Ace Hardware Express

This review is specifically about the U-​Haul rental service in the store. DO NOT EVER RENT A U-​HAUL HERE. I realize that U-​Haul is not exactly the most upstanding company but the behavior of the people working the U-​Haul counter at this Ace Hardware is beyond atrocious. If you choose to do business on behalf of U-​Haul, you become their representative. In no way does this arrangement entitle you to throw up your hands and say «Don’t blame me for the fact that you made a reservation weeks ago and the truck is not here now! I know I have another truck like the one you asked for but you can’t have it! It’s for someone else!» then mumble ridiculous nonsense as you run away like a mad little girl. But that’s exactly what happened at this U-​Haul location. They made absolutely no attempt to fix the situation. Their way of dealing with it is to deflect blame to the company they represent and take absolutely no responsibility for anything that happens. Once again DO NOT EVER RENT A U-​HAUL HERE. Probably best to avoid the business all together as they don’t really hire the best people.

Man, I’m not even gonna bother going to Lowes or Home Depot anymore if I can help it… actually I’m not going to Home Depot period, because it sucks.
Hardware Express has what I need 95% of the time and the sales staff knows every square inch of the store. It takes little more than 5 minutes to walk in, get the parts I need, pay, and walk out. When I need advice on solving my latest homeowner’s-pain-in-the-ass problem, the sales staff is always approachable and helpful and know what they are talking about.
Also, buy your propane here, folks. It’s half the cost of those scammy tank exchanges, and it’s quick and easy.
For the convenience of saving me at least 45 minutes in driving round trip + an extra 10 – 25 minutes just looking for the damn part I need or dealing with typically clueless sales associates, I am happy to pay slightly more than Lowes (Or Amazon for that matter) but this is what I am finding: it usually does not cost more.

This is my closet hardware. Store. And I feel lucky it is. They have a great supply of fasteners, nuts, bolts, rope ect. I can almost. Always get what I need.

Nice little Ace store with all the little stuff plus some of the big things like BBQ’s and lawn mowers. Prices are comparable to big box stores and some of the items on sale are even cheaper. Got asked about five times in one minute if I needed help and there was no waiting in line. Coolest thing is they sell live ladybugs.

This, like other Ace Hardware stores, is the place to go when you need unusual metric fasteners, clips, or whatca-​ma-​callits. The tool department is small, but adequate. Their selection of plumbing and bulk hosing is decent.
The selection and relative ease of finding what you need justifies the consistently slightly higher prices over a Home Depot, Lowes, or even OSH.

I live close to The Ace store on Eureka way in Redding, so that is the first place I go when I need something. I commute daily by bicycle and have to carry a backpack for my work gear. I was on my way home and decided to stop in and see if they had a certain size of bolt I needed. As I neared the back of the store I was told I had to leave my back pack at the front of the store. I refused, letting them know that I didn’t want my gear sitting at the check stand where any one could get to it. I let them know that they could follow me around while I shopped, I didn’t mind. I realize in this day and age it it is hard to trust folks. As management at a major retailer in town for many years, I have learned the best way to lose customers is to treat them the way I was treated today. Mistrust,… I didn’t even get a «Hi, how are you today?» or «Is there any thing I can help you locate?»
I usually recommend Ace hardware or Orchard as the place to go to when the retailer that I work at doesn’t carry an item. I guess Orchard it is!
I will no longer recommend this Ace Hardware, and I will most likely go out of my way to let my customers and friends know of the «non-​service» that I received today.

I’ve shopped at Ace on Eureka Way for years because of convenience, but have recently found that their rental solutions don’t operate on good faith which has convinced me to take my business to a business that does.
Rented a carpet cleaner recently. Used it for an hour then it broke down. They said they couldn’t fix it and didn’t have a replacement. Fine. Things break. I get it. No big deal. I can just rent somewhere else. But then they refused to give me my money back. Offered to give me a credit for a carpet cleaning rental when the new models arrive at some unknown point in time.
The point is, they refused to refund my $ 25 rental fee. What compounds this issue is that they use excuses like «the machine was on it’s last legs and we knew it would give out soon» and «it hasn’t been working well for a while now».
So basically they rented me a dud knowing it wouldn’t perform well at best and that it’d probably break down at worst… and knowing they weren’t going to refund my money in either case. Nice. I call that «bad faith». The manager won’t even return my calls. What business is willing to lose a customer over $ 25?
So I rented from Ace on Westside Road. Very very nice people. Caring. I’ll drive the extra mile to get good service.
To be fair I’ve had some good service from Ace on Eureka Way over the years. But those employees never last. I rarely see the same employee in there twice. That says something too… The employees at Ace on Westside are always the same.