Vermont South Shopping Centre is one place I would be happy never to visit again. It is like…read morestepping back in time and everything seems to take more time here. The building is very old, the shops look dated and not very many people flock there. The centre even has carpeted floors. Yes, carpet. It gets dirty and scuffed and I have not known it to get changed in years. There is parking all around the centre although it has time restrictions, mostly around 2 hours before you will need to move your car. The centre is tiny though, so unless you walk quite slow two hours is plenty. The centre has a small food court, banks, jewellery shops, florists, clothing stores, discount shops and specialty food shops. The stores here all run on their own opening and closing hours as they have found that there are days when the centre is terminally unpopular. Sunday is one of those days although some shops still open, hoping to get some customers.

It is easy to compare this place to The Glen and either laugh or cry depending on your point of…read moreview. This place opened when The Glen wasn't even a speck in a greedy developer's eye, and I don't think it was ever intended to compete with places like Knox (which at the time was probably smaller than The Glen is now). So you'll have low expectations before you even walk in those doors. And yes, generally your low expectations are well deserved. I don't think that the shops themselves can do very much, with the terrible carpeted floor (which seems to be worn down to the underlay), the awful lighting and the general dreariness of it all. It'd be enough to make a busload of interior decorators commit suicide. The shops though, they're okay. Not really many big names. In fact, Coles and Petstock would be the only ones with any interior presence to actually have a recognisable name. Still, it's just a local shopping centre, and it does alright for most things.

No one likes watching fights between customers and service staff. More especially, no one likes…read morebeing drawn into them simply because they are next in line. This happened the last time I visited Common Cents in Wantirna Mall and it was exceptionally awkward. The service staff had charged the customer too much for their items and the customer cracked it. The pair were arguing for a good ten minutes while I stood behind tapping my foot and waiting to be served. It was frustrating as the service staff member was obviously wrong yet she wouldn't admit it - so much for the customer always being right. The store itself was pretty messy with a dirty sheet blocking off the end of one aisle. Stock in here is typical of any two dollar/homewares style shop with cheap vases, floor mats, buckets, plastic kids chairs and stickers. When I got served and asked for the shops phone number the service staff member was extremely evasive and unhelpful. This was very frustrating. She eventually gave me a 'temporary' number after I said I might want to order something. That is the number I have listed above. Somehow I don't see myself returning to the shop or ordering anything. Browsing the store and being served were both unpleasant experiences.

Forest Hill Chase is never really springs to mind when I think of shopping centers. Located in the…read moretiny suburb of Forest Hill, I came here once and was pleasantly surprised at the center. It was clean and new-ish, it didn't feel like one of those old and forgotten places that nobody ever goes to. That said, it was relatively quite in the center- but it certainly didn't feel forgotten. Forest Hill doesn't have a huge variety of fashion stores, there are still a few goodies here though (such as Myer). Forest hill also have a Hoyts cinema and AMF bowling/M9 laser strike. My favorite thing about this place is the fact that there is a TGIF here! I think I would come back if I ever wanted to just wonder aimlessly through a center, without feeling rushed or buzzed like I do at Chadstone. Would also come here just for TGI and Hoyts.

Forest Hill Chase Shopping Centre is somewhere I drop into if I am passing by, but it is not…read moresomewhere I tend to go to on purpose. While it is fairly big and there have been a lot of upgrades recently, the atmosphere here is pretty non-existant and I don't enjoy myself. One good thing about the centre is that there are over 3500 free car spaces without restrictions. These are spread all around and under the centre itself. The centre has 3 levels with the topmost (and smallest) being the best. This is the newest part of the centre and has been designed to be a bit of an entertainment hub. It features Hoyts Cinemas, TGI Fridays, Nandos, Timezone, Rebel Sport, The Chase Hotel and JB Hi Fi to name a few. Despite being the biggest hit of the centre, it still doesn't get very busy up there. The centre is never really busy so if you don't like crowds then this place is perfect for you in every way! The average shopper tends to be a bit older although most of the shops seem suited to younger shoppers. There are a heap of taxis that wait just outside the food court. Bizarrely they are often there during the middle of the day. Bigger, rival centres don't have this service so this is a definite plus.

Look, I hate these places enormously. They've killed off plenty of local small businesses over the…read moreyears, and every time a new one opens, the only thing I can think of is the nightmare that some poor bugger of a small businessman or woman going broke overnight. That said, these places are here to stay, and there's not much to be done about it once they've opened. And as far as these monstrosities go, this one isn't too bad. Parking is pretty easy, (although generally for only four hours - that's plenty of time to get in, get what you need and get out), there's a couple of supermarkets and pretty much everything you'll ever need. There are lots of really good restaurants within a stone's throw if you're hungry, but the food court has a couple of decent places too.

Centro The Glen is a small shopping center packed full of the most popular brands you would hope to…read morefind in one place. Sure the centers small and the areas not 'that' well known, but The Glen hits mostly all the right notes when it comes to store variety. Brands include, sportsgirls, witchery, country road, cotton on, athletes foot, bed bath n table, mimco, oroton, rebel and many other well-known brands. There is also a David Jones and Target if you prefer being in a department store. The Glen is a long 2 level building that offers ample parking and dining options. Besides their 2 food courts, just a few hundred meters down the road from the center is the Kingsway Strip which is a goldmine of cafes and restaurants. The Glen also offers a coles/woolworths/Thomas dux, as well as a center butcher, deli, fishmonger and Asian grocer.

One thing that I should mention is that getting here by public transport is really tricky, but then…read moreagain that is sort of to be expected with some places. Yet this shopping centre is pretty huge, but once again that is also sort of to be expected, especially when you get to the outer suburbs. This place does have quite a good range of shops, and like a lot of other shopping centres, has also developed an entertainment district as well, which has cinemas, and even a couple of nice bars.

Knox shopping center is a great little center in my opinion…read more It's nothing in the likes and glam of Chadstone or Doncaster, but for a suburban shopping center it's not too bad. It offers most popular brands including; Country Road, Witchery, The Body Shop, Rebel Sport, Roger David, Taro Cash, General Pants Co and much much more. Aside from fashion, there is also a Myer department store, Target, Kmart, electrical stores and home ware stores. There are also a few large stores just outside of the shopping center (Kathmandu, JB HiFi, Goodguys and more). Knox shopping center also have a fresh veg and fruit market right in the middle of the center, this is extremely convenient as most of the time I am just passing by, and it allows me to just pick up something small without having to 'grocery' shopping. The food court here is also very large, with ample seating and variety of foods. If food courts aren't your thing, Knox City also offer a plethora of cafes and restaurants just outside the center.

I can't get enough of this place. I know it's a massive chain and they're all pretty much the same…read morebut I love that it's open 24 hours. The parking is 3 hour limit and plentiful and there's pretty much anything and everything you'd need! The store is huge and has great prices. Oh yah, and did I mention 24 hours?!!

Kmart is either hit or miss at times. If they have something on sale for really cheap, it is…read moreusually because of its dirty or weird-looking, something that no one would buy. But other times I find hidden gems there. For example, I bought a heat pack there, which was $10, and I expected it to heat badly and for the quality to be bad but it was surprisingly good. I have also purchased many makeup items from their brand OXX, which are honestly not great. The packaging is always dirty and the product itself has either no pigment or coverage. But it is cheap and can do a quick job. The garden area itself is quite nice, however in summer, the hot days, I realize that there are not many staff, if not any, and I usually have to go water the dying plants myself because they are not getting any care. They do have a wide range of beautiful plants though and I think it is one of the last Kmart stores in Victoria to have a garden. Something that is always a bit alarming is that there are a lot of broken items and items that have had their packaging wrecked, but Kmart is still a great place to go to for home decor. They have a large range of linen, candles, chairs, and home accessories which are always really nice looking, and decent quality too. Their home range basically has anything you need, from fake plants, cushions, cupboards. What is helpful is that they always have staff who know what they are doing and where something is, and if you do not know the price of something, they are quick to check how much the price is, and they are friendly and understanding of your needs. Although typically I have noticed that the lines are always super long, and you are waiting there for about 5 minutes at a time. What makes this even worse is that ¾ of the registers are self serve and only one team member to help. Everyone's had their fair share of experiences with those annoying robots, and with the limited staff there it becomes even more frustrating. But apart from all of this, I would rate Kmart at 3 out of 5, its just average.

I went in here a few weeks ago, and was surprised with the amount of Variety they had available. As…read moreyou would expect in a $2.00 store, everything is cheap, but like most $2 shops nowadays, that little 'plus' planted on the end means anything goes. I had been looking for clear suit bags for about a week, and just because I was passing by. I ended up walking out with half a dozen bits and pieces, things I had forgotten I even needed. The owner was a great laugh, joking with everyone in the shop.