Denny

I went to Cedar Chest on a rare trip to Northampton. Friends told me this was a nice shop. They have a wide selection of beautiful housewares and odd soaps and kitchy gifts. It took forever to find a sales clerk, and many were young college students who didn't seem well-educated on their own products. They were friendly, though.

We were moving from Cambridge to out of state and needed a moving truck. We found U-Save and they had exactly what we needed for the specific weekend we needed it. The truck worked well, they provided ramps and blankets, and we rented a hand cart as well. Returns were easy and we got a great value.

I needed to buy fabric for curtains for our basement apartment, and buttons to restor a thrift shop coat that was gorgeous. I found both at Sew-Fisticated. The sales woman was kind and helped me match the right buttons to the coat's color and to my need (they needed to be durable, not fashionable). She explained how certain fabrics would work in a sewing machine for the curtains. She was very helpful, and the prices were great.

This busy, hopping garden center has its system down for making sure each customer's questions are answered. Also, they loaded my car for me, without me even asking! I appreciate the customer service.

All we needed to do was give Amherst Glass the dimensions of the storm windows. They filled our order within two weeks and immediately called us when the windows were ready.

I went to buy an irregularly shaped flagstone for a landscape project. Amherst Farmer's Supply staff loaded it into my car without my asking for assistance. I will happily shop there again!

I went to A to Z because they were recommended to me from word of mouth. I needed some vacuum cleaner bags for my machine, and they were really hard to find in stores. A to Z had the bags, and also explained how to make the bags last as long as possible.

We needed to buy a double mattress for our spare bedroom. We went to other furniture stores in Fitchburg and even Worcester, but couldn't find anything of good quality in our price range. MCM's salesperson showed us around, suggested various kinds of mattress (futon, memory foam, etc.) and finally helped us decide on a cheap mattress that would still be comfortable.

I went to Hancock Fabrics to buy pillows or pillow covers for a couch project. I was a bit surprised by how small their selection was; I expected more choices for the size of the store. The clerk who helped me was wonderful, though, and helped me to decide on the right items. The prices were reasonable, although not particularly low. The store is easy to get in and out of, and parking is no problem.

We needed to shampoo carpets before putting our house on the market, and went to Taylor Rental in Leominster. They were really helpful and recommended specific spot-treatment products to help with some pet-related stains on the carpet. The machine was easy to use, clean, and worked well. We even returned the machine a bit late and they didn't charge us extra.

When we bought our home we decided to upgrade the security system from the former owners. We called ADT and they rewired everything at no additional cost. We paid $30 per month for over 3 years, and the system helped prevent a burglary and breakin once. The staff was courteouos and really helped with dispatching the police.

We chose Star Storage because we wanted a clean, dry facility that wouldn't freeze in the winter and melt in the summer. This is a converted warehouse, and the place is dry and clean. The woman who runs the place is always helpful and friendly as well. The price is reasonable and we would use them again in the future if we needed storage.

While the service and truck selection was excellent at the UHaul in Leominster, we had a hard time getting salesperson to help with questions. Their hours were really short, and when we had a minor problem with the truck we had to wait until morning. Once we got someone on the phone the service was excellent, though. If they expanded their open hours, it would help.

We needed a power mower after years of using an old-fashioned reel mower. We had tons of questions, and it was nearly impossible to get help at bigger stores. We went to Aubuchon and found a salesperson who patiently explained everything, and we ended up buying a nice power mower that is going strong years later.

We needed some valves and pieces for our steam heater system, and couldn't find the pieces anywhere--not even on the Internet. We went to Fitchburg Plumbing and the salesperson knew exactly where to find our parts, saving us hundreds of dollars (we were considering replacing some radiators). Excellent store!