Capitol Lighting — Attraction in East Hanover

My husband and I went to Capitol Lighting in East Hanover to look at track lighting and/or other lighting options for a large 5-room finished basement that we use as an art and workout studio. We've been renovating the space, purchasing new furniture and fixtures. I was also excited to go to Capitol to look at whatever they had--table lamps, standing lamps, possibly replacement globes for a chandelier in our dining room. But we never got past their front door. We were immediately "greeted" by an employee asking what we were looking for. I said "ceiling lighting for a workspace" and the man replied, lightning fast, "No. You need to go to Home Depot for that." I was taken aback, and foolishly began trying to explain "We want to replace the old fluorescent fixtures," to which the man responded almost aggressively "We don't sell fluorescents." By now I was getting irritated: "I said we want to REPLACE them." Unaccountably, he cut me off by saying again "We don't sell fluorescents." Wow. Just to get under his skin I asked "So you don't carry track lighting?" and of course he said yes but by now my husband and I were on our way out the door. We agreed the only explanation was that we'd just been "profiled" but for what? We're in our 70s, comfortably middle class, dressed casually but not disreputably. We entered the store in good spirits. We're not disheveled, dirty, dangerous, disorderly or demented, just an older couple hoping to make a very large purchase. Once home I looked at reviews of this store and found other people who'd had similar experiences. One women ended up figuring she must have "looked too young" because she was in the store for so long and no one would help her. Great business model guys, to turn away sales and leave dissatisfied customers wondering what could be wrong with them! Still other reviewers mentioned a complete lack of customer support when items they'd ordered arrived defective. I don't know what's going on in this store but ultimately we decided we'd dodged a bullet, lucky to be able to bring our business elsewhere. UPDATE: You'll notice that Capitol Lighting responded to my review with "concern," falsely promising that someone would reach out to us. Haha. It's been six months,...

UPDATE 1/7/2025: A big thank you to Kelly at customer service for helping to resolve my matter! I appreciate the client focus and good experience this time around!! UPDATE 1/5/2025: I appreciate the response from Capital lighting to my review but unfortunately have not yet been contacted to assist with resolution. I would greatly appreciate follow through on that and will gladly update my review accordingly.

Original review: Terrible customer service with a rigid return policy. I spent a lot of money cumulatively on fixtures from the store a year ago for my backyard renovation which was understandably past the return policy. However, my renovation took longer than expected and installation was only recently. I had an extra lamp that I wanted to return, and the store would not allow me to do so. This was extremely disappointing because I had expected I would at least be afforded the consideration of a return with a restock fee or a merchandise credit like most other customer focused sellers/retailers have these days. None of that was offered to me, even after I mentioned it. The first customer service person that I met had a bad attitude and made me feel like I was keeping her past the time she was supposed to be there, and an even worse demeanor when I asked for her manager. Her manager was very nice but useless. He only apologized and essentially sent me on my way with a phone number to call for more assistance. I will never shop at the store again and it's a real shame. They have beautiful inventory but must do better for their customers especially when we are purchasing large dollar items for home renovations that may take long periods of time past short return windows. They just don't care. Also for a POV, I pretty much never leave reviews and it takes a lot to get me really upset about retail stores. This one really upset me and I expected more from them with the amount of money that I spent there and the reno circumstances...

If you think Capitol Lighting only carries lights, check yourself before you wreck yourself. Capitol Lighting is a dream come true, almost literally: the ceiling of crystalline, shimmering, metallic lights is a dreamscape. If you manage to take your eyes off the glorious, glistening chandeliers, lamps, and light fixtures, you'll see gorgeous pieces of furniture, stunning wall-length mirrors, and beautiful paintings and wall decor. And if you're able to take your eyes off of those things, you'll notice the price tags that are priced so well that you'll faint in disbelief; that's when one of the employees will swoop in.

Customer service is extremely important to me: a customer service experience can make or break a store. David is the kind of employee who brings me back to a business time and time again. David is outstanding and goes above and beyond every during every visit. He is kind, cheerful, and works hard. After setting me up with a new chandelier, he promptly scheduled an electrician for installation, and then proceeded to sell me other items that captured my heart (i.e. painting, mirror). Dane is also fantastic. He is so friendly and thorough through the process of check-out/receiving your purchase. He made sure my chandelier was safely packaged and transported to my car and securely wrapped my framed painting to protect it on the journey home.

I am so impressed with Capitol Lighting and recommend it to anyone I know looking for beautiful pieces for their home. I can't wait for my next visit to this shining,...