I've been shopping at Menards for many years and love their 11percent off sales. Needed to pick up…read moreone item the other day and was able to get in out quickly. They had plenty of open cashier's. Stores are clean, and seem to have almost everything under the sun for a home improvement store.

Not having been back to a Menards in a very long time, I found the prices still to be the lowest…read moreamong the major home improvement centers (i.e. Home Depot, Lowes), but the service this time was really good. Frankly, this surprised me. Menards was a very important name early in my adulthood where free moments were occupied doing various things related to home improvement, and every weekend meant at least one trip to Menards. You accepted the observation that service and quality was better at other places, but the prices couldn't be beat and you had to weigh how long the product had to last. And for things that needed to be changed out (batteries, light bulbs), buying it at Menards was a no-brainer. Also, I worked in Wisconsin, and many co-workers would tell unpleasant stories about friends who worked at HQ and the main DC in Eau Claire. So this is the view that I lived with. This time my BIL wanted to go to Menards initially, so that's where we started. I ended up going back by myself multiple times because of my experience (and will probably go back again while in Chicago). There were multiple times when I couldn't find what I was looking for (I had time so didn't mind wandering a bit), or had to do something different (purchase toilets that would be later picked up by our contractor)...and each time, when I asked someone in that giant warehouse, they would direct me to the right place, call someone over to help, or walk me to the place that had it if I had gotten lucky and asked the right department. Every person was pleasant and didn't appear to be in a hurry (which greatly helps a customer not feel bad about interrupting). Some things don't change though...this week, they have their 11% rebate on everything sale...20 years ago, I remember coordinating getting the right rebate form, sending the right receipt with it, actually mailing it in, and then forgetting about it, until a postcard came later with a credit to spend at Menards. They are notorious for this...the other box retailers have made rebates more automatic and digital, Menards continues to use postal mail, mainly so a larger percentage of people just drop out...plus it is a store credit, so it encourages to shop more in the future. And of course, because they are so big, they have the opportunity to purchase things not related to home improvement in bulk at certain times, and pass the savings on to their customer. They have groceries (not great prices), but you will also find baked goods, and frozen shrimp for really low prices. You just can't depend on it always being available.