Abt Electronics

Think of Abt as that friend who somehow knows everything about gadgets but isn't obnoxious about it. You know the type-they can explain why one refrigerator is better than another without making you feel like an idiot, and they genuinely get excited when they find you the perfect solution.

What's wild is that this place started in 1936 with just $800 from a Hungarian immigrant named Jewel Abt. Fast-forward to today, and they're sitting on 70 acres in Glenview, Illinois, running what's basically the largest independent electronics and appliance store in the country. But here's the thing-they still feel like that neighborhood shop where everyone knows your name.

The numbers are pretty staggering when you dig into them. We're talking about a 100,000 square foot showroom (that's bigger than two football fields), over 1,600 employees, and they've been voted one of Chicago's top workplaces for ten straight years. Consumer Reports has called them the best place to buy large appliances for eleven consecutive years. Those aren't flukes.

And then there's the experience itself. You walk in expecting to buy a dishwasher and suddenly you're staring at a 7,500-gallon saltwater aquarium filled with tropical fish. There's a dancing fountain in the atrium. On weekends, they're literally baking fresh chocolate chip cookies in their BlueStar kitchen demo area. It's like someone took a traditional appliance store and decided to make it actually fun.

The family aspect isn't just marketing speak, either. Three generations of Abts still run the show, and employees genuinely seem to stick around-which tells you something about how they treat people. They handle everything in-house, from delivery to repair to customer service, so when something goes sideways, you're not getting bounced between different companies.

What really sets them apart is this obsession with customer service that borders on the ridiculous. Price match guarantee? Obviously. But they'll also refund the difference if something you bought drops in price within 30 days. Free technical support for life on anything you buy. They'll even beat competitors' prices, not just match them.

The sustainability angle is pretty impressive too-5,700 solar panels producing 2.3 megawatts of electricity, plus they recycle millions of pounds of cardboard, styrofoam, and old appliances every year. Not exactly what you'd expect from a place that started selling radios in the 1930s.