JCPenney

I was in here Thanksgiving Weekend because sometimes I’m just an idiot. The parking lot was full, the foot traffic and shopper congestion inside was intolerable, but the staff worked the lines pretty quickly, managed to keep their collective cool all over the store, and somehow the merchandise was kept pretty well in order. I’ll be this is a pretty nice place to shop on any other day of the year.

A recent trip here had me in awe. This store hasn’t changed a bit since my mom used to take me on shopping trips here in the mid-90’s.
OK, that’s not entirely true. They’ve done some updates, but a broken escalator quickly showed me the ‘dark side’ of JCP that clearly hadn’t seen the light of day since, oh, about 1994.
Still — the selection of clothes was decent. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as good as the Menomonee Falls JCP, in my opinion. Overall, I prefer JCP to places such as Kohl’s due to their better selection for women’s clothes. I was able to score some nice Liz Claiborne dress slacks for 70% off, and a few dress sweaters for work.
The one thing that left a bad taste in my mouth was the forceful «suggesting» that I apply for a JCP card when it came time to check out. So, JCP is now adapting the ways of Kohl’s, is that it?
This woman, the only one working the register in the upstairs woman’s department, quizzed me repeatedly about applying for a JCP credit card. I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. She even held up a pair of dress slacks, proclaiming in her broken English «These fifty dollars!» — even after I kept shaking my head. I don’t need the card. I don’t want the card! Saying «NO» should suffice, and she should have dropped it.
Finally, the ‘dark side’ I alluded to earlier in the review: The escalator was broken, so I had to take the grimy elevator back downstairs. First of all: hit that sucker with a mop, somebody please. Second of all, everything was brown and tan — very mid-70’s, grimy, worn out. Not really the impression you’d like to leave a customer with, especially after dumping a lot of money into fancy upgrades in other areas of the store.
Really, this is closer to a 2.5 for me. I tend to go more to JCP than Kohl’s, so I hope this one stays around.

As with many JCPenneys in the region, this place has had a recent facelift, is sporting lots of fresh and on-​trend clothing and the prices are better than ever. i have been falling more in love with JCPenney this year than I have in ages. This isn’t the Penney’s of my childhood — it’s bordering on hip!
This particular location houses the only in-​store furniture department in Wisconsin (that I am aware of). Today I took a little trip to Brookfield to help my mom find a new couch for my parents’ house. The furniture department saleslady was incredibly helpful and not pushy. She answered all our questions, was totally cool that we wanted to double check measurements, etc. and even gave us her card (not very common at a department store these days). Loved it.
4 stars for the great layout and fresh new products and a bonus for amazing and personal service!

It’s stuck in 1980… where it belongs. The prices are ok, but you’ll find the same stuff at Shopko, it’s ugly cousin.