Kiokii and... — Local services in Toronto

I’ve been a loyal customer at this Kiokii location since high school—over 6 years now—and never once felt mistreated until recently.

After a skin treatment, I purchased a hyaluronic acid serum based on a staff recommendation. The next day, I returned to buy a dropper for it. I even recognized the same staff member who helped me check out the day before and told her I needed a dropper for that serum. She handed me one, no extra questions asked.

When I got home, I realized the dropper stuck way out of the bottle—it was clearly the wrong size. It only then occurred to me that the serum might come in multiple bottle sizes.

I went back the same day to explain the issue, but instead of any understanding, I was told to talk to the manager, who said I couldn’t return or exchange it because it was already opened. The tone I received was more accusatory than helpful, as if it was my fault for not checking the dropper length.

First of all, I had no idea droppers came in different sizes. Secondly, the droppers are kept behind the counter; only staff can access them. As a customer, I rely on staff to provide the right product—I shouldn’t have to guess or investigate drawers to find a match myself.

The dropper only cost a few dollars, but it’s not about the money. It’s the attitude. I received no apology, no sense of accountability, and was told I had to buy another $5 dropper—while the $7 incorrect one couldn’t be returned.

When I pointed out that the same staff member had served me both days and never asked whether I needed a large or small size, she just said, “I didn’t know which one you bought.” That’s something she could’ve easily asked me.

Even worse, the manager essentially said the customer should pay for staff mistakes. This whole experience felt unprofessional and disrespectful.

After being a regular customer for 6 years, I’m seriously reconsidering whether I want to continue shopping here. Maybe one customer doesn’t matter to them—but this left a very bad impression.

I’ve met many kind and helpful staff at this location over the years, and I don’t want to discredit them. But if this is how management handles mistakes, I no longer feel confident spending my money here—because next time, if something goes wrong, I might be...

Extremely disappointed. Store refused to refund a product they made a mistake on. A staff member showed me the wrong product - not the one I explicitly asked her for (Biore sunscreen watery ‘essence’) and I bought it. I couldn’t tell it was the wrong product line because the packaging only had Japanese writing on it.

After I asked to return the product (I bought two big tubes), as I realized it was not the right one after I unwrapped the product and saw the English writing that it was a ‘Gel’ and not ‘Essence’, the store refused to refund me. They even found camera evidence that showed the staff member led me to the product. They told me it was my fault for not being specific and that the store was too busy for the staff member to make sure I had the right product… I know for sure I asked for the “essence” because I was going from cosmetic store to store along Yonge street trying to find the ‘Essence’ and it was always sold out.

They offered a 10% off discount next time but I just want my money back and don’t appreciate how I was made to feel at fault in this situation....

I'm updating this review after my experience with the product.

The girl that helped me was super nice, the store is nice. I told her my skin concerns and she gave me recommendations.

However the product destroyed my skin. I'm super oily and at the store they told me like 4 times this moisturizer is best seller, is good for you.... At night I applied this cream all over my face (proper amount) but... The next day my skin was extremely dry, flaky, and around my nose my skin was red and slightly peeling. It hurt! - As an oily acne prone person, I've never experienced this level of dryness. It hurt!

The next day I had to purchase another (more expensive) cream at shoppers, because my skin was so so dry and sensitive that I could not feel comfortable. 4 days latter I still feel dry patches.

Don't buy anything unless you're a 100% that you're not going to have a reaction, there's no refund/return policy if you buy at the store... I wasted $30. Plus I'm stuck with a cream...