Rant!Vancouver

I am the original Top Drawer ranter and I have to say, I tried you again and sure enough, you were just the same. Would it kill you to say hello when people walk in the store? Everyone who works there cannot even bother to look up from the desk or computer.

Don’t feel bad, I have actually encountered one other clothing store with worse customer service than you, it’s called State of Mind on Davie.

It was only worse because that woman who runs the store is borderline abusive and actually deserves to be shut down. I would probably do a little happy dance on her block of sidewalk if she was, and here is why:

One day I called my boyfriend on their cell phone and all I could hear as soon as he answered was this crazy person screaming in the background. I asked him where he was and he said he was at State of Mind on Davie and the owner was screaming at a customer. It was so offensive there is no other description except for calling it “ugly screaming”

A few years later I went in for the first time (not realizing it was the same place) and she actually ordered me to leave! I am a nice polite clean cut looking guy (really I am) who was simply browsing through the shirts, so i was quite shocked! I asked her “So you mean I cannot buy this shirt?” And she said “No you have to get out of my store” I met up with friends that night totally shocked and they reminded me that she was the one who was yelling that day while I was on the phone.

That woman needs to go out of business. The very fact that she is still running a store shocks me. If for some reason she has real, valid mental problems (which her behavior suggests she does) she shouldn’t be running a customer service driven business and I am sorry if this rant hurts her. But if she doesn’t have a mental illness, but is truly, deep down mean, judgmental and offensive, I hope she goes out of business.

So don’t feel bad TD guys, there is at least one person who is worse and more notorious than you.

BTY, the guys at Club Annex provide the best, most genuine and friendly customer service in Vancouver!

Submitted by JM

Ok…so I don’t mean to turn this into a Top Drawers bashing fest, but then again, this IS a “rant” site….so here goes….

I live across the street from Top Drawers so I’ve had the opportunity to not only visit the store several times, but I pass by it everyday. I am a huge fan of fun undies, so I pop in on occasion to see what new stock has come in. After reviewing the concerns posted here, I must side with the ranters on this one. There are only a handful of employees at that shop, and from the experiences I’ve had there, everything the ranters are saying here matches up! There was one favorite employee I had there, but she doesn’t seem to be around much anymore. While not all of the others come across so pretentious, I must say the majority of the males certainly don’t offer much for smiles or affable. I mean, I realize the bulk of their goods are underwear, so I respect their no hassle approach, but at the same time, would it kill you to smile at a person? How about looking them in the eye when they come in to your store, instead of shuffling your all your papers around and pretending you didn’t see them?

It’s come to the point that I actually don’t bother going in anymore. I haven’t gone in the last 2 months because last time I was there, the fella working with spikey dark hair simply glared at me as I walked in and didn’t even say a single word to me the entire time I was in there…and I took my time!

Honestly, in the past I have just chalked it up to the usual bitchy, cattyness that most gay retail workers proudly possess. I hate to stereotype, but, it’s true. As a fag myself, I’m generally pretty aware of other homo’s body language and actions around me so when someone is cold and unfriendly towards me, I notice. This is nothing to new though. Sadly, this generation of retail employee is from exclusive to Top Drawers. Pop into any Priape, Le Chateau, Club Monaco, Boys Co., etc., and you will surely find a slew of them hissing all around you.

Anyways…that’s my contribution to Top Drawers rant. If any of you lovely TD employees come back and read this, don’t take it to harshly. You’re not alone. But seriously, don’t be so afraid to smile and talk to people when they come in to you store for crissakes! We don’t all bite!

Westender Johnny

A while back someone submitted a Rant! about the employees that worked at Topdrawers on Denman street. It seems an employee of the store begs to differ with the Rant!

But alas the folks from Topdrawers left a response:

Being an employee of Topdrawers I’d like to say that you are probably a bitter person looking for attention, cause not only are we all friendly people but we have some of the most exclusive product in this side of the continent. We try to have a relaxed environment here in Topdrawers, making it a no pressure place to browse and ask questions if needed. I’ll i’d like to say is that we at Topdrawers are sad you had a bad experiance here in the store. In terms of us “being snotty little bitches that ignored you”… ever think that you might have come across in the same manner?
I dare ya to try us again, bet your experience will be a whole lot different!!

Having shopped at Topdrawers myself in the past I can say that I tend to take the side of the person who sent in the Rant! on this one. The few times that I have been there the staff came across as really not caring that I was shopping there. And as for having “some of the most exclusive product in this side of the continent”, I really don’t agree. C’mon guys you aren’t the only place in the city that sells Diesel and Ginch Gonch.

Scott

I never thought I’d ever have anything to rant about because I’m not the type of person to complain… UNTIL TODAY. This morning I went to school…normal day…math…english…socials…science…daily fire alarm pulled, but when we got dismissed. ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE. I went to my locker, got my stuff and my friends and I go outside, and its like frikin’ hurricane. At first, it’s fun. My friends and I are running against the current, telling stories about past windstorms, it was all fun. We even saw a bird blowing away on its side! But then it started getting ugly. It started to snow..or hail..or whatever the hell it was doing. I have asthma, and the mix of the harsh weather and my asthma equaled disaster. My friends were running ahead of me and I couldn’t catch up. I wanted to run and catch up to them, but I was too out of breath. (And like all good friends, they ended up ditching me!) A few steps more, attempting to run against the current, my backpack strap broke!

So for like…two blocks, i had to carry my backpack. Umbrella in one hand, and my backpack in the other. IT WAS HELL. Normally, I wouldn’t care if I had to carry my backpack, but today was a Day 1 (My school goes in a day 1 day 2 schedule). And in Day 1 I have a shit load of books. My math book binder, my science book and binder, my English & socials book and binder, and we got some extra text books today. So my arm was falling off and the skin on my hand was scraping against the material of my strap. So let’s wrap things up. I was walking in muddy grass in tornado-like winds, while it was snowing and hailing and raining, I have a 50 lb. backpack in one hand, and a bigass umbrella in the other and I’m basically dying. What a fun day, eh?

Steven