Berlands House of Tools — Local services in Lombard

Not at all what they once were.. Not carrying all the various brands and models anymore, dropped some of the hard to find items they use to carry.. Have totally lost site of competitive pricing, the prices are all full retail and in some cases higher than srp.. Its like they dont know theres a menards or home depot within close proximity with far better pricing on the majority of the typical day to day tools, and the harder to find tools can all be had from the internet at substantial savings.. if it were for convenience maybe Berlands could get away with the pricing, but they are not even convenient, being open only 8 to 5, when most blue collared tool swinging dudes are suppose to be at work.. atleast open some later hours and more weekend hours so we dont have to take off work to get there.. on the same note, the locations are not even all that central or convenient.. then theres the rockler situation, totally drove the product out of sensibilty with inflated prices, the whole reason i went in the first place.. Sadly have made my last trip to Berlands, which use to be a wonderland in days past.. I would bet their days are numbered, based on my experience and the other would be buyers i observed leaving...

I have bought a lot of tools from Berlands House of Tools. Two years ago I bought $2000 worth of Makita 18V/36V battery powered tools. The manager at the time gave me a good deal despite their ridgid policies. No regrets on the tools! They actually forgot to charge me for one of the tools, I came back in to pay for it. Unfortunately, no one remembered me this time around and they were unwilling to take a credit card over the phone from a third party who lives in Yorkville and Is never out this way. I'm not sure how they stay in business. The hours don't reflect construction work times, there's no product on there website and apparently customer loyalty is not of value to them. They did have the 118" Makita track in stock and it would have cost more to order it online because of the shipping charges for over length items. The staff is helpful and nice. It's not their fault that the "Brick and Mortar" policies...

I've been shopping here for 15 years. Sure I don't buy every tool here but if you need a specialty item, a high quality item or need to test drive 10 different brad nailers then this is the only place to go in the Chicago area. Not only are the sales guys honest but they have years of experience with the tools as well as years of hearing customers feedback on items. Are their prices the lowest? No. Is their return policy as easy as the big box stores? No. Do I care about either of those issues while I'm walking around with a grin on my face as I test 15 different framing hammer handles or check the accuracy of my level that I brought in from the truck? No. They provide a service that no other store can provide and for that I'm grateful and choose to spend my hard earned money for that service. If you are worried about paying an extra $15 for a circular saw then you've got other issues you need to...