Dixon Hardware & Lumber Company

Note: Review is for a truck rental only (Penske)
Dixon Hardware & Lumber Co. (Store front) —
I made reservations for a 22′ Penske truck for the end of August, two weeks prior to my pick up date using my AAA discount. The online rental process @ the Penske website was painless and easy… Well at least until I received a phone call from Dixon Hardware & Lumber a couple of days before the pick-​up date.
— 1^st Message: Good morning, this is Dixon Hardware & Lumber calling about your truck rental. Unfortunately, we overbooked trucks. A truck is available but you will need to pick it up from Sacramento rather than Dixon. We can have a truck here but not until the day after, thank you.
My first thought after hearing this was, «WHAT THE F*K?!» I made the reservation two weeks prior and two days before pick up you are giving me this call? ‘After my fifth, «WHAT THE F*K?!,» I decided to call back the next day after my blood cooled from the temperature of the sun to a nice simmer… Un’f*ken-believable! «Serenity now! Serenity now…» (Sigh)
— 2^nd Message (Received the next day in the am): Hi, this is Dixon Hardware & Lumber, we will have your truck here but would it be okay if your pick up time was @ 9:30pm rather than 9am? Please give us a call.
Okay, so I guess they got the clusterf*k of the reservation situation sorted out… ‘That’s a plus. After all, when people reserve a truck for a move they have other pieces of the puzzle in place that coincide with the actual truck being present on a particular day such as hired movers, specific move out/​move in dates, etc. When someone’s renting a 22′ truck, it’s no small move. I wasn’t moving a 3 – 4 bedroom house, rather just one guy with a whole lot of art, art supplies, books, and lots papers. (i.e. — A whole lot of sh*t) Also, add one bully-​pit with about as much crap as a very spoiled, small child, plus chew toys.
HAPA (My co-​pilot) —
I called Dixon Hardware shortly after I received the second message. I told the lady on the phone that if it would help, they can have the truck their at 10am versus the original 9am pick up time… I try to work with people, especially if their in a bind. It makes it a bit less stressful and hopefully smoother for everyone, «Win-​win!»
The truck —
We arrived just after 10:30am and the truck had just arrived right before we did… ‘And that worked out fine.
Backlot —
The nice lady that helped me check out the rental was great, she was friendly, knowledgable, and answered all my questions. She was thorough and it was very appreciated. She discovered that one of the fluid levels were low on the rental and happily topped it off, did I mention, thorough? — «Mahalo for the aloha!»
Photo —
So, what originally was supposed to be a 22′ truck, ended up being 26′… I was already a bit nervous with a 22′ truck and a 26′ one didn’t make me feel any better BUT it did have an air seat. It was like being on a roller coaster… ‘And you bet your sweet @ss I took out insurance on this baby, being part Asian, the odds were already against me.
Photo —
All in all, not too bad of an experience after the dust settled with the exception of the initial voicemail message of «Hello, we don’t have a truck for you.»
Hey Penske/​Dixon Hardware just keep in mind that if this is how you plan to handle business with truck rentals, «It’s a slippery slope, my friend,» and expect to lose your clientele. I’ve used Penske in the past, when I first moved to the OC and in May of last year when I returned to the SF Bay Area. I was a very strong advocate for Penske but after this recent experience my faith is not quite so strong… ‘Within the past few years, I have seen more and more third party partners teaming up with the truck rental company. Penske is a great value especially if you’re a AAA member BUT I’d easily go with a competitor and pay a bit more if it guaranteed me a truck on moving day. I hope Penske doesn’t bite off more than they can chew with choosing quantity versus quality of service. When I returned the truck, I heard more unsettling stories about missed dates and people not having a rental truck when needed… ‘Precursor of Penske’s future? I sure hope not.
— Aloha!
Food: n/​a
Ambiance: 3
Service: 3 (Customer service, great; reliability of service, questionable)
Value: 4

Much like the Davis Ace, this place can set you up with most everything you’ll need in terms of basic hardware. And yes, they do cost a little more than your average big box store. But they are very helpful and that means a lot.
Much unlike the Davis Ace, there is plenty of space for things around the store. Instead of bring crammed in to whatever small shelf they have, this place is wonderfully non-​claustrophobic.
And my dog loves coming here too.

We rented a penske truck for our three day move. Penske had given us a larger truck than we had expected, and i was a bit nervous about making turns. The older lady at the dixon hardware store (i think her name was Donna) was very kind and provided tips on driving. She even went out of her way to give me a mini lesson. Im sure that this made a huge difference in my confidence and ability to pilot the truck over the course of the weekend. A positive experience!

While prices on certain things can be a bit higher than other places, they have good sales and I like the online ship to store free feature. It’s convenient to pick-​up items on lunch. The staff is always friendly and helpful.
I may pay a few bucks more here and there, but considering the short checkout times, ease of parking and the professional and courteous customer service, it’s completely worth it!

Great customer service. I reserved a Penske truck for a move and the pick-​up site was here. I called them to confirm the truck ahead of time; employee was very helpful and professional. Penske’s Sacramento office called ahead of time to let me know the truck wouldn’t be in by the time I had reserved it for. I needed it by a certain time, so I had to cancel, but greatly appreciated the courtesy call ahead of time. That allowed me to make other plans. (On the other hand, I ended up having a very stressful experience with Budget trucks after that, because they did NOT let me know ahead of time that they wouldn’t have the truck at the time I reserved it for!) Knowing this, I would rent from Penske at this site again in the future.

The folks who work here are always very nice to me and my children whenever we come in. I have always received help before I have even had to ask. I think the pond is charming, kids like to look at the fish. Very comfortable atmosphere. I always try and seek out Steve he is good for answering my questions from paint to garden and everything in between. BTW I love the whole free paint Saturday thing ACE does every once in awhile. I will be back again and again.

The people here are fabulous. You need a 6′ length of chicken wire or some other random hardware necessity, they will help you. I love that.
And they never roll their eyes at my ridiculous requests.
What’s that additive you put in paint for your bathroom?
Will you be carrying Holly plants this Christmas?
Would you happen to have a Mexican Chimnea?
If you’re tired of blank are-​you-​messing-​with-​me looks elsewhere, try Dixon Ace Hardware.
And I love the Benjamin Moore paint selection.

Great little locally owned and operated hardware store. Friendly staff that knows my name.

I love this store. Each time I have gone in, the staff has been so helpful and nice. I have a coat hanger that I am refinishing and the guys helped me pick out wood putty, a paint color and gave me some tips on how I should handle the project. They weren’t rude or acted like they were experts in a snotty way. They are just encouraging and helpful. As a female, it is nice to get treated as an equal in the store. I like how they seem to hire young kids and they obviously train them very well because they are very knowledgeable and nice. I’ll make this the only store I go to for my home improvement needs!

Way to expensive. I have bought alot here only to walk into another store and see the same thing a whole lot cheaper. Here are just a few examples as close as i can remember them. Small bag of cactus compost $ 8.99 walmart same exact brand and size $ 3.49. carheart shirts $ 29.99 same exact shirt at another Dixon location $ 24.99. sprinkler heads $ 14.99 same heads at another Dixon store $ 11.99 $ 7,500 in wood to build a deck, $ 5,000 at another store in vacaville. From my experiences they seem to be a good 10% 20% and with the cactus compost 300% more then other places. I very much like to do my business in Dixon. Support our local community but no way are some of the mark ups justified.

I like to go to Ace when I know I’m going to need help finding and choosing an item. I’ve not been disappointed. The staff knows its inventory and have always given me quick valuable help.