Awful service. Lines out the door. They are so slow with purchases and returns and they don't care. Have better service!

Trying to remember how excited about this store when I first heard it would soon arrive in Midwest is difficult these days. Why? This location is a complete joke. I interviewed to be one of the managers here, and I met with Jasone Y. in a tiny room at the Double Tree hotel across the street whereby she proceeded to tell me that I wasn't qualified because other applicants had more experience and ostensibly better credentials. Notwithstanding a Yale education and 6 years of specialty retail management experience, I was mostly disappointed by the complete lack of selection here, especially the pointedly trim offerings for men. I mean, really, I used to live in LA where there were at least 6 locations, all of which are markedly larger than this midwest "flagship." Puh-lease. The service, even on the slowest of days, sucks. Try and get one of the sales associates to greet you voluntarily and you'll understand what I mean. And if you have a question about a particular garment, you'll be hard-pressed to find an associate who is schooled in even the most cursory fashion vernacular. "I don't know what a raglan sleeve is. But all of our coats are over there." Whoop dee doo. If I were a girl, I would probably rate this store higher. At least the people working in the brighter side of the store (the men's section is decorated in this basement/lounge motif with egregiously slippery floors) know a thing or two about clothing and the women's clothes occupy 75% of the selling space. I'm hoping the two locations in the city capitalize on the opportunity better than its suburban counterpart. read more

Having stopped in at Zara stores in Miami, Chile, Colombia and Sao Paolo I can honestly say, hands down, this is the messiest, most unorganized, Zara store probably in the world. Also, every other Zara store around the globe has great clothing but it appears that everything that doesn't sell in other countries finally ends up here and the prices are the same. Meaning, the clothes here are usually older and no longer trending. It has gradually gotten worse and worse. I get it though, always packed, so why would they improve other than actually caring about the brand. Packed though because Old Orchard receives a lot of tourists who come to visit Chicago, a world class city, and this mall is close enough to the city that travelers will still make the drive. Having that in mind, ownership should understand how strategically important it is that their customers leave feeling at the very least satisfied and talking positively about their experience. read more

Ok location lot's to choose from. I prefer the selection for women than what's on offer for men. I never seem to be able to find anything for myself at Zara! My wife finds some cool stuff though. If you scour the sale sections you can always find a great bargain. read more

Customer service would get zero stars if I could. They sold a blouse my fiancé had asked to set aside to someone else, AFTER they had searched for the blouse and knew she wanted it. What's wrong with this people read more

Oh Zara, you've solved so many of my troubles. I am a little bit poor right now. It's true. I will admit that I was looking for the perfect dress in all the wrong places. Let's face it Forever 21, I haven't been 21 for a while and even then I probably shouldn't have been shopping at you. I'd been to Zara in L.A. and missed it's stylish, but classy clothes, especially the dresses. I needed a dress to wear to a wake, and my emotional tailspin flung me into Old Orchard. This would have been a disaster had Zara not appeared to me like a vision from above. Let's face it, I probably would have plopped down hundreds of dollars in my less than rational state. I found a great dress that was appropriate without being gloomy and it's something I'll definitely wear again. The prices are reasonable and the people working in the store were friendly. My only gripe if you can call it that, is the dress I ended up buying was a medium that fit perfectly, and another I tried on was an XL that barely fit, so there might be some inconsistencies in sizing (a la H&M), or that one might have been mis-tagged. read more

I was refused a return on a shirt I never put on because some tag on the inside was missing which I never saw. While being denied a return I was being looked at like a guilty crook as if I intentionally removed some random tag from inside the shirt. Bullshit!!! read more

Customer service is the worst. I went into the Zara Kids and a staff member completely ignored us. The WORST!

The Damage is Done As anything that is hyped with great expectations the store did not impress me at all. Yes, the pieces looked smart and prices were reasonable, but the store just lacked Manhattan, DC and European energy. The store seemed to target specifically Midwestern working class, duh. I expected more from Zara and that it would take on daring concept to challenge local taste and bring some vitality. My advice to the buyer, we want to see more funky side of Zara, that is colors, better fabrics and yes smaller sizes. It was ridiculous that S sat on me as baggy L, not that I'm flaunting publicly my measurements (I'm size M). read more

Sizing is odd, but that's not too big of a deal for me, I just go a size up. My real gripe with this store is how rude and off-putting the staff is. Even while standing right next to employees, I was never asked if I needed help or anything like that. Also, on my last visit, two clerks were complaining about how work sucked, and they hated to be there. Not just to each other, but loud enough that the entire men's side of the store could hear it. Not a very inviting thing to hear when you step into the store. I'm probably being nitpicky, but, eh. read more

Wow, so many bad reviews. I stepped in to Zaras for the first time at Old Orchard Mall in Skokie, and I was pretty impressed. A friend brought us after reading a few articles. Here is why I like it: 1. It's not as chaotic and hectic as H&M and Forever 21. You don't feel like you have to fight people to burrow through overstuffed racks of clothes. 2. The atmosphere makes you feel like you're in an upscale store, but with prices you'd find at H&M. 3. I really liked the designs that were there. I didn't buy anything because I was mainly there to gift shop unless I was going to get a steal, but I was impressed! Overall, I'm not in this area often but If i ever was and had the time and money, I'd definitely be back. read more

Lets get it straight- I love zara. love love love. I've been shopping there for years during my winter/summer vacations in europe/me/asia. There was always a huge huge selection of clothing with amazing turnaround periods of 3-4 days, so nothing really got OLD. Sometimes the trends and I didn't agree, but I would still manage to find a piece here or there that would work. Your paying more for trend than quality, I can attest to that, some pieces will last me several seasons and others just one. I was REALLY REALLY excited to hit this store, and I was disappointed- might be the fall trends or might just be that there wasnt too much in the first place... Over the last two years I will say that Zara's quality/creativity has somewhat taken a fall, dont know if that has to do with high turnover, lack of innovative designers or what- I might stop by in a week or two and see if they have anything new, hopefully things will change. I hear there is a new zara opening in downtown, i hope this has a larger variety of clothing! read more

The fact that I drove all the way from Oakbrook to Skokie just to check out this store points to the high hopes I had - and it did not disappoint. Zara is fantastic and well worth the ride out to Old Orchard mall! I'd say that their forte is in the business casual, skirt and jacket wear, although they do carry casual as well. But the selection of tailored skirts and jackets are phenomenal; they've got the special European tailoring that is difficult to find with American clothing. The way that the skirts are made to hug your bottom, for example - they know how to fit a woman's body. They have an awesome looking men's section, and an adorable kid's area as well. Although it was plenty crowded, the service was attentive, although a bit spotty at times; but in spite of the crowds and craziness, a wonderful salesperson found the skirt I was looking for in my size in a pile in the dressing room, and managed to find me on the second floor. Since I absolutely HAD to have this skirt, I was thrilled with her effort. Great store! read more

Overall, pretty disappointed in our 1st area Zara. Finally went up with a co-worker. I'd been to Zara in Europe and out in Irvine, CA. It had been a few years, though. Really was looking forward to my visit, and left with a fairly poor opinion. I'm petite, so sizing wasn't a bother (if anything, they were OUT of too many size S for certain items). Just the clothes in general were disappointing. Too frilly, too many 'mock-collared' shirts (really, are these fashionable right now?), too many lame graphic tees. I did a double pass through the store and left with 2 items, just general winter layers: a long-sleeve gray tee for layering and a modern-style boyfriend cardigan. Could've purchased those anywhere, IMO. Sometimes I feel foolish at Forever 21 (I'm 32 for gosh sakes), but because I'm petite, I find stuff there. Even though I have to wade through the endless teeny-boppers. Was hoping I'd have better luck with Zara, guess I will have to see how the flagship turns out. I have to say I was more impressed with the men's clothes my co-worker was looking for.... read more

I was out in Skokie shopping with my beau when we spotted Zara. We hadn't been in once since we spent way too much money at Zara in Brussels so we decided to check it out. I found this super cute vintage inspired white dress that I immediately wanted to own. Looking through the sizes, all I found were smalls and mediums. Net yet giving up, I asked a sales associate if they had any larges in the back. She was kind enough to inform me that the dress only came in small or medium, but that the medium is meant to be like a one size fits all. Riiiiight. Like a sucker I decided to try it on just to see if maybe I could possibly fit into it. No such luck. Ugh. Damn you Zara for thinking it is okay to not make clothes in a fair range of sizes. I understand that not all business can make XXS to XXXXXL. But come on, large is in the range of normal here. I'm not some beluga whale. bech. down with skinny bitches (and the stores that cater to them) read more

I agree with all of these comments about the staff. The are most unhelpful and discourteous. I went there Thanksgiving Eve to shop for my kids (because they are the only reasonably priced retailer selling fashionable boys clothing) and the sign on the window said 30% off. I shopped and selected a bunch of stuff only to find out that the sale was ONLY for Black Friday. They did nothing to accommodate me - and I am not a Black Friday shopper - They didn't even apologize or care. But - they have adorable clothing for kids at reasonable prices. read more

I'm not sure what has happened. I was CONVINCED that this would be it. I would never have to search for the perfect place to find clothes. But then buttons started breaking, the the stitching came loose, and finally, the cutting was uneven. What happened to quality control? Does it even exist? I still go in from time to time and I find something I like. But when I bring it home, I realize something is wrong with my shirt, pants, jacket, or whatever. Another thing that makes me mad is that their employees are very unprofessional. I feel like everyone that works there has only been there for a day. Do they even train people? Also, when you are in the fashion business, shouldn't you make sure your employees look presentable. Nothing makes me cringe more than wrinkly/ unclean clothes and pants so long, they drag and catch all the crap on the floor. Having said all that, they sometimes have things that are wearable. read more

Still recovering mentally from a weird shopping experience earlier today. I visited the store and found a beautiful item that I ADORED, just to have it snatched out of my hands at checkout by the manager who was having trouble scanning the barcode and followed by saying that "We can't sell this. We've been having issues with it". Wtf? I think that you do have issues - but those are with damaged clothes that you sell in the store. But a perfect item with a price tag on it? This goes to show the lack of basic customer service training and problem solving skills Zara employees receive from the company. You can start somewhere though. How about offer training to your employees on how to fold clothes properly? I found them clumped like literal pieces of trash in my shopping bag. Very disappointed with a store that used to be one of my favorites. read more

I LOVE Zara, but I hate Skokie customer service! Every time I go there I forgot how bad it is, and every time I say, I am not going back EVER AGAIN! read more

I do agree with the other reviews that the store is always slow, waiting to check out can easily take over 15mins, but I do find some great deals most of the time which are worth the painful wait to check out. It does seem like there are many people walking the store but only 1 working the register. I do agree with others that the store is pretty messy, but that doesn't bother me...I'll take that with finding some great clearance deals over from fancy schmancy store any day. read more

Worst customer service ever. I went in today looking for a blouse they didn't have online in my size. Before driving to the Old Orchard location because it's far from me I called to make sure they had it in stock like the store locator said, they told me yes. As soon as I got there I asked one of the employees for the item, and was told they will get it from the back stock or whatever they call it . After waiting for like 35 minutes, one of the employees apologized and said no one had the phones they use to request from the back stock, but they were looking for it now. Since it was getting late I told her I needed to go to Sephora, and she told me to go and by the time I came back they will have my stuff ready. I left and came back about 15 minutes later, I asked the first employee I spoke to that night if they had brought my stuff down, she said she didn't know and just walked away. I proceeded to the register and asked the employee at the register and he said he will ask. Waited for another 10-15 minutes for them to finally tell me they didn't have the blouse. Waited all that time and no shirt. The girl proceeded to tell me they had sold it in the last hour, I had been there for more than an hour. When I first got there it was still in stock in the back room. Asked to speak to the manager, she was no help on top she had an attitude. As soon as she started with her attitude and taking no responsibility for lack of work ethic and customer service I asked for the corporate number. After that she started to be super nice. She went as far as saying that wasn't her home store and she was just helping out, that's not her team. Funny I was there a week and a half ago and she was there. As far as I'm concerned you managed tonight10/30/2019 so it was your team for that night. read more

Came here with a friend, and they were having a sale (my favorite word, other than free) We shopped around and their jeans were on sale, i got a pair for 20 bucks, normally 60 bucks. and their are super comfy and super soft. I like most of the clothes here, I'll only shop here when there are sales. read more

Zara is a great addition to Skokie. it keeps me going to Old Orchard. I may just have nostalgia from being in Europe. Great stylish work clothes, unique jackets and fun t-shirts. Their pants fit me perfectly. I LOVE THIS PLACE! read more

I'm really not sure what the excitement is all about? The target attraction is based on being ultra trendy, hip and cool. Maybe because I'm not trendy, hip nor cool did I get it? I found every pair of jeans to be hideous because of some "flair" to set them off and the wash styles were nothing original. I could see some of the slacks and shirts being appropriate for work environment. Some of the coats were decent and a consideration for buying, but again there was some small "flair" of unneeded design that ruined it for me. The prices aren't bad. I walked in thinking it would be a bit more expensive. I went with my friend and we had our egos shot down a little bit. Neither of us are large people. However, it seemed that sizes run much smaller than normal size ranges of other stores. I wear a size 40 coat, which is a Medium and they didn't fit. Then, I tried on several Large coats and they were all too tight. Majority of the employees there really irked me in one way or another. I think every male employee carried that "I'm too cool for words" attitude. Seriously guys, take a look at yourself in the mirror and realize how stupid you look carrying that attitude. And then, I was standing in a line with at the women's dressing room with my friend when one of the female employees came up to me and told me to sit at the bench and that I couldn't go in there. What made her think I was going in there? I wouldn't have cared if she told me, but I didn't care for her snide attitude about. I found this place to be more hype than anything. I got a completely different feeling from the website than I did when being in the store. read more

Very unprofessional customer service! Store doors always broken. Staff is not training to prioritize urgent tasks. Limited cashiers that causes long waiting. Overall store cleanness very poor. Notifications regarding stores hours very inconsistent. read more

The clothes may be a bit pricey but they are quality... and usually you can find an item that is worth the trip. The clothes are stylish and they have a good choice of shoes and jackets. The store set up is nice and the staff is helpful and friendly. I first had my encounter with Zara in New York and am glad it's in Chicago. read more

I work in the mall, so it's kind of a hit or a miss when I go in. Most days associates are super pleasant, other days they would rather not have you in their sight. I had a really great experience this past Saturday though. Jamie was really helpful and nice in the fitting room grabbing me sizes and giving me her honest opinion and personal testimony on a couple pieces. Stratera was also very friendly at the cash register and had me rung up in no time- Overall, I can't wait to shop with either of these associates again! read more

Hello all, I'd like to inform all of you. I used to work for this location. I feel like most of you think the workers at Zara are lazy and uninterested and that the store as a whole is understaffed. I'm here to tell you, Zara employees are far from lazy. This multi million dollar company has each worker working to their wits end. We are over worked and exhausted...but wait! I know what you're going to say "then hire more people so you aren't so over worked". We have this thing called a "budget". We only have a certain allotted amount of hours to use each month. Sadly for this store the hours are so poor, 1 sales associate does the work of 4. When you see a sales associate on the floor instead of ringing on the register to manage the long line- it isn't because they don't want to help you, they do! But some aren't trained, at times they may be the only one on the wholes salesfloor and for loss prevention reasons can't ring. Also if you see 3 sales associates please consider this as well: Visual Merchandiser don't ring, Stock Associates don't ring. So if you see 3 people, they all may have positions you aren't aware of. The policy, we all know is archaic. We know it! But we don't create the policy, we just enforce it. I'm sorry for any bad experience you may have had at this store but please understand that we try our best with what we're given. We know our location suffers. Honestly, in the Midwest region we are the store that gets the least. We aren't helped much from corporate. We are kind of left to fend for ourselves at time while the other stores to get sufficient hours and help. We do what we can. read more

this place is a dystopian hellscape. don't come here. the cashiers are so unbelievably slow. clothes are literally all over the floor. this place is worse than spending the night in cook county jail i fear. zara's clothes are very cute but coming here just isn't worth the mental toll it takes on me anymore. read more

Rudest staff ever! After grabbing a shirt that was pointied with discounted price the salesperson charged me more explaining it must be the tax (20% ??) not bothering to check the price on the screen. After pointing that he overcharged me he rudely said that was the price. The supposed supervizor (Stacy??) came over after 10 min to inform us that the shirts were simply misplaced and the price reflected is not correct. Than she simply removed all the shirts from the shelf and disappeared. Wow! If you cant find better staff Zara, then simply move to online only!!! read more

What a nightmare this store is. Every time I walk in there there is a line 8 deep for the register. Tons of employees and they do not seem to notice or care. If you order something on line for store pickup, you have to pick it up upstairs in the kids dept. This is a secret though. You don't get this little tidbit of info until you stand in line for 10 minutes at the register. No signs even. Whatever. This place sucks. read more

The clothes here are way overpriced! You could definitely get what you find at Zara from a thrift store or Macy's, if you're into that stuff. At this particular location, clothes were strewn around and the associates seemed to not care about it. I'm not one to sift through clothes for hours just to come up empty handed. Never again. read more

I agree with previous reviewers. Worst Zara you can go to in terms of customer service. Selection is good but staff is the worst. Lazy and expressionless. I was the only one in the store with about 4 sales people and no one even acknowledged me. I was in the store for about 30 minutes without even a "hello" much less any help. Who is this store manager?? read more

Horrible customer service! Started off waiting in line on the first floor then was told to go up to kids since there was no wait...well that was a lie! Waited another 30 mins in line while 3 sales associates were just standing around and talking. Overall don't shop at this location, everyone seems lost. read more

I have been using zara for a very long time. good fit,nice quality and stylish. \ read more

This was the worst customer service I've ever experienced in my life. I found some super cute things here, but did not buy anything from this location because I hated the staff. Every single sales rep walked right past me as if they had someplace to be. I asked a question about one of their items, and the woman rolled her eyes and said they don't have my size. The store was not busy at all, but nobody was available to help me. It sucked. They also don't make shoes smaller than a 36 because they are a European company. So what... nobody in Europe has small feet?? read more

some of the clothes had possibilities. too bad everything on the racks in the mens'es sextion were sized XS. both of the Sales Demons were hard at work eyeing me sans verbal hellos or smiling faces...just "like OMFG hell to the no bitch" stares. yes it became cold really quick.(sees breath in the air) nipples erect on my person cut through my t shirt and left me even more exposed and in horror.(just a metaphor) the mirrors made my 32 ass look like 45 XXXXL.(personal perception) I had to run to starpucks, eat all of their chocolate treats and purge into the closest receptacle just to help me feel less desirable and less 45 XXXXXL. I so never. will ever. ps. my friend sans penis said the one sales lady on the girls side was nice to her. read more

Seriously. Our venture into this store was a total toilet flush. A friend of ours absolutely raved about this store. My friend and I were totally ready to spend money. Apparently, the store does not need the sales. I don't remember ever receiving such awful service since I was a teenager. We were not aware that Old Orchard now closes at 830pm. The staff at Zara made it very apparent that they did. We were not greeted...we were told, "Ladies, we close in 3 minutes" as soon as we walked through the door. I've worked in retail management and in customer service for almost 2 decades, and that is absolutely a no no. Especially in this economy. It's always been policy in the stores that I worked that the doors remain open until closing time, and if there were customers shopping, you remained opened for them, but you were allowed to lock the doors. My friend still insisted on a quick look see. As if we were not already made aware, the staff made it a point to let us know that they were closing in 2 minutes, then 1 minute, then "we're closed". I was confused for a moment and I wondered if I had wandered into Walmart or some other tacky place. There were some cute dresses but the quality is Forever 21/ H & M with bridge pricing. I did not think that the quality justified the price tags. I may update my review in the future, but I certainly don't feel that this store is worthy of my money after that first impression. read more

I love Zara but every time I come here, the b*tch that I always manage to get to ring me up acts like it's the most painful thing in the world. Pretty sure she's a manager too. Here's a PSA - you're working in customer service. Act like it! If you hate your job & life that much then go get an education so you don't have to work your miserable job. read more

The worst customer experience ever. Between them and corporate I have never been more frustrated.