La Maison Simons — Local services in West Vancouver

Simons is one of my favourite places to browse/shop since it opened at Park Royal in 2015, especially during sales season. They have a good mix of affordable and designer brands, although their in-house labels occupy more than half the sales floor, which narrows my browsing route.

Their selection of footwear is weak, comprised mostly of preeminent sneaker brands Nike, Adidas, Converse, New Balance, and Puma; dress shoes are negligible. Designer shoes have most carried brands represented, but limited styles and sizes. Accessories, excluding a plethora of ties, is equally insignificant as it occupies a small section.

As far as designer apparel goes, Simons carries traditional brands like Calvin Klein Collection, Paul Smith, Versace, and Armani as well as niche and hard-to-find designers like Wooyoungmi, D.Gnak, Ovadia & Sons, Ports 1961, Maison Mihara Yasuhiro, Études, PLAC, J.W. Anderson, and Umit Benan, to name a few. Diesel Black Gold and Comme des Garçon PLAY are permanent fixtures. Anyone who appreciates designer fashion should frequent Simons. Their selection and sizes may be limited, but that's part of the fun in searching.

As I mentioned, Simons' in-house labels make up the majority of the floor. Their casual apparel, while well designed, I can do without. Their suits, however, are well made with mostly natural European fabrics and fit well at affordable prices (sub $500 range). The alterations department is good for what I had done (suit hemmed at the jacket sleeves and trouser legs with turn-ups). Anyone shopping for a suit should consider Simons' Le31 line.

Simons doesn't have stockrooms, and therefore, don't carry stock so what you see on the floor is what you get. If the floor looks empty at times it's because stock has been cleared or what didn't sell went back, or elsewhere. During sale season their discounts can run steep—up to 85% or more, so show up early. Prices will drop over the course of a few weeks from when a sale starts, as evidenced by multiple price stickers on tags. I've noticed overtime that when Simons replenishes stock they also get new brands and styles, albeit still in small quantities and limited sizes.

I have peculiar shopping habits so I can't speak about customer experience. From what I gather the sales associates try, but as a customer, don't expect much. If you want designer brands you're better off going to Holt Renfrew or Leone, and if you're after niche and harder-to-find brands, visit smaller boutiques like Roden Gray and Haven. While Simons falls short by comparison I've found some amazing deals, so I recommend it to any...

Terrible Experience - Simons Customer Service is a Nightmare!

I had an incredibly frustrating and disappointing experience with Simons that I feel compelled to share. I received a gift from a friend, complete with a gift receipt, and when the item didn’t fit, I returned it to the store and was issued a gift card. Fast forward 10 months, and I decided to use that gift card to make a purchase, only to be told something absolutely ridiculous!

Apparently, when I made the return, an email was sent to my friend (the original buyer) informing them that a return had been made on their account. This means that my friend could have shown up at the store and used the value of the gift card because the money was still linked to their account. How does that even make sense? Why would a return of a gift become available to the original buyer? It’s absurd and completely undermines the concept of a “gift.” The gift card should have been independent of their account, but instead, the store put me in an incredibly awkward and uncomfortable situation.

To make matters worse, the store’s “solution” to this mess was absolutely outrageous. They suggested that they would contact my friend and tell them that the money they spent was actually mine, and then they would take back the $200 from my friend to give it to me! Seriously? This is not just unprofessional—it’s downright insulting! Simon’s effectively jeopardized my relationship with my friend over $200, and instead of owning up to their mistake, they actually proposed this as a legitimate solution.

The customer service at Simons was completely unhelpful and dismissive. For a store of this size and reputation, you would expect them to take responsibility for such a clear error, but instead, they were adamant that the onus was on my friend. Are you kidding me?

The entire experience has left a sour taste in my mouth, and I can confidently say I will never set foot in this store again. If you ever encounter a problem at Simon’s, don’t expect any support from their customer service. They clearly do not care about their customers, and their policies are just plain stupid. Save yourself the headache and...

I had a really poor experience with Simons' customer service / return policy. I received an email that said if you subscribe to our mailing list, you will receive free shipping. I signed up that day but never received the email. I called the customer support line and the lady said that was a mistake on their end as that promotion had already ended. Instead of honouring their email, especially since it was their marketing mistake, I still decided to go ahead and purchased a dreamer hammock from Simons and pay the $10 shipping fee.

The package arrived about a week later, however, some of crochet parts of the hammock were undone. I called customer service to see if they could refund me a portion of the hammock or if I could get a discount on the new hammock I would have to purchase if I returned the faulty one I received. The gentleman explained that Simon's return policy is that customers return faulty items and repurchase the new item themselves and that Simon's does not offer discounts on faulty or damaged items. I was honestly shocked by how poor Simons' return policy is - especially compared to MEC, Amazon, etc, which have loyal customers for a reason.

Since it is the manufacturers mistake, they should compensate customers in some form for the inconvenience. The customer service rep then explained that I could get free shipping if I wanted to return and repurchase the hammock, however, I explained that I should have received free shipping from the beginning since I received that free shipping email promo mentioned above. The rep I spoke to was very understanding. He ended up refunding me the cost of the faulty hammock (not the $10 shipping though, which is ironic since that is what was meant to be free from the very beginning) and mentioned that the item could not be returned. I decided to take this option. This solution was offered after 20 minutes on the phone with customer service and I was told that this is a special exception.

I hope Simon's review their return policy and put customers first instead of money. I will not be purchasing...