JCPenney

This location is tucked away in the corner of an off-​ramp strip mall next to I88. The store usually isn’t overly busy when I go there. The facility is clean. The staff is a mix of good and bad — the register folks are friendly and engaging; the management that I was standing right next to while I was dress shopping ignored me and seemed rather annoyed that I was standing near the rack she was organizing.
The selection of merchandise here is good. The sale prices are great (I got a formal dress that fits beautifully for only $ 15!!!).
In summary, I like this place because it’s tucked away and not crowded. The staff runs hot and cold on the service (I do understand, I worked retail for a full decade and it’s not always easy to be a shiny happy salesperson). Overall it’s an OK place to shop.

I really like this pennys. It’s really clean and the staff is always nice. I like the Sephora inside the store also nice staff.

I just called the store to see if they carry Le Cruset products in the store. They have them online, but I wanted to make sure before I drove over there. The woman in the housewares department who answered the phone said, «Oh, that is a brand name, right?» I said it was. She then asked me how to spell it. Afer waiting for 5 minutes on hold, she came back to the phone to tell me that they have lots of brands, but not that one.
Unbelievable. The employees in that department should know the brands they carry.

By all means, avoid this store for draperies! Have had nothing but problems with semi custom drapes which were also installed by them. Cords broke, drapes fell off the walls, pulls oxidized and left black marks all over the shades, and trying to get a manager to deal with the problem has proven impossible. AVOID THIS STORE!

When JCP launched their new ad campaign it excited me. As someone who thinks of it as a store for «middle aged women to shop», I rarely stop in. Unfortunately, all that’s changed are their ads. There isn’t anything in there clothes and accessory wise I find appealing.
The shining star in the JCP is the Sephoa within the store. While it’s small, it’s still a Sephora. I frequent it often. All of the sales associates at Sephora have been wonderful.
I had the worst pedicure of my life at the salon here. I was really disappointed, as it was a $ 35 job! I contacted the manager since, and was told I’d be getting a gift card, but am yet to receive it.
The pedicurist was incredibly kind and sweet, but she just didn’t have the tools necessary to give a real pedicure. I basically sat and soaked my feet and then she filed my nails and painted them.
It was overall really disappointing, and I don’t plan on getting a pedi there again.

The lord works in mysterious ways: I had to wake up at the crack of dawn last Friday to attend a work related seminar in Aurora. As I was driving, I was thinking about all the things I wanted to accomplish over the weekend, one being to check out JCPenney, since I saw a few cute fitness shirts in the weekly ad that caught my interest. As I exited to get to the seminar, what did I see? A sign for JCPenney! [Aaaaaaaahhh –the angels sang!] How crazy was that? It made the trip to Aurora all the more worth it since there really isn’t a location too close to my house to fit in my weekend errands schedule. So, after the seminar, I made a quick pit stop on what would be my lunch hour to check it out! I found the fitness shirts and swiftly made my exit back to Cicero! The store seemed shiny and new –very clean and organized. I especially liked the lilac colored carpeting in the dressing room. It caught my eye and was a unique color not often seen in retail stores. Good experience! I have no idea when I would be hangin’ out in Aurora any time soon, but they do have a nice selection of stores all up and down Orchard Road!

So I hate to shop for clothes. I’m picky, I’m self conscious, I don’t like spending money on fashion related stuff. Give me a t-​shirt, jeans, and hat and I am a happy man. Unfortunately, the working world usually requires business casual and at times business attire. I’m not a fan of wearing a chicken suit, but have to when it comes to work. You can probably assume that I will procrastinate shopping for this stuff no matter what — true, very true. I put off buying a new suit for almost two months… I just hate the concept of paying a lot of money for something I rarely wear. On the opposite side, I don’t mind spending a few extra dollars for nice dress pants, shirts and ties. Why, because I wear them everyday — minus the ties.
The day came that I couldn’t put it off any longer. I had to buy another suit. I stopped into JC Penney’s on a Saturday at mid day and never thought it would be completely dead. I am concerned that this store is struggling to stay afloat — Saturday… no one there, not good. Though the store volume sure played to my advantage. I had a sales person greet me the minute I walked into the formal wear area. Super nice service. None of the mindless customer service chatter, just a genuine conversation. She asked me quite a few questions about my tastes and comforts for formal attire and suggested a great looking suit. At this point I was in my comfort zone… maybe having a little fun. Again, I hate clothes shopping so this person did a great job of building rapport and making me feel comfortable.
Ultimately I pick out a suit style, get measured, and try on the suit. Obviously too long here, too long there… but wait! JC Penney will taylor your suit for you. As most quality stores will do, they offer in house tayloring. You can’t get that at discount stores. Tayloring can be a bit pricey though — becareful.
Measured, ordered, and paid — I was a happy camper. My suit scheduled to be ready by Wednesday. I stopped in last night (friday) and picked it up, perfect fit and good service even at pick up.
Two areas to fix for JC Penney.
1. No one called to remind me that my suit was ready… I’m forgetful.
2. Tayloring is a little pricey.

I’m only reviewing the Portraits service of JC Penney’s at this location.
We had scheduled our appointment for Aidan’s first birthday portrait (and xmas picture) about a month in advance of the day (11÷22÷08). We scheduled it online and received a very nice email that told us all of the things to remember prior to coming for portraits. This included bringing toys and changes of clothes so that you can have several shots.
We arrived about 20 minutes early to a crazy group of people just milling around this tiny section of the store. We checked in and they asked us to have a seat. I listened to the people at the counter and found out they were over 20 minutes behind. This isn’t something you want to hear when you have an 11.5 month old who is fidgety to begin with.
They were pumping people in and out of the photo room (they only have one) in 10 – 12 minutes.
I have to say that the women who take the pictures do a GREAT job of getting the kids to smile. We watched several groups and it was amazing that they got so many kids to look good.
After the pictures are taken, you then wait another 10 – 15 minutes for them to digitally download and for a sales person to then take you through all the shots and the «specials». JC Penney’s does a great job of issuing coupons for sets of prints that will cost anywhere from $ 7.99 — $ 9.99 but let’s face it, you normally don’t get out of these situations for under $ 100.
The shots of our little guy were very good and I was impressed. Our sales person wasn’t impressive but knew her stuff and tried to get us to spend more. I’m confident the shots will come out wonderful, but beware that they try to sell you on the «photo club» thing which gives you free sittings for two years and some other bennies.