They speak perfect English, they encourage and welcome non chinese speaking customers and offer coffee tea. As someone who understands cantonese, i heard them trying to and help non Chinese speaking customers. also thier price and customer service is pretty unbeatable compared to lowes and home depot for windows. read more

Affordable and most of things for electrical project they have. I would recommend it if you are near by.

Inexpensive costed lower than hone depo or Ace hardware .Owner Mr Chu was actually there to do the cashier

I was in the area with my parents and we needed to buy a new light switch / outlet for my apartment. Since Chu Supplies was close to where we had lunch, we stopped by afterwards on Saturday, August 19th around 2:45pm. We ended up getting the Leviton Standard Switch & Outlet. I believe it was priced around $9.50. My dad just bought the item, so I didn't really look around. Price wise, items seem cheaper here than at stores like Ace Hardware, etc. At lot of reviews here talk about the language barrier, but my family speaks Cantonese, so it wasn't really a problem for us. Decent option for random house items in the Avenues. read more

Chu Supplies - Leviton Standard Switch & Outlet - Shopping Near Me - San Francisco, California

When our contractor recommended picking up some items for our remodel from Chu Supplies, I initially was dubious - both of the quality of the items the store would have available and the customer service. But I was very happy to be proven wrong on both issues! First, let me help set your expectations. This isn't a big box store like Home Depot where you have easy access to resources (e.g., online guides or in-person staff) to help guide and/or make informed decisions about what to buy. If you have no idea what you need to buy, it probably will be less frustrating for everyone involved if you did some research on your own (or in consultation with your contractor) before going to the store. Having said that, Wallace and Kent at the front counters are great and super helpful! Yes, it helps if you speak Cantonese, but their English (especially Wallace's) is very good. Together, they are the perfect odd "couple" - Wallace has a more easy-going, patient vibe, while Kent is super efficient and straight-to-the-point. As far as I can tell, they carry - or at least, can order - many of the items that you can buy from a big box store for a cheaper price point. From cheaper, generic, hollow core doors to VELUX skylights to high end tankless water heaters, etc. Just keep in mind that each of their locations specialize/carry different categories of products. There may be cheaper options out there, but the combination of location, price, and return policy makes Chu Supplies an excellent choice in my book! read more

The customer service at this Chu's is severely lacking. Overall the staff's English is deficient and there's not a marked desire to be helpful. There are a great many of Chinese-owned and -run businesses (like some of the other Chus) that do NOT let this be an impediment and are terrific, efficient, competitive businesses with polite, helpful staff. So though there are means of compensating for suboptimal English some of the staff at this Chu's doesn't seem to give a darn. One Yelp reviewer implied that if you speak Cantonese this Chu's is cool. Maybe if you speak Cantonese you could participate in the joke and fat-chewing sessions the staff holds at the counter -- but I'm there to buy products. I think most customers appreciate help when they're searching the aisles. If you ask where something is, the bull session may be momentarily interrupted by one of them pointing to an aisle. By contrast the staff at competitor Safeco Electric on Toland Street often drops what it's doing and leaves the counter area, to walk you to the item(s). Even Home Depot is more helpful and polite than Chu's. One good thing can be said about this Chu's though. They do seem to put the people who know the least English in the back. My dealings with them have shown them to be very polite. I'd also give this Chu's low marks in electrical savvy. One salesman told me one could not remove a standard duplex receptacle's connecting fin to make it a split-circuit receptacle -- as if it were illegal. I think I overheard another apocryphal bit of wisdom from one of the staff about wiring for recessed luminaires ("cans"). If you're building by Wiki I guess this Chu's is OK but I would be skeptical of their advice and especially of their knowledge of building and electric codes. At least Home Depot people ask what county you're in because there are different code requirements for different counties. Chu's out in the boonies but has good parking. I'd rate them 1-1/2 stars but added 1/2 point for OK pricing. read more

I never write reviews, but I'm compelled by how horribly I was treated by this company. I was trying to buy a large order of glass and supplies for sliding glass doors, but customer service literally refused to take my order on multiple occasions because they "didn't have time" to listen to my specifications. Long story short, I've never been more offended by any customer service reps in my life. Avoid if you want your dignity. read more

Horrible customer service. If you are Chinese and speak Chinese it might work for you. We order glass for our window last month. The first time we went to pick it up it was too thick. The 2nd time the dimensions were wrong in width and length. How the hell do your get it wrong 2x when the dimensions are written by your team on your invoice/work order. It's the most ridiculous thing ever. They don't speak English here so I had to call their main store on Lawton street and they aren't helpful other. I demand a refund. Don't go here unless you want a headache. read more

Good prices and good service. I ordered 12 windows from Chu Supplies, and they were very competitively priced. I worked with Kevin Li who walked me through exactly what I needed, to comply with SF code and CA energy standards. It is a contractor store, so not as many people to help as a small hardware store, but much better prices. I don't speak Chinese, and I found there to be no language barrier contrary to one of the other reviews. read more

First and foremost, if you are Cantonese you will do very well here. If you're not Cantonese, then you'll struggle a bit to understand the rhyme and reason of how to get help, etc. Once you get over yourself and just go up to the counter and ask for help, they will give it to straight up....no sugar coating and general pleasantires. You will be greeted with "What do you need?" or 'What are you trying to do?" I fell in both categories, but the young lady behind the counter obviously knew her stuff and gave me options right away for my shower system that I was installing. She meticulously identified all the components and began a flurry of taps on the 8 function caluclator with each retail price followed by a 40% discount. That latter got me excited. Overall, I quickly got the answers I needed and the quoted prices for the products I needed. Quick and dirty...another customer served... I'll definitely go back when I renovate our shower downstairs. read more

I've been to both locations in the sunset , they have been around forever and are very knowledgeable , way smarter than the people at lowes . read more

I was sent here by my contractor and since I knew it was a Chinese owned place, I wasn't expecting too much in terms of customer service. Pretty much if I know what I need, then it'll be all good. If I don't, I'm screwed. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised! I deducted 1 star because the store is pretty cramped, dim, and not too organized with prices. Basically, it's not Lowe's, but mom and pop. Michael, the older gentlemen at the front, was very nice. I didn't know what my options were for lighting trim so he assisted me with that. He wasn't annoyed that I was taking up his time by not knowing what kind of can I have installed. His English is pretty good and definitely a non-issue. I overheard the other worker with other customers and he was really friendly as well. The stock person is a friendly younger man who will help you load your car up. Their prices are really fair. I bought baseboards from Lowe's and it was about $2.50/sq ft for pine and at Chu's it was less than $1! Needless to say, I'm going to order A LOT of crown/baseboards from Chu's now - over $1K worth probably. Their prices for recessed cans/trim/bulbs are all really inexpensive too. They do deliver and it's $30. I've been there 3xs now and I've always parked right in front! Maybe because I've only gone on Saturdays though. read more

Rating Chu's for customer service is like rating the SFMTA for parking enforcement. Chu's supplies mostly contractors who need no customer service aside from the pointing of a finger, cutting lumber, or ringing it up. If you know what you need, and they have it, the prices are competitive for The City and location is convenient (yes, staff without English skills is part of that price break). read more

This Chu is only few blocks from my house,we are fixing some stuff in the house recently,I went to chu Supply to pick up some items,I did have difficulty to find the things that I needed, the price are not marked, I did not know how expansive are they,I was hesitate to ask,so I only got a couple things there,the rest stuff I got them else where ,but Michael was very friendly and price are reasonable. read more

Ok I can understand people's frustration with the language but seriously, this place is for contractors. I don't speak Chinese but it was my first time in the store so I walked up to the counter. Michael was so helpful. He gave me the space to browse the store and anytime I couldn't find anything he would immediately point me in the right aisle. I grabbed a bunch of items and priced them out before purchasing more. I needed a pallet and he pointed me right out to another worker that was also very friendly and helpful. Overall I had a great experience in the store for my first time. Prices were comparable or better to the big stores (Lowes or Home Depot) for the items I purchased. I told him the project and he even pointed out a better product than one i had selected. I guess it depends on what your looking for. If you want someone to hold your hand this is probably not the place. If you're working on a home project and need to pick up a few things for good prices, this is the place! Was in and out of there with a box full of items for my DIY furniture in less than 20 min. read more