I love containers, I really do. So does a good friend of mine that I happened to be spending time shopping randomly one weekend. We literally both shrieked in her car when we passed by The Container Store, probably made an illegal U-turn, and screeched to a stop in the parking lot to run into what we thought would be a wonderland of goodies for all of our containing needs. Our little adventure was brought to an abrupt stop by a rude employee. I happened to take out a camera (which I actually carry around with me everywhere; you never know when a good picture opportunity might come along!) to take a shot of rows of colorful coat hangers. This lovely employee rushed up hastily and informed us that there was absolutely NO photography allowed in the store. Twenty minutes to half an hour later (yes, we were perusing every single aisle), I had forgotten her mandate and took out my cell phone to snap a shot of a product that I liked. I don't know if this lady had teleportation powers, but it seemed as though she was instantly beside me, snapping that there was NO photography allowed in the store. She even stood there and watched as I had to delete the picture from my phone. For the remainder of our time there, this woman continued to FOLLOW us. At one particular moment, we were debating whether to buy a particular product, and we saw this employee stare us down from the end of the aisle while she was pushing a cart. A few seconds later, we heard a customer yell in surprise, and the employee apologized, "I'm sorry! I didn't see you there!" Yes, you probably rammed your cart into a customer because you weren't doing your job and instead making it your personal mission to make sure the two of us got out of the store without another piece of photographic evidence that we had ever been there. NOwhere in the store did we see signs saying photography was forbidden. Neither does the company website say so. We were not disturbing other customers or violating any privacy policies with other people in the background of our pictures. This woman made our entire shopping experience unpleasant, most likely due to undiagnosed obsessive-compulsive issues. My friend and I will be certain to fulfill our containing needs at ANOTHER store -- love the products, just not this particular location. read more

For the most part, the Container Store is pretty great. For the most part. This is really a 3.5 star rating, but I'm giving 4 because Yelp won't allow the half star, and 3 seems harsh. If you want to clean up your mess, get organized, get more organized, or go full-on obsessive compulsive with your organization, the Container Store is a great option. They sell almost every kind of container you could ever want, from cardboard banker boxes, to kitchen containers, to modular closet organizers, to other things like awesome trash cans and even wrapping paper. In fact, they have the best wrapping paper ever. Go here, and never return to Hallmark. A lot of people think the Container Store is expensive, but I think that's a bum rap. I would call the pricing 'fair." Prices are sometimes cheaper other places, but for the most part they're not unreasonable. Sometimes paying a little more isn't so bad. Keep it in perspective- when was the last time you bought silverware organizers for your kitchen drawers? Is it really that bad if you pay an extra dollar or two to go someplace that will have the right one? I would argue that it's probably not such a big deal. Service is very friendly, but here's where I start having a problem with the Container Store. Is it a first world problem to complain that some of the service is just a little friendlier than I'd like? I haven't been hit on or anything, but I just want to select my item and leave. I am a destination shopper- I came to buy something specific and then get home and put it to use. I don't window shop to see what kinds of snazzy new containers are out there and become friends with the employees. I'm not saying "be a jerk," or "don't smile," but maybe I can just pay and go when I get to the checkout? The cashiers tend to chat it up with customers like they are an old neighbor or something. That's fine if you're buying a car, but when people are waiting to buy a single carafe for their orange juice, and checkout drags on and on and on because the employees really want you to have such a great personalized time at their store and come back soon, it actually has the reverse effect that it should: it puts me off. It might be nice thought to engage the customer in conversation at checkout, but in practice it eats into my time- time I could be using to organize my disastrous basement. It's frustrating. Frustrating enough- and common enough- that there have been a few times where I said "forget it," dumped my merchandise, and walked out. When I don't, I do feel kind of guilty for feeling exasperated with the cashier by the time I get to the counter. This is doubly shaming because the cashier is just trying to be nice, and I'm usually nice to cashiers, having done a long stint in retail and knowing what jerks customers can be. BUT I JUST WANT TO LEAVE. And that concludes my feelings about getting tied up in line by overly friendly sales reps. That said, when the worst I can say is that the sales reps might be trying too hard, maybe you'll think I'm just impatient. And I might be. Regardless, if you're not in a terrible rush, you'll likely leave happy, fulfilled in knowing that your messes are living on borrowed time. And if not, you'll be back to buy what you need to finish the job. read more

I am an organizational, neat freak so naturally, Container Store is right up my alley. I adore office supplies, file folders, drawer separators...if Container Store has it, I love it! My review is mainly about their return policy, which is excellent. Last August (yes, of 2011), I bought a bike-pulley storage system. Last weekend was when I finally took them out of the box! Come to realize, that type of system wouldn't work the best in my garage. I still had my receipt (of course, I organize my receipts...don't you?!) so off to Container Store I went! I did email their customer service beforehand asking if they accepted returns over 90 days and they replied that they did. The store itself had no issues accepting my return, one of the boxes was even open and the whole time the cashier kept saying "don't worry, not a problem". I did an exchange for a different bike storage solution and also picked up a few more organization items...this store is my crack. Oh, and they also offer a great "store-pickup" option. You can order online and instead of having it shipped to you, you can specify when and where you want to pick up your items. This is a great service to use if you want to swing by on your lunch break. read more

We have been dealing with the headache of remodeling. Kim K from this branch was so knowledgeable, friendly and accommodating to all of our changes. We spent a lot of time in the store, but she made a tedious task, very "doable". I would not only recommend the elfa product, but her expertise on the system. She was amazing!! read more

I want to like this store, but after making some purchases and using them later, I realized I'm not a fan of over-priced cheaply-made items. The drying rack I got was fine, but I could have paid less for it elsewhere. The magnetic calendar dry-erase board I bought was complete crap. I paid $30 for it (along with a terrible magnetic eraser with the magnet falling out, and a cheap whiteboard marker) and could never erase the markers off unless I scrubbed it with nail-polish remover -- which would then remove some of the lines on the calendar. I ended up finding a larger, gorgeous dry-erase calendar at Target (and tons of other cute things) for less than half the price. Since I couldn't find my Container Store receipt, I ended up tossing everything I bought from there (with the exception of the drying rack). Customer service wasn't great, either -- I had to walk around the entire store before finding someone who could help me. Why is this store even still around? Instead of buying expensive boxes to store all the crap you own that you're not using, donate/sell your stuff instead. Save your money. read more

Every time I come to The Container Store, I wonder what I'm doing there; prices are high, merchandise isn't much different (if at all) from what's at Target or IKEA, and sometimes I think I could make what I'm looking for faster than it would take to find it. About half of the time, I end up buying something, anyway. There are some cool unique items and occasional deals to be had. Staff have always been friendly in my experience. read more

The best place hands down to organize your home. But! You can drain your bank account so fast it'll make your head spin.

I love this place, too bad my wallet does not agree. I went to this store on Monday during my lunch break for some drawers for my 9year old daughter. She somehow manage to break a wooden chest of drawers beyond repair. I asked one of the sales girls for recommendations on the plastic drawers they had, but she turned me to Elfa. She showed me how you can customize their sizes, colors, and super easy set up. They offered to set them up for me but they wouldn't fit in my car. I came out with a t-shirt folder (which she was awesome about explaining to me the difference between sizes,) a purse organizer, new elfa drawers, and a rubber mallot. I spent more than what i wanted (surprise surprise) but it was totally worth it for quality items and great customer service. As soon as i can i will be heading back for more Elfa closet supplies. read more

Nice store and selection of storage items. I do wish that elfa did not take over the store, because there is so many other organization items that could have fit in this store. Just be ready to pay for these speciality items. read more

Ok, I know what your thinking a guy liking the Container Store is interesting but my girlfriend convinced me that we should invest in some Elfa Systems ( Closet Systems). We did and to be honest it is pretty nice. No this place is not cheap but it does solve many space issues. So, if you haven't checked out a CS. Just stop in and walk around for a bit. you might find something you need. read more

Containers were good, customer service was HORRIBLE! A new register opened and the cashier took the last person in line of the currently open register. Completely inconsiderate. Checking out took way too long read more

Dont believe these people in this wonderful concept they try and push if they are out of stock! My daughter and i wanted the same item and the store had only one. These were needed for the next weekend. Oh you can have this in a couple of days she said because they will be shipped because we are out if stock. Not to worry. I called back in a couple of days and she said oh those were shipped already u shud get in a couple of days. A couple days later i get an email saying these were JUST shipped that day of the email and it shud take a couple of days! This is now almost two weeks!!! Dont believe this. Go to a different store! In the meantime i am still waiting! read more

If only they would allow me to camp out at this store, I would do it. If you are in the market to organize anything in your life, the Container Store is place that will help you with this quest. Plus they always have an Elfa sale in February and August. Woohoo! read more

As an organizational freak, this store just called out to me. It is what it sounds like, a store for all things container oriented. They have every color, size, shape, anything you can imagine. Hangers, closet organizers, baskets, crates, desk organizers, etc. My only concern is it is a bit pricey, but most specialty stores are. read more

I am so disappointed. Most products at the container store can be bought at home depot, but I go there because of their customer service. When I don't get that, there's really no point. I was at the schaumburg store, and I needed to buy their bicycle mount. However there was none on the shelf, so I needed someone to help me. There were very few people shopping, but quite a few workers in the store, but no one waited on me. Don't you hate that? I hate when all the employees are busy doing something else, when their main job is customer service. I told the cashier I needed help, but of course she was doing something else, (not waiting on another customer), so she went on her little walkie talkie to tell someone... still no help. Then I noticed the warehouse door was open, so I asked the guy in there, since I needed something back there. He quickly said he couldn't help me and slammed the door in my face. I made a special trip out of my way to go there. Never again. Andrea J. read more

I LOVE THIS STORE! Especially because I've needed all sorts of mailing-box sizes over the last couple years and C.S. has a much better variety than Staples, etc. I go to the one at North & Clybourn which as far as I know is the only one in or near the City of Chicago. How dumb are these people!? They should open a new store on the far north side or northwest side (If I had the cash I'd franchise it myself.) read more

Despite the mayhem during the penultimate weekend before Christmas, Brittany took the time to get us exactly what we needed and helped us all the way through checkout. Although the fact that the store is quite pricey and can be a bit overwhelming, the good natured and caring attitude of it's staff, always make it a viable option to check out. read more

I love shopping at this stores. It gives me all sorts of idea on how to organize and simplify my life. The checkout lines aren't too bad neither. read more

Purchased Elfa products. Service in store was awful. During the follow up call regarding my products the sales person was rude and seemed put out. Great products poor service. I recommend going to another location. read more