I don't Like Macy's!

[Daxx]

Macy's just landed here in Buffalo and bought out all of the Kaufmann's stores. Today I told DH that I'm already tired of hearing about Macy's. They have these ads in our paper about how great Macy's is w/bullet-points about different things they do (community service, their multitude of in-store events, etc). I could care less at this point. I don't see any ads for merchandise in the Sunday paper, no coupons and I feel like they've been doing nothing but advertise their name and not what they sell.

I told DH that I'm less than thrilled already. It's not as if they've changed the stores around or improved them ... they're still the same, selling the same stuff that Kaufmann's used to sell, so who cares what the store decides to call itself. They could call it Planet Mars and it'd still be the same thing for crying out loud!!!!

I rarely shopped the store when it was Kaufmann's, so I doubt I will shop it now that it's Macy's. I'd rather go to the "boutique" stores (ie: Gap, Banana Republic, etc.).

 

[lclark0621]

Wow...Am I the only one who likes Macy's?

When I was back in NY, I worked there as a young adult & loved it.

When we moved to TX, I was upset there were no local Macy's here. There is on at the Galleria in Dallas, but that is quite a trip for me.

Now Macy's has taken over Foley's here in TX & I am thrilled! I love shopping in Macy's. They have great stuff, and fantastic sales.

I used to have a charge in NY (employees had to at that time to get their discounts & I just kept mine after I left Macy's). I closed it when we moved here since there was no point.

I wont reopen it because I dont need a credit card. Every store I am in asks me to open an account for a % off. I dont like having a lot of credit cards so I always say no.

But I will keep shopping there. Macy's always used to have coupons in the newspapers in NY & the store here has newspaper machines in front of the stores so you can get the coupons as you walk in.

I am generally happy with their sale prices. Sure an extra 10 or 15% off is nice, but it is not going to keep me from shopping there if I dont get it.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Our Foleys is now a Macy's I LOVED Foleys..macys is not so great

I feel your pain! Foley's was the best. So far I hate Macy's.

We have always had a Macy's in the Galleria, and I don't shop there. I shopped there when DS10 was smaller, but their selection for bigger boys is pitiful. They also phased out some of my preferred brands and went to more of their own store brands.

Now my beloved Foley's has morphed into nasty Macy's. No more Osh Kosh for boys, no more Jones New York Sport for women. I am a NANNY - I have no use for "career wear". I can go to work in denim shorts and flip flops. I am not about to spend a cent on anything that has to be dry cleaned. But apparently if I want things that can go in the washer I have to buy store brand. YUCK.

2 weeks ago I had a little card to get $10 off ANY purchase, so something for $10 would have basically been free. I TRIED to find something - anything - to buy and there was not a single thing in that entire store that I wanted. Nothing for DH, DS, me, or the house. Nothing. The little card expired and went in the trash. I got another one that was a "surprise" amount from $10 -$1000. I scanned it and of course it was $10. I managed to find a Jones top on clearance so it only cost $3. But really, how sad is it that they can't even GIVE their stuff away? Oh, well. Much better for my budget.

 

[DawnCt1]

I'll go against the grain here and state that we really did not shop department stores until Macy's arrived in the area. Our 7 year old DS is well stocked on clothing for both summer and winter at prices that cannot be beat by a Wal Mart-for much better quality. What's good about Macy's is that if you are looking for a $500.00 pair of jeans, they have them. If you are looking for $2.99 T Shirts off of a clearance rack, they have those too. We do have a credit card which is paid in full monthly. We also have Kohl's. Macy's offers the discounts more often.

If I didn't have years of G. Fox and then Filene's, with the coupons, etc. I probably wouldn't mind Macy's but I feel that I have the same product with no coupons except a discount if I used their card. I use Amex because I accumulate Sky Miles. In this particular situation, I had money on a gift card and I felt as though I was being punished with no discount while they had use of my money.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

We are totally with you on the Macy's thing, Dawn. They took over Hecht's here recently, and while Lauri didn't shop there often with the exception of Christmas, it was nice to have the 20% off coupons in case there was something she wanted. We don't have a Macy's credit card and will not get a Macy's credit card. We have one major credit card that we use for everything to get reward points on and we absolutely refused to get sucked back into that hole of having a credit card for every store you shop at for the sake of discounts. If I'm only a worthy customer to them if I hold a piece of plastic with their logo on it, then I guess they don't need my money, period.

 

[BuckNaked]

I grew up in Florida, and we didn't have a Macy's nearby (we had Maas Brothers and Robinson's), so I was happy to finally be able to shop at Macy's when we moved to DC. I also enjoyed shopping at Hecht's, as we could get high quality merchandise, and there was always a sale.

Now Hecht's is gone, having been taken over by Macy's. I miss the Hecht's sales, but I love Macy's, so it isn't a big deal to me.

I also don't see it as a big deal that I would have to use a Macy's credit card to get the discounts. It's a marketing tool, and I can choose to partake or not. I haven't decided yet, but I'm leaning towards getting a Macy's card for the discounts.

 

[Honu]

They want to reward their cardholders, not other company's cardholders. I don't have a problem with that.

I don't shop there because I don't like weeding through piles of crap to find the few nice things they carry.

I'm actually very surprised at all their recent acquisitions. Macy's is not a company known for it's stability. The stores are not well run. It should be interesting to see if they make it.

 

[DawnCt1]

They want to reward their cardholders, not other company's cardholders. I don't have a problem with that.

I don't shop there because I don't like weeding through piles of crap to find the few nice things they carry.

I'm actually very surprised at all their recent acquisitions. Macy's is not a company known for it's stability. The stores are not well run. It should be interesting to see if they make it.

I wonder if the want to "reward" their card holders or suck in more credit card applicants. A lot of people carry a balance on their credit cards. I know that my SIL does. If she carries a balance then they more than make up for that 20% discount for card holders with their 22% or more interest rates.

 

[yeartolate]

I wonder if the want to "reward" their card holders or suck in more credit card applicants. A lot of people carry a balance on their credit cards. I know that my SIL does. If she carries a balance then they more than make up for that 20% discount for card holders with their 22% or more interest rates.

Of course they wnt folks to carry a balance. They are a business. Does that prevent anyone from getting 20% discount and paying off the bill every month?

 

[DawnCt1]

Of course they wnt folks to carry a balance. They are a business. Does that prevent anyone from getting 20% discount and paying off the bill every month?

Of course not, however its in Macy's best interest if they don't.

 

[N.Bailey]

I don't want a Macy's card either. I don't want any card from any individual store. I spend more in these stores than MANY others, yet just because you don't want their card, you can't have the sale? I talked to a manager in Penney's once for this and the manager gave me the same sale. I didn't get nasty with him, I just said I'd go elsewhere and he saw it my way. At the very least, if you're going to run these types of sales, don't make it so apparent to all those who aren't card carrying members to your establishment. It's just asking for trouble, IMO. I don't mind those ones that say, you can get 20% your bill today by applying for our card today. That's offered to everyone and I just tell em I'm not interested.

Having said all that, Macy's recently took over Kaufmann's in our area. I LOVED Kaufmann's and it was my favorite dept. store. Well, Macy's doesn't compare, lemmie tell you. For school shopping, for jeans for my son, they had a selection of, Levi, Levi, and you guessed it, Levi. Now, I like Levi, but I also like variety. I do believe they had EVERY style of jeans that Levi put out, so hopefully, you found something you liked. Just for the record, Levi picked up and moved overseas a few years back, so they're not really my first choice anymore, but I do buy them once in awhile, but it's normally as a last resort rather than the first as it used to be. Prices were comparative to Kaufmann's, but selection sure wasn't.

I'm not a fan and while it'll never happen, I would LOVE to have my favorite store back. I do feel let down.

 

[Nancy]

Wow...Am I the only one who likes Macy's?

When I was back in NY, I worked there as a young adult & loved it.

When we moved to TX, I was upset there were no local Macy's here. There is on at the Galleria in Dallas, but that is quite a trip for me.

Now Macy's has taken over Foley's here in TX & I am thrilled! I love shopping in Macy's. They have great stuff, and fantastic sales.

I used to have a charge in NY (employees had to at that time to get their discounts & I just kept mine after I left Macy's). I closed it when we moved here since there was no point.

I wont reopen it because I dont need a credit card. Every store I am in asks me to open an account for a % off. I dont like having a lot of credit cards so I always say no.

But I will keep shopping there. Macy's always used to have coupons in the newspapers in NY & the store here has newspaper machines in front of the stores so you can get the coupons as you walk in.

I am generally happy with their sale prices. Sure an extra 10 or 15% off is nice, but it is not going to keep me from shopping there if I dont get it.

No, I like Macy's too. I went into Macy's last week and loved the new set up. Kaufmanns was cluttered and messy, Macy's is spread out, bright and CLEAN. Yes, it is higher priced, but Kaufmanns sold the same stuff as BonTon and Penneys, so I could buy that stuff anywhere locally. Yep, Kaufmanns always had coupons, BUT they were not good on jeans, certain brands, what they considered value priced, so half the stuff I bought was usually never allowed with coupons.

PLUS, they hired my 18 year old daughter, so they are now saving me money since I don't have to pay for all her stuff anymore!!

 

[Laurajean1014]

Macy's has had a long love affair with GE Financial. GE-F manages all their credit card accounts.

I used to love Macy's. Now I find myself trying to find something, but finding nothing. The buyers are not what they used to be.

Also, I went to the Danbury store yesterday. The woman handling the shoe department was very rude. I tried on 3 pairs of shoes (all size 8.5). When she asked, I told her that two were too small and the third (different style) was too big.

She made comments like, "this is ridiculous , how can they not fit." I politely said they don't. She started mumbling and I giggled (as to ease the tension) and she said, "it's not funny. I'll get you an 8."

With that I walked out of the shoe department.

I think I'll shop at Lord & Taylor and Nordstrom's from now on.

 

[Honu]

Of course not, however its in Macy's best interest if they don't.

I'm not sure Macy's holds the debt from these accounts. I dealt with a bill collector going after my sister for her Macy's account. They were calling from Department Stores National Bank, a division of Citibank.

 

[N.Bailey]

I'm not sure Macy's holds the debt from these accounts. I dealt with a bill collector going after my sister for her Macy's account. They were calling from Department Stores National Bank, a division of Citibank.

They probably get some sort of kick back of some type. I don't think they're trying so hard to get their customers to get their card just so they'd shop there more. I don't believe card carrying members actually spend more than non card carrying members do.

I did want to add to my prior post. It's not that I hate Macy's. I just hate that we lost one of our best stores to get one. I'd be thrilled to have Kaufmann's AND Macy's. I'd choose Kaufmann's 1000 times out of 1000 times to Macy's though. That's what has me so bummed.

Down at King of Prussia, I'd be in heaven! They have Macy's, Lord and Taylor's, Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom's, Penney's, Neiman Marcus, Strawbridge's, and Sears (which I can take or leave). PURE HEAVEN, not to mention all the other stores.

 

[swea_pea1]

Personally, I love the fact that I don't have to have the coupon to get the sale price. I never used my Hecht's charge with enough frequency to get the coupons in the mail and I don't get the daily paper. So every time I went to Hecht's, I either had to try to get one from another shopper or try to get the clerk to give me the discount without the coupon. Plus, the coupons were only good on certain days and from what I've seen, the charge card discount is good all the time. Now I just use my charge card, get the discount, and pay it off that month.

 

[bzzelady]

I share N. Bailey's on the Kaufmann's/Macy's issue. The Macy's at King of Prussia has a good buyer. The new Macy's (formerly Kauffmann's) at Muncy does not...I was in the store yesterday and walked right back out after a very frustrating shopping trip.
When it was Kaufmann's, I had a charge card-it was recently changed over to a Macy's card but I will be cancelling the card as I am not impressed with the store or the merchandise.

 

[HamTown]

I was in Macy's today (former Hecht's) and personally, I'm pleased with the change over. I had a love/hate relationship with Hecht's. The store was overcrowded with merchandise (impossible to shop pushing a stroller) but there were good sales and you never knew exactly what you'd be paying because often when the item was rung up, it was lower than you expected.

I had a 15% coupon from the paper today and I found some great sales this weekend, comparable to what Hecht's would offer. I have found that each Macy's store is merchandised differently. The store in Hampton has several lines that I did not see in Newport News or Chesapeake (all within a 25 mile radius) and so forth so that made it a little difficult. (I had found a dress at one store but waited until it went on sale, went to a different store to purchase it and they didn't carry that line so had to go to a 3rd store to find it) But they have great lines for plus sizes and I have found their "house brands" to be a good value.

Now if I were in Chicago or Boston I think I would be seriously angry about the loss of Marshall-Fields or Filene's as they were a part of the history of those cities (love the original M-F store, it was as much of a destination as it was a shopping experience). But Hecht's just didn't instill that sort of loyalty in me so the change-over was really no big thing.

I don't feel the need for a charge card but I wish they would put their sales flyer in all editions of the local paper not just certain zip codes. I would buy more if I knew what they had on sale.

 

[JunieJay]

This subject was brought up a few weeks ago here. I'm still mourning the loss of my beloved Hechts. I only like one Macys, and that is the one in Times Square. I won't be shopping at the new and improved Hecht Company. Macys has less variety and the prices are double what I paid in Hechts.

Fortunately, Lord and Taylor and Nordstrom remain. Those are two stores that are upscale, but you get what you pay for. I have not found that to be the case with Macys.

 

[N.Bailey]

there were good sales and you never knew exactly what you'd be paying because often when the item was rung up, it was lower than you expected.

They must have been owned by whoever owned Kaufmann's because everything would also ring up lower at Kaufmann's than I expected too. I won't be complaining about that anytime soon though.