Baby Store Hours (rant)

[Piglet]

This is a petty b*tch, but I am so ticked off with baby gear stores and their hours here in Calgary. We have a labour shortage right now, so maybe that is the problem and we have a wealthy population of moms and moms to be, so maybe that is the problem... but how the heck can I get to a store with DS to buy a Britax Parkway if they all close at 6 PM? How can people afford to buy these expensive products when it appears none of them work during the day? I had to run around like a mad woman yesterday to get a Parkway for DS. The store that is on my way home from work didn't have any in stock and the other that had them in stock closed at 6. We had to go there before dinner and bought one of the last 2 in stock. Yes, the store I bought it at is open until 8 on Friday and on weekends too, but the seats sell out so quickly that I didn't want to risk waiting that long. The other stores in the city have NO evening hours and are closed on Sundays (which is my main shopping day - I am an observant Jew and Saturday's are off limits). I just don't get how they stay in business if they do not cater to working parents! Now I know why I prefer online shopping - my time is worth about as much as the shipping costs me when buying online.

Thanks for reading,

[EllasMum]

Does the Bo Bebe in Market Mall have those silly hours? Wouldn't it have to be open regular mall hours? Or do they not have carseats anymore... the owners of the Crowfoot store told me they just franchised the Market Mall store recently, so maybe the new owners aren't carrying carseats. And what about the Crowfoot location? Do they close early?? I'm generally there during the day so didn't realize they close early. OK I'm really on a roll here - Kacz' Kids in Deerfoot? They carry a pretty good selection of Britaxes...

Good luck - hope you can get your hands on one!!

Susan

[Piglet]

Market Mall Bo Bebe is open mall hours, but their selection stinks ever since they franchised. They seem to get the last of the products when they arrive. No Britax to be found! Bo Bebe in Crowfoot is even worse - they close at 6 every day and when I had to do a return they treated me horribly. I was there because DS2 was sick and I needed to go for a long drive. He didn't fall asleep and we were by Crowfoot. I don't live anywhere near Crowfoot. I bought a Cuddlywrap, only to discover that it wasn't ideal for larger babies. When I wanted to return it, I called to find out their evening hours, I was told they close every day at 6 - I can't even get from downtown to Crowfoot by 6 during rush hour some days. I asked if I could return it to Shawnessy (much closer to my house) and they said no, no way, no how, nope, nada, nyet. I was pretty miffed - they could have at least let me return it to a store near my house. That is what started the whole baby store hours problem. Finally yesterday I was with DS1 in the car and we were near E-Children. I called them and they said that they were out of Parkways. Otherwise, they are right on my way home, but they woudn't take my name down to put on a waiting list or anything like that unless I paid a deposit. Then I called Kacz Kids. They had the Parkway, but also closed at 6. I was just frustrated at these hours. They do not work for anyone that works full time and one of the reasons I work such long hours is to afford Britax carseats and the like?!

[pampamz]

Not petty -- it is the same here in SW Ontario. We have a limited selection of stores that carry higher end products (mostly the usual TRU, Sears etc).

It makes me crazy to have to rush around after work to spend money in these people's *boutique* stores. If only they had some business sense and considered that most expectant parents/moms are not yet off on maternity leave and as such, kind of need evening hours to shop...DUH!

I totally understand a lot of these business are family run, but that does not negate the fact that good business sense means customer friendly hours. It really urkes me, as you can see! This was a major source of frustration with DC#1 when I was trying to get the better quality gear and no one was around (or carried it). I felt like Pretty Woman -- I have money to spend here! If only you were open to take it.

I am also an online shopper now for any fun stuff I want, mostly from the US. Now that is a whole other post on why some ship to us and why some don't, why the insane mark-up to Canadians etc. Don't get me started on Fleurville prices here -- I saved almost $100 bucks by buying in the States & shipping here on my ST. Crazy!

Sorry to rant on ad nauseum!

[EllasMum]

Just out of curiosity, when you called Kacz Kids did you call the Deerfoot location? Do they really close earlier than the mall? I know it has that weird 'not connected to the mall' entrance, but I would imagine they'd keep mall hours??

So you can't return stuff at different Bo Bebe locations than you bought from??! That sucks about the service you got at Crowfoot - I've always had excellent service from them. Including recently when a friend and I went to buy sleep sacks and they actually opened newly received shipping boxes and rifled through them to find colors for us! Maybe you got a bad staff member.

Sorry to hear your troubles! Hope you can get a seat - can you sneak out of work early one day? ;)

[Piglet]

Kacz Kids only has the one location that I know of in Deerfoot Meadows (not Deerfoot Mall). They are by the old south Costco.

[psophia17]

Hours suck in BC, too - the mall proper closes at 6pm most days, and it wouldn't matter anyhow, because there are no baby stores in it. TRU is slightly better, but it's TRU...

TJs Kids isn't bad, and has a lot of selection, but they clearly are catering to a different income level than I'm at, so I avoid going there unless I know I'll have success.

We don't do credit cards, so it's almost impossible to buy from the States, even when shipping charges aren't insane (a $20 pair of sandals off eBay was going to cost $25 to ship? Ummm...no). Sometimes I ask my Mom or sister to buy stuff for me, ship it to them, re-ship to me, and I'll reimburse them, but that's a PITA...

Hopefully I'll be able to do some shopping in the States soon, or give my aunt a list of things to buy when she goes next (my immigration is still pending, so I'm not risking leaving the country just yet), but then she has to deal with customs at the border, which isn't fair to her...it all-around sucks.

[EllasMum]

There's a Kacz Kids that opened in Deerfoot Mall. It is around the south side of the mall. You can't get to it from inside the mall but if you go out the food court mall entrance you can walk over to the Kacz Kids entrance. It has been open for maybe 6 months? I am pretty sure if opened after I had DD who is now almost 11 months... They definitely have carseats - that's where I looked at the Marathon (but ended up buying from Bo Bebe who had a coupon!)