Ace Hardware Circle

What an odd store. Been going for years despite the lack of help from employees. Today I walked in with intent to buy leather goods. The employee at the door asked for my backpack saying it’s not allowed. I said its my purse and told him I would shop elsewhere. I am a woman who has never stolen a thing but this male decided to get all power happy. Will never spend any money there and I intend to tell everyone I know to stay away. Some women’s purses are bigger than my backpack! The policy is foolish and has now cost them a customer! To the male employee, try being more of a human bring instead of the dumb head you are.

I always shop this Ace because their selection is much better than any of the others in town. However, the customer service at this location is never good. The employees rarely speak to me when I’m shopping in the aisles. You have to hunt someone down for help. At the registers, the cashiers are quite unfriendly. They talk to one another but never to the customer. I feel like it’s worth driving out of my way to Big R for my chicken supplies, despite this store being just down the road from me. Today was the last straw. I drove to this store to get supplies before heading out of town. I didn’t know they were 3 minutes from being open. The staff was all on the front porch and they just glared at me as I walked up. When I got to the door, they sent a young man out to tell me they were not open yet. By the time I made it back to my car, it was 2 minutes til opening time. If I weren’t under a serious time crunch to get out of town, I’d have driven the extra 15 minutes to Big R just to avoid the people in this store. Get it together Ace, you’ve left a lasting impression.

This is the first Ace Hardware I’ve ever been to that didn’t make me feel a little violated. Don’t get me wrong, I love Ace Hardware (except the one on Austin Bluffs and Academy, but that’s another review). Ace Hardware (almost) always has by far the most knowledgeable employees. If I don’t know exactly what I need, Ace is absolutely the place. I’ve been to an awful lot of Ace Hardware stores in Colorado, and most of them have a lot of similarities. These guys know what they’re doing. But here’s what usually happens when I walk into an Ace Hardware store: I walk through the door, apparently triggering a vagina alarm that goes off in the back room. A male employee chivalrously rushes to assist me, and I say, «No thanks, I’m good.» With a whole lot of, «Are you sure? Well, what do you need?» he will follow me everywhere I go, evidently assuming the little lady will need some help choosing the right size nail to hang her Precious Moments collector plates. Or maybe I just look like a shoplifter. I cannot get a moment’s peace. (One time when I bought lumber in Conifer, the guy asked me what my husband was building.) Believe it or not, I know my way around a hardware store, and sometimes I just want to wander, like, well, A WOMAN IN A HARDWARE STORE.
The Ace on Circle will leave me alone. Customer service is still exemplary, so they pounce on me the moment I walk in, but they are perfectly capable of letting a customer go. «OK,» they say. «If you have any questions, just ask.» And then they go look busy (but still very approachable). It’s a completely different environment in there, and I love it. I can wander for hours, without anyone demanding an explanation.
Here’s some other things I like about that place:
Penny candy. Awesome.
The Ace Rewards card might be pretty cool if I could keep track of it.
The back room full of markdown merchandise. It’s the clearance rack from heaven.
The garden center is pretty good. It’s bigger than most of the other Aces, and it’s got one of the better selections of ornamental ceramic pots in town (but not as good as Don’s). The bedding plants are good quality, but last summer they had a little problem with watering. One day they’d be bone dry and withery, a few days later they’d be borderline moldy. Be sure to check whatever you buy when you get it home. It’s a little pricey, but the sales are pretty good.
Sharp knives.
It’s very well organized.
Parking is great during the week.
The staff, including management, is welcoming and accommodating. They joke around with each other too, and seem to actually like working there.
They carry attachments for KitchenAid mixers there, so it’s not like they’ve never seen a woman before. The «homegoods» section is kind of an overpriced joke, though. Can’t blame ‘em for trying, I guess.
P. S. I’m not doubting Jamie O.‘s story, but I find it astonishing. That has definitely not been my experience at this particular store. I did have an eerily similar experience at the Austin Bluffs store though, so I wonder if it isn’t really really difficult for Ace Hardware franchises to return defective merchandise. I’ve never tried to return anything at the Circle Ace.

Terrible service here after purchasing a faulty evaporative cooler. I bought it for my kids’ room on a a 90+ degree day. While the service upon purchase was great, the thing was defective, blew only room temperature air, and beeped constantly, regardless if the water tank was empty or full. It was clear it had been returned before and just popped back out onto the floor for the next sucker.
I went in to return it, and was instantly attacked by the female manager who pushed me to buy a couple window units (even though I told her my windows couldn’t support window units), then pushed me to buy a $ 400 portable unit! I said, No, i’ll just take my money back, and I was in a hurry. She said, «I can only give you a store credit. The signs all over the store say so.» I asked her to show me the sign, which said, «No refunds on swamp coolers unless WE find them to be defective.» I re-​explained that it WAS defective, and she said, «Well, you’ll have to wait while i go test it then.» Note, she had NEVER offered this as an option, even though I told her repeatedly that it was defective. She NEVER apologized for selling me faulty merchandise, or acknowledged my inconvenience on having to drain and haul the thing back in. Instead, she treated me like a liar.
Finally, after being very rude to me, she agreed to test the machine (since my word wasn’t good enough). She found it to be defective. She still wasn’t willing to refund my money so I could go somewhere that had decent merchandise.
Luckily, at that moment, the owner walked over and took charge. He told her, «Why don’t you just give this lady her money back? She’s clearly not happy.»
She berated me further, stating I was rude to her (I never once raised my voice, used inappropriate language, etc. I simply clearly stated my case and expressed my discontent with their lack of customer service.)
Ultimately, after an ugly 30 minute ordeal, I got my money back.
This store is dishonest. Don’t go here!

Love the Ace Hardware! The only reason why I don’t LOVE Ace Hardware is because he’s not a cheap date. The following are my reasons for loving Ace:
–Knife sharpening (I know, I’m sooo lazy)
–Canning equipment (hell yes I can)
–Gardening Equipment
–The helpful (yet awkward/​dorky) employees
–Selection of kitchen items (Lodge & Le Creuset)
–I love browsing their crappy «home» area
Ace does have a clearance area where I have occasionally found an item I need at a reasonable price. The store is generally not very busy during week days but definitely gets more activity on the weekends.
Yay Ace!!!

This is the best place to go to when you need hardware… as the name states. I felt soooo overwhelmed when I needed to find the most awkward screw ever. I walked in and went right to the hardware section. Every single drawer has a picture on it of it’s contents making it incredibly easy to start weeding out the thousands of options. I was dumbfounded when the first drawer I opened was the exact screw I needed. And not only did they have the same one but they had it in 4 different lengths. I will most definitely skip Lowes or Home Depot when I need anything home improvement related in the future. I just love the mom and pop type of feel and they offer military discount’s…BOMB!

As always I love Ace always helpfully staff and neat, well organized isles.

My first visit to this ACE Hardware location, and I’m hooked. The store is well lit, neat and clean. The aisles are clear and reasonably wide. The store clerks are available and helpful. Best of all, they have everything you can imagine, from hardware to electrical supplies, plumbing supplies, seasonal decorations, paints… and on and on. The ACE in my last hometown closed down and I had forgotten what a jewel this place is… a terrific alternative to the big-​box stores. Found everything I needed, plus two holiday gifts! Great stop for the morning!