Jeanette S.
Yelp
Let me start by saying I love crate and barrel, and always have. I went to register over the weekend and was sitting down for the 'instructions and consult' portion of the day, before they will hand over a scanner. Now, I understand this is a key part in the process, there is protocol to follow, and some people have never been to/looked through a C&B...that being said, holy cow the "talk" took forever. My recommendation, unless you are TRULY clueless about knife sets and dishes, say you already have them/aren't registering for them/registered somewhere else... We had over 20 minutes of knife-talk and we told her we weren't getting knives from there. We also heard all about the dishes, which we had registered for elsewhere. I know she was only doing her job, but man, by the time we got up my stomach was growling.
On to the store. C&B is well organized and displayed to give you the ability to actually picture it in your home, rather than just having a display with 50 of the same thing. That being said, there is a repetitive tendency throughout the store. We saw garlic presses (the same ones) in 3 different bin locations. We saw the same glasses in 4 different spots...it became a game. Make sure you start with one end, walk up/down each "section" since there aren't aisles, and take your time. There is SO much going on in a small space that you will have to actually look at what it is, otherwise you could miss something great...you could also see it 3-4 times....guess that's good if you want to make absolutely sure you want it?!
Another pro is that there is staff in place all over the store. It is easy to get assistance if you need it, they offer graciously but don't hound you(other than the lady that hands out the scanner guns), and they seem to actually know what they're talking about.
So, with all the positive "props", why only 3 stars? Well, the 40 minute "talk/explanation" that was not necessary for us took one off. We said mult times that we didn't want the demo/weren't registering for those items at C&B. The 2nd star came off because it just wasn't a "spectacular" experience as I had heard so many people rave about.
I am sure it was just an off day, they are usually so spot on, and I have never registered with them, so maybe I had too high of expectations... I will update once we start having to deal with customer service/if anything comes in broken, things along those lines...C&B, we are far from done with you yet, I hope you re-impress me, you usually do such a great job!