Down by The Bay

On the one hand The Bay is a Canadian icon I’d hate to see go away. On the other hand, I often think it’s long past its demise.

As a kid, especially one who grew up (in part) in a smaller Canadian urban city, I spent a lot of my shopping time and dollars in department stores. The Bay was one of them but now I do my best to avoid spending time there.

Here’s one reason why…

Mr. B wanted me to join him at Yorkdale so he could look for a new winter coat at The Bay – they were 30% off.

At first I thought I’d get off easy. As we made our way past the new Crate & Barrel (more about that later), he knew I was anxious to have a peek so he suggested I have a look and he’d go off to The Bay on his own. Whew!

Spoke to soon. Within minutes my phone rang. He found a basic winter wool-cashmere coat and wanted me to see it right away. So I ran over and made him try on all the sale coats only to agree with him that the first one was best. Hmm, I needed a winter coat too. So I headed upstairs to see what was on sale.

I saw 30% off signs everywhere. There were few exceptions and they were clearly(?) marked. At Max Studio, I found a shirtdress I liked and thought it would great for work. Just slip it on with some black tights and I’d be ready to go. The signage was a bit fuzzy, so I confirmed it was actually on sale with a salesperson tidying up some of the clothes on a nearby rack.

Next, off to the coats…

Not much caught my eye at first. Then I found a clearance rack marked “an extra 50% off”. Guess what? Nice coats and jackets were few and far between but there were a couple. Not necessarily my first choice but some were my size and at those prices, I couldn’t pass them by.

As I was trying them on another woman stopped and told me how nice they looked. I found the one I wanted – a Kenneth Cole black wool blend, winter trench – I was all set to go to the cash. Mr. B couldn’t believe the price <$100. He was sure someone made a mistake. I didn’t want to believe him. On our way to the cash, we passed by another part of the coat department. What did I see? You guessed it. A rack with each of the Kenneth Cole coats I had tried and all were regular price. Urgh!

I told the first salesperson I saw about the mix-up and suggested someone clean up the clearance rack so other customers wouldn’t be misled. She didn’t seem to care.

Well, at least I had the dress or so I thought. At the cash, I was told it wasn’t on sale either but I could get 10% off if I’d reinstate my Bay card. Ya, right.

Needless to say, I walked out empty-handed and won’t be going back to The Bay for a long time.

Have you had a similar experience at The Bay or another department store recently?