Ace Hardware

[Halfathumb]

My local store was established as a feed & farm store in 1899, has been owned by a Christian family ever since. The staff is very knowledgeable for the most part. Especially the 2 guys that head up the electrical & plumbing departments. Always willing to answer questions with factual answers not necessarily trying to sell you something, but just trying to help people. My guess is they are paid quite well for their expertise. They are always busy with people like me and farmers.

I hope no corporation tries to buy them out.

Just a thumbs up.  

Jim

[Phil Thien]

My local Ace is outstanding.

One of my favorite stories is how one of the guys started calling me "doctor Phil," and the other guys started following suit.

Pretty soon I was walking in and other customers were thinking I was an actual M.D. or something.

So about a year after this nonsense started I was in the hardware aisle and one of them sees me and shouts "hey Dr. Phil!"

So then the same employee sees another guy in the aisle and says, "Dr. Jorgensen how are you, can I help you find anything" and without skipping a beat looks at me and says "Dr. Jorgensen is an actual doctor," then looks at the doctor and says, "Phil isn't an actual doctor. I guess we just call him that."

My wife was in the next aisle and I could hear her laughing.

So honorary degrees from Ace apparently aren't worth the paper they aren't printed on.

[TDKPE]

"Dr. Jorgensen is an actual doctor," then looks at the doctor and says, "Phil isn't an actual doctor.  I guess we just call him that."

And here I thought you were going to say that Dr. Jorgensen was a garbage man with a thing for clamps.  

[Robert Adams]

I rarely go to the Ace here. They never have what I need at twice the price.

            Nice people and nice store but they just rarely have what I need and if I need more than one small item I will end up going to depot anyway. If I need an odd bolt or two I will go there or if there is something in their flyer that's a good deal but that's about it. Ace is geared more toward the homeowner which is great. I am the customer that doesn't want to be bothered because I know more than the guy on the floor. And if I told them what I really wanted they would give me a blank stare and I would still end up cobbling up stuff to make whatever it is work and muttering if we had Menards here they would have what I am looking for...

[Z28Doug]

I like my local Ace Hardware also.   The people that work there are not experts, but I don't expect them to be. They hire young friendly people who need a first job and the experience that comes with it. Inside will be my neighbors picking up birdseed, or a new lawn sprinkler, or trying to find one of those funny bolts that fell off their lawn mower.  The big box stores have put so many small ones under it's not even funny. I'll pay more to only have to drive around the corner and not have to stand in line forever.

[Robert Adams]

I like my local Ace Hardware also.   The people that work there are not experts, but I don't expect them to be. They hire young friendly people who need a first job and the experience that comes with it. Inside will be my neighbors picking up birdseed, or a new lawn sprinkler, or trying to find one of those funny bolts that fell off their lawn mower.  The big box stores have put so many small ones under it's not even funny. I'll pay more to only have to drive around the corner and not have to stand in line forever.

                That's funny as here it is the opposite. We had one payless and two Sutherlands and that was the main stores around the area. If you were out of town you were out of luck as the blue laws way back prevented businesses from being built too far from city centers. Depot was the first in then Lowes followed several years later. 
        Then Payless and Sutherlands closed not so much from competition but from their locations. They were in dead areas and nowhere near where the customers were. 

          Then the Ace hardwares and true values started showing up.  Here if we didn't have the big box stores show up we wouldn't have had anything.

[Robin Dobbie]

I wish there was an Ace closer, but they shut down. They have sales on little stuff I need, but not enough to go as far out of my way to get them as I'd have to, now.

[Stwood_]

2 Aces in our area, in different directions, both an hour away.
So I'm seldom in one.

[jteneyck]

They very by store, but my local one is really good.  They have an incredible range of stuff for such a small store, lots of things HD and Lowes don't have.  They also are a full service lumber yard, and that's where I special order MDO, PlumaPly, and other sheet goods.  I'm very happy they are here to compliment the big box stores. 

John

[KC]

In Nebraska City I've got a Mead Lumber for building materials and am old timey hardware store Do-It-Best 'chain' a few blocks from the house.  Ace store a couple miles up the road.  Depending on what I need, I've been to all three on the same day.