Pastime Hardware

Reviews 6

CR

Craig K. NAGASAWA

Negative, Negative experience. I purchase supplies for three properties in the east bay, I have been going to this ace for 20years. I have been there twice in the last week and spent up to 500.00 in those two visits alone. I noticed in each of these transactions the manager from the front office needed to be consulted. The first time he acted like he was very put out that we were purchasing the items we wanted and stacked them by the front and said, "It is all yours" , and walked away, no thank you, no further assistance. Today I wanted to buy some insulation from the back room. The clerk and I noticed there was no sign listing the price, she took me to the front to ask the manager (a different person than the first one). He came out and while walking to the back of the store muttered how it was so obvious that the price must be in the scan. I told him it was on a shelf 8ft. up with no sign. He said we do not really want to sell this stuff and jerked in down off the shelf and said all you have to do is scan it. I said I do not work here as he carried (a huge bundle) to the scanner on the wall. He got the price to read after trying twice, put it on the floor and said, " If you want it.. carry it to the front and pay for it and walked away, again no respect or common human decency." When I got to the front he was standing around joking with a friend/customer laughing as I hauled the thing through the check stand. I will try never to use them again.

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Lynn Rogers

My frequent "go to" local hardware store. A great place to get personal help to be sure you have the right solution for your problem/project although as noted by others, sometimes some of the clerks/help fall a tad bit short but overall they are very good. Was just there on Jan. 4 needing screws to put my over door back together and got great help. I like that I can buy just a few screws as needed and not a whole package as I would have to elsewhere... They have a lot of cool, useful household items and some very nice home storage items. I like their hours staying open until 9 on weeknights and 7 on Sundays... (UNlike the ACE store near my Oakland home, which closes early on weeknights at 6PM and at 4PM on SUNDAYS?!? which to me is NOT at all realistic for many of their customers who work.) It has a small business feel but provides big box store range of merchandise and I can find pretty much everything I need and discover useful things while poking around. Decent prices and I have had pretty good experiences with the ACE labeled products. The Store Manager is very present and ensures all goes well and is very helpful as well. Plenty of floor staff. Sadly, they seem to place very VERY little value on cultural diversity in their staff/hiring which in this district is really UNfortunate and borders on.....racially narrow outlook in a multicultural world and that is a problem. Other than that pathetic point, I do recommend this store.

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selwocc

I have been using this hardware store now for over thirty years. Yes, I am now 66 and have spent thousands of dollars here. So, just the other day I was again picking out several items & spending some time searching… and I needed to take a pee. I asked the nearby sales clerk for the key and she said that the room was closed! I asked to see the manager who explained that the new rules of El Cerrito did not allow public use of the restroom because it was not to code. For three or four months now. Yes, they will gladly take your money on the spot, but when you gotta go… well you will see as you get older… Its bothersome. Seems they have plenty of money to expand the store into the old furniture department showroom next door adding more merchandise, a new parking lot and a lot of other up grades. But, sorry… you can go "down the street to Nations Burgers" but cant use our toilet anymore!" Oh yes, and the clerk went in and did her thing… but the public!??? Not any more. I will not be back. Customer service means a lot to me and I believe that any store that sells something to the public should have a facility for the public - especially as big as the Ace Pastime Hardware. Dont promote or use this establishment until they do make an effort to correct this situation. Mike C.

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A Private User

Horrible experience. Two days ago I went to buy a box of screws and a box of nuts. They only had a half box of nuts (50), so I received discounted price for it. When I got home I noticed that I had 2 boxes of screws (100 each)... Since I needed the nuts and I also didnt pay for one of the boxes (more expensive) I went back and I tried to switch the boxes. The cashier didnt understand the process, then the manager stepped in with a very aggressive attitude. He was very impatient with me. He said to me: "If you didnt pay for the box, why did you take it?" (raising the voice), I said: "I didnt notice it was the wrong one until I got home". He charged me double the price that Id already paid for the half-box of nuts and started insulting me while walking to his office. I was a frequent client of that Ace, and as far as I know, he is the owner. I will not buy anymore in that location and I recommend not buying from him as a signal of repudiation for his intolerance.

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JO

Joie Antman

This place is so much better than Home Depot. You get service. And it feels just right--not too big, not too small. But lately something has gone wrong. The service feels off. Management has become unfriendly. The other day, I brought in a halogen bulb and asked to get new one. The helper guy looked at it, went to the shelves and then handed me what he said was the same bulb, kind of with a sigh. Maybe hed had a long day. Anyway, when I got home and put it in, it blew--it was the wrong kind! I brought it back, thinking Id get a refund. I had a receipt from that day and explained to the manager that this bulb was what they gave me. Instead, he made me feel like I was trying to pull a fast one by trying to get money back from a used bulb. Wow. Really?

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RE

Rebecca Madrone

Great hours, expert help, everything you could need and more. The most knowledgeable and experienced staff I have met aside from Jacksons Hardware in San Rafael---Since relocating to the East Bay and finding Pastime, I have had the good fortune to be assisted by a former airline mechanic and most recently a retired chemical engineer who saved me hours of grief explaining the different ways to deal with fastening brackets properly to sheetrock/plaster and lath walls. You always get the help you need here. Plus their prices are good and they carry my favorite "green" cleaning supplies. I also bought a fabulous, well made wood clothes drying rack made in the USA for 30 bucks, how cool is that?

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