The stores vary quite a lot in layout and atmosphere, as others have said. Of the four I know in Toronto, I prefer the Bloor Street one and the Queen St. one, although they are a bit smaller than their sisters.
But to be completely honest, in-store shopping at Zara is rarely easy unless you can go on a weekday morning. The line ups for the change rooms are always long, service (at the ones I know) can be indifferent, items are usually tossed hither and yon, racks are messy, clothes are often crushed on the floor...
The online experience is completely the opposite. Clean, easy to use website. Extremely quick deliveries. Returns are free which makes it attractive to me as a Canadian where that is rare, and the processing of them is also quick. I have only had one poor customer service incident with the online process and it was really due to a UPS problem. The people at Zara did not deal with it well initially and I had to be persistent. But they did eventually resolve, and considering the amount I have ordered and returned over the years without problem, I can accept this.
I think you should persist, Gigi, because the sizing may work for you quite well -- they don't do petites but for the most part, they do cut small and narrow. I usually wear a S in a jacket or top when I would normally take an XS elsewhere.
