Grand & Toy

I second the worst customer service vote.
Went in to find some t-​shirt transfer paper. I asked the grumpy employee at the front of the store if they had any. Without moving, checking the inventory database, making a phone call or even batting an eye, he proceeds to tell me that they don’t carry it. Conversation over.
Hoping that I could prod him into doing a little of his job, I ask if maybe there are any other Grand & Toy stores in the area that might carry it.
No, he says. You BETTER BELIEVE ME, we only have two stores and they have the same stuff.
Wow, what a totally useless answer!
I walked out of the store and proceeded to use my Unilocal app to find the number of the second Grand & Toy store on Burrard.
They didn’t have what I wanted either, but they did offer to order it and have it in the store for me to pick up the next day.
Time to get some new employees at the Granville location.

I’m sorry, but this place could serve as a staff training video for embarrassingly bad customer service.
Me, pointing at office chair: How much is that one?
Humourless pouty-​faced employee, leaning on a table: It’s on the tag.
Me, trying out office chair: What kind of adjustment functions does this one have?
Same employee, still leaning on table: Try the knobs.
Having finally decided upon a chair, we get around to delivery. I’m lucky enough to witness an actual bitter exchange between three employees about whether we have to pay first, or have it delivered to the store first, or when it might arrive. The one gentleman who ended up helping us was actually wonderful, and I praise his patience with the other employees. But the chair didn’t arrive. It turns out they made a mistake, and it got shipped to them instead. So they’ll ship it to me by courier. Ok, sounds great.
Hmm, the chair still hasn’t arrived. I take a stroll to the store to get an explanation, and I’m told that «I don’t know, they will know» with a vague wave of the hand by grumpy old employee. I wish I knew who «they» were. Grumpy old employee goes off, presumably to find «they» and super-​pierced young employee rolls her eyes and tells me that he’s a «senile old man.» Hmm, fair enough? I’m not sure it was appropriate to tell me that.
Grumpy old apparently senile employee comes back just as I get a phone call from home. Oh good, the chair has arrived! My bad. I smile and apologize for wasting their time. Grumpy old senile man shrugs and says maybe the delivery man stopped to take a… bathroom break. Well, he didn’t say bathroom break. He said something that rhymes with «bit» or «fit». Not the most professional words to utter to a customer.
I smiled nervously and walked out. Thanks humourless pouty faced employee, and thanks super-​pierced young employee, and finally thanks grumpy senile old employee — I got the office chair I wanted, with free delivery. Eventually.

In every Canadian metropolitan area that I have visited, there is always a Grand and Toy somewhere. This stores in this chain are smaller than say Staples and are located within both street level and underground malls. This particular Grand and Toy is tucked into the latter and when I’m in town there’s always room for another pen or pad of paper.