Chapters

I like this chapters because it’s conveniently located in chinook mall. They added on a kids/​baby indigo/​American girl so the whole thing combined, this store is pretty huge. A lot more home décor now than ever before. Awesome selection of cards/​notebooks as well. Kate Spade! My personal fave. The staff here are friendly enough, I do think they could have a better dress code, a few employees looked pretty rough today (messy hair, no socks in their runners). I dunno call me old fashioned but I would have been sent home from my job if I looked that disheveled. Also, the bathrooms by the Starbucks are TERRIBLE. Soooo dirty.

I usually go to the Chapters in Crowfoot and Dalhousie, but I had other errands to run in the mall and figured I would stop in for a coffee at Starbucks and look for some books.
Thinking I would be in here 15 minutes max… well I spent a good couple hours in the store. Besides my latte purchase, I ended up buying some thank you cards, some cute initial mugs, a couple of prints to frame and the 3 books I was looking for. A very expensive couple of hours. Well worth it.
There is tons of staff, all friendly and always around to help. Lots of selection in this huge store and best thing, a great place to kill a couple hours if you ever have that luxury.

Although this location has everything you’d expect from a Chapters (right down to a Starbucks), there is something I don’t like about it. It’s sooooo busy! This shouldn’t be surprising being located right in Chinook Centre, but it’s worth pointing out depending on your reason for visiting. If you’re shopping in the mall anyways or going in for a planned purchase then it’s a pretty solid Chapters. The staff here are really solid and they have a lot of inventory including good sized sub-​departments for kids, toys, gifts, home, entertainment, style, paper and electronics. Where I don’t like this location is if you’re going in to take your time and browse, and actually sample read a book. The environment is just a bit hectic for this in my opinion. Same goes for the Starbucks, very busy and not the ideal spot if you want to do some work in a relaxing environment. If you’re going to Chapters for one of those two reasons I’d recommend one of the quieter locations for sure. Also the parking lot is very busy and often far from ideal for getting in and out quickly.
The exception is some of the colder winter months, people seem to be less motivated for outings if it’s cold out and then this Chapters can be a cozy choice as well :). It also tends to quiet down in the evening, although some people lurk over before their movie.

I usually go to the Chapters in Dalhousie, but I had other errands to run in the mall and figured one stop shopping.
I spent a good couple hours in the store. It was wonderful! Got some new notebooks, random books I didn’t plan to get, plus the books I was looking for.
There is tons of staff, all friendly and ensuring your taken care of. And always have selection and stock.

Chapters is home to many of my impulse book and candy purchases. It’s great for drinking $ 20 worth of coffee and reading comic books, while you wait for your movie to start in the nearby theatre. On my own, I’m more likely to purchase a book in e-​format or go treasure hunting for books in Value Village; but dang if all those rockstar bios don’t look awfully nice alongside my vinyl collection on the shelf.
However, while their selection appears impressive; it’s actually pretty Wal-​Mart esque. This Chapters is home to a LOT of junk-​food lit (think chick lit, romance and YA novels), and they attempt to have just a little bit of everything, but not enough to always find what you’re looking for.
For example: If you’re looking for specific photography books or coffee table books, I suggest going to The Camera Store. Chapters’ selection for photo related books is pretty slim, with only a handful of the Taschen collection. Or if you’re scoping out the entire works of GRRM, after burning the candle at both ends devouring the GoT series; head to one of Calgary’s independent shops. Likewise for comics (hint, hint ALPHACOMICS hint, hint).
But, I like Chapters. It’s a solid 3, as far as I’m concerned. A solid 3… in my… no I won’t say it ;).

The other day I was shopping in Chinook and I made a mini pit-​stop at this Chapters.
Although the location and size of this place is amazing, I’ve decided I’m not a fan of this particular Chapters. I find it really chaotic. You walk in and are overwhelmed by stuff everywhere. Plus things aren’t labelled as well as they are in other Chapters and I had a hard time finding what I was looking for so I just left.
I’m still giving this place a decent score though because generally, you can’t go wrong with Chapters! Unfortunately, I just wish this particular one was a little less busy and a little more welcoming.

This Chapters is such a nice convenient location for me, because it is in the Chinook mall, so driving to and from it and parking is always extremely easy. If I have a book in mind that is more obscure I will go to some of my favourite used book stores, but for that easy to find coffee table book, this is the perfect place for me.
Easy in, easy out. The browsing terminals are many and finding a book is relatively easy, you simply punch in a title and voila: your options! These terminals tell you, book titles on your topic, whether it is in supply in the store, where it is at other Chapters branches and how you can order if you have the time to do so.
Service is hit or miss however; I usually attract two types of service people here, ones who know directly where the book is in the store and waste no time in leading me to it or others who have no clue what I am asking for and have that deer in front of headlights look. Well it’s okay, we have got the browsing terminals to look at.
Complaints are only two. Number one: Tables at café are sometimes filled with people who have obviously finished drinking their beverages but plan to stay all afternoon. And number two: Not enough browsing tables and seating anywhere in Chapters, just the occasional chair. I want to sit down and spread out my finds so I can make my picking easier but there are no places to do that here.
Other than these two complaints, Chapters usually has the best selection and prices in the city on newer books so I often frequent here because I can be assured I will leave with what I am looking for.