Store Review: Winners

[nwriter]

Store Review: Winners

As Christmas approaches and people scout for good deals, Winners is a name that jumps to mind. Thanks to their high inventory turn-over, Winners likes to say that they offer a new store, every day.

(Well, that is, aside from the fist-sized bags of Jelly Bellies discounted 30% each month for the last 5 months! And at that rate, I think they'll soon be down to a nickel ...)

I’ve been to several outlets and they are quite similar, though some locations are larger than others. One near Bloor and Yonge offers a more upscale experience.

Clothing:

I am not a big fan of the men’s section, aside from packaged shirts, ties, socks and undies. I personally don’t have the patience to look through the tops and pants to see if they have both the style and size I want. The brand names in the men’s section are generally not what I’m looking for. Though in the summer, I have found some inexpensive swim trunks there. As for women’s wear, my wife tends to find nice tops and dresses at reasonable prices i.e. $20-30. They have a nice selection of boots and shoes – and footwear is much less of a chore to browse on shelves, than are the rows of congested clothes racks. Women can also find lingerie in the clothing section. Or for that matter, men, too. We live in a free country!

Housewares:

Here you can find a wide assortment of cups, bowls, baking tins, pots, pans, knives, pepper shakers, pasta spoons and assorted kitchen gizmos. My favourite part of this section is the bottled hot sauces, salsa, and candy. I found some very delicious Belgian chocolates (in a bar) for under $4. You can also find very cushy duvets, linens, cushions, towels, and soft bathroom mats at a good price. You can also find some very interesting books here – many discounted cookbooks, home design journals, calendars and biographies. Worth a visit. The housewares section also often carries toys and seasonal items, though I think Christmas has already broken out ahead of Halloween.

Jewelry:

Various earrings, watches, rings and shiny knicknacks. There is the occasionally interesting item, but I would not make their Jewelry counter my top destination.

Change Rooms: very good customer service.

Cleanliness/Comfort/Safety:

I would rate this aspect among the worst aspects of this large chain, based on numerous visits to a number of locations. You won’t see mud, but there are plenty of dust bunnies (early for Easter), scuffed up floors (begging to be replaced), and even a few potential dangers. I once cut myself on the jagged edge of an unpackaged steak knife left in a pile of housewares. I informed staff, but I wasn’t given much consideration. I have seen broken glass and reported it. The worst stores have too little space between racks.

Free Admission For One to the Zoo (sure, just head to the checkout!)

Staff: while their staff is generally hard-working and no doubt underpaid (especially those putting away clothes), I’ve found some front of store staff snippy and slow to open new registers when long lines form.

A major pet peeve that usually results in brief fantasy involving throwing knives and not much else:

When staff opens a new register, they almost never invite the next in line to move into the first spot (training anyone?). Staff sometimes uses the Returns and Exchanges counter to ring in customer purchases, without alerting shoppers who might otherwise be waiting in long lines at the main counters. I would have to say management at these stores is pretty poor for many of the reasons discussed.

I would rate Winners 7 out of 10. I would give them a full extra point if they’d mercifully set up some lounge chairs for the men waiting (like Godot!) … for their wives and girlfriends, outside the change rooms.

As Winners spokesperson Kirstie Ally exhorts: “You Should Go … !” but I might also add, “Just not with Your hubby! This has been a public service announcement on behalf of all men who have been marched into the store against their will.” ☺

[Sally888]

Nice review. I find WINNERS is hit and miss between different locations, can you be more specific as to what locations your talking about?

I've been in a few that I wanted to turn and run because they were so messy!!
But likewise i've been so some extremely well kept!

[nwriter]

These are the ones I've been to:

Winners
Victoria Park Square
2450 Sheppard Avenue East <-- hit or miss for merchandise quality, not the tidiest or cleanest location, sometimes cranky customer service

Winners - East York
Leaside
23 Brentcliffe Road (at Eglinton) <-- hit or miss as far as quality and selection go, not the tidiest or cleanest, slow, cranky service

Winners - Toronto
3090 Bathurst Street at Lawrence <-- a nice location, large, clean store and overall better quality merchandise than most, best location for fast, friendly service

Winners - Toronto
110 Bloor St W <-- this is the fancy one, with extra
sections such as men's business wear, expanded accessories, beauty
and runway

Winners - Toronto
College Park
444 Yonge Street <-- a bit disorganized when I went likely due to a lot of traffic in and out of store

Winners - Scarborough <-- average selection, slow checkout
Warden & Eglinton
808 Warden Avenue at Eglinton

Nice review. I find WINNERS is hit and miss between different locations, can you be more specific as to what locations your talking about?

I've been in a few that I wanted to turn and run because they were so messy!!
But likewise i've been so some extremely well kept!

[pippinelkhound]

Winners stock merchandise by some sort of demographics result. The higher the reported income the better the selection of merchandise.

I've been to the one in West Vancouver and it's got way better stuff than any of the ones I've beem to in Alberta.

But if you look hard you can find Le Creseut pots and pans.

[MissGodiva2u]

I do go to 3 different Winners here in Laval, one of them has the Home Sense in the same location and they really have nice things for the house and kitchen, clothing is the same as the other 2 stores.
What I don't like about the 2 last ones is that they have line-ups just like at Disney World, the worst is the exchange counter as there is only one cashier for that, one day I waited for exactly 36 minutes, gawd !!!
Hate trying on clothes as the fitting rooms have dust bunnies big enough to start giving them pet names !

[Alixana]

I've been to the 2 Winners in Coquitlam, and they're both pretty nice with some good selection, if you have the patience for it.

And good PSA for the men nwriter. I never go to Winners with dh unless he is looking for something to. That way he doesn't wait on me the whole time.