Mrs. Penguin, Sacramento
Age and Occupation: 26, Video & TV Producer/Director/Editor
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Doctor of Physical Therapy
Engagement Date: January 29, 2007
Wedding Date: June 7, 2008
Blogging Since: September 14, 2007
Venue: Winery in the Gold Country
About Me: I'm a silly mess of a girl who, above all else in this world, LOVES the Spice Girls. I eat sushi at least 3 times a week, and feel guilty about how much it costs the other 4 days a week. I love designer jeans and cheap accessories. I don't like sweets, but I love the UCLA Bruins!
Giving In To Macy’s
March 14th, 2008 @ 9:02 am by Mrs. Penguin
Despite my own instincts and the advice of many, today I started my third registry at Macys.com.
I won’t beat around the bush on this one here. I loathe Macy’s. Plain and simple. Their customer service, at least in my area, is simply horrendous. I’m the kind of person that consistently spends more money on products at stores that treat me as if I’m important to them. Customer service, in many big chains, is hard to come by these days, and in my experience, Macy’s is no exception. We were hoping for our Minnesota guests to register a few items at Marshall Field’s, but alas, Macy’s bought them out.
I tested my registry strength by registering only at Crate and Barrel and Bloomingdales, and gave my guests plenty of options in all price ranges at both stores. A nice dent is starting to be made in my Crate and Barrel registry, but my Bloomingdales registry still sits unscathed, her virginity still intact, and my fine china that I so desire sits pristine somewhere in a warehouse. I’m coming to learn that aside from the 30-and-under crowd, most guests enjoy going into a store, printing out your registry, and hand purchasing gifts, rather than buying things online. Because of this, Bloomingdales isn’t a great option, because there aren’t that many physical stores nationwide.
Pengy is eager to eat off of you, Kate Spade fine china!
bloomingdales.com
I know it’s early, but I caved. I started a simple Macy’s registry with my fine china items only there. I think people have the idea that the prices on housewares are more expensive at Bloomingdales than Macy’s, but, for the most part, brand-for-brand, they’re the same. I vowed to only add items to my Macy’s registry that I know I will not have to exchange (for example, at many stores, you can return the individual knives or pots you recieve as gifts, and exchange them for a set, which often times are cheaper than the piece-by-piece price).
I hate supporting stores that I dislike, but in this case, it’s probably best to give your guests the opportunity to purchase from easily accessible stores like Macy’s.
Did you register at stores you don’t normally support for the sake of your guests?
23 Responses to “Giving In To Macy’s”
I registered at Macy’s and it seems like people LOVE it. So much stuff has been bought from there, but my Williams-Sonoma one has yet to be touched, and so far BBB is intact except for one vegetable peeler 
I bit the Macy’s bullet as well for the exact same reasons. I’ve also got my main registry at C&B. I’ve registered online and wont be able to visit a store for some months to actually “see” what I’ve chosen. I was however pleasently surprised to recieve an email from the store’s bridal consultant introducing herself- I hadn’t expected something so personal from Macy’s.
I was thrilled with that level of service for the duration of three emails back and forth- she was making a few suggestions to me where she saw “holes” in my registry. Namely in small kitchen appliances. I explained to her since I lived abroad I would be registering/purchasing anything electric in the country it actually worked in. She actually came back to and said I should just register for the appliances there and use a converter for my stuff!!
Suffice to say I was VERY annoyed with the “save-the-sale” approach & it almost made me want to go somewhere else. We’ll see!
You’re china’s beautiful by the way :-)! Hope you start making a dent in it!
Actually, the same company owns Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s, so your registry is pretty much handled by the same people behind the scenes. I started out with Bloomie’s, was dissatisfied (they sent half my registry to the wrong address, even though it was correct in my profile!) and moved to W-S and C&B. Although…I still adore Bloomie’s, just not their registry department.
As a regular shopper, I prefer Williams-Sonoma over Macy’s for customer service (the two stores where we are registered). But as far as registry service has been, I have to say that Macy’s has been far better. Nearly 50% of the items on my registry at W-S are backordred at one time or another! And these are very common items, mind you — like a zester. Come on, W-S, all you do is sell kitchen stuff! Why can’t you stock enough zesters?!
I am jealous, we do not have a Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s or Crate and Barrel where I live! 
We had a registry at Macy’s, but we took all the items off because we found all of the same things at better prices elsewhere. I have a strange hatred for Macy’s as well. I have a Bloomingdale’s registry too, and I’m beginning to think that was a bad idea. No one has touched it.
Well, I am with you Miss Penguin about the not so fuzzy feeling toward Macy’s. I am registered at C&B and BBB, but my FMIL insisted I register at a department store because she likes to shop at dept. stores. Suffice to say, I attempted three times to register at Macy’s in the store and on the second attempt was sent home because the bridal consultant didn’t have time for me. The next day we returned and she had a sign that said “unavailable” so I marched upstairs gave my concerns to the manager and then sent a complaint to corporate. So, FMIL still felt we needed to register there and so I attempted online, well the two days I attempted online the site was down and said that I had to go in the store to complete my registry. Needless to say, I said goodbye to Macy’s and all dept. stores and am still keeping it at C&B and BBB.
Nope, I was able to stay strong and keep Macy’s off my registry list. We looked into alternate department stores, but in the end we didn’t use any. Just Bed, Bath and Beyond, Linen’s N Things and Crate and Barrel. Between the three stores, they carried everything we needed - dishes, silverware, glassware, linens, appliances, etc.
I had always dreamed of registering at Marshall Fields, but I’m glad I was able to keep up my Macy’s boycott.
I’m not a fan of Macy’s either, but I’ve found them to have great sales on registry items–our Oneida stainless steel, for example, has been marked down from over $80/5 piece set to under $40. The suitcases are also often on sale. And these are not things that are going on sale because they’re going out of stock. So, so far so good with Macy’s on our end.
I hear you! I’m really not a fan of Macy’s, but my mom couldn’t believe I was hesitating to register there. Finally, I buckled and I’m actually glad that I did because it seems like the most convenient option for people and it’s very “familiar”. I have a feeling that most of the things from our Bloomingdales registry are going to go untouched.
Pretty much so far so good for Macy’s for us too…except they don’t carry the full line of pots and pans we want online (but BBB does so no big deal). My Target registry on the other hand has already been deleted due to all the horror stories…
Has anyone tried registering at Target? A couple of my friends used that registry and I’m wondering if any of you had good/bad experiences. Target is probably a decent place to register because, like Macys, there is a Target in almost every city.
I’m silly, I just wrote that and when it posted I saw the comment by lunapark. Woops! Guess Target isn’t the place to go!
UGH, we had to do Macy’s, too. I HATE Macy’s. I remember when I was a kid, it used to be almost as nice as Nordstrom. Then they put up those “customer service kiosks” and fired 70% of their employees, and now you’d be more likely to run into big foot than someone who can help you. It sucks. Luckily our experience actually registering wasn’t awful…we drove all the way to Walnut Creek because one of my friends had such an awful experience registering at the one in the city. I’m not happy about giving them business, but I’m really trying to make it painless as possible.
I wish we could register at Nordstrom. Such a great store.
Ah Peng, you know from my previous post how I feel about Macy*s, but shucks, the people do love it. And in the end, with the exception of a couple of backordered things (mainly my silverware), most things have gotten to me in fine shape and the guests seemed pleased. Almost everything from that list was purchased — then again, so was all but one item off our Crate & Barrel list, in the end!
I too, must register at Macy’s - there is only one Crate and Barrel in the state I’m getting married in!! Sadness.
We got so irritated with the layout of the Seattle area Macy’s that in a follow-up survey I explained my dissatisfaction and the head of bridal registry in WA actually called me! (We still deleted our registry). The whole organizing things by brand rather than type/color was too frustrating. BBB had a much better layout (all the plates actually in one place) and awesome customer service.
I registered at Macy’s simply because our guests are from all over the country and it seemed like the place that is most ubiquitous. I don’t have the strong hatred of Macy’s, though–especially if I go to the one in Herald Square.
I did start a Target registry, but there’s not much on it. I’m annoyed with Target because they have so much online that isn’t available in the stores and vice versa. Although, Target is good for things like electronics (I really want a Tivo).
As others say, people just love Macys. I’m not a big fan, and the SF store makes me want to scratch my eyes out. However, if you have guests from all over, it makes everyone happy. Don’t be ashamed.
They have coupons, I think that’s it. Our wedding is in AUGUST (and my shower isn’t until June) and ALL of my bedding has already been purchased, because I think it was on sale recently. I know I love a good bargain, so I give the people what they want.
I have a personal hatred for BBB (it stems from things being stacked to the ceiling. that just bugs me.) and have been able to avoid BBB.
I almost caved about Macy’s yesterday after seeing all the pretty new Martha Stewart china. But, much of my family lives in the midwest were there is no Macy’s so I’ll stay away.
I got “suckered” into registering at Bed Bath Beyond. But after some hassling from one of BM’s that it’s a great store, I caved. Now, after the wedding dealing with it all… Macys > BBB. Macys went over and beyond for us when it came to returning anything. BBB was the polar opposite and my hatred for them has grown stronger!
Now which store did my guests gravitate towards? Macys.
It’s funny how almost every one of these posts expresses a not so great opinion of Macys, however like every one else has also said ‘the people love it’ - Do you think it’s a generational disparity?
Personally I’d much rather go to a Williams Sonoma, Crate & Barrel or more boutique-type store to buy registry gifts for others. The atmosphere and products are much more interesting and fun. I just generally have a more enjoyable shopping experience. (I love WS gift wrapping!)
I tried to keep all of my registeries managed online, but I did LOVE the Macy’s wedding registry program. We opened a Macy’s card linked to our registry and from that, we got 10% rewards for anything purchased off our registry, and 5% rewards on anything I spend on my Macy’s card until the wedding. And the guests do the Macys, so we got a gift card from Macys 3 months after our wedding for almost $200, for not really doing anything, so that could win you over to the Macys side!
