I have shopped at Canadian Tire for years -they have amazing selection and competitive prices... I have always been very happy to shop there. In the past few months (I think since Christmas), however, they have obviously been trying to change their return/exchange policy, and I have had 2 negative experiences around this in the past 3 months. The first was trying to return a Christmas gift (I had the receipt) - the person behind the counter was very rude to me and actually made it somewhat difficult to return (said I would have to exchange instead of return). I figured it was just a busy time of year, so everyone was probably a little edgy. Last week, however, I tried to return something else that I had bought there but that I had changed my mind about. For some reason, I felt like a criminal trying to return it there. I had the receipt and everything, and the packaging had not been tampered with or anything, but they made a big production of opening it up, checking all the pieces and parts, making sure that no 'seals' were broken on the individual packages inside - and basically told me that they suspected that I had used the product and was now trying to return it (which was untrue). I'm telling you, I'm going to have to think long and hard about buying something at Canadian Tire that I'm not SURE that I want to own (including gifts) - they're making it harder and harder to return things!
Reviews
I'm extremely happy with a recent purchase from Leon's - an oversized sectional couch. I had been looking for a few months now for a large sectional couch, and all I had found were ones way out of my price range (who knew they could be so expensive??). I found one at Leon's though, for about half of the cheapest one I'd seen yet! I just received it (not much wait-time), and it looks awesome in my home. The in-store staff people and the delivery people were all very friendly and helpful - the delivery men even left me the store number to call in case I had any questions/concerns about the couch or any of the service. I will definitely be going back there the next time I need any furniture.
Pier 1 has unique stuff - I always find something there that I haven't seen anywhere else. I recently bought a bunch of cushions for my living room and bedroom - they're very funky and unique, making excellent accents to my otherwise somewhat 'drab' furniture. I'm thinking about going back there to add some other accessory pieces to my home - the only thing is that I find it quite expensive, so I have to save up before I go back.
Sears is a trusted store for me - I have had a number of positive experiences there, and have bought lots of home decor stuff there, and even some furniture. Lately, however, I have been feeling that their prices aren't too competitive - I have found things to be much more expensive than some other department stores. I still shop there during sale times, however, as their merchandise is good quality and I have never been disappointed with a purchase made at Sears. I'm just not sure how they plan to keep doing business without competitive pricing. Perhaps their prices will come down in the near future - here's hoping!