I was out shopping this weekend and in my mission to find a new pair of well-fitting jeans, I stopped into American Eagle in the Pickering Town Centre.
Last fall, AE discontinued my very favourite jeans (Favourite Boyfriend) but the staff at the downtown location assured me they would be back, so I figured I would drop in and see if they had them available.
This store is rather large, located on the upper level near one of the main entrances to the mall. There's a massive women's section and a pretty decent sized mens section as well. If you've ever shopped at an AE, you know what you're getting in terms of clothing. The store is a little oddly laid out, in some sections difficult to maneuver, but not as bad as the Bluenotes downstairs (I was there that day too and reviewed it accordingly!).
But in terms of service, you get NONE at this location. Absolutely nothing. I've had the pleasure of shopping at the Eaton Centre location and I've had wonderful service many times over in that location. Here, its as if the employees don't exist, except behind the cash register. My friend and I walked in and I started perusing the racks of what they had. It was a few minutes before I located the jeans that I wanted. There was an employee floating around but it was as if she was scared of us because anytime we came near her, she retreated as if she was in our way. I grabbed two pairs from the wall and headed back towards the change rooms.
The change rooms in this location are towards the back of the store but once you're in the entrance, its difficult for an employee on the floor to see you and determine that you need a change room (why else would you be waiting there with a stack of clothing in hand). I was lucky that another customer had already corralled an employee into coming back to open rooms for us. I was only wanting to try two pairs of jeans on but the associate looked like she could have cared less, shoving a "number of items" tag at me and opening the door and then abruptly walking away. Unfortunately for the woman across the way, while I knew what I wanted and was lucky that it fit, she clearly needed help and there was no one around to offer it. And the change rooms lock behind you, so good luck venturing into the store to get it yourself.
I went to the cash and got mediocre service cashing out. It wasn't the end of the day, but the people behind the cash had no life to them. I cannot stand that "I don't care" attitude that I get at this store. I want to stand in the middle of the store and yell "DO ANY OF YOU GIVE A CRAP?" but clearly, they don't, so I'm sure I wouldn't get a response. I love some of the clothes at AE, but service is important to me and I never get anything when I come here. I don't get informed of current promotions or sales, I don't get asked to be upsold (which I don't mind as long as its not overly pushy) and I NEVER get welcomed or greeted into the store. The staff is all happy to stand behind the cash register and pretend to ignore you unless you approach them yourself.
I won't be coming back here unless I can't wait to shop at the downtown store when I'm at work. AWFUL. read more