JC Licht Benjamin Moore Paint & Decor Store Lakeview

Nick Watt

JC Licht (any location) have the best customer service of any paint store in Chicago. Worth the markup compared to a Lowe's or Home Depot IMO.

Michael T

We had a very positive experience with JC Licht. Our sales rep was very knowledgeable and provided the advice we needed to make our choices.

Stephanie Keast

I recently had a very bad experience at this location and ultimately destroyed a beautiful cedar pergola that I wanted to refinish. I specifically went to this store vs a hardware store because I had gone to this location for all of my past painting and staining projects and had received wonderful recommendations and guidance in the past. The new people working in the store do not take the time to understand or listen about the projects you are working on, which is similar to the service you would get at Menards, so might as well purchase there vs making a separate trip. I went to the store and showed pictures of a pergola (not a deck) that I wanted to refinish, and that I wanted to match it with a similar stain as In the picture. I said that it was cedar, a beautiful wood!, and from the picture you could clearly see that the grains and natural beauty of the wood were still visible. He said “it doesn’t even look stained”, as he directed me to a bright red SEMI-transparent stain. I now know that I should know the difference between transparent & semi-transparent, but I could also buy stain at Menards or Home Depot (I had actually been at Menards earlier that day!) I chose to go to JC Licht because I thought that they were experts. I even asked “are there any other stains you would recommend? What is this Ready Seal?” and was told “Nope, that is for fences. What you are looking at there is the best”. Thinking about it now a pergola is similar in structure to a fence and with cedar wood a Ready Seal is exactly what I should have used. I went back to the store for advice on how to correct the mistake, and looking into my account I learned I had actually purchased Ready Seal 4 years prior! I just couldn’t remember the name of what I had used, hence the pictures I brought in. I did test a sample of the stain I purchased and really liked the color. I assumed the stain would absorb into the wood as it dried, similar to what had happened a few years prior, but it never did. It sat on top of the wood like brown paint. I’m really upset with look of the stain on my pergola and it looks NOTHING like the pictures that I brought in. I feel misled by the team at this location and that they were unhelpful and disinterested.

itdarcan

One star for the purchase experience but 5 stars for the store's response! Original post on the purchase - What's with the attitude? I was hesitant going to this store because what was said in the couple bad reviews. There weren't many but what was described was exactly the kind I dislike the most - condescending and rude. I thought at least they would have a larger selection and the people there would be knowledgeable, I literally went out of my way to go to this JC Licht store because it's closer to my farmers' market run than the West Loop store, which would be closer to where I live. I'm afarid I hit the jackpot! There were two guys manning the store, the younger guy was the worst, he was not only condescending and rude, he was also not helpful. I have two exposed conduit pipes that I want to paint over, not painting some metal art object, buying a sample would be more than enough for the job. I did some research online about which primer to use in advance but I was steered to buy the "best" and 2.5X more expensive product without any attempt to understand what my job was. Then I saw the price of the type I wanted was quite a bit more than what's listed online, I was then told that I would have to buy it online. Really?! After I rode on the bus for 40 minutes to the store and I should now click away on the cellphone for the purchase? (Target sometimes runs online sales as well but the store will match the online price once you show them what's listed.) Luckily, the other guy, also young but seemed older, stepped in and said he could just ring the sale with the online price. I should mention that I almost didn't buy the primer there becassue they didn't have the kind I wanted, even though I had called earlier to verify if they had the exact kind. The young but a bit older guy called their West Loop store to check and they didn't have it either. Because this guy's effort to help, however small it maybe, I decided to buy it there. While this guy rang the sale, the younger guy added, "you are lucky that we let you have the sale price." Wow wow wow! I was speechless to be "allowed" for such a "favor." This is a paint store, I can't imagine what he would be like if he worked in a high-end merchandise retail shop. Walking back home from the CTA stop, I decided to check the JC Licht Ace Hardware store that's just 5-minute walk from my home. Lo and behold, they not only had the exact primer I wanted, they also had the sale price brightly marked on the shelf. OMG, all the time I wasted. As I was reaching for a can, a store worker immediately came over to help, he couldn't be more friendly. The contrast was so stark you wonder how they could have the same owner. Unfortunately, he couldn't accept an exchange of the one I just bought to the one I wanted even though JC Licht now owns this ACE Hardware store as well. I'm not about to trek back to the Laveview store for the return and certainly have no desire to visit them ever again. A shout out to ACE Hardware River North. I hope this ACE Hardware stays as "the helpful place." *** Update 6/18/2022 - The response from VP Retail was just about the best I've seen. Not defensive, just wanted to do better. So I called a few days later and she shared information honestly and earnestly. I hope all J.C. Licht stores will continue to do better! I didn't change the * rating for the experience I had, but the way the store subsequently handled the situation is a 5* process!!