by J. W. Nusz

Created on: May 28, 2009

Sherwin Williams paint stores have been in existence since before the Civil War. What makes them so successful is the commitment to quality products and service. Sherwin Williams stores do not differ from that philosophy.

A typical Sherwin Williams is designed according to company particulars. Often, this results in an easy-to-navigate store; however, the wide selection of products can make finding what you are looking for difficult. A good example is trying to find a drop cloth - while employees can walk up to the shelf and pinpoint the correct size and material, customers will have a tough time separating one from another.

Service at Sherwin Williams should be impeccable. Employees are trained to ask customers for the right information when recommending products or diagnosing problems, so customers with no knowledge of paint should not feel overwhelmed. While service may not be consistent over every Sherwin Williams store, it should be enjoyable and informative.

Some paint stores use manual tinting dispensers which are prone to human error and slow operation. Every Sherwin Williams I have visited uses an automated dispenser with several checks for accuracy of product and color. While purchasing a gallon of paint in other paint stores can take a half hour or more, tinting a gallon at Sherwin Williams normally takes less than five minutes.

Sherwin Williams offers color matching services for free. Most stores can produce quality paint and stain matches if given a sample the size of a dime or larger (and a sample of the target wood for stains). Also unlike other paint stores, Sherwin Williams uses a "color eye", a spectrophotometer which reads color information from the sample and digitally formulates color based on light. What is impressive is that during rare failures of the color eye to produce near-perfect results, Sherwin Williams employees are trained to finish the color match by their own eye.

In addition to do-it-yourself (DIY) customer sales, Sherwin Williams offers contractor services as well. Contractors and small business owners alike can apply for a credit account which is paid monthly. Most business owners can request free delivery of their paint and supplies to any nearby location (usually within an hour drive). Of course, all contractors and business owners can request the same recommendation services that DIY customers enjoy, but they can request professional product lines.

This review is very general, based on standardized Sherwin Williams company policy and personal experience. Results may vary from one store to the next, so do not expect every Sherwin Williams store to be perfect. However, compared to the competition, they are generally a step above the rest.

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