Thank you Tick-Tock Clock. Your service and professionalism is appreciated. Quality!!

My grandmother's Ridgeway Clock (with the bing bong chimes) wasn't responding to lubrication anymore. It would just stop after around 15 minutes. This dates to the late 1960's or early 1970's. We ran into Tick-Tock at the Oregon (city) Market, which is held at the High School. I ran home, packed up my clock and brought it to them. Then came the call - it would be until July before he could get to it, but knew what was wrong - the bearings were all worn out. The guy who does the work was trained by the experts years ago to work on clocks like this, so we waited the 4 months for the call. We finally got it, and picked up the clock. Some tips: If you are going to ship your clock, use plastic bags from grocery stores to immobilize the mechanism / chains. This doesn't leave any residue behind (like the foam I used, which had to be cleaned off). Bring everything - the owner ran our clock for 2 weeks after he repaired it to make sure it would work when we got it home. The clock was packed well, the weights were double-wrapped in foam and bubble wrap, and the pendulum was encased in cardboard to prevent it from being damaged. The owner even included a small level (which I used and my clock was level). It's been running perfectly for 6 hours so I'm sure he's got it fixed and fixed correctly. It's also quieter than it was before, which I guess is because the bearings are all new and lubed properly. The repair person provided a card with a 2 year lubrication frequency as well. The price was exactly what was agreed to. No complaints, and I'm glad to have my grandmother's clock working again in my home. It sounds so nice. Now to address some comments: What clock repair place doesn't carry spare parts? A sane one. Do you understand how many different clocks there are in the world? Millions. Knowing where to find the parts is important, keeping parts on hand for even the most common clocks would take a huge warehouse and millions of dollars. I work on arcade games and pinball machines. I have 5 boxes of parts, so far I have been able to use 2 chips out of a $1000 inventory. Is that wise? Nope. Why does it take so long? Because this isn't McDonalds. It's a one or two person shop, and they work on stuff as it comes in. Ask up front, if you don't like the wait, go somewhere else. read more

Tick-Tock Clock - This Ridgeway dates to the late 1960's or early 1970s - Clock Repair Near Me - Palatine, Illinois

It has been awhile but I still look with great affection on the Liberty clock on our mantel, originally from my grandfather. It had been stored away for twenty years but Tick-Tock got it back into excellent shape. And even more they were able to sub-contract having the clock refinished to get rid of some terrible treatments that had been applied to the surface. read more

My 100-year-old kitchen clock was completely repaired with new bearings etc. for $250. It worked fine for about 2 months and then it started to chime short 4 times every hour. I sent an email but got no response. I called to leave a message, and the box was full. I tried all the phone numbers on their card, but they were busy or the called was dropped. My last resort is to go to Palatine and find Jim Denno at his home to get it fixed. read more

We had our grandfathers clock repaired by Alex. He knows his stuff and was able to get it up and running in no time. Very personable and a nice man too. Thank you Alex! read more

We had our grandfather clock serviced by Alex in November. After one week, the clock will not wind and stopped working. We have reached out 6 or 7 times asking for him to come back and look at it, but cannot get a response. $700 down the drain and ghosted. We would not recommend this place if you expect a repair and customer service. So disappointing! read more

Duplicate review.I have been unable to contact them ( they don't return texts,emails or phone messages) regarding an issue with a repair they did for me. read more

I highly recommend this business. This man knows his clocks. he is also very reasonable in selling his time.

Just fixed a 32 year old clock for me....excellent service, timely and VERY cost effective.... Highly Recommend!!!! read more

Dropped my grandmother's chiming wall clock off... I remember when she bought it in 1965! The chimes weren't working correctly, and it is sounding great again. Took a little bit longer than originally estimated, but no problem for us. It was well worth the wait! read more

Alex came to my home to get my grandfather clock cleaned and working. My dad built the clock from a kit. My father passed away in 2009, so the clock hadn't been working for at least 11 years or so. And it had been moved twice. I had taken out the weights and the pendulum in my last move. Alex put it all together and got it working in no time. He showed me how to maintain it and made sure I understood it. I wish my dad could see it running in my new home, he'd be so proud. read more

Really disappointed. I left a message a couple of weeks ago about six clocks my recently deceased father had and wanted handed down to his grandchildren. I wanted them maintained and repaired where necessary before fulfilling his wish. I never received a call back. Usually, I won't call a company back if they don't seem to value my business. But in this case I called and left another message and Alex did call me back. We set up today as the date that Alex would come to my mother's house to look at the clocks. I was there but Alex was a no-show. Obviously, he doesn't care. I'll take my business elsewhere. I really hate to see a son wreck the business his father worked hard to build. read more

Had Jim move and maintenance our grandfather marriage clock many years ago. It seemed to go ok at that moment. A few years later, we had our grandfather clock maintenanced by someone else. The new person notified us that the pulley stops were removed and no longer there. He mentioned that they were hard to calibrate to get right. We recalled that Jim told us to NEVER wind our weights all the way to the top after getting the clock back from him. So, we now have a clock that doesn't have all of its original working parts since the pulley stops were removed during the move and maintenance by Jim. Feel pretty betrayed that we would have liked to keep an intact, original grandfather clock, but its original parts were removed during the layover. My recommendation: Go somewhere else for your clock help and maintenance. read more

What clock repair business doesn't Cary parts to fix clocks??? Tic Toc clock repair!That's who Brought in 2 different styles. They didn't even want to open them and take a look! What a disappointment! :( read more

Father and son were a pleasure to work with. My grandfather clock is good as new!

This is a family business -- husband, wife and grown son. They came to my house. Evaluated two clocks for me. One was a family clock that I thought had only sentimental value. Alex (the son) was able to tell me it is an unusual 1880s Waterbury clock that was absolutely worth repairing. I felt like I was on the Antiques Road Show! My Howard Miller floor clock needed repair too - part of the weight mechanism was broken. Yesterday, they delivered and set up both repaired clocks. They gave me proper operating and maintenance directions. Both clocks are running perfectly and chiming on the hour! Their work comes with a two year warranty. And, I love the house calls! read more

Tick-Tock Clock - My circa 1880's Waterbury mantel clock now keeps perfect time and chimes on the hour. - Clock Repair Near Me - Palatine, Illinois

See all

Alex and Jim are both experts in their field. They have been able to help us maintain and repair several grandfather clocks over many years. Will only trust them with our clocks. read more

The only company to service my father-in-law's 40 year old grandfather's clock. We were lucky to inherit the clock that I have always loved. Just had the mechanism rebuilt (expected for the age and type of clock). Professional, honest service. So very happy to be hearing the chimes every quarter hour. I really missed it! read more

Buyer Beware! Stay far far away from this business!! This review has been a long time coming...I should have written this when I finally got my clock back in late 2015 or early 2016. I pulled the movement on my family heirloom floor clock (grandmother or toothpick grandfather as they are sometimes called) and after speaking with Jim to clarify what was included in his "complete overhaul" I agreed to go with Tick Tock Clock. Jim gave me a quote of $1,400 for a "complete overhaul". This was the lowest of 3 or 4 quotes I got which was why I went with Jim. In hindsight, my mistake - more on that later. I had done a little research about this company and had seen a flattering article in the Tribune from many years ago and some reviews and testimonials on Jim's website. I brought the movement, weights and pendulum to Jim's house. I thought it was kind of odd that they didn't invite me in. I noticed a very strong odor of animal urine (dog?-they have dogs in the home) while standing in the doorway. That should have been my first clue. I admit my internal red flags were going off and I chose to do business with this man anyway. Again, in hindsight at that point, I should have said: "You know I have changed my mind I am going to think about this for a while"...or whatever. I ignored my red flags and left the movement weights and pendulum with him. The job was verbally promised to be completed in 6 to 8 weeks. I should have gotten this in writing. After almost 4 months waiting for the repairs to be completed, I came across a review on another website from a woman who said it took her 2 years to get her grandfather clock back! Her review stated that Jim had excuse after excuse why the repairs weren't done. I started to get nervous...I contacted Jim and asked when my clock would be ready. I started getting the very same excuses the reviewer mentioned! (wife is sick mother is sick out of town etc etc etc...) Then after leaving several messages and emails they didn't respond to any email communication and didn't return calls. After a few more weeks of back and forth, I finally spoke with Jim and told him that I was sorry if he was having personal or family problems and I wanted my property back regardless of whether the repairs were done or not and that I would pay for whatever work had been done at that point. He promised to finish the "overhaul" and came to my house some weeks later to install the movement. His guarantee/warranty on his work handwritten on the receipt states "There is a one year guarantee on this clock for any breakdowns". (breakdowns is underlined) When he was installing the movement I/we tested the chime and strike on off levers on the clock face. Neither one worked. He said something to the effect that I would have to fiddle with the mechanism with a pencil or screw driver to trip the mechanism in order to get it to chime and strike after silencing it. Unbelievable! At this point I wanted this clown out of my house and for this ordeal to be over with. The clock has never run as it should-after a $1,400 "complete overhaul" it gains and loses 10 minutes of time regularly and the "overhauled" strike and chime mechanism have never worked as they are intended to work. Maybe my expectation of a complete overhaul and Jim's are different. Who knows...I oiled the movement myself about a year later and I noticed there were hairs (dog? they weren't human...) in various parts of the movement and on plates. This guy is a HACK. I strongly recommend that you do not let him anywhere near your clock. PERIOD. Let my expensive lesson guide you. Needless to say I am very angry at him because of the poor quality work and will likely have to have the clock repaired again in order to get it running and functioning the way it is supposed to. After this HORRIBLE experience, I now give Jordan Clocks all my business. They do phenomenal work and their prices are reasonable. By comparison, when I dropped off a movement for repair, they immediately invited me in to see their workshop and other clocks they have for sale-reputable business and good people... "Nuff Said" read more

Tick Tock Clock did an excellent job repairing our 27-year-old Seth Thomas mantel clock. It is like new; keeps perfect time and chimes every fifteen minutes. The price was reasonable, the service outstanding and the attitude professional with a dose of humor. Jim is a rare find. I hope he will be around in ten years when the 'Barrister' needs a tune up! read more

Jim reassembled, oiled and adjusted my 1980's reproduction grandfather clock after we moved here from New Jersey. He did an excellent job and was quite personable. He arrived on time and completed the job in a timely manner. I thought his service charge was very reasonable. I will have him service my clock on a go forward basis and would highly recommend him to anyone requiring clock repair/servicing. read more

I cannot comment on the service because after being on the service schedule for 10-12 days, the service person called to cancel the appointment about 3 hours before they were supposed to be here. I made arrangements to be available and scheduled around this appointment. I ended up fixing the clock myself. read more

I can't comment on the service because after being on the repair schedule for almost 2 weeks, the repair person canceled the service call about 3 hours before they were supposed to be here. I changed my schedule to be available and have been scheduling around this appointment so I was disappointed that the appointment was canceled. I ended up fixing the clock myself. read more

STAY AWAY!!! SERIOUSLY! It took them two years to repair my clock(s) when it was finally (supposedly fixed) it ran too fast and stopped AGAIN! They gave me a two year warranty and when I called back they had one excuse after another. THEY DID NOT HONOR THE WARRANTY. Now I have to call another place to have it done right. oh yeah they are cheaper than other places remember you get what you pay for! A few thousand later I am back where I started. STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE! EXCUSE AFTER EXCUSE! If they answer your calls especially if they know it's you calling back. They don't even diserve a star! read more

This place is definitely the best clock repair place around. They always get back to me in a timely manner. Very friendly and helpful people. Definitely recommend them for any job! read more

I had a broken Howard Miller wall clock and a broken cuckoo clock. For years, both clocks had been serviced by another person who had passed away. After speaking to Jim on the phone, I decided to take a chance and give his business a try. I brought both clocks to his shop and he informed me of the difficulties with cuckoo clock repairs which I had previously heard from other repair sources. Jim clearly stated what he would and would not be able to do with the cuckoo and also said he could guarantee the first clock but not guarantee the cuckoo. Well, the previous person usually took six weeks to two months for cleaning and repair so I was pleasantly surprised to hear Jim was finished in less than two weeks. In addition, he was going to be in my area and offered to deliver them which saved me a 45 minute drive. Jim and his wife brought the clocks and set up the Howard Miller only after giving his approval of how sturdy the hanger was. He said the cuckoo was completely rebuilt and oiled but wouldn't hang the clock explaining an wall anchor was needed. I so appreciate his care and diligence. I properly hung the cuckoo. The ticking is at an even rhythm and all the musical and animated parts work perfectly. Jim then promptly returned my call requesting direction to correctly set the cuckoo. I couldn't be more pleased with their service. read more