad for the people working in the shoes department because it was like a WARZONE. Even though this is true, they worked their hardest to help every single customer there.
I do agree with the other post about scheduling too many beauty advisors in the cosmetics department. They mainly just stand around and gossip. One swift look at ANY of their stuff, they will start talking to you as if they had motion sensors attached to them knowing when customers were around! Jebus!
With alll this being said, this is the brighter and better ambient’d «The Bay» around. I mean… would you look at the one in METRO?! holy!

I needed linen. I found some (about $ 1,000 worth) and went to pay but could not find a sales person. There were two employees present, one trying to get people to sign up for Bay credit cards and the other helping customers check-​out. I walked around the whole store dragging pillows, a duvet, sheets etc. and could not find someone to pay. I waited 45 minutes in line to pay and then gave up.
In the parking lot I decided to call the Bay (long distance in Toronto). The customer service representative read off a script and the call was a waste of time.
Have to find somewhere else to buy linens in Vancouver.

Sorry, Im not an avid shopper anymore. Ive found that my time is worth more than the money flying out of my wallet. I chose this location because for me it was easy to get to (me driving) and parking. My mission was to see what Olympic products they had on display and make it a quick visit in the process. Granted, it was perhaps the busiest department of the store but still it was total chaos. I endured very tired and cranky staff and merchandise everywhere (perhaps a testament to the «busy» factor) which took its toll on my time line. C’mon, they had to know people would come there… bring in some extra staff… reassign one of those damned perfume spraying people that are standing around doing nothing and straighten the merchandise. Too much to ask???
Final note. The washroom was something I would expect to see in Cambodia, not Canada!