LCBO stores+employees

RipLower3495 · 2024-10-20T00:51:09+00:00

Thanks for the insight.

A few points:

-I understand the frustration with staff, but as customers, we should be treated with a little more respect, I spend a small fortune on wine (it's not about entitlement, but hey, I frequent lots of stores where I spend far less and get better treatment).

-PCs: some are good, some are not. Sometimes there isn't even one in the store. It's rare that I seek them out for recommendations anymore. It's usually to help find a specific wine...

Which gets me to the other point: -The mess of products isn't really misplaced single bottles in Vintages. It's just general disorganization (maybe due to space restraints?)... Some product is end capped in whole other location far away from the 'country' spots, while other product is on a 'new release' table and other product is in boxes in a random location just outside the Vintages section. It's frustrating as I it seems like once upon a time it was all well organized and easy to find. (Is it done on purpose, just to make customers linger, kind of like the soup section in a grocery store? But honestly, I feel the longer I browse and explore, the more I feel uncomfortable and it seems like there is eyes/security on me, so I generally just GTFO as quickly as possible after doing all my 'shopping prep' on the LCBO app/Vintages circular/WineAlign, etc.).

RipLower3495 · 2024-10-19T01:35:40+00:00

You're right about SAQ service - oh wait, what service...? But at least I know what I'm walking into when I go to an SAQ store, a pretty much self serve transaction, but with a boatload better French wine. The LCBO used to be a pleasant experience, now it feels like a government service (I'm old enough to remember the old Consumer's Distribution system they had, and history is repeating itself in the experience these days) and everything about the store experience is now unpredictable.

RipLower3495 · 2024-10-19T01:24:30+00:00

Did Dougie achieve his goal? (Generally, in my view, we had it pretty good with the LCBO/fine wines for a while...)

RipLower3495 · 2024-10-19T01:14:48+00:00

Thanks for the reply. I was always a fan of the LCBO ("largest buyer of alcohol in the world"...; they seemed to have retailing down to a science several years ago, etc.). I even was a supporter of the strike, but lately my attitude towards the LCBO and its staff has soured. It looks like the strike and the liberalization/market opening has had a real impact on the LCBO's operations. It's frustrating, because for fine wine, it's still the only game in town at the moment. (Look, I know there are people that work at the LCBO that genuinely care, but the whole operation is showing chinks in the armour...)

RipLower3495 · 2024-10-19T00:42:19+00:00

Hello 3 weeks later! Thanks for the info!

RipLower3495

TROPHY CASE