Toy Shopping at the Bay? No toys there. Bring me Eatons. Bring me Brettons. Just bring me back to what was once was.

It's a cold snowy day in Toronto, finally it's beginning to feel like Christmas!

So I gather my boys in tow and we head down to the Eaton Centre, why it's still called The Eaton Centre when there's no more Eatons I don't know because it's a sad reminder that Eatons no longer exists thanks to the spoiled Eaton family who ruined their great grandpa's company.

But there is Hudsons Bay Company...oh wait.  They are no longer Canadian.  Such a rich history of this great company that can be washed down the drain like Eatons because the new owners want to reinvent it and well not carry toys during this Christmas season at the biggest location in downtown Toronto.

Hudsons Bay Company , I mean The Bay and Eatons.  Two stores I loved growing up in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  After ballet class(good 'ol RWB) my mom and I would go to Eatons, she'd be at the cosmetics counter and I'd run around and pretend my legs would turn into spectacular legs after rubbing them with the egg shell packaging for hosiery from "L'eggs".  Do any of you remember those 80's commercials? Click on commercial for a reminder.  Now that's marketing.  Over 20 years later and I still remember that commercial and the promise of beautiful legs.

But I'd always run over to the elevators and just stare at the big bronze statue of Timothy Eaton and rub his shoe and make wish.
Back in "those days" department store was department store shopping where you could get everything and in the 80's from what I remember it was GREAT!

Customer service was there, midnight madness sales were great, the toy section was awesome, the pet store, the market in the basement and when Christmas came the stores would always try to out do the other.
Eatons always had the best Santa set up with the puppets on the 8th floor, all these great mechanical puppets based on Disney movies and at the end there'd be Santa with a candy canes and the back ground would be all magical with rich woods and gold and red colours for the best pictures.

Fast forward to 2010.
No magic in the stores.  Poor customer service and all those memories I had growing up are out the door.  Maybe it's Toronto and it's politically incorrect to emphasize on Christmas.  Really.  God forbid you say "Merry Christmas" to anyone without offending them.

Walking around the mall was just lame.  I hate the half assed approach of the sales people there, where they don't know anything, they look sloppy and bothered when you ask for help.

For one The Hudsons Bay Company can blow it out their you know what.  I went there(Yonge and Queen location) because last year they had a great Santa set up and a great selection of toys and well, I needed to buy presents.  I can't even count on the Bay to get it right because "they" the new owners of The Bay I guess want to change what Canadians remember what The Bay is and stands for.

So we go in and rush to the 5th floor since Charlie is sleeping.  I get to the children's department and expecting to see toys and Christmas set up all I see are clothes.
NO TOYS!
I ask the guy at the counter "Where are the toys?"
"Oh, there's no more toys here.  Everything is at Zellers."
"What?!!!" I said.
Inside I lost my *hit.  It's one more change in the wrong direction that is happening to once upon a time a great Canadian company and it's The Bay. WTF?

Why.  Why doesn't the Bay sell toys anymore?  Growing up The Bay and Eatons is where you'd go to buy toys because they are department stores!!!!  Why is this changing???? 
Friggin downtown Toronto where can I buy toys? There's nothing there.
Sears is ugly in the set up, the quality of the store is just gross and needs work and the toy section there is a JOKE.  Plus everyone working there looks miserable like everywhere else. 

I miss the quality of shopping that once existed when I was young girl.  I can't go back to the 80's.
I miss the people back then too.  Sales people always looked groomed, they smiled, they'd be more than happy to help you now I am just tired.  I don't ever want to step foot in a store again.  It's just depressing.  Yuck.  Is that how corporate companies want us to feel?  I am done.

Now that I have my own business I'd rather support other small businesses and WAHM's because they are happy to help you, they want you to buy from them and well, the quality of shopping from my home just sounds more appealing.

This is more of bitch post because I am tired of useless change.  I am pissed off that I went downtown to do Christmas shopping and I couldn't.
Remember the movie A Christmas Story? Windows were decorated with toys and the "magic" of Christmas like in the opening credits.  Why don't we have that?  Who decided that things needed to change? I must be a sentimental, nostalgic old foegy now.  I'm just tired in the lack of thought and quality for 2010. A sales people entitled to be blah.


The Bay wants to change their image, sorry Bay but there's already a department store that has high end clothing and is strictly clothing/accessories and it's called Holt Renfrew.  If I wanted to shop at Holt Renfrew I would but I am coming to you because of 30+ years of knowing The Bay I am expecting I can find what I need there.  Can we bring back the WASPS/Irish folks that founded all these great companies and do it right again?  What would they say if they knew how their name is being associated with mediocrity customer sales and that their shop is not worth shopping in?  Can we go back in time and get quality merchandise, get customer service, see your employees put together and speak and look professional? Can I get products that I'd expect to find in your store? 

I am just tired of it.