Blain's Farm & Fleet - Ottawa, Illinois — Attraction in Ottawa

I use to like this store, even though I did not shop there very often. It only takes one bad experience, though, to make me not to ever want to shop there again.

I bought a propane heater and when I got it home and opened it I realized that this propane heater will not work for what I needed. I took the heater back to Blaine's to return it thinking it would not be a big deal. Apparently it is a VERY big deal! At least for "Crystal", one of the employees there. Returned items money must come directly out of this woman's pocket for all the attitude she gave me!

Now, look...I was nice and I was polite. I did not go in there demanding my money back or any such thing that would warrant the extreme bad attitude I got from "Crystal". First I was challenged on what I needed the heater for and the reason for my returning it. Then she said she needed to take heater to another employee, a mechanic or something, to have it checked out. And then, about 20 minutes later, she returned and told me, with a menacing glare and hateful attitude, that THIS ONE TIME my return will be honored, but never, ever again. I stared at her with wide eyes, just kinda in shock, and I glanced at the other customers and they seemed very shocked and confused as well. I truly had no idea what I had done to this woman to make her so angry with me. And then she proceeded to tell me that propane items were non-returnable as she flipped the receipt over and pointed out where it was written that it was not-returnable. Well, I had read the back of the receipt and it stated that GAS items such as lawnmowers, weed eaters and snowblowers etc. were not returnable and made no mention specifically of propane gas items or heater items. I went to ask her where it says that propane items are non-returnable and, in a huff, she dismissed me with a wave of her hand and stated that she had no time to show me. I didn't want to argue, I figured I'd better just take my refund and get outta there before something bad happens. I got to the customer service desk, the woman there was just getting off the phone. I'm guessing that Crystal had called her. In complete silence, I didn't have to say a word, the service desk employee took my receipt and gave me my money and I said thank...

Use to be the "go to" place to get your stuff in Ottawa. My son even worked in the tire shop. For probably 40+ years, everything was in the exact same spot in the store. Everyone in town knew EXACTLY where everything was. You were in and out, just like 99% of people like it. Then one day all that changed. Now, every time you go in there, everything is moved around. Can't find anything. My son overheard some bosses saying it was done, "to keep people in the store longer". What a joke. Greed hits small town. Now, let's add in every time you go there, they won't have what you're looking for because some contractor goes in and clears the shelves. My last 6+ times there, I left empty handed having to go somewhere else. And I'm not talking hard to find items. Electrical boxes, outlets, switches, etc. Stuff this store should have every time you walk in. Need help with something? Good luck finding any employees to help you. If you're from Ottawa, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Save yourself the headache. Just head west to Menards. I'll never step foot in that store again. As with a lot of my construction friends. Trust me, you won't leave that store a...

Picked up my order the other day, not happy with the chocolate tray I got. 1 of the candies is impossible to chew. Also not happy with the guy who gave me my order. He smacked the outdoor candy canes against the back door of the truck while grabbing the handle. Need to be more considerate towards peoples vehicles whether they are older or newer. Not sure I'll be doing an order again. Also waiting to hear from customer service as I reached out via chat/email about the situations.

Update: Got refund for chocolate tray from customer service. Got a response via email from a manager here. 1st response was nice although he didn't mention guy smacking my door with item. When I responded, 5 days went by, got no response so I send another email then I just get back "staff was talked about to be more careful during pick up, thanks". Not even an apology, and he seemed not to actually care with that response. I also shouldn't have had to reach out again. This store/company has now lost...