Rona Home Centre

I went to the store to get a BBQ which the website said was in stock. Ignored as we looked around as the two workers hung out chatting behind the counter. I approached one of the guys for help, turns out he was JK Simmons doppelgänger from the movie Whiplash — and I must’ve just ruined his day. He was not impressed I wanted to buy something. Heaven forbid he has to look it up on the system. «we don’t have it». And he doesn’t bother helping us find a different one so we left. As I left I smile and say «thank-​you» to which he glares at me and responds with «ok».
Ended up going to the other Rona in North Vancouver where Wendy helped us. She was very helpful and went out of her way to ensure we got what we needed. I’d recommend going that route.

One star for existing conveniently down the street from our house.
One star for letting our dog come in.
No stars for lack of organization, management, and customer service.
The thing that ticks me off the most is the labelling of the prices, or lack there of — it’s like a game minus the fun trying to figure out what price lines up with some item on the shelf. There’s been so many times we’ve ended up at the till to be wrongsticker-​shocked and left unhappy shoppers.
I appreciate that they have a garden centre with plants in the spring/​summer, but lack of organic options bums me out.
We’ll keep going there so that we don’t have to drive places, but man let’s pick it up management, it’s 2014 and competition should be fierce.

Beware of buying tools. The guy at the key counter looks after tools and will tell you they do not sell any parts and you need to go to Westcoast Tools in Burnaby. Eg filters for belt sanders are not stocked. Why are Canadian retailers so belligerent and not customer focused?
I agree with the other reviewers: it is hard to find anyone to ask for directions. It is understaffed. However, I can usually find most of the things I need, so I keep coming back, but never happily.
Update: November 2013: I came in looking for a specialty floodlight. I found it in a locked case in the lighting section. I went to the information desk and cashier area, where 4 bored employees were doing nothing, early on a Sunday. They told me to go to the infamous key cutting desk and wait for the guy to open the cabinet (which is far from the key cutting desk). One other guy was waiting in front of me, upset already that no-​one was there. After 5 minutes I went back to the info desk and asked again to open the case. They said they could do nothing, as they didn’t have a key.
So this place revolves around the one key cutting man, while 4 cashiers hang around the checkout, unable to help the customers who can’t access the things they are looking for. It is no secret why the cashiers have nothing to do. No-​one is buying. This is by far the worst business we have on the North Shore.
Post script — I drove further east to the Rona near Park & Tilford. I went to the lighting section, and while I was looking in the shelves, someone asked if I needed help and found the bulb immediately (and it was not in a locked case). Memo to hardware buyers: avoid 1^st St Rona — go to the one further east.

I consider myself fairly handy and seldom need help when doing a little DIY. But there are still times when I go to that big box hardware store and I need a little help to find something or ask a question. At Rona it always seems I need help to find help. You should not have spend more than 5 minutes looking for staff and only to queue up behind others just to answer a simple question. Come on where are the staff? When you do get your turn they always seen helpful. If they had a few more bodies it could be a pleasant place to shop.
At the checkout I asked where is the bike rack? This location is on a bike route. There isn’t one she replied. I pointed out it would be helpful as there were a couple of bikes chained to the gas meters. Ka-​boom.
Small changes can make a huge difference.

Ghost town! Sure, it’s a hardware store like all of them, but what really sets this one apart is the astonishing lack of employees. I once walked the entire length of that store, and back again, calling out «Hello! Hello?» and saw nary a shopkeeper nor a customer service technician. The store was mine and mine alone, so i renamed it «Itterbits» and welcomed my first customer some minutes later, who bought nothing and who slapped me for wishing to inspect her bag. I suspect that if there were an atmosphere of readily available advice and parts directions, rather than a single old plumber with eight people all hoping to make eye contact with him so they know they are still alive, and to squeeze in a quick «where’s the shit i want?», then they could draw in the crowds they claim they need to justify such a radical attention to details.