Macy’s

This was such a great place when they opened. It’s too bad they’d let it get so run down.

I’m a devoted Macy’s customer. I shop both in their store and online all the time. Today however, after a long day in Santa Barbara we walked in to the store after shopping elsewhere. A shopping bag of mine broke while going thru the racks. I went up to the counter asking nicely if I could have a one of their bags, showing the girl behind the counter my broken bag.
She looked at me as if I was asking for her number and responded with «that is not allowed» to hand out bags and that it was «against the rules.» I thanked her nicely thinking she was out of her mind. I walked over to another counter, not knowing she was sneaking up behind me, and I asked another girl if I could have a bag, yet again showing my bag that had torn.
The first girl ran up and repeated what she already said and added that if I insisted on having a bag they had to call management and security and ask for permission.
WHAT?! Security?! Would Macy’s manager and security really want their floor personel calling to ask such stupid questions?! She responded with saying that she would get in trouble if they would hand them out. I must say, this made me end my shopping for the day as I had to walk back to the car. I had a bunch of shopping to do in the store and i ended up not doing it. Thanx!

Absolute worst service I’ve ever had. Went to purchase a $ 400 watch… wasn’t acknowledged AT ALL. Half the counters didn’t even have attendants! Where are all the employees??? Makes no sense. Left making no purchase even though wanted to. Will be shopping at nordstrom from now on. LA cumbre macys is just as bad. Maybe a tiny better.

Don’t bother using a gift card online. The macys numbers only work over the phone. The ad prices only work online, instore they don’t care about you and tell you to go home to order and pickup back at the store!

Got shoes from Fast Line a few weeks ago. An Asian guy gave us the sizes. Proceeded to come over and stick a gel foot liner inside my shoe WITHOUT asking if I wanted to try. EW, do you stick that into everyone’s shoes?!
Second, he watched us the whole time, as he came in about 15 minutes later (we were shopping in different shoe departments) interrupted our conversation and said «ARE YOU GOING TO BUY THOSE? I CAN HOLD THEM FOR YOU, BECAUSE YOU CAN ONLY BUY IT FROM US. (AKA Fast Line). I told him no. He insisted he could take them. To which I said no again, and asked why we can’t purchase it at a different cash register?!
HE PROCEEDED TO LIE TO MY FACE THAT I WON’T BE ABLE TO MAKE A PURCHASE OF THESE SHOES BECAUSE FAST LINE IS IT’S OWN «STORE» THAT RENTS PLACE FROM MACY’S BUT ISN’T A PART OF MACY’S SO WE WON’T BE ABLE TO PURCHASE THESE SHOES AT THE REGISTER ACROSS FROM HIS…
Do you think we’re idiots? I’ve been to numerous Macys throughout my life, I’m pretty sure I can go to any cash register. If you wanted your «commission points» you could have just been honest and asked us to come by, NOT come up with the dumbest lie and insulted us.
We ended up not going to him on purpose and were kindly processed by a young man in another department.
Also, a lady that works in the shoe department came over to ask if we had any questions and straight up didn’t wait for a reply and left (I told her I had a question). WHAT.
To all those reviews that the SF Macy’s is night and day to this location are absolutely right. I grew up in SB and never understood why Macy’s was so praised by so many… because our Macy’s here SUCK. After living in SF, I get it. But the Macy’s in SB will never live up to actual Macy’s standards…

If I could give negative stars…
THIS STORE IS SO POORLY RUN, it should really just be shut down already.
1) It’s absolutely repulsive in cleanliness. I’m pretty positive they have never washed the carpets, let alone mopped the floors.
2) Are they understaffed? WHERE THE HELL ARE ALL YOUR ASSOCIATES HANGING OUT?! It takes longer to find someone to ring you up, then it does to actually look around. It seems as if there’s only one person working. Then comes when you actually find someone but they’re not from the department or they’ve just finished closing their register, so they can’t actually help you!
From someone who’s actually worked at a Macy’s before, one of our main objectives is to never leave a customer unattended or never even leave your registrar unattended.
Lastly, From someone who’s shopped at Macy’s in San Fransisco – a very large and surprisingly well-​kept location, AVOID THIS SHITHOLE LIKE THE PLAGUE.
I’m so glad I discovered Nordstrom.

My wife bought 4 champagne glasses from Macy’s mail order. She kept 2, to give our neice for her wedding and returned 2 via Macy’s return box and label. Macy’s only credited her for one. after much time on the phone the issue still has not been resolved

I know it sounds a bit lame but this is my go to spot for clothes for my man. They always have great deals on he’s not big on shopping so it’s perfect for him. His thought is why spend money on something I don’t care about. But it’s perfect because the clothes look good. Staff doesn’t help much but I like that because I hate when people just bother you the whole time. He looks great in everything we buy here. Not so hot on the womens stuff but for the guys it’s perfect and not too expensive. Just remember to bring those 20 percent off coupons that come in the mail each week.

The Santa Barbara Macy’s is the WORST. I stood in luggage for 30 min when I finally found someone to help the 2 people who worked there said I’m busy find someone else. It’s dirty, unorganized, service is TERRIBLE. It’s like no one there wants to work. HORRIBLE.

This store definitely does not live up to the Macy’s name. It is in terrible need of cleaning! The carpet is disgusting and the floors look as if they’ve never been cleaned! I was sorely disappointed by the appearance but tried to look past it and browse the shoe department. When I finally found a shoe salesperson (which took longer than it should have), I asked her for my size in three different shoes. She informed me that she wasn’t ‘allowed’ to get one of them and that I’d have to get someone else to help me with that pair. What??? Is that really the customer experience that you believe makes sense Macy’s? I promptly walked out and will spend my money elsewhere, thank you very much! Ridiculous!

Eek. This Macy’s is a dump.
Growing up in the Bay Area I guess I never knew how shabby other Macy’s really were. San Francisco is home to the largest store in Union Square and then Pleasanton (40 mins east) is the town I was raised in, and it houses the second largest Macy’s. What I loved about Macy’s was the clean aisles and neat and organized racks, and the selection. I think between 12 – 25 I bought 90% of my clothes from Macy’s. But now that I no longer live in the Bay Area I shop elsewhere and whenever I’ve visited a Macy’s outside of my bubble I find that I absolutely hate the store and the experience of being there. And much to my dismay, this Macy’s was no exception.
It all started when my sister and I were shopping in Santa Barbara. A town with an eclectic mix of millionaires, billionaires, buskers and bums. Usually State Street is home to expensive real estate and expensive stores. We popped into this Macy’s to look around and it was like a bomb had gone off. Unlike the Macy’s I recall fondly, this one was dingy, dirty and in complete disarray. Employees were impossible to find, the décor was dated, and the racks of clothing were boring and sifted through like there was about to be a clothing apocalypse. It was hugely disappointing and while I still tried to shop for a bit and ignore how lousy the store was, I ended up feeling like I’d wasted 20 mins of my life in here.
When I used to think Macy’s competed with Nordstrom, now I think it competes with Ross. I’d honestly rather spend time and money in JC Penney.

They removed the women’s plus size section. Cause everyone in SB is a size 14 or smaller, right?

This rating is based on two experiences during the last week. (A few months ago, closer to the holidays, customer service was much better).
I went in to buy some makeup and only 1 person was there. Usually there are a lot of people at the counters. And the lady helping me didn’t know about the products I wanted and was not able to help me understand which products would be best for me. I just haphazardly decided on my own what to get.
I also wandered through the mens sections needing help with formal attire suggestions and suit suggestions. I actually had to walk over to the far side of the store to find a sales clerk and by the time I located one, she was ringing up purchases for people. I left because she seemed annoyed when I asked if she would help me when she was free.
Upstairs in the women’s clothing area, I wanted to put a couple things on hold and again, I had to search high and low for a sales clerk.
These were the first times I have had poor customer service. And it wasn’t really an «off time». It was midday to afternoon. Tons of people were inside the store shopping and like me, others had trouble finding clerks too.

Wasn’t impressed with the service or the quality. Santa Barbara needs a another higher-​end department store to replace this mess.

I am not typically a Macy’s shopper but my husband and I were in Santa Barbara for the night and he needed a polo shirt. We were right near Macy’s so we parked in the free 75 minute parking and ran in. In the ten minutes it took to buy the shirt we were smiled at, asked if we needed help, and thanked for our business by no less than six Macy’s associates. Needless to say, I am pretty impressed. The Macy’s in Los Angeles and SFV could take some customer service lessons from this store. I think they are doing a great job!

3.3 Stars
This Macy’s to me in general is between bad and ok. This one needs to be cleaned up a ton; clothes should be folded nicer & the workers should clean a little. Customer Service is Excellent. Shoutout to Kevin on the 3^rd floor! He was so friendly and helpful! If your ever on the 3^rd floor, make sure to ask for Kevin! At the makeup/​perfume counter (1^st floor) they do not have a Bare Minerals counter. They also don’t have another makeup counter (forget what its called) that most Macy’s usually have. But you can have them order it for you in the store. Prices are reasonable for Black Friday.

I was in Santa Barbara for my 25^th college reunion. The school is celebrating its 75^th anniversary, so there was a big gala dinner and dance event planned.
Knucklehead me forgot to pack any dress socks. For some reason I did not want to show up in at a fancy dress event with my white shorty socks and dress shoes. I needed a pair of socks — bad.
So, I found the Macy’s store. Parking in the structure is free up to 75 minutes. Since I only needed about 30 minutes to enter the structure, park, get to Macy’s, pick out socks, pay, get back to the car, and get on the road, I scored some free parking. Sweet for a busy downtown area.
This Macy’s is pretty much like most others. I got the socks I needed. Not too much of a hassle. That is A-​OK in my book!

Just another sh*t stain on the joke that is sometimes Santa Barbara.
You would think, that living in the «American Riviera» and having to do things like sell a kidney, plasma, a 2002 VW Passat with all of the trimmings, and occasionally consider prostitution to pay the rent… that we would have a nice Macy’s. But no.
When my eyebrows grow out into a pair of bushy, mating caterpillars. I go and see one of the girls at the Benefit counter to stop a baby caterpillar explosion from happening on my face, and then I get the hell out.
This has to be the most poorly managed Macy’s in the entire company. I have been to stores owned by Federated all over the U.S. and this one takes the crap-​cake.
I can’t explain why, be it the urine smell, the peeling walls, broken floor tile, shirt needles all over the dressing room floors, and the lack of natural or unnatural light kind of make me think, «Hey, this might be what a serial killers basement would be like… kind of.» A serial killer with a shoe fetish, mind you.
I can only blame this on very poor management. Would it kill Macy’s to hire somebody that actually kind of cares? Just a little bit? Why does this store have to be the ugly stepsister? I mean Torrance has a nicer Macy’s than we do (sorry Torrance, you know you ugly!), what gives?
If you do not mind the drive, the Ventura or Thousand Oaks stores are worth the trip.
Stay away from this Serial Killer’s Basement gone Liberace if you can.

A ghetto Macy’s exists, LOL.
They have extremely few things. There’s a few dresses, a few American Rag stuff (my fave brand), and… a few of a few other things. So lame. At least the employees are friendly. Other than that, ghetto store, ghetto customers, ghetto things.

(3.5 Stars)
After spilling Ghirardelli syrup from Yogurtland on my shirt and having a long day ahead of me, I had to find a new shirt.
I am definitely not the most fashionable person and all I really needed was a polo that (1) was not too expensive, (2) a different color than what I already have and (3) the stiffer woven cotton piqué fabric (I don’t like the smooth cotton shirts because they wrinkle too easily).
Macy’s had a good selection; they had a good variety of colors and fabrics on sale for $ 20. My friends helped me pick out a color, I bought it and we were on our way. It was actually a pretty decent shirt though I did not like the little, barely noticeable logo over the left breast. I guess if it was the crocodile logo, I wouldn’t mind showing it off, but the logo I saw here was probably better suited hidden (maybe as a shirt tag).
Service was quick and friendly; unfortunately, the cashier did not have scissors, but my friend’s teeth proved to be a suitable replacement for removing the shirt’s price tag.
From what I saw, I don’t think this Macy’s would do it for you if you were into fashion (the store was a little disorganized, some stuff was thrown everywhere and it had kind of a depressing feel to it). But for my purposes that day, it more than did the job. And if a similar incident happened again on State Street (after dessert at maybe nearby Cold Stone Creamery or Pierre Lafond), I would definitely stop here again.
Note: Restrooms are located on the second floor and they are big enough and clean.
(Located near Yogurtland) Parking is available on the street (though hard to find); parking is also available at a nearby lot that is free for the first 75 minutes.