Primark — Attraction in Boston

I went out of my way to come here recently and this place has gone downhill. The workers seem like tortured souls wandering a wasteland. The merch is a hot mess, so disorganized! The 'new & improved' sizing is basically a slap in the face, I get that other countries think Americans are all fat pigs but, I went from medium to 2 x-small. Insane! The fit is also odd, I think the shape they're going for is concave chest on a large barrel torso. Also, the makeup is all used, don't buy unless you have a thing for cold sores. Anyway, I found the cheap jacket, beanie, nails, and face wipes I wanted, tried to get through an uneventful checkout. Waited in a long line, that's fine, the manager is running around fixing whatever issues the machines have every two minutes though. The cashier didn't acknowledge me at all, spoke to the cashier next to her as she nearly ripped the beanie I was getting with all the pulling she was doing even when she noticed it got stuck to a hanger hook. She must be practicing for tryouts as she slam dunked each item into the bag as hard as she could. They give you attitude if you don't put your card in immediately, even though the screen takes a few minutes to show anything so you're staring at a black screen while the cashiers look ready to rage quit. If that wasn't enough, the bathroom is disgusting. I'm not prissy but, I wanted to roll into a vat of sanitizer and burn whatever I was wearing, like this is worse than the porter square station bathroom. Tip: the sensors on two of the sinks are malfunctioning so good luck washing the filth off your hands. The dryer will only spit bacteria back onto your hands and into your face if you don't lean away.

Old 5 Star Review: This has been my new go-to since they opened years ago. They have a variety of things in various material so you have to be smart about what would be a wrinkly mess or will not make it through a wash. I love their home stuff too! They have a lot of licensed things too like Mickey Mouse, Beauty & The Beast, and Harry Potter merch. 4 floors of stuff, escalators, elevators, restrooms, large fitting rooms, checkout on each floor, free wifi, and a good amount of seating makes this a good place to shop...

I've been shopping at this Primark location since they originally opened back in 2015. This is my honest review.

Truth be told, I haven't purchased a whole lot of items here, but those that I have purchased over the years have been of really poor quality. Articles of clothing that suffer from extreme pilling or that fall apart after a few washes, and random cables and accessories that break after a single use. The items here are cheap, so you definitely get what you pay for.

Minus two stars.

Today, I visited for the first time in months and was met with some of the most unhelpful and curtly staff that I have ever encountered in a retail setting.

The associates that work here most certainly do not care at all about their jobs, and it shows in not only how they work, but also in how they interact with customers.

I traveled here today looking for a few specific items, but nobody who was working in the store seemed to have any idea where they were located. The associates either looked at me with puzzlement as if they didn't understand what I was saying, or gave me a nasty attitude because I interrupted them while they were folding clothes. The only exception was the single, older, gray-haired, woman cashier, Ellen, who was not only polite and helpful, but also extremely kind as well.

I have never encountered more poorly trained and rude retail staff at any other store before. I honestly have no idea how people who behave in such a manner are able to maintain employment. The staff at the Burlington Primark location are more polite, but just as clueless as to where items are located in the store. I ended up finding everything I was looking for by myself, but it would have taken only of a fraction of the time if an associate could have showed me where they were located in the store. I literally bought four things.

Minus two stars.

Honestly, I want to like this place, but unless they hire more competent staff and train them in customer service, then there's no reason to shop here when everything they sell could be purchased at other nearby retail establishments.

Overall...

I TRULY WANT TO GIVE PRIMARK DTX 5* BECAUSE ITS ONE OF THE ONLY STORES IN BOSTON (seriously, 2nd most expensive place to live & so many empty storefronts) AND it wasnt just ‘ok’ it was 4 FLOORS OF AWESOME, & you can’t beat the prices for mostly decent quality! I used to LOVE spending a late morning in Primark! Wasnt too busy & walked out with SEVERAL OUTFITS, swimwear, shoes, undergarments, skincare, makeup, home decor/storage ETC..for like $25-75…. BUT THEN COVID CAME, warnings ignored over politics & everything closed for a week or 2 AND PRIMARK DOWNSIZED TO 2 FLOORS☹️ I know some people think that cant possibly matter, but it does, A LOT! It’s always crowded now and I don’t even get the amount of babies & kids that are in there? There’s constantly half drunk Coolattas and other highly staining drinks left on the extremely picked over & disheveled shelves waiting to get spilled. They have a quarter of the inventory, so theres fewer options to start with, & unless you get in there within an hour of it opening all the more popular items will be down to XXS or XXL, if available at all. Instead of like 4 to 6 register banks & a returns/ exchanges only one on the fourth floor there’s only two register banks that take returns. I still love Primark even though I walk out of there empty-handed more often than not☹️ I really just HOPE they go back to four floors. The place is mobbed constantly and if they’re renting or they own all the floors, I just don’t see why they wouldn’t (other than paying more staff min wage)? But some of the floors are quieter and don’t need as much staff. I really really hope they just go back to...