Chicago Still Hates Macy's

5/19/2009 Astronomer Joe ""Likes a good beaver moon"" G. says:

I still...

...wish Woolworth's would come back.

5/19/2009 Val B. says:

I think I'm having deja vu!

5/19/2009 Jason M. says:

Sorry didn't think the first one went through. Sorry, already posted this :)

Best,
JasonM

5/19/2009 lisa "bindifry" h. says:

i went today.  it's still marshall fields.  you can feel it.  but it is going ghetto.  i don't know what's going on with the food court, but its going south,
i bought a few items for 50-75% off and this is summer clothes!  a betsy johnson raincoat for half off, which is kind of unheard of.  
sigh.  such an institution this was.  just like maxwell street.  i miss that, too.

5/19/2009 Jessica "Just Eat It...eat it...eat it...eat it..." S. says:

It is messy there and the merchandise is sub par. I received a $100 Macy's gift card over a year ago and I still have yet to redeem it because I just can't find anything!

5/19/2009 Jason M. says:

do we have to duel for this name?

5/19/2009 Danny L. says:

Astronomer Joe "Yelp's Mustachioed Bachelor" G. says:
"I still...

...wish Woolworth's would come back."

LOL!  Yes, and also Goldblatt's and Zayre.  Anyone under the age of 30 is wondering WTF?

5/19/2009 Paul S. says:

Ugh.

It amazes me how we (Chicagoans) get worked up over the dumbest shit.  Marshall Field's was just a department store.  Macy's is just a department store.  One replacing another isn't all that big of a deal.

I'd almost rather listen to people who are still upset about lights in Wrigley Field.

5/19/2009 Kelly S. says:

I remember getting goldfish at Woolworth's when I was little.

5/19/2009 Paul S. says:

Do you still have the goldfish, Kelly?

5/19/2009 Astronomer Joe ""Likes a good beaver moon"" G. says:

Zayre...Lol.....

Might as well bring back Ventures as well.

I always felt sorry for the critters at Woolworths, I got a pet turtle there....but there was a Myna bird at the Woolworths downtown..in the basement pet dept.  His name was Charlie, he would talk and was there FOREVER.  I would see him for years.

I wonder what happened to Charlie.

Five & Dime, Joe

5/19/2009 Rhonda "you can't catch me, i'm the gingerbread man" G. says:

wow..Venture. That's where I once got my supply of stretch stirrup pants :)

5/19/2009 Kelly S. says:

Paul - Nope, they are no longer with us.
I hope Charlie is around somewhere.

I can still remember how Woolworth's smelled.

5/19/2009 Astronomer Joe ""Likes a good beaver moon"" G. says:

Kelly...

Which one?

Myna birds live to be a very long time..in their 80...?

I recall the counters they had for sit down eats.  In my neighborhood, we had tables too.

5/19/2009 L "Front, Back, Side-to-Side" S. says:

Nah, I used to care about the Marshall Fields name but now I don't care anymore... whatever, it's Macy's now. It's a store, I go in to buy jeans, shirts, suits, shoes, colognes, etc. Whatever... just getting used to it.

What really pisses me off is the name change of the Sears Tower... that's a landmark recognized globally around the world. Why the hec would you change that?  So wrong... just so wrong.

5/19/2009 g r. says:

Jason, do you hate them so much that you started two threads?

5/19/2009 John "Mr Bad Touch" B. says:

[I still...
...wish Woolworth's would come back.]

How about Wieboldt's? Or the Olson Rug factory, with the waterfall.

5/20/2009 Nina "Mystery Lady" G. says:

Jessica-use your card to buy a variety of Frango products, use some now, freeze others for later, either for yourself or as gifts, It's the only merchandise I buy at Messy's, because it's an original Field's product,

5/20/2009 Andy "the Round Mound of Profound" M. says:

In the Grand Scheme of things this is no big deal. But I can see why people got pissed off when Federated changed the Name. Maybe it's just me, but in my opinion the quality of merchandise has really went into the crapper. I have no interest in shopping there.
The bottom line is: This was a stupid business decision on the part of Federated. Macy's is New York, Fields was Chicago. I put this right up there with the mental midgets who gave us the New Coke in the mid 80's.

5/31/2009 Bob J. says:

Even if you hate Field's and never shopped there, you are paying for the switch to Macy's out of your tax dollars.  Moreover, it's been much, much more than a name change.

As recently as 2005, Marshall Field's was ranked as the number three destination in Chicago.  It is no longer because there are Macy's everywhere in the U.S.  International tourists who want to shop Macy's go to the one on 34th St in NYC.  They don't make a special trip to the one in Chicago like did when it was Field's. Even if you hated Marshall Field's, you are missing out on the taxes it generated as destination from world travelers.  No one traveled to Chicago to shop Woolworth's, Zayre, Venture, etc.  They did for Marshall Field's.  As Macy's they are just as likely to come to Chicago for those defunct stores you mention or Penneys, Nordsrom, Sears, etc.--that's hardly at all.

Then consider that Marshall Field's was Chicago's most internationally renowned brand and that Field's gave us the Shedd Aquarium, Merchandise Mart, Art Institute, University of Chicago, Field Museum and pretty much State Street, as well as Water Tower Place.

Also consider that quite a bit of Field's business clothes for ladies and men were made locally in the Chicago area--not China.  The reason suburban HartMarx is having such problems is that Macy's came in, dropped the Chicago-area made clothes and replaced them with Chinese imports.  Hundreds have been impacted by this.  This isn't just a name change.  Macy's also moved hundreds of warehouse jobs out of the city to about an hour and half away.

Finally consider that many brands, merchandise and even a quality way of doing business have been lost.  Do you hate it when the store clerk knows little about what they are selling?  When it was Field's there were still a number of Field's employees who were actually experienced with what they were selling. Many of these are gone.   Even a bad day shopping at Field's was far better that a good day at Macy's.  You are foolish if you compare this to Woolworth's or A & P going out of business.    It's a loss of tax dollars, jobs and Chicago history.

5/31/2009 sam "cant wait til I'm old enough to wear diapers again" k. says:

Bob, considering this thread long gone

5/31/2009 Janet "offering holiday wellness readings" W. says:

OK so this wonderful survey upon which the article is based, was done by a group called http://FieldsFansChica....  Geeeee, I really believe they are unbiased.  If they had asked me I would have said I don't care at all.  I mean, if this is a big issue for you, more power to you, but not me.

5/31/2009 Nina "Mystery Lady" G. says:

And Field's was a very special "destination" for many
brides-to-be over the years, including my mom. She was always proud of the fact that she was able to save up enough money to buy her wedding gown at Field's bridal salon. It was THE place for "prestige" fashions for the wedding party. I can't imagine Macy's or David's Bridal having that level of "cachet."

6/1/2009 Teddy "Chairman of the Bored" C. says:

http://3alleypub.files...

6/1/2009 Carrie "Mrs. Cake Ball" S. says:

Nina, you should read my recent review of Macy's Bridal. Their sales staff there is really rude and unpleasant. I wonder how much they upcharge the gown because it's Macy's.

6/1/2009 Martha "Crabby" Z. says:

can we also bring back venture mr. joe mustache?

6/1/2009 Erin "it doesn't suck" J. says:

I'd have a lot more love for Macy's if they had a lot more love for their customers. I am just an average shopper, probably more sensitive to service as I am a survivor of the industry...but I can't think of a time in recent history that I've been in there and received decent service. I Yelped Macy's when I had to deal with someone at the watch counter who was completely uninterested in assisting me, and really, it's the perfect representation of nearly every other experience I've had there, ranging from the outright hostile to the apathetic, to not finding anyone to help me, to just plain not finding any clothes in my size. My guy even took me to Macy's last Friday on lunch to check out their shoes and he was really shocked that there were practically no OMG SHOES kinds of shoes there. Sucks.

6/1/2009 Vanessa C. says:

fields forever!!!!!

6/1/2009 Andy "the Round Mound of Profound" M. says:

Don't forget the worst store in the history of Chicago.

Community!!!

6/1/2009 Nina "Mystery Lady" G. says:

Andy - can't speak for everyone's experience, but there was a Community at Clark & Halsted (where the Marshalls, etc. is now) that had some pretty cool cheap stuff, even some  decent clothes. I used to work nearby and would shop there on my lunch hour back in the 80's.

Which is more than I'd say about Messy's; only go there for the nowhere-else-available Frangos.

6/1/2009 Dan Z. says:

Everyone keeps talking about their beloved memories of Fields - from 20 YEARS AGO!

6/1/2009 Andy "the Round Mound of Profound" M. says:

Nina

All I remember about Community (at the Belmont and Clark location) is that the floors were so sticky that my feet stuck to the floor. And the huge bins of Ked's that had all these single shoes that never matched. I used to marvel at how parents would look for matching shoes for hours just to save two bucks.
To be honest: I was too young to remember how much anything cost.

6/1/2009 Nina "Mystery Lady" G. says:

Didn't know about the Keds; never bought'em. But their candy counter had Jelly Belly "seconds" in generically labeled bags.

6/1/2009 Chris S. says:

The only reason I go to Macy's is if it's raining out and I need to get from the gym to the bus stop. Otherwise, it might as well be a Kohl's.

6/1/2009 Lauren "C.M.Y." K. says:

I love Macy's and was happy to see the change. Probably because I grew up with Macy's, being from NY. I got my very first manicure in the salon in Macy's in NY. I was 8.

6/1/2009 Jonathan "The Green Hoopster" H. says:

I want a Chicago Macy's THanksgiving Day Parade. And I want Al Roker to host it. Until then, Macy's will not get my love.