The Narwhal — Local services in Toronto

We were visiting Toronto from out of town to do some shopping. All morning we had great experiences in other boutiques, but our visit to Narwhal was so unpleasant it left us shocked and not wanting to spend a penny there. There was zero interest in providing any customer service. The employees chatted amongst themselves and totally ignored us. The same thing with the owner, who wasn’t any better, and couldn’t be bothered to even say hello when she came out from the back room. Literally they did not say one sentence to us the entire time we were in their store…

We stood at the jewelry cabinet looking at the Gigi Clozeau bracelets and necklaces as we have a collection of these. We were even wearing 5 pieces between the 2 of us that day which they could easily have noticed if they actually paid any attention to us as they are very bright, colourful pieces. At no point did anyone come over to ask if we wanted to see anything or if they could help. In fact, they just kept walking by as if we were invisible. We also looked at some jeans as well and even unfolded some on the table to try and find a size, but again, no help was offered even though there was an employee just standing there doing nothing right by us. Zero interest!! There was even another young lady shopping at the same time and she was also completely ignored and she left too. When the owner came out from the back, she stared at us without saying two words (so clearly she saw us), and walked by us to go to talk to another woman, probably her friend, so loudly so the whole store could hear. Her friend was the only person who received customer service and was acknowledged by the owner and employees. There were literally 3 people working there and not even at least 1 of them was interested in helping us or making us feel welcome in their store.

Just a note - Gigi Clozeau is sold in many boutiques, as we purchased our own pieces from other boutiques. Was seriously wanting to add more bracelets to my wrist but if we are such intruders and unwelcome, then I will gladly buy them from any other boutique or directly from the designer on...

I visited The Narwhal boutique yesterday in the late morning with my older mother and cannot overstate my disappointment and aversion to our experience at The Narwhal. No one greeted us or uttered one word to us the entire time we were at the store, despite there being two or three employees (and we literally spent time looking through every single rack). The employees were busy chatting at length with each other and other customers who they seemed to know social, and they totally ignored us, as if we weren’t even there. I stood at the jewelry case in the back for several minutes as I wanted to see a pair of gold hoops; despite making eye contact with me, the salesperson totally ignored me. There is absolutely no way I am going to try to convince a store to take my business, so I left without buying the earrings or anything else. The whole experience was pretty disgusting. I am a long-time instagram follower of this boutique, and this was my first time in the store. I will definitely not be back and will take my online business elsewhere as well. A neighbouring clothing store we visited at the same time was much more welcoming (clearly making an effort to respond to the prior google reviews that describe staff at that store as unfriendly). The Narwhal boutique clearly does a brisk business online/curbside, as the front entrance was totally lined with bags and parcels for pickup, but they obviously aren’t interested in expanding their customer base. If you’re looking for a new clothing boutique to check out,...

I am updating my earlier review from 3 to 4 stars as the staff has been warmer and more helpful recently! I hope this continues as it's a lovely shop and just makes the experience that much nicer.

I love this shop as they carry a few of my favourite designers. I am only giving 3 stars however for a few reasons:

1. Some staff are lukewarm and unfriendly.
2. They don't reply to emails.
3. Biggest beef is that they consistently inflate the prices compared to other Canadian shops offering the same designers. Obviously the price will be higher in Canadian dollars than US, but they consistent mark up their prices compared to others. For example, a top selling at other Cdn boutiques for $350 will be $400 or $425 at the Narwhal. I've noticed this on multiple items across a few...