The Party Bazaar

They took a balloon order over the telephone. It’s not clear that these balloons ($ 4.50 each) come flat — not with helium. What’s the purpose of a helium balloon without helium. The party planner picked up order for me and later saw I had ordered balloons that they don’t mention are flat when you do the pickup.
I found out an hour before the party, so I called Party Bazaar.
At first, they said you can’t order balloons online.
I said that the website lists them.
Then they said there’s a notice on the site.
I said the site let me add balloons to my cart.
Party Bazaar said I could pick up new balloons filled and they would comp the helium fill.
They said I didn’t even have to return the balloons I had purchased.
But I brought them back anyway.
When I arrived, they had filled up 4 different, more expensive balloons. $ 40 total instead of $ 18.
They wanted to charge me $ 40 and said I’d get an $ 18 credit on Monday.
I nearly choked at the new price. $ 40 for balloons is quite expensive.
I said that’s why Unilocal is for.
So they said I could leave and they would resolve it on Monday.
Today (Tuesday), they offered the same thing: charging the difference between the $ 40 and what I already had paid.
I didn’t order the more expensive balloons. That was their screw-​up.
They should just comped the new balloons for all of their screwups.
The only thing they did was comp the helium fill. But their prices should include filling the balloon if you’re doing a pickup at the store so you know the price you’re paying.
Second problem: I ordered online for a surprise party, but they called me and the guy practically yelled into the phone (while I was next to the person who was supposed to be surprise) «Hi, It’s Party Bazaar. Your order is ready.»
I didn’t feel like fighting with them again.
So they made me take another trip to the store ½ hour before the party, upgraded me to a more expensive balloon and then charged for the more expensive one.
But I do want people to know that they may upgrade you and then charge you for the difference.
Now, that’s bad customer service!

Sent in this e-​mail:
To whom this may concern,
As someone who has used the Party Bazaar on many occasions for kids’ birthdays, I was surprised to receive such poor service on December 31^st at around 4:45pm from your representatives at the balloon desk. I was hoping to order balloons for January 3^rd and when I mentioned this upon arriving at the balloon desk, I was told by the sales representative that there would be a wait which I had expected given that it was New Years Eve and a busy time. However, after 15 minutes of waiting, the sales representative stated that I should call in my order on January 2^nd and pick it up on the 3^rd. Then I proceeded to explain that I was hoping for a price quote and she responded by saying, «Do you have the internet?» which I did not feel portrayed excellent customer service. Had your sales representative mentioned that they would not be able to take my order upon approaching the desk, that would have been completely fine. Having me wait for 15 minutes only to be told to use the internet was disrespectful. Next time, I would suggest placing a sign somewhere stating that you do not take orders on busy days like the 31^st or informing your sales representatives to politely notify their customers of this policy.
And got this response:
Thank you for your email about our balloon department. I am sorry you felt disrespected by our staff when you came in to order balloons for January 3.
December 31 is the busiest day of the year for our balloon department and I know the people in that department were swamped as they tried to accommodate everyone’s needs.
On behalf of the balloon department, I apologize that you felt overlooked and that your needs weren’t met. The customer service that you experienced will be reviewed with the retail manager, who will in turn review with the balloon department.
I assure you, our goal is always to delight our customers. It is clear that we failed to live up to your expectations.
I sincerely hope that you had a lovely birthday party for your child.
— — –
Balloonatics is a great alternative! Also, Safeway!

Je suis allée au Party bazaar dans l’espoir de trouver de l’inspiration pour un costume pour une soirée à Thème. Après avoir parcouru toutes les allées et découvert pas mal de choses drôles, l’inspiration n’est pas venue. Du coup avec mon coloc on s’est adressé à l’une des vendeuses. Et elle a lancé un petit brainstorming. On est ressortis avec de belles idées et des accessoires, enchantés :)
Merci beaucoup pour le coup de main!

Wow, an older lady in your Retail department whom I just spoke with at 2:50pm over the phone was very rude. I asked her politely, «Is there any blacklight neon makeup at your store, I just wanted to double check the stock?» She didn’t answer for a long time, so I said, «Helloo?» And she angrily barks on the phone, «NEON AND BLACK LIGHT MAKE-​UP ARE NOT THE SAME THING. What are you looking for?» When I told her black light, she goes, ‘NO WE DON’T HAVE ANY’ and hangs up on me. Wow, very impolite. According to your website, it actually says «Neon blacklight make-​up.» You should educate that staff member not to be so rude and condescending!
If she dislikes working there so much, which is supposed to be a fun happy party place, then she should quit and go work somewhere else. If I were the boss, I would be concerned about a staff who is driving customers away. It’s not good for your reputation and profits to keep a disgruntled and hateful grump around. She sounds like she would not be fun at a party, ouch.

I was heading to a jam on a Saturday night with some friends and really wanted to bring my Fog machine, unfortunately I was out of fog juice. I search on Unilocal for a place I could buy some fog juice and found the party bazaar. Said they’re open till 6 PM and it was 5:57. I called them and without any hesitation they offered to stay late just for me. Thank you!

A decent place to pick up a few party essentials.
Stopped by here the day before an event to pick up some bits and pieces to make the party sparkle (gotta have that sparkle!) I’d scoped out what I needed on the website before going so I could have a quick and efficient trip, and most of what I needed was pretty easy to find — cups, small helium tank, odds and ends for a fancy photo booth. I had trouble finding one item but the staff were quick to help, even though they didn’t know where the item was to start off with.
The store layout is fairly easy to follow, with most things being laid out by theme rather than style — they have a bachelorette section, a kids section etc. It was kind of fun to browse this way, but sometimes you just want to pick up your stuff and go, and I didn’t find that easy here as I needed to go through every aisle to find all the things I needed.
A good spot for a few essentials, but not somewhere I’d rely on for everything I need as the selection is fairly limited.

Having been renting from this establishment for nearly twenty years, we keep coming back. And though the customer service has been up & down, it was amazing this Saturday. It just goes to show you that hiring the right staff makes a business or breaks a business.
* Beth & * Darlene were super: helpful, cheerful, they even stayed five minutes late to help me get my stuff organized! They were amazing.
I will continue to drive over from West Van to go to The Party Bazaar for their great stuff and and moreover, this kind of great service.

Has a lot of interesting items, customer service obvious not their number one concern but then again neither is multitasking. Cashier rather «go get something» and comes back with a coffee than help people lining up. Don’t expect anything quick on a slow day. Was not impressed.

so I read the reviews here but soon realized this was the only place to go locally. I have to say I had a great experience! they were so helpful !! found me the right colors !!
The staff that were working today were great !!

I came here to buy accessories for a show. When the parking lot was empty, that should have given me a clue!
Yes that had loads of things but boy … they sure were not nice or helpful! When we walked in, there were two ladies talking. I thought one was a customer and the other person worked at the place and was helping the customer. No smile, no hello, no welcome … just a glare and back to the customer. Then the customer turned around and it was another person who worked there.
Obviously we needed help, but nope. Couldn’t be bothered. So here we are wandering around the store, looking for what we needed. And when we finally approached one for help, wholly molley … it was the worst thing I could have done. It was as though, «can you not see that I’m busy … leave me alone!!!» Thank goodness for the young chap that was there and did help us with things.
When I asked where I may be able to get more of something, one of the clerks said that I can go to NY Emporium down the street. So I asked if it was a couple of blocks from here. No. So I had to ask, where is it. It’s on Main Street. Is there I cross street, I asked. Main and Broadway area was the reply. THAT is not down the street!!! THAT is about a mile and half away!!!
Foolish me went there a second time … and all we could hear was two people whispering somewhere. No one on the floor to help anyone.
They may have a lot of party things … but a lot of it is overpriced.
All I can say is, if you don’t want to deal with customers, get out of there. If you’re unhappy, go find a desk job so you don’t have to deal with people. Now I know why the store was so empty. Never again!!!

For a place that should be so positive, fun and exciting this place is brutal. Honestly it feels like the staff HATE their lives. My guess is that they must be treated poorly.
I spend heaps of money here for work and every time they whine about helping me or complain about having to go upstairs to get a product they are out of.
I have contemplated writing reviews about the horrible customer service here before but couldn’t be bothered because maybe it was just an off day.
Entrepreneurs I hope you are listening… the vibe your store gives off, matters. Open up a party shop that is fun and exciting and I promise I will spend triple the amounts of money I do at this place.
I think I will be driving to the North Shore from now on.

Went in today when we saw they were open this BC Day Monday to get a few items for an upcoming birthday party.
The staff looked to be in the Halloween stock change over mode.
That must be why none of them greeted us entering the store, or asked if we needed help while looking at party decorations.
Kudos to the staff member in the balloon area who was so concerned about the cleanliness of the store, that she swept the floor around us, while not interrupting such an important task by trying to help us as we discussed which balloons we wanted or if we should get a pre-​made ‘bouquet’.
In fact, all 4 staff were so involved with other tasks the only words spoken to us were «50.95». Yup, the staff here are SO EFFICIENT the only communication will be your total cost.
None of that wasteful small talk, or even pesky ‘hello’s and ‘thanks’.
Bad customer service?
No, non-​existent service.

Great place to find any kind of helium balloons, they carry a large selection for many occasions which is supper. they have there own parking lot which helps a lot around this area of town, this is the place to go, I am not into costumes but you can find plenty of ideas in there, tell your friends…

You can guess when this place is busy. Halloween.
I came here on a weekday night, before Halloween, to check out a potential costume for my office. It was hectic in here. There is a lot of stuff and options for the party-​goer who wants to dress up.
I did find what I was looking for but was very disappointed in the quality of the costume. I didn’t buy it. For $ 60 it was steep considering the construction and the materials used.
For other costumes and accessories, this place certainly has it. The only caveat is to shop carefully.

The good thing about this place is that it’s one stop shopping for Halloween. Even though I have my game plan for Halloween, I wanted to look to see what options were available for other theme nights/​days during the year outside the usual Comic Cons, Zombie Walks etc. It was really busy due to Halloween. I felt a bit overwhelmed. During the rest of the year when I am in the mood for a themed party or to help set up for someone else, they have everything under one roof. It is more $$$ than other stores but really you’re paying for convenience. Every time I have gone in the staff have been really helpful. Sometimes when I am down I like to walk in here and fantasize about throwing themed parties. I’ve stopped throwing themed parties once most of my friends got married and having kids making it difficult to coordinate a party. Now I just dream about them. I sometimes come here to get trinkets for my nieces and nephews during the holidays.

After striking out badly at Dressews, (wait for the upcoming review) I ended up here as my last resort to try and find a sailor hat/​costume for the Sayonara Spring, Hapa To Unilocal You elite event.
First, major props to having such a convenient location. As someone who lives downtown and doesn’t have a car, it is extremely nice and convenient to get here with the skytrain station on Main Street being only a block away. My first impression was that this is a small store without much luster, but boy does it all come to life once you enter. Party Bazaar has a wide variety of sailor hats, pirate hats, showgirl style hats and plenty of other theme style hats and masks. There are also plenty of costumes, and I would highly recommend coming here if you are in serious need of a Halloween or party themed costume on short notice.
What a sweet little gem! I will totally be back here in a skip hop and a jump come October!

Sailor hats, helium tank rentals (can’t buy these bad boys here), multi-​length streamers, colourful wigs, piñatas! Yes, it’s all here, and yes, it’s all overpriced, and yes, the material of the costumes is sometimes a bit chincy (totally a word), and YES, dammit, yes I’ve had a need for each and every one of the aforementioned things.
I wouldn’t venture here on Halloween (though I know many who do) for general fear of lines and overwhelming claustrophobia when in crowded spaces.* But: they’ve got nice people, decent product when I need such a thing (which I always do for one reason or another), clean store, easy access from the Skytrain. There’s pretty much always a Party up in this Bazaar when it comes to decorations, costumes, and general partay-​foolery.
*As an aside, did you know that Aulophobia is a fear of flutes?

After looking all over Vancouver, Seattle, Bellingham, Whiterock – you name it – I reluctantly returned here on the Sunday before Hallowe’en. But just as I suspected, this was the best time to shop, too!
I drove all over only to realize that the location had changed, so be careful with that one.
Sure enough, they were the cleanest store that I’d experienced, and the staff was extremely helpful. But perhaps that was because they saw me open a package that could easily be put back together. (I know; I’m terrible, but I really needed to know and I did not destroy the item or packaging, after all).
It only loses one star, because seriously, everything is at least 20% more in price than the other places selling Hallowe’en goods, and for cheap stuff that you wear but one day a year, that’s a little bit too scary for my liking!
Bonus points for the abundance of parking and the scary display outside, too!
***A funny note*** – I had to pull over to let screaming fire trucks pass me on the way over; then the same fire truck pulled up to buy costumes just as I was leaving.
I guess even they left their Hallowe’en shopping until the end, but at least they could clear the streets getting there! :) No fair!

If you are planning a theme party, you have found your one-​stop shopping destination. For Halloween — it’s Ace if you’ve got money… and actually, Ace if you don’t since they have enough random crap to throw together a costume on the fly as well.
The costumes are extensive — you will inevitably find something along the lines of what you are looking for here. The downside — they ain’t cheap, nor is the material usually the best. I am not sure about rentals, but I hear they do them so that could be something to look into.
I’m hitting them up for Halloween (again) this year, but I won’t be waiting ’til the last minute like last year. This place gets crazy!

Props for having the wedding supplies I needed, to decorate a car. Only downside was the drive to downtown from where I was staying.
The Party Bazaar is equivalent to a Party City back in the states. You’ll find your average over priced party decorations here as well as a wide selection of costume props like masks, wigs, etc.
When I mention overpriced items, we’re talking at least double the price on certain items. I found tulle (netting for wedding decoration) for triple the price I paid at Michael’s Arts & Crafts. Though I should mention that they have more items here than Michael’s.
If cost isn’t a factor and convenience is, The Party Bazaar is your go to party store.
Free parking! Definitely a plus for the downtown area!

Everything you need for your party, you will find here. From wigs to coloured cups and pinatas, all the way to coat check tickets, costume rentals and helium balloons. Prices range depending on what you are looking for, I find some of the costumes that you can buy a bit overpriced, and made of cheap materials.
We have rented their bunny costumes for a party, it was my birthday actually. Every year we have a big party called the Pink N Drink, and two of my friends rented the pink bunny costumes since you have to wear pink to the party (I think it was $ 80 each for the costumes.) We have also rented on of their helium tanks which will fill 100 balloons for $ 100, plus the cost of balloons, which was about $ 35. There is also a deposit that must be left on the tank which is about $ 500 or so, so if you have a credit card, it should be no problem.
No matter the occasion, Party Bazaar will probably have a solution for your decorating needs. Whether its a stagette, mardi gras, graduation, or birthday, you should definitely check out this place for supplies to liven up the party.