Bed Bath & Beyond

Have been searching for a specialty pillow (cpap). Never considered this store for some reason, but was walking by and popped in. The woman at the counter couldn’t answer my question. She called for Jordan, an attractive young lady I took to be the manager. I explained to her just what this pillow is, and knowing they were not stocked in the store, immediately found it online. She said it could be at my door in 2 – 7 days (probably closer to 2). It cost less than comparable pillows I’ve seen, and if I didn’t like it, I can return it to the store for a refund. I CAN RETURN A USED PILLOW FOR A REFUND!?? You’ve got to be kidding me! SOLD! Jordan was very personable and pleasant, while working efficiently. She rang me out, gave me my receipt, and thanked me for shopping there. I literally could have been out of the store in 5 minutes or less, but decided I may as well have a quick poke around.
Now understand, Matt spends much more time in these types of environments than I do. I agree with his assessment of the small, cramped feeling of the store, and his price comparisons on the whole. The few items I looked at either had me thinking «that’s about what you’d pay anywhere else» — to thinking of Target or even Marshall’s. This store has the largest selection of cutting boards I’ve ever seen. By the way, his feelings about the Target that’s 3 doors down are spot on, even 3 ½ years later!
Looking around this store, everything appeared to be neatly organized and well marked. I’d give them a «good job» for that. It gives the appearance of a higher level store. I’ll give the first woman behind the counter the benefit of the doubt. She struck me as a new hire, and perhaps not many folks walk in looking for a cpap pillow. While snooping around, I encountered another employee. She was on a radio doing a price or inventory relay. She did stop in her tracks and satisfactorily answer a question I asked. The store is currently hiring. My guess is they, like others, have a turnover and customer service could be hit or miss.
I give a balance of 4 stars: 5+ for Jordan’s efforts and the return policy on a used pillow. 3 for some (most?) higher than others’ prices. 3.5 for a very neat appearance, which in itself isn’t reason to pull out the wallet, but does add something to the experience. Someone’s been hard at work there.
As for me, I’m pretty well set. I really won’t be in the market for most of what they carry in the near future. At least they’re now on my radar and I’ll give them another shot if the need arises.

Hoo, boy. I’m writing this review in contrast to other Bed, Bath, and Beyonds, which have generally been useful for the selection, nyeah for pricing (you can find similar items for about 15−20% less at Target, if Target stocks them), and wildly variable for customer service.
This particular location is somewhat smaller and less conveniently organized (although still on the standard BBB layout), thanks in large part to the very awkward entrance and exit relative to the checkstand.
The real down rating for this location is the staff. They seem to be a particularly unpleasant combination of not knowing their own stock, not being focused on the goal of the shopper (e.g. I want to organize my kitchen, not look for a particular rack, or I want to comparison shop blenders, not find out you only carry such and such a brand), and being abrupt about things like the organization of their lines (see above).
BB&B charges more than discount stores and doesn’t have as good a selection as competing higher-​end specialty stores (such as kitchen stores or hardware stores for fixtures) so it had better have convenience of their customers a little more in mind, or have a perkier (and one would hope, more knowledgeable) customer service attitude to get competing business. This one is a fail on that front.
I’m very tempted to lower them to two stars, but BB&B is what it is and I preserve the rating just for the selection of goods and alternative to the next-​door Target, which is among the smaller and more poorly-​stocked Targets I’ve seen for housewares. That said, the fact I can’t get glassware at BB&B in more than a few styles (including in the style stocked last year at another BBB&B), find wok sticks, get roman-​style curtains like the ones they have at other locations, or find more than two makes of blender in stock at a time will generally send me elsewhere.