U Save Plumbing & Hardware

I have been shopping here for 20 years. It has been nothing but a miserable experience. I recently stupidly asked the counter person for a shower arm. He stayed behind the counter and told me that I was looking at it. Again, I pleaded for help but he refused to help me. When I asked if a separate flange was the correct size, he told me yes while not informing that the boxed shower arm came with a flange. How dishonest! I would have bailed from this store years ago but it is only 2 blocks from my house. Whenever possible, I shop at Cole Hardware, Lowe’s or Home Depot. This staff hates customers and shows it. I would urge them to sell their business because they obviously hate themselves & their customers. This local business makes big box retailers look good!

Absolutely terrible service. Closed 10 minutes earlier than the posted time. Incredibly rude. Will never return.

So i come here alot while working in the Mission. What can i say, i know what i need in small parts and U Save is so handy for me, especially on weekends.
Hard to find parts they got.
Water heaters are cheap here.
piping and some electrical is easily accessible for me here.
Specialty tools to bore my 3.5÷8 holes for my exhaust pipes was here.
What can I say, this place saved me more than once and the convince on getting parts here is.
parking in front for truck.
easy access in the mission on Valencia.
copper and gas pipe in 10′ and 20’
pvc and abs pipe.
electrical
and of course all the small crazy fittings.

I’m not the first and probably won’t be the last to give them a bad review. I totally support small businesses but this store doesn’t deserve the respect or future sales from me. The guy at the counter is exceptionally rude… I asked him for help finding a part and without hesitation, he nodded his head, giving me this crazy look like I offended his family or so what. I had to ask someone else to help but ended up finding the parts myself. They are not cheap on parts, so I’ll go to another plumbing supply store in the future. All thumbs down!

I needed an extension cord with a right-​angle plug. They had an extension cord with a right-​angle plug. The price was fair, and the man who sold it was friendly without being chatty. This is exactly what I want out of a hardware store.
If you don’t know what you need, or what you need is too far from plumbing or electrical, this probably isn’t your place, but otherwise it is a decent no-​nonsense specialty hardware store.

there are a lot of haters for this store. Not me. This is a working man’s hardware store. Really excellent plumbing supply. Good electrical also. No gnomes, garden crap or kitchenware. Staff not bubbly happy, but so what? They gots what I need. Parts. Cheap ones. Lots of San Francisco specific stuff not found at Blowes or Home Bastard. I like them. I kinda get the feeling that a lot of the people here who don’t like these guys went in with an attitude and got what they deserved. I have never had a problem here.

I like this place. It’s plumbing supplies for people who know what they are doing. If you want free advice go to Cole Hardware. If you know what you need these guys will have it and for less money than the nightmare that is Lowes on Bayshore.

I have to admit that I feel rather conflicted while writing this review of U Save. Strangely enough, I’ve had one pleasant, hassle-​free, positive experience similar to that of Gerry D. as well as a few nasty, borderline racist incidents that closely mirror the experience described by Vijay S. and Bethany O. Without a doubt the old Asian guy at the register is beyond rude and nasty. Like Vijay, I definitely felt a VERY strong racist vibe from the counter guy and the younger Asian guy who was stocking the sales floor. They looked at me as if I was irritating them by shopping in their store. If you ask a question, you get a brusque dismissive grunt. One time I had to find a new stem to fix a bathtub faucet and shower. I didn’t know the manufacturer, but I brought the old one to ensure an exact match. I showed the stem to the worker and asked if they carried that particular model. He waved is arm in the direction of the rear half of the store and curtly said «Stems over there». Of course, he never even got off of the stool to even show me which aisle.
On the positive side, they have a GREAT selection of plumbing supplies in that little store and their back room. Also, their prices on some key items are unbelievable. I got a brand new Williams wall furnace with separate wall mounted thermostat for just over $ 400 tax included. The guy who wrote up my order and handled the whole transaction could not have been nicer and more helpful. He really went the extra mile to find my particular furnace as it was buried and hidden under A LOT of other inventory. He really had to dig around and move stacks of other boxes that were extremely dusty and somewhat heavy. When he finally found my unit, he apologized for the wait and cheerfully wheeled it out to my vehicle and loaded it in. I even gave him a $ 20 tip. Hopefully, his positive attitude and helpful demeanor will rub off on his coworkers.
UPDATE: They still have a long way to go before I would ever give them an actual positive rating, but I think that they might be getting a little better. Even with their woefully lacking customer service, I have to mention that they DO NOT try to gouge their customers by charging outrageous prices for their plumbing materials; unlike every other plumbing supply here in the city… That’s worth another star! Great breadth and depth of products, great prices, great location

I’m a DIY’er who had a somewhat complicated (for me) bathroom project that required at least four trips to U-​Save as well as trips to Home Depot and Builder’s Discount Supply.
U-​Save worked out well for me because they had pretty much every weird pipe size, threading, length, everything I needed. I never had any problems with customer service on the subsequent times. Now they weren’t all smiley and pat-​on-​the-​back sort of folks, but I came in with specific requests, brought the old example fittings when I could, in other words: had my act together as much as I could. So maybe that makes a difference in their attitude versus someone coming into their store saying «Uh, I have like this thing, for a sink, that water goes into… do you have those?»
Home Depot was of course terrible, Builders Supply is pretty good for plumbing, great for other things, and as I said U-​Save had everything I needed and made my frequent trips bearable. Price-​wise U-​Save was comparable to Depot on some things, and a little more expensive on most. But we’re talking the neighborhood of $ 6 more on an $ 80 purchase. Well worth the few bucks in my time and hassle with Depot; just wish I discovered U-​Save earlier.

my 2^nd Water Heater… BRADFORD-WHITE…which they carry…
after 9 years. and 2 WHIRLpool fails… MY B/​White is still working… but i wanted to replace… before a breakage…
I Agree. Valencia st. a bit small compact… even though i was out the door in 20 mins… back of store ez loading… I Tried the LAWTON St. store this time.
1pm…good time for homeowner. most of the plumbers on jobs.
.i assume it’s crowded before noon…
only one customer and i. He looked like a plumbing contractor… friendly staff… and store aisles well laid out.marked.for any novice… OUTSIDE. quiet street. with 10 BRADfords… there…lots of CUB for loading your things…
i use the small heater 4fter…5 to choose from out there… CLERK wrote it up… and helped load into my wagon… asked if i needed the parts… but left that to my Handyman.
20 mins… i was on my way home… HAPPY with the new BRADFORD… replaced the 9 yr old… still working… with a new one… I prefer LAWTON St. over Valencia St. i had a good experience. 2^nd visit… and Reccomend. U SAVE… i had 2 BAD Whirlpool’s.i got at LOWE’s…
.and even on the BRADFORD. Defender… ‘The HEATER .the PROS use’…I’m sure after 9 years… the new ones are even Better…
QUIET St. lots of parking… it’s not the busy part of Lawton… nr 26^th ave.
30 Gal. $ 450 Including taxes… and clerk pasted the SERIAL no. on the tag… for any return… warranty…

NEVER GO HERE. These guys are rude and unhelpful and they have a horrible selection.
I had a very similar experience to Vijay S, whose review I have pasted below. Boycott this place – this store does not belong in the friendly, vibrant neighborhood it is located in.
[Vijay S’s review below]
Seriously F-​these guys. This is the worst store I have ever been to. Maybe plumbers find good stuff here but if you are a regular customer, don’t bother going here. The staff (owners?) are so rude and unhelpful.
I walked in here at 5.20 and the store was empty. I asked the elderly Asian man who was there if he could recommend a rubber sealant for a pipe that i was trying to fix under my sink (after describing the problem to him). He looked at me and said «Go find plumber — we are closed.» He walked over to the next (white) customer and happily assisted him to find something.
Curious, I walked over to him and asked «what time do you close?». He said «5.30 — you go». I showed him my phone clock that said it was 5.26pm and left.
These guys are such a-​holes — I don’t see this at all in SF or in the mission but definitely felt the racial undertones here.
BOYCOTT THIS PLACE.

This place was a great quick stop to get a set of keys I needed copied. I walked in, the guy took my keys and a snap crackle pop later I had a fresh set of keys! Only cost me 4 bucks too — over all win/​win.

Seriously F-​these guys. This is the worst store I have ever been to. Maybe plumbers find good stuff here but if you are a regular customer, don’t bother going here. The staff (owners?) are so rude and unhelpful.
I walked in here at 5.20 and the store was empty. I asked the elderly Asian man who was there if he could recommend a rubber sealant for a pipe that i was trying to fix under my sink (after describing the problem to him). He looked at me and said «Go find plumber — we are closed.» He walked over to the next (white) customer and happily assisted him to find something.
Curious, I walked over to him and asked «what time do you close?». He said «5.30 — you go». I showed him my phone clock that said it was 5.26pm and left.
These guys are such a-​holes — I don’t see this at all in SF or in the mission but definitely felt the racial undertones here.
BOYCOTT THIS PLACE.

The folks who work here are the epitome of the ‘douche’ as in ‘douche bag’. Need I say more… oh yes, to the owners of this store… F*%K YOU! Thanks to the incredibly rude ignorant and disengaged staff i could not wait to get home and Unilocal. But you have provided me with my first ever opportunity to award the not-​so-​coveted ONE STAR RATING. Yes I’m using caps because if you could hear me I would definitely be yelling.
Okay, now that I got that off my chest here’s the story (short version). My ever so reliable and gifted contractor recommends a special reflux valve that has to be installed on all of our outdoor spigots as part of the condo conversion process. So rather than him doing it and charging us he gives us a sample and tells us to try U Save. Well as luck would have it were nearby but of course the sample valve is where… at home! But we go in and before I can barely describe the item the clerk and his half wit buddy tells us «we don’t have that». And then I try to tell him our contractor recommended we come here and could I draw the item and once again ‘we don’t have that”. Really… seriously…you’re a frigging plumbing store AND my contractor picks up his supplies here and he KNOWS THAT YOU CARRY THIS ITEM! Needless to say, the following week I go to Excel Plumbing on Van Ness and in 5 minutes I have the items and I’m out the door.

If I could give this place zero or minus stars I would. Horrible customer service. AWFUL! I was so angry when I left this place. I asked about a part and he instantly said no, and when i asked if there was any other options he said ‘i already say no, it’s easy… no”. i asked him not to get frustrated with me and asked about a different part and he just got angry and said pretty much the same thing again, but more with more agitation, acting like I was stupid or something. Forget this place, I don’t now what their problem is, but they will never get any of my business, and you should consider the same.

the only reason i could IMAGINE for buying anything here is that they sell cheap chinese made crap for fairly low prices (but not the lowest). but it does come at a cost — the poorest attitudes of any clerks in the western hemisphere and taking any excuse, real or not, to deny returns.
there is ALWAYS a snotty attitude at the counter… as a matter of fact, be prepared for an outright sneer (no, seriously) or being completely ignored (no, seriously) if they don’t feel like dealing with you. it can get surreally funny watching them try to not look at you… standing at the counter… saying «excuse me»…even when there’s no one else in the store!
once, on the phone, the clerk could not articulate a price well enough for me to have any idea what he was saying… and hung up on me the third time i (yes, politely) said i couldn’t understand him.
once i was denied a return not 90 minutes after a large purchase. the same clerk, who knows me, who i had bought from many times over the months and twice THAT DAY, refused the return because i didn’t have that one receipt (i mistakenly brought 2 other receipts from THAT SAME DAY). i finally took my business on the next job to excel supply — they lost several thousand dollars of business over a $ 10 part.
and i was a REGULAR customer. and i promise — i’ve never once been rude to them. promise. i’ve never ever in my life run into a business run by such jackwagons. they’re so stupid they’ll cut off their nose to spite their face.
go to excel instead on south van ness. they often beat usave’s prices, and are really really helpful people.

So, I didn’t see the Unilocal sticker at the door. Perhaps not enough Unilocalers have reviewed this place and I was desperate to find the replacement diverter valve for my shower. And this was the third place I was searching. Well, there’s a reason there’s no Unilocal love sticker on the door.
Unless you know exactly what you want and are a decent DIY person, then U Save may be helpful. I came in with my diverter valve, showed to the clerk behind the counter, and he pointed down the aisle with «To the right on the shelf.» OK, thank you very much.
I wander down and look at an big array of valves. None of them seem to resemble mine. Hmmm. I look back at the clerks behind the counter who are ignoring me. OK. I ask, do you know any other place that may carry this part? Nope? OK, thank you very much. And that will be my last visit to this hardware store.
I did find the part at another store, no thanks to them, but that’s another review.

This morning on my way into work, I stopped by the «U Save Plumbing & Hardware» store on Valencia (between 22^nd & 23^rd St). This was my 1^st experience at this location, I have shopped at the Lawton store previously.
I would have to say this store is smaller than Lawton, but the staff was friendly and more attentive. I asked the clerk for two Delta bathroom vanity faucets advertised for $ 59.95/each in the Advertiser. U Save had plenty in stock unlike Home Depot you have to look up and down the aisles.
As the clerk was ringing me up, he thanked me for shopping here and come back again. A nice experience in and out the door in 5 mins…

Folks really get the wrong idea about U-​save – it’s a place for plumbing supplies. Don’t get it twisted. You will not find overpriced gardening gloves, a french press, hand towels, or painting supplies here.
I’m a building superintendent, which means I have a lot of keys. Like a janitor, if you will. I sometimes have to buff graffiti. I have tenants who don’t clean the hair out of the drains. I need a place nearby that I can get small and random things for a handy-​woman like myself. This is what this place if for. And if you’re an actual plumber, you’re in heaven.
They’re friendly, fast, have a small table for coffee and water if you like. I sometimes bring my dog inside while waiting to copy keys. All and all, this isn’t Ace Hardware; this is a store that has no time for frills and fluff. They carry what they say they carry and I like it.

Don’t go here unless you know exactly what you want, and are prepared to search the store for it. The three people on staff (none of whom was busy) certainly didn’t take anything I asked about seriously, give a second thought to the questions I had, or even offer to help. («No, sorry.»)
I don’t care if they have whatever I need in stock — I’d rather shop anywhere else just to avoid the customer disservice.