Chicago Spotlight

These guys were great, I was running a little late and they stayed open for me so I could pick up what I needed. I won't say that they'll do that for everyone but it's great to do business with people who look out for you.

I absolutely LOVE Grand Stage Lighting. I was in a bind and needed a lighting company that would give me a quick turnaround. I was referred to GSL through a friend of mine that owns a production business, so I knew he was sending me to the best in the business.s/o to Jacob! I worked with Justin to get an order put in for uplighting for a vehicle and GOBOs.

He definitely educated me on what was cost-efficient vs. convenient. GSL walked me through the process of setting up the lighting on-site and it was super easy. I love their professional and laid-back atmosphere and I like that their location is centrally located downtown with an area to park for free. GSL makes working with them easy and enjoyable. Will definitely be using them again.

I found Grand Stage by mistake while looking for a company to help me with ordering makeup for my chorus. I was thrown into the job and knew nothing about stage makeup requirements! The staff was very knowledgeable and walked me through several choices going over the pros and cons. I was able to make my purchase and have the products in a very reasonable amount of time.

Then I was asked to order replacement lights to use for makeup and costume checks. The lights we currently own were VERY outdated and again I knew NOTHING when it comes to such things. Justin was very patient with me, directing me to several sites with a variety of products then helping me decide what would be the best product for our needs. This company has been very easy to deal with, their customer service has been incredible. Thank you!

I was directing a series of small shows to test a new space in the far southwest suburbs. I contacted Grand Stage and spoke to Jason in the rental department about 3 weeks before the show. He was knowledgeable about theatre, his product and seemed pretty confident in the business. He quoted me a fair price on the lighting I needed and didn't try to up-sell me, though he probably could have tried based on how clueless I was through the process.

The lights and curtains were delivered on time and the driver helped bring everything in. The equipment itself was a little dated and certainly used, but very user friendly and was simple to put up. They gave us 2 stands, 8 par can 56s, 2 dual channel dimmer boxes and a basic manual light board along with 100 feet of wiring. When we set them all up for tech week, the power structure on the 170 year old building could not support the amps needed to run all 8 lights at full power.

This was not fault of the product, but the building. We were easily able to remove 2 lights from each tree and run the show. We ran Friday and Saturday, with Saturday having 2 performances. Somewhere between Friday night and Saturday morning, however, one of the dimmer boxes on our trees stopped accepting signal from the board. The boxes were a few years old and I thought they may have been shorted or something.

I called Grand Stage in a panic at noon on Saturday, Jason and Justin walked me through several problem solving issues to identify the true problem and we finally figured out, about 12:45- 75 minutes before our matinee, that the dimmer box was, in fact, fried. It is rental equipment, so expecting everything to be perfect all weekend isn't realistic (plus, every run has a glitch, right?). Now, here is where they score extra points.

Even though they closed at 1 on Saturday and there was a bad snow storm bearing down on the city, they agreed to rush someone out with a replacement dimmer box, at no cost, to the far south burbs. It is about a 50 minute drive from Grand Stage to our space and they made it there about 1:50. I had already set the lights to work off one box for the early show, but between the day show and the night show, we were able to re-set our lights with the new equipment and put on the best of the 3 shows without any technical issues.

The customer service provided was above and beyond and when we are in need of renting lights or curtains again, Grand Stage will be the company we at the National Trust for Historic Preservation will call. Excellent experience. Yes, the equipment choked a little, but the customer service was professional and well outweighed any negative that came from that.

Such a great resource for theatre companies! Have rented lots of lights and appliances, And it's always a breeze! Thanks for the great service!

I am thoroughly disappointed at Grand Stage Lighting, and especially at their customer service. I had placed a make-up kit on hold. I got there to purchase it, and they told me that they had sold it. How are you going to sell what someone has placed on hold? To make matters worse, they had sold out of the make-up kits, so I did not have other options, nor was I offered any by the salesperson.

I understand that I had the make-up kit on hold for a long time. I would understand them selling it if I had not specifically told them when I was coming in. When I was placing the kit on hold (in store, in person), I specifically told them that I would be coming in on Wednesday. I received the okay sign from one of the older salespersons (who was extremely sweet, nice, and helpful).

Not only did they break their promise with a customer, they basically told me it was my fault. When I told the guy that I specifically asked to hold the kit until Wednesday, he replied- "I don't know, I wasn't there when you placed it on hold". If that is how they handle customer transactions every time, I am appalled. So am I supposed to figure out when exactly that specific salesperson is working to place anything on hold?

Then he proceeded to say, "didn't class start a week ago? you had plenty of time to get it". Seriously? I was not offered any other options, and he simply shrugged, telling me that he was not there when I placed the item on hold, and that the item was on hold for too long. If they could not hold the item for that long, they should have explained the hold policy, not give me an okay sign. I doubt I will be visiting here ever again, especially when that guy is working. I should have gotten his name.

Rented a smoker and purchased a bottle of fluid for the smoker. I asked both the guy in front and in back if the fluid they sold me was the right one and was told yes. Well, they sold me the wrong fluid and my smoker stopped smoking and instead spit out oil on a dance floor. Upon returning the guys admitted they sold me the wrong fluid but would not refund the paymet for the unused smoker.

The counter guy (dirty teeth and a cocky jerk) did not apologize and said that I needed to call in if there was a problem, hard to do at 1:30 AM Sunday Morning. The counter guy was not only incompetent, he was a jerk. I have had clients who rented from them and the equipment is often old, beat up, and with no manuals. There are much better options in Chicago. The guys who work in the pickup area are very nice and helpfull. Just lose the guy up front with the filthy teeth and the "Im the only game in town" attitude.

I found a new "toy" store! I couldn't find Gaffer's tape to save my life. Despite being told it could be found at Home Depot, it turned out not to be the case, and no one who works there knows what gaffer's tape is. (and it's expensive!) I finally did a search and got creative in my wording - and VIOLA! There it was! Once I made it to their store - o WOW they have LOTS of stuff! Latex. appliances. lighting. mylar. tripods. makeup. WOW! The people there are nice AND They're helpful! I'll be back again and again!

First of all, Grand Stage's main work is to set up theatrical productions. But this is not the only job they will do. Although they are not a company that focuses on wedding execution, my husband and I were extremely happy with them and their customer service for our wedding reception. I was set on having chinese paper lanterns hanging over my dance floor.

Our dance floor was on the deck of the restaurant overlooking the Chicago River. I bought my paper lanterns and got so excited on how the overall look of the dance floor would be achieved with those lanterns that I didn't think much about the day-of execution. There were no pillars on the deck that I could tie strings to. In addition, the staff at the restaurant where we had our reception couldn't install it for us.

It was something about how the restaurant staff were not insured to climb heights for installation by the deck and the restaurant manager highly recommended us to get a professional company to do the installation for us. Pat has been such a pleasure to work with throughout. I described to him exactly how I envisioned the lanterns to be hung on poles and we ended up renting 6 poles and 6 bases for those poles from Grand Stage. Granted, our business with them is obviously nothing because their main line of work to set up theatrical productions, but they were still extremely professional and helpful to us.

Our business wasn't too small for them, or at least they did not make us feel that way at all. My husband and I went back and forth about how installing paper lanterns on our dance floor was a "want" and not a "need" when we went through our budget. However, Grand Stage's pricing was way more affordable than we expected and we definitely were able to fulfill this extra "want" of ours for our wedding decor.

I am pretty sure that we paid only a fraction of what would have cost us if we went with a company that primarily focuses on the wedding industry itself. Pat was there to set up the poles and hang the lanterns for us, and at the end of the event, he came back to strike the poles and remove the lanterns. What a fantastic job he did. I definitely recommend Grand Stage if you have any installation needs that may not necessarily be related to theatrical productions. No business is ever too small for them.