Carson Pirie Scott

This review is solely in regards to the fragrance department. I stopped by to quickly check out some cologne on my way up to the men’s department. A woman came over and asked if I needed help and I said I would stop back on my way out. She told me that I’d want to speak with Evelyn who was their resident expert on that stuff (which I thought was really cool of her as I’m guessing that they get commissions on sales). I came back on my way out and Evelyn was really great. She was very informative and knowledgeable… and VERY patient as I tried out a ton of them. She was really polite and friendly as well. I don’t shop there often so I can’t speak for other departments but if you’re looking for perfume or cologne I’d definitely recommend stopping here.

My family has been coming to Carsons for 20 + years and have been loyal customers. I have noticed a decline in the customer service of the past few years. On numerous occasions waiting 10 or more minutes for someone to acknowledge me at the jewelry counter. About a week ago me and my boyfriend went to the shoe department to look at a new pair of flats. I walked in the store with a pair of shoes I intended to exchange for a larger size. As I approached the shoe department the first thing I observed was how under staffed this department was. I finally found the flats I needed in the correct size and walked up to the saleswomen, I put my shoes I intended to return on a chair nearby with my receipt on top so they wouldn’t get picked up and brought back into the stock room. As I was trying on the new shoes I didn’t realize the ones I walked into the store with were gone ! I approached the employee and informed her my shoes were gone. I looked throughout the shoe department and also asked her if she may have accidentally mistaken them for a pair of shoes that were to go back in the stock room and may have put them back she said no. At this point I’m kind of in a panic thinking someone stole my shoes. I found the receipt but no shoes ! I then asked her to call security as they must have been stolen and security could look at the cameras. This then turned into a big fiasco I was being questioned along with my boyfriend ! Management then got involved and they did a sweep of the shoe department and asked other employees if they had seen anyone walk out with a pair of shoes. Both security and management were rude and unprofessional at this point. In my defense if they had someone stealing then this needed to be addressed promptly. I should have been more careful as to where I placed my belongings unattended. Finally security came out of the stock room with my shoes ! All along the saleswomen had placed the shoes in the stock room and was too embarrassed to admit it. Accidents do happen I understand but the customer service was horrible and a little situation that escalated could have simply been avoided. I didn’t even receive an apology for my inconvenience more of a lecture. I was upset because my time was wasted and I truly thought the shoes I paid for were gone. I feel management should have handled this situation more professionally.

I received what I thought was an amazing coupon from Carson’s and ventured out on Sunday 12÷14÷14 to have some fun with it (spend $ 100 and take $ 50 off (includes sale items)). Happily I shopped for a couple hours and found quite a few treasures that I would never had purchased being on a tight budget. I took my selections to the counter just to be told «I’m sorry, Yellow dot sale items do not work with the coupon» and she explained all exclusions are written on the back of the coupon. I asked her to show me the words and the clerk said «oh I can’t, the print is way too small for anyone to read it». Sure enough, it was. Tears came to my eyes as I had to take back my two hours of hard work with nothing to show for it. What a mean trick to play on customers and of course I am no longer one of them.

After my experience here over the weekend I am a big fan. They have a great staff in the men’s department. I picked up 2 suites, 3 shirts and 3 ties and paid about $ 200 less than I thought. I gave all my stuff to the lady and kept browsing… when I came up to the counter she had scanned in a bunch of coupons that I didn’t even know existed! I walked out of their feeling like I had robbed the place! Such great deals and very friendly staff! I don’t go to malls often, let alone Spring Hill Mall, but I will be coming back to this Carson’s!

My shopping experience here was so bad that I actually thought that I was on one of those «Candid Camera» shows! I had to walk around the second level of the store to find someone to take my money — not one run around the store, not two runs around the store, but 3, yes 3 times around to find someone to take my MONEY!
I ended up in the luggage department paying for a bath mat.
Very, very scary. I have a little advice for the management:
HIRE SOME PEOPLE TO WORK THERE!