HBC vent

Nukke · November 2009

I was feeling a teency bit of patriotism last week when I was considering registering at HBC, but I just got a harsh reminder that--Canadian or not--they're just another tacky department store out to make money. I took a look through their online registry guide that is filled with selections from "our most popular styles" (read--the most expensive crap from our store that we can possibly try to sell you). They don't have any prices listed on the registry guide, so you have no idea how outrageous the price is for any of this stuff. Still, I wasn't that surprised by this. It was the following statement that turned me right off, however."How do we let our guests know where we've registered?...We'll help you spread the word. It's proper wedding etiquette to include registry information in both your shower and wedding invitations--so don't be shy...."BLECH! I couldn't believe the audacity. HBC is actually trying to convince brides that it's "proper wedding etiquette" to tell your guests to buy you presents. I kinda feel bad for those brides that fall for this garbage and might offend some guests or come across looking like they're after presents and money.I have no idea why I expected more from Canada's oldest company. I just did. :/Anyway, just a little vent.

Nukke · November 2009

Not to mention that my patriotism isn't even founded, as HBC hasn't even been Canadian owned for a couple years now. Sorry for the bitter rant. :P I'm better now XD

Jess&Jahanzeb · November 2009

WOW – that’s horrible!!! I honestly can’t believe it, I guess I expected more from them too. They really need to look closer at their brand and the messages they’re giving people. We haven’t registered yet but ever since I filled out ballets at a Bridal Show in September, they call me to “set-up an appointment to register” every few days. Where else can people register here in Canada other than Sears and Pottery Barn?

MeaghanG · November 2009

That is kind of disgusting that they would write that. However, that being said, I did register with HBC (both The Bay and Home Outfitters) and have had a somewhat good experience with them. Home Outfitters was by far better. The selection at both stores was great (obviously a lot of outrageously priced things at The Bay, but some things that we wanted/needed that were reasonable, including china and flatware). The original registry consultant at The Bay sucked, but everyone else we dealt with (for registry completion) was fantastic. For most of the stuff that we wanted, I loved being registered at Home Outfitters, they had a lot of the bedding we wanted, as well as the casual, every day stuff we needed.

silversparks · November 2009

Wow - HBC - that is just not ok.We registered at William Ashley's. I don't know how their prices compare with Sears, Home Outfitters, etc. but their service was absolutely fantastic!

ring_pop · November 2009

We also registered at William Ashley's for china, and Kitchen Stuff Plus (Ontario) for cookware. William Ashley's price for the china pattern we chose was actually much cheaper than The Bay's.

torontobride17 · November 2009

Yes, we registered at both William Ashley's and the Bay and the service we received at Ashely's was like a million times better than the Bay. I found the whole Bay registry experience frustrating. And now we have to wait forever to actually pick up our gifts, since they don't seem to have anything we registered for in stock.

kaesha · November 2009

Well, if it makes you feel better, William Ashley gave me registry insert cards for shower invites amongst other things (there was a wink wink nudge nudge there too).And, isn't HBC owned by an American company now? So... not entirely Canadian.

raspberry_bride · November 2009

Yeah that kind of annoyed me about the registry guide at the bridal show. I scanned stuff that I liked from the guide, and then looked at the prices on my registry and immediately removed them. Everything was hundreds of dollars!I think they mentioned the insert cards, but I refused them since I knew it was poor etiquette. You are right though...think of all the people who do it thinking that it is proper etiquette.

Nukke · November 2009

I'm definitely checking out this William Ashley place.

ring_pop · November 2009

Well, if it makes you feel better, William Ashley gave me registry insert cards for shower invites amongst other things (there was a wink wink nudge nudge there too).Ditto this. When they told me about the registry cards and I brushed them off saying, "Oh, I really don't need those" (since I didn't have a shower), they kept insisting that they'd send them to me anyway. They're free! You never know!Just feel good that you know your etiquette and won't be offending any of YOUR guests, and let other brides take responsibility for themselves.

kaesha · November 2009

Ringy, that's exactly what happened to me! They shipped them in the mail after I said I wouldn't need them. Businesses' bottom line is always about ways to make more money, ne? You know, overseas, the British wedding mags all recommend that you put registry info in the invites because it's a relatively new thing there. Etiquette is such a socially constructed thing that I find it's best just to take a step back from it and try not to get offended by it.

theredskittle · November 2009

Ok, so if we shouldn't register at the Bay, where should we register?? I always thought that the Bay had fair prices for this kind of thing (as opposed to pottery barn or willams sonoma, which are usually much more expensive..)

AuroraGirl · November 2009

Our experience with THe Bay was bad and we're not happy at all. Two things on the negative side: 1. We were never informed that the prices on some of our gifts have gone up, and i'm not talking $5 or $10 but $120 or more!... so somebody ended up purchasing a $250 gift for us that was originally priced at $130. When we asked the Bay they just said "our prices fluctuate as per demand"... ??? Have I noticed the stupid pannini pan was $250 I would have removed it from the list right away.2. This is the worst part: We got married a month ago and there's still 12 items in our list that are not available or "back-ordered". I've talked to them like 5 times, I can't believe they're taking this long since the last gift was purchased Oct 5th. I asked them how is it possible to take more than a month to deliver something. Nowadays you can order anything over the Internet from the other side of the world and you'll receive it in a week at most! This Saturday we got so frustrated we went to the store to ask once again for our gifts... to our surprise a bunch of the items had a note saying, not available - provide Gift Card. I told them I don't want a bunch of gift cards and they said it's gift cards, no cash, period. My DH asked the lady to look for the items in other stores, and Surprise, Surprise! after a 2 minute query... most of the items are available in other stores... so our question is, why the hell is taking them A MONTH to locate our gifts... and we're also wondering if they would have even bother looking for them if we hadn't ask. We spoke to the manager of the store, and her answer "We deal with 600 brides per year.. it is hard to keep up with all the regirstries"... GEEZ, thanks for the explanation, I bet there won't be 600 next year if you keep providing this kind of service.Sorry for the long reply... but my conclusion is The Bay registry SUCKS big time.PS: Torontobride17, if I were you I would go and ask for the status of your gifts, you may be on the same boat as us.

SandalGirl · November 2009

This is all good to know. I'm still deciding, although we don't expect as many gifts since its a destination wedding. There just aren't many options other than the Bay.

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