**This is for Giant Tiger as a whole (particularly in Hamilton). TL;DR at bottom.
The staff at checkout is always friendly but we usually opt for self-checkout when it's an option. The staff on the floor in the clothing section is always rude and confrontational. There was a trivial incident last year where we had accidentally banged our shopping cart into a metal sign while trying to get out of someone's way, and some elderly employee came over to glare at us and ask 'what the hell happened, what was that noise?!'. We apologized and said the cart hit the sign and chuckled about it, while she continued to glare at us for a good 30 seconds before walking away... but she monitored us the rest of the time we were in there. ??? We've had multiple incidences of clothing section floor staff staring at us/watching us just for walking around and looking at clothes -- it's very uncomfortable.
The prices keep going up but the quality doesn't improve. I like the quality of GT products, though the options/variety are lacking, and everything is more expensive than Walmart now, so my family and I quit buying clothes from GT.
We occasionally buy groceries from here though, because they carry stuff a little cheaper than other stores, or they carry stuff no other store carries (like certain brands and types of frozen fish, or frozen mozzarella sticks), but again, the overall variety is hugely lacking. There's also a very small quantity limit. Where Walmart may allow unlimited soup, GT limits you to 4-6 cans, for example. There's also an ongoing problem of their website stating they carry (XYZ) item, but the stores have been out of stock for over a year straight and removed the shelf section for these items -- items that only GT carried.
They do have a lot of decent sales, but items sell out almost immediately and don't get restocked at all during the sale, making the sales pointless for most folks after Day 1, Hour 1 of the sale.
Finally, they aren't great with plant upkeep when they sell plants. They're always dying/wilting and either super overwatered, or drier than a Sahara desert.
(If you've never been to a GT and want to know, they're like a Mini Walmart -- Clothing, some weird books, perfume, bathroom/toiletries/shower items, pet care, cleaners, food/snacks, pillows/blankets/bedroom stuff, towels and bathroom stuff, plants, Christmas/Holiday decor, birthday/holiday cards, kids' toys and candles. They carry paper bags and reusable bags, and usually have regular checkout and self-checkout.)
I like GT, and I still shop there occasionally, but it gets worse each year and isn't really worth it anymore aside from 2-3 grocery items nobody else carries.
TL;DR
1. Very low variety of items, items sell out fast and are not promptly restocked sometimes for weeks
2. Prices keep going up but quality stays the same
3. Very low quantity limit
4. Mix of nice and rude staff
5. No bathroom -- they have a Customer Bathroom, but they quit allowing customers to use it and keep it locked
6. Frequent sales on yummy items that only GT carries... but they sell out immediately and aren't restocked at all during the sale
7. Poor plant care
