Linda Z’s Sewing Center

Great customer service. Cliff and team were extremely helpful. Many items come with free starter classes and lifetime lessons.
There are two stores. The other is their outlet (e.g., out of season fabrics). This one has a nice selection of machines and fabric.

BUYER BEWARE!!!
I went to both the outlet and main store on Central looking for a Juki machine. I found one at the main store to buy «Cliff» the salesman quoted me $ 560 with a trade in for the machine he even wrote it on the back of his business card. When we got up to the register he stated he had misread the the price sheet and then charged me $ 589+tax for the machine I really did not agree but did not see that there was much I could do after he had run my debit card for the ½ down. I later discovered I paid the NORMAL price posted for this machine NO DISCOUNT had been applied.
I was going to return the next day with my trade in and the balance due. The store manager said I could take the machine with out the trade in and bring it when it was convenient if I paid the balance which seemed fair to me. I wanted a machine in a factory seal box but «Cliff» advised me that they didnt have one and setup all machines to «test» them to make sure they are ok.
So again a bit confused and disappointed because he said he had one in the back I was stuck accepting the floor model.
I leave feeling conned but happy to get the Juki machine I got. Well I set it up at home and notice there are several scratches on it and the tension dial seems to have a problem staying in one place ie… it moves freely on its own BROKEN and the tension is all out of sync. So it is about 6pm and I call «Cliff» and explain the issues and he agrees that it is not supposed to do this and we agree I will return it the next day.
I get to the main Lindazs store and «Cliff» meets my husband and I and tinkers with the machine for 15 – 20 minutes and finally I say we have to get home to meet my son by 3pm. I thought I was clear I didnt want this machine I wanted a brand new one which they did not have.
I expected my money back. OH no silly consumer me Lindazs has a no returns and no refunds standing policy. «Cliff» NEVER mentioned that but he was nice enough to explain that to his managerhe did not tell me and he also told her the machine wasnt working right.
After a lot of debate and to bad for you stupid consumer attitude she offered to give me a loaner and order me a new machine.
At this point I realize I have been majorly conned— they sold me a broken machine and then would not refund my money when I returned their damaged product less than 24hours later. WOW after having to threaten them it is now 215pm they agree to do me a favor and break their NO RETURNS OR REFUNDS policy and I have to split the «10% RESTOCKING FEE» of the store that should never have to restock because they do not take returns. Of course they took the 10% off the cost of the machine and the taxes. How are they restocking taxes???
We leave about 245pm and I have to call a babysitter to meet my child after school.
So I paid Lindazs $ 33 and spend 4 hours round trip driving from Lisle IL and the 4 hours buying and then returning the machine for the privilege of being conned by Lindazs.
Merry Christmas to me. Thanks Lindazs an education is priceless.
So is the power of the internet and the two quilting clubs I belong to who have a cumulative membership of over 300 members that will know all about your stores and your one sided business practices.
645pm Linda herself just called me and threatened to sue me for slander. fyi slander is defined as a malicious, false, and defamatory statement or report: a slander against his good name.
This is a true accounting of my experience with your store and you.

I have been working on a Valentine project and was having a hard time with embroidery. I called Linda Z’s and got the problem solved. And all I had to do was call and the staff immediately knew what I was doing wrong which was my mistake and walked me thru it. Where else can you go and get this kind of personalized service? Every one treats you like a family with tips, hints and support. The staff is so knowledgable on all machines and the latest sewing, quilting and embroidery methods and fashion. I am so glad that I have this store to go to for all my sewing and embroidery needs.
This store is a 10 star experience. Very professional staff and superior quality sewing, quilting and embroidery machines.

Despite my prior experience at this store, I headed back because I had decided I really wanted a Pfaff sewing/​embroidery machine and they’re the closest Pfaff dealer to me by far. I should have known better. The person who showed me the machine I was interested in was very nice, but wasn’t quite up to speed on the machine. She insisted that it didn’t have features that I knew for a fact it did and also told me it wasn’t possible to buy the machine without the embroidery unit, while I was aware that the ability to do just that was a cornerstone of Pfaff’s marketing of this machine. But whatever — not everyone can know everything all the time, and she was very nice and tried to be helpful.
However, when it came time to discuss price, I had to talk to someone else, who was possibly the rudest person I’ve ever had to deal with. I think her name was Cetti or something like that. I have no idea why they have this person working with the public when she seems to hate everyone. She told me a price, I told her a lower price I was willing to pay — that’s how this works. She acted offended that I didn’t immediately jump on the price they offered. At one point she insisted that they couldn’t sell the machine for lower than a particular price because it was a minimum price set by Pfaff, but I had been told that the normal price the machine sells for was $ 200 cheaper just two weeks prior at their very store. When I told her this, she ROLLED HER EYES AT ME like I was making things up. I couldn’t believe how rude she was! I told them to forget it — I wasn’t going to pay the price they wanted, especially because the one they were going to sell me was a floor model (just a note — they always sell their floor models and the last machine I bought from them was a floor model, but I was never informed of this and only realized it when I came to pick it up and had already agreed to pay a particular price that I thought was too much for a floor model. Talk about shady). The price they wanted was way too much for a floor model. In addition to all that, do I really want to deal with these rabid people every time I want to buy an accessory for my machine or take a class or get the machine cleaned or serviced?
I went to another dealer and got the same machine for the price Linda Z’s had quoted me, but it was brand new and had a larger embroidery unit. And the real kicker is that they called me back the next day and said they would sell it to me for just $ 100 over the price I had wanted and they’d throw in a set of scissors and a box of thread. The person who called me sounded apologetic, and I got the distinct impression that I was being offered this deal because they knew they had treated me poorly. But what was that about not being able to sell it at a lower price because they would get in trouble with Pfaff? There’s no way I could ever trust these people. I took great pleasure in telling them I had already purchased it elsewhere and informing them specifically that Cetti was a terrible person to have dealing with the public.
I can’t stress strongly enough that you should stay away from this place. I knew it was awful, yet I went back anyway because I really wanted something they sell. I discovered it was far more worth it to drive the extra distance to get to a dealer I could trust and who was nice to me than to deal with Linda Z’s. I hope you’ll do the same rather than supporting this terrible business.

My wife and I became customers of Linda Z’s about a year ago. The bad experiences the other reviewers noted has been absent from our purchasing, assistance and follow-​up experience. This is far and away the most professional, well-​equipped, knowledgeable sewing business in our area. Are they aggressive in selling their machines? I prefer to think of them as passionate sales people trying to get people the machine of their desire and/​or dreams. They are passionate in their desire to get customers the machines they can afford — but also the machine that will meet their needs not just the day it’s purchased, but what they may want to do in the near and long term. (For example: A machine that can embroider only in a 4″ hoop seems fine when you buy it, but quickly you discover it has severe limitations if you want to expand your embroidery beyond a logo on a t-​shirt.) These new machines have marvelous capabilities and customers I met there seem to more often lament the fact they didn’t buy the machine that would be right for their future needs and then they have to trade a fairly new machine to get the capabilities they want. Take the time to see the capabilities of as many machines as you can and buy what’s right for you.
Every one of the sales associates employed by Linda Z’s is an educator as well. Therefore, they bring exceptional knowledge of the various machine’s capabilities, limitations and advantages over competing products. Their product offerings include Bernina, Pfaf, Viking, Baby Lock, Bother and more so you can see and compare what they do all in one place.
Their new store is world class and has a marvelous showroom, huge fabric area as well as 4 different classrooms that afford the opportunity to attend an almost infinite variety of training classes and seminars. The training is free for life on the machines you purchase at Linda Z’s and a monthly schedule keeps you appraised of training and seminars for at least 60 days in advance. Seminars are reasonably priced ($ 10 – 30) and are typically taught by industry experts. They demonstrate machine and software capabilities, sewing techniques, home business strategies to name just a few.
Linda Z’s also supports at least 6 different sewing/​embroidery clubs at their facility with reasonable prices to join. You learn from their educators as well as fellow club members who all willingly share their expertise. My wife and I belong to 4 of the clubs (a discount is offered for multiple memberships).
I would unhesitatingly recommend Linda Z’s as the place of choice for all your sewing and fabric needs. They have been in business for over 40 year. In this economy, opening a new world class facility means taking care of their customers and providing best– in-​class service is paying off for Linda Z’s — and their customers.