Great Spirit Hardwoods — Attraction in Dundee Township

Owner refuses to fix the shoddy finish on a delivered table I already paid him almost $3,000 for. No, worse than that, he asked for a picture of the streaky finish, then never called back after I sent him the picture, even though I left him multiple messages after that.

Maybe he thinks the streaks in the finish don't show up well enough on the photo to hurt his sales if other people see the photo (although you can see the streaks in the photo, they're much clearer in person). In any case, the man took almost $3,000 from me, and now won't even pick up the phone to discuss his bad work. To be clear, he never told me he wouldn't fix his work, he just refuses to talk.

If you're looking to buy something expensive from someone who won't stand behind their work, this is the place for you.

10/12/16 Update: It gets worse. Immediately after posting the review, they finally respond and say that they'll fix it--no decent explanation for why they hadn't bothered to call before. When the guy comes out this morning, he basically calls me a liar (showing me the delivery receipt from the designer who accepted delivery for me without examining the finish as closely as she might have, and a couple photos from distance that wouldn't have picked up the subtle streaks in the finish and mostly just showed glare on the table top). He also tried to blame it on the wax we used on it (sold to us by them), which we used only after noticing the streaks in the first place, and in an attempt to fix it without calling them. The fact of the matter remains, the streaks were there from the get-go.

Having someone suggest that I'm a liar is a bit much for me, so I told him to get the eff out of my apartment. I'll just get it fixed without them if the price is being called a liar.

I strongly advise never paying in advance for anything from this place, and never trusting them to do anything in the future for you (unless you can accept the price of being falsely called a liar to your face). If you can buy on an invoice, maybe...

I recently had the pleasure to meet Skip and purchase some of his quality hardwood slabs. I was able to get three absolutely gorgeous pieces. Two are nearly 30 in wide and close to 10 ft long, with a two and a half inches thickness. That in itself is impressive what really blew my mind was the fact that they were nearly dead flat and almost completely clear, free of imperfections. Not that there's anything wrong with imperfections in wood that's what makes it beautiful but I have customers sometimes that specifically like wood without knots or other so-called imperfections. And it's a very hard order to fill! I feel like I have truly found a gold mine and and so lucky to have came across this fine business! The owner Skip and his wife are both extremely friendly and thoroughly knowledgeable about all of the woods they use and the techniques to make quality tops. I really feel like I can't say enough positive about this business and its owners and will certainly make them my One Stop Shop for any sizable pieces of lumber or slabs! And I should mention that I'm over two and a half hours away from this location and the 5-Hour plus Drive is well worth it. I've searched throughout the Chicagoland area and down into Central Illinois and it found nothing like this yet. Part of me is reluctant to give such a great review because I would like to keep it a secret, but that would be...

Made my first trip here on my way back to Chicago from Wisconsin. I think it was probably the best experience I’ve ever had at a hardwood dealer.

The appointment system is really nice, I know it’s a COVID measure but I wouldn’t mind if it was the norm. It takes all the stress out of trying to maneuver around aisles that get crowed very quickly when you’re digging through stacks.

I needed around 20bdft of rift and quartersawn clear walnut heartwood, something that’s usually a pain to dig out but I got all of it in a few pieces after pulling only 6 or 7 boards. Not sure if it was all luck or if they’re just more selective with what goes on the rack.

Rough sawn and full thickness are a big bonus, I’ve had to buy 5/4 at the places that skip plane or it would be too thin after final milling. Love that their price sheets are posted and open, cheaper than my usual place, too.

If it wasn’t such a trek from Chicago these guys would...