T from Peterborough

This is a nice little lighting shop. The selection is impressive for a smaller shop, and the staff are knowledgeable here. Perhaps because of the location (i.e., West Mississauga, a bit of a drive from Toronto), the prices are better than in Toronto itself. I love the chandelier I bought here - it's a contemporary piece that looks stylish and modern in my dining room. They have a range of products from more casual pieces to more formal/elegant fixtures. If you can get to this location, I'd highly recommend it.

I used to live in the GTA area and recently moved to a smaller town, but I admit that I still do lots of my home-shopping in the GTA (old habits die hard). I had visited Imperial Rug Galleries in Oakville in the past when shopping with a friend who actually bought 3 rugs there, but after I moved not that long ago I found myself with main-floor hardwood and the desire for an area rug of my own to warm-up the living room. So I headed back to Imperial for myself, and had a really great experience from start to finish. After a lot of home-decor shopping (especially recently with a relatively new home), I can say that the folks at Imperial are among the nicest and most professional store owners/staff that I have dealt with. They are obviously committed to exceptional customer service, and provided knowledgeable answer to all of my questions both at the store and when I called from home afterward to ask a few follow-up questions. The prices here are competitive, and if you watch for them, there are also sales. The selection is also impressive. I have not had any regret about my purchase and would/will go back in the future.

Nuart Frame has a really great showroom - they have wonderful displays that give great ideas, and the staff are really knowledgable about what frames/mattes will work well with artwork, posters, pictures, etc. I bought a couple of scenic prints while on vacation in Nova Scotia, but didn't find any frames to match... when I took the prints into Nuart to ask what they could recommend, they helped me find the right colour and size of frames, with the perfect colour of matte to match. The store is small, so the service is really 'personal'. I highly recommend looking here for both artwork and frames.

I had the best customer service experience at Canadian Tire while shopping for a Christmas gift the other day. I was looking for a very specific item, and had not been able to find it anywhere else. When I asked at other places, I was dismissed with a 'we don't have that'. But at Canadian Tire, when I asked, the floor staff member looked up the item on the computer, helped me scour the shelves in the aisle that is was supposed to be in, and - when we couldn't find it - went upstairs to search the warehouse. After about 10 minutes, when I had given up hope, he returned carrying the exact item that I had requested - he was extremely friendly, said it was no trouble at all, and wished me the best of luck with the rest of my holiday shopping. I was thrilled!

I really like Home Hardware for that 'personal touch' when shopping for home renovation supplies and ideas... compared to other bigger stores of the same nature, I often find the service at Home Hardware just a bit more friendly and personable. I'm not at all intimidated to ask questions, and I find that the staff here are knowledgeable, so I never worry that I won't get the answers that I'm looking for. I recently bought a workbench as a gift here, and the recipient of this gift was thrilled. Home Hardware has an excellent return policy as well, so you never have to worry when buying a gift for someone else.