Chapters

The Chapters I normally go to. The books are pretty pricey yet you can normally find a good one for a cheap price. I love the layout of the store and the staff are generally friendly. There are some duds in that aspect, but I wouldn’t put it against the rest. There also seems to be some problems with the computers detecting the amount of copies a book has compared to how many there ACTUALLY are.

If I could give a more accurate rating, it might be of 0 stars. I experienced one of the worst examples of customer service I’ve had in a while. As an employee you are trained to do what you can with in reason to make the customer happy (it’s so that a customer will want to spend more money, later on). Today was not the case at all. Here is my story…
I tried to return two items that we already owned. I checked their return policy before going in and found out that as long as you had a packing slip (online order) and that the items were unopened, you could return the items and get the balance on a gift card. So simple right? No. We were given the runaround and shuffled to different employees, none of which were familiar with the store policy.
They kept on insisting that all they could do was refund the person who bought the item. After showing them the return policy (on their website, on my phone) I was sent to another employee for help. Explained the situation again, then got a manager for authorizing the return. Was told that the credit card was credited. Not what I wanted because my credit card wasn’t used for the purchase (it was a gift from someone else). I wanted a gift card so that we could exchange the items for something else. Another manager was called and they tell the employee to call head office to reverse the transaction only to find out they aren’t available on weekends. The new manager comes back and stated rudely that they can give me a credit on the items on a gift card (which is what I wanted in the first place) and that they will take the loss for the mistaken refund to gifter’s credit card. I was made to feel as though it was my fault for their mistake. Needless to say I was not impressed with their service. I feel they need to train their employees some customer empathy. The managers need to be more familiar with the company policies. I will definitely not be returning there anytime soon.

Their staff are knowledgeable and helpful. For the most part, they seem like book people who care about their jobs.
The condition of the books are another story. As so many people have touched each book, virtually all of them show signs of wear and tear.
We had the only copy of a book left and it had a tear in the front cover among other things. We were only willing to take it if it had a significant discount as this was TRASHED. Guess what was offered? 10%. This isn’t minor scuffing, it’s a tear in the front cover and wear on all sides. Books in used bookstores are nicer than this. This book is virtually unsellable and they were only willing to give 10%?
Thanks but no thanks.

Two words: Bargain Bin. Otherwise, this store is pricey for books and I fear by the amount of people just hanging out and not buying anything, eventually Chapters will go the way of so many other now defunct bookstore chains. Otherwise they have a great selection with helpful and knowledgeable personnel. I like the idea of having a book still as opposed to a download. Call me old fashioned but I’m pretty proud of my home library. I’ve been coming to this Chapters for years and seem to always find a couple books less then $ 10 a piece in the clearance selection. Without that, I’d probably be more browse and no buy.

i just love Chapters. I love the enviroment. I love the book selection. For the most part the staff is friendly. But there’s a few that could really use an attitude adjustment and know the meaning of customer service. A few times I’ve come in, and forget to grab a bag or basket to carry my books while I shop. Staff member after staff member will walk by and see that I’m stuggling and not one will offer to grab a bag or basket for me. But there’s an older gentlemen with white short hair that always helps me out. What a nice guy. He’ll talk to you and answer your questions and explain stuff to you, always with a smile and he never makes you feel like you’re wasting his time or bothering him. He’s the reason why I keep coming back. I wish that I knew his name. But I want to say thank you.