Spending the day with my big brother is always a good time. We both enjoy fashion, so shopping…read moretogether is as much about the experience as it is about the clothes. We can wander through just about every store, critique the latest styles, admire great finds, laugh at questionable fashion choices, and somehow entertain ourselves for hours. This adventure took us to the Shops at La Cantera, one of his favorite shopping destinations. Unlike a traditional enclosed mall, La Cantera is an open-air shopping center where you're strolling from store to store in the Texas sunshine. Considering we've had what feels like a month of nonstop rain, I was thrilled that Mother Nature finally gave us a bright, sunny day. While the rain has been good for the lawn and plants, I am definitely ready for it to stop. We started near Nordstrom and leisurely made our way toward Zara, popping in and out of stores along the way. One of my favorite parts of shopping is discovering what's new. I was pleasantly surprised to see several stores that had opened since my last visit. Exploring those new spaces made the trip even more enjoyable. You can find a variety of price points at this mall, making it appealing to a broad range of folks. By the end of the day, my brother scored a few stylish pieces from Zara Men, while I somehow managed to leave empty-handed. Surprisingly, I didn't mind one bit. The best purchase of the day wasn't something that fit in a shopping bag...it was quality time spent catching up, sharing plenty of laughs, and enjoying a leisurely afternoon of shop surfing with my favorite shopping buddy...my big brother.

Every month to every other month, my boyfriend and I take his mom out for one of our favorite…read moretraditions: a full-day shopping trip. One of the places in San Antonio she prefers is The Shops at La Cantera. It's this beautiful, high-end, open-air shopping center that honestly feels more like a park than a mall, thanks to all the shaded pathways, greenery, and water features. It's the perfect layout for a relaxed day out together, especially since we can stroll from store to store outside rather than being cooped up indoors. What makes it ideal for these outings is that it has a great mix of everything. His mom has a few specific spots she absolutely loves hitting up every single time, from the big anchor stores like Nordstrom and Dillard's to some of her favorite specialty boutiques. It really takes the stress out of our monthly outings because we already know the layout, the parking is easy, and there are plenty of spots to grab a bite when she needs a break. It's just a consistently great experience every time we go.

Maybe I came at the wrong time, or maybe my mistake was going inside…read more Starting with the positive: this is my go-to location for drive-up pickup. I don't think I've ever had a mix up on my order. They shop quickly and pickup is always a breeze. This is why my in-store experience is baffling to me. The store just looked chaotic. Things were blocking aisles, items were misplaced everywhere, nothing seemed to match up to the labels on the shelves. Looking for a body wash and nearly every single bottle of the brand I was looking at was opened and pumped with soap spilled over the bottles. I managed to find one out of 10 maybe that hadn't been opened. That's nuts! I guess the other positive is that I eventually found what I needed. I likely stick to the drive-up option.

Awesome Target staff! For such a large chain store, I was very nicely helped by their Customer…read moreService team who helped me price-match an item from Target's website that rang up differently in-store. He was incredibly efficient and polite. Clean store with a wide selection of items that is easily checked by their online inventory. Parking is difficulty but this a lovely Target location.

Store is fine. Review is for the very disgusting dressing room floor. It's always like thisread more

Local store refused to allow me to purchase a pick up today item while I was at the store. I was…read moretold to go home and order and come back. I did just that, now the order won't arrive for 11 days and when called CSR I was told I can't cancel it. I must return it. Never again. Nordstrom just got me $433 order.

Horrible customer service. Girls who work there weren't even at the register. They were in the back…read moreon there phones. Also, incident on Thursday 11/13 at 3:30pm, one of the girls was extremely rude. Does not know how to have good customer service at all and even argued with me when I told her she needs to have a better attitude and asked me to "take my energy elsewhere." Very unprofessional. I didn't get the girls name but I know I'm not the only customer this girl has been rude too. Manager should definitely do something about this.

Can confirm. The girls who work here do not work. Their entire purpose is to say they work at…read moreBrandy Melville, then show up to a shift to chit chat with their friends and ogle at one another's phones. They do not greet customers, they do not offer assistance, and most frustrating of all they have no uniform or name tag or any way to discern them from customers. I never know who to ask to help me find the grey, white, or navy clothes I'm looking for.

Johnny was what? This women's clothing store isn't just for…read morewomen, I guess. They have things that'd look good on anyone I suppose. What bed wouldn't be more inspirational with a fashionable Johnny Was bedspread?! Johnny Was has a lot of Asian inspired prints and embroidered kinds of stuff, with wild flowers, birds and various scenes on things like blouses and nightgowns. Their selection is all vibrant, colorful and different. The staff was helpful and attentive. We had some questions on things, and they offered candies while they helped us check out the inventory in a little booklet they had, which made things easier than hauling everything out one at a time. I can't attest to the prices here, since I don't regularly shop at these kinds of stores, so, meh. This shop is located within La Cantera. Parking can be a bit challenging, but it's next to Nordstroms.

I'm so confident in my masculinity that I'm reviewing a frou-frou ladies clothing store. Wait, I…read morecan top that. I'm so confident in my masculinity that I've visited a frou-frou ladies clothing store on multiple occasions and bought scarves, blouses, and purses for my mother. I know next to nothing about clothing, but I know what my mom likes: bright, flowy, intricate, Southern California-inspired apparel brimming with personality. That's why I skip the impersonal department stores and head straight to Johnny Was. Over the past several years, I've bought two pairs of shoes, a purse, a makeup bag, two jackets, two kimonos, ten blouses, and three scarves. Yes, I counted. Prices range from $75 (a makeup bag) to $1,800 (an elaborate, embroidered blouse), but the cost reflects the quality; the artisanship and attention to detail are second to none. The sales associates are friendly and personable, never pushy. I know my mom's style fairly well, but the employees have steered me towards items I hadn't even considered, including several gorgeous scarves to complement the blouses. The staff could take advantage of my diffidence with all things apparel (in a clothing store, I look like a mute foreigner stumbling around with an open wallet), but they never try to upsell me. My only quibble is with the store's name. Johnny Was? Johnny was what? Apparently, the store's founder took the name from an obscure Bob Marley song. How random. I should open a clothing store named after a Captain Beefheart song. I can hear the ladies now: "Ooooh, what a gorgeous tunic, Liz! Where did you get it?" "It was 30% off at Making Love to a Vampire with a Monkey on My Knee."

Great selection but cashier was no exaggeration here but literally throwing my items into the…read moreplastic bag then takes said bag and plops it onto the counter. Odd employees as always.

This is my go-to guilt free spot. When I've got time on my hands but not wanting to overspend, I…read moreoften come this way. I was so surprised how many goodies I found here for five and under. I figured it would be like the dollar store. But this place is much more interesting, and who can resist a T-shirt that says "I like two people and all the dogs"? From Star Wars to Marvel to cute animals, they have you covered in gear. I have found some great personalized gifts here for coworkers (especially my unicorn and doggo peeps). Today I helped shop for a friend's little one, and found some great toys and gag gifts like the old bug in the chocolate chip cookie trick. I also found some great lazy day sandals for my kiddo that hates wearing anything that doesn't slide on. This place went above my expectations in variety and customer service. Be careful though, this place is dangerous. You can easily just start grabbing things because of the low prices and before you know it, you've got a bill of over fifty bucks in five minutes.

How can I offer such a negative review and still call it a one star? I have never in my life had…read moresuch a rude customer service experience. Anywhere. I grew up with a Mother whose 50 year experience was in one retail department store.' The owner had a poster in the back that listed the 10 Commandments of Customer Service. At the bottom of the poster was this "The Customer is Always Right." So yes, I'm old-school. A young woman named Angela brought out my online order. She said it was already paid for. I explained I needed to pay for it with a gift card I'd had 1-2 years. She kept refusing my request, as if I did not understand. She was reluctant to do a refund so I could pay for the merchandise with a gift card. I explained that's exactly what she needed to do. Her body language fully expressed her disdain for this process. She maintained a smugness throughout the entire exchange, asked me to open the package. That's NOT a standard operating procedure for customer service. She proceeded with the refund, stonefaced. No conversation, and proceeded to re-charge the merchandise. Never a 'thank you for explaining'. Never an 'I'm sorry for misunderstanding this.' Her response to my frustration with having to coax the entire process was 'What's your attitude? I'm trying to help you!' Is this the new JCP customer service? She called for her manager who was equally stonefaced. The manager Alex, like Angela, was just as reluctant to complete the exchange. She kept telling me it was already paid for. After requesting that she complete the exchange ... at least five times ... AND honor the sale price, she finally acquiesced. During this exchange, I told her that Angela was a very beautiful young girl, but her beauty did not compensate for her vile passive aggressive stance. I reiterated this several times, no 'I apologize for your experience,' nothing. When I repeated the complaint, she said she'd acknowledged it, but would not have me talking ill of her employee. Ill of her employee? A complaint does not produce a rosy glowing compliment. I gave her the good with the bad. She too was dismissive. When the altercation/transaction was finished, my response was 'I can tell she gets her customer service skills from you.' So beware this duo who doesn't understand not every transaction achieves electronic processing digital perfection. There is a human being paying for the merchandise that IS allowed a preference for how to complete the transaction. Mr Penney would be so sad. He would have NEVER protected such an impetulant excuse for a retail clerk nor a store manager. Need I say more? However the store that was built on his values no longer honors that code.

Great selection, overall clean and organized store. Just couldn't find any support staff in the…read moredepartments. Arrived at checkout with only one person at checkout. Left 20 minutes later with 13 people in line behind me waiting. Person at returns couldn't help? Cashier asked for support twice but noone helped.