Pastime Ace Hardware

I had to post because I have been shopping here for years and have only had excellent service. Yes, you have to take a number, but otherwise there would not be a fair system to get service. Many stores have this system, and I if I have a quick question, I have been assisted by staff without waiting for number. Otherwise, yes, you have to wait your turn. They are well stocked, fairly priced, and helpful and when they don’t have what I need the staff has even made recommendations of where to go. I don’t understand the negative reviews on Unilocal and am happy that a store like Pastime is located close to my home.

Customer service is not their strong suit.
They have a «meat counter ticket» system that you have to stand around and wait for your number by the keys.
Heaven forbid you walk through the store and try to find what you need and ask someone to help you. You’ll be re-​directed to the «line» but I witness often employees standing around shooting the breeze while only 1 or 2 others help customers.
Nope, you can’t ask those employees who aren’t doing anything anyway «you’ll have to go to get a ticket».
I care about service when I decide to go to a store over clicking «buy it» on amazon.

I shop here frequently as I’ve just moved into the area and it’s close by. My only day off and came in for paint as I’ve ran out and the machine had decided to break. Not any humans fault but what my complaint is that three members of staff talked amongst themselves leaving me standing around like an idiot, one person saying 10 mins, another saying hours. Again not directed to me. When I ask questions, giving you the opportunity to use some of your human interaction skills that I’m sure you have, for you to keep responding with ‘I did say to you it could take hours’ with your back to me the more it angers me. And to suggest that I go to a rival store is ridiculous (see this management? Your own staff advising customers go else where) I asked can you get me the paint from the other ace store? «No we don’t do that. You could go yourself» I don’t drive. Customers pay your wages, simply talk to me face to face like a human being…
Someone with a basic customer care training would say/​do in that moment something like: I’m so sorry as you can see the machine isn’t working. I’m not sure how long it will take to fix the problem, so let me write down which paint you want and your contact details and I will call you as soon as it’s fixed. If it’s not fixed by closing time I will call you to let you know of the situation. We do have a store over____(insert address) would you like me to call ahead and have your paint ready for you to collect if that works for you…
Instead of: «it could take hours to fix». Then walks away. It wasn’t until another clerk comes over (not the original three wise men), with whom I have had no troubles with in the past, and I ask what’s happening? This guy was actually doing his job and informed me, took down my number all the while the other guy continuing to say ‘I did tell you it could take hours’ still not understanding or comprehending the situation. I heard you the first time, execute some form of decorum sir! So I was suppose to just walk away? Try again in an hour? Come back tomorrow? Stand around?
By his logic and reasoning yes; just go away, come back later…

Helpful staff, good selection of products, and quick checkout. Can’t complain! Parking all over the place both in their lot and on San Pablo and adjacent streets.

I had a last minute purchase this week and came to Pastime Hardware five minutes before the 8pm closing. I knew exactly what I needed to buy and went straight to its location.
The whole staff was by the front door like race horses ready at the starting gate. They even turned off the
lights while I was still picking out my item! Even though I knew what I wanted, I still need it to quickly read the label. Meanwhile, young dude walked through and proclaimed that the store is closed. When I pointed out that it was not 8 o’clock yet. his reply was, «Well then you got two minutes.»
The attitude of the Mgr was no better. He parroted my feelings and merely apologized that I felt this way. He claimed that this has been the way Pastiime closes up shop for the past 46 years! Oh really! If so, I’m surprised that Pastime has stayed in business for this long. I suggested that if closing time is 7:55pm instead of 8 PM then he should change the signage on the store to indicate that, as well as warning customers of the punitive treatment from violating their sacred closing time. If you hate your job so much, work somewhere else.
I may still patronize this place for the sake of MY convenience. But I certainly will not make it my first choice stop. Shame on you, Pastime! You’ve lost another loyal customer.

This is my favorite hardware store for almost anything. (Ellis on Martin Luther King in Oakland is my other favorite for small hardware and hard-​to-​find replacement stuff and general helpfulness.)
What are you to think about these Unilocal reviews? How can this be? It’s just crazy. A lot of 5’s and a lot of 1’s. This is just not useful information. I do notice that most of the 1’s are for attitude or rudeness or service. I have NEVER had that experience, but maybe some people have had one bad encounter and run right to Unilocal. Maybe when something is all ones and fives, just figure that this is not a place that Unilocal can help you with, and move on. Same for a lot of restaurants.

Ye Olde Tyme Hardware Shoppe… Man I love this place. Every time I go it blows my mind how much stuff they manage to pack into this place. They have EVERYTHING. Little tiny one-​off screws. Lumber. Bird Seed. Copper Wire. Lighting. Bolt Cutters. Lawn Mowers (!), weird-​ass Dremel bits. Everything you would need at «a hardware store» they have it.
Let’s address the elephant. Here are a couple reasons this place beats Home Depot. 1) Home Depot is massive. It’s too large to find anything quickly and then you have to choose which hammer you want from like 50 different models. At Pasttime, it takes no more than 26 seconds to walk from any part of the store to another part due to their clever floor layout. Try finding anything in Home Depot in 26 seconds. You can’t. Pasttime doesn’t overwhelm you with options either. Have you heard of the Paradox of Choice? You won’t suffer from that paralysis here.
2) The staff! *Every* time I go to Home Depot to buy rope, I have to go find some dude somewhere to cut it for me, and they can be incredibly tough to find! I wind up going to the paint dept and they call over the intercom and I sit and wait FOREVER for someone who NEVER comes and finally I wind up just cutting it myself like a madman and then getting flak from the sales person because I have no ticket establishing how many feet I bought. Basically I tell them look, what are you gonna do. Ring it up.
Anyway, at Pasttime, getting someone is easy as hell. You just take a number, or optionally, stare at someone until they say «can I help you?». Works every time. I never wait more than 2 minutes tops for someone to a) cut my rope b) make a key c) show me where the weird little screw I need is or d) tell me why the way I’m going about building an access ramp for my handicapped dog is all wrong. These people are knowledgeable. And they aren’t just random people that are working some sales job. They are hardware *associates*. They have a kind of patient, encyclopedic, profound wisdom about all things hardware. I’ll give you an example. I was in the other day to buy a plastic container. They have a ton of nearly identical ones there. I was looking at one I liked, but had no lid. I asked the guy, «where’s the lid for this one?» He said, «That one used to have lids, years ago.». YEARS AGO. The guy knew the history of a plastic container.
I’ve seen some reviews where people complain that the workers are surly or unprofessional. C’mon man. They are exactly like any other smaller business that hasn’t had the life sucked out of it by being assimilated by a heartless mega-​corporation. You want to see surly? Try going into a gun store sometime. Yes, Ace Co. is big, but this particular store has managed to retain it’s own unique identity as your friendly local hardware store. If you don’t want people to give you shit for coming in 5 minutes before closing, don’t come in 5 minutes before closing. Anywhere. I’d rather deal with a mildly-​surly guy who reminds me of my dad than some Home Depot person who was working at the Gap a month ago and doesn’t know the difference between a LED and incandescent bulb. The staff has always been polite to me and I’ve been going here for years.

Our favorite hardware store. Short lines, employees always available to help.
Great selection, but with a low-​stress small-​town store feel.

Every time I shop there, I always felt put down or insulted afterwards.
What is the matter with the staff?

I was very disappointed by how I was treated this last time I went and I will not be going back. Really hard to find prices on items. Got to the register and it was more money than I wanted to spend so I asked the sales person to take some items off. I was then taken to task as I guess I did not tell her the way she wanted me to and she said «that was a waste of my time.» Just very unfriendly to begin with and it went down quickly from there.
Additionally, she was joking around with some guy behind the register, which a certain amount of that is fine, but she was distracted when I was trying to tell her what items I did not want. She kept interrupting me a-​lot so I got flustered. Just very immature.
I get that she was frustrated by having to scan every item but there is no reason to be rude. I will never go back as I was angry after I left the store. And yes, management just let it happen which has been my experience time and again at that store.
Just generally an unfriendly and unhelpful vibe at that store.

This place has the worst customer service of any of the ace stores. They are outright rude, and the management does absolutely nothing to address it. Read the other posts.
During our last (and may I emphasize that it will be our last) visit to the store, we arrived five minutes to closing to find nearly the entire staff bunched together by the registers. As we walked in, one of the staff members complained that there were still several customers in the store. One screamed aloud. «These customers are never leaving». We tried to get help, but everyone was scrambling to leave. The place is a mess, so its near to impossible to find anything.
When we found someone to help, but he complained that «he doesnt earn any overtime, so he wont be able to help». He followed by turning to my fiancé by saying that «he knew where the item was on the shelf, but he couldnt help because he was off the clock a minute ago», Wtf. The manager watched as it went down. And did nothing. As we walked out, he gested «have a nice night». Well. Good night, and good bye ace. Moving my business back to Home Depot.

Still the worst hardware place to go to in my lovely city of El Cerrito. As much as I like shopping small stores especially in my town. The service here is terrible from all associates even management.
I highly suggest that you go to Home Depot a couple miles away. Unless you are over 70+ years old and have nothing to do but look around stores.

UPDATE:
The event below happened about 2 months ago. I walked in about 2 weeks ago to shop. They were out of the light bulb I came in for. (I bought the last one 2 months ago & the space on the shelf was still open.)
I decided to try talking to the owner again but he wasn’t in. I spoke with a manager. He was irritated that I gave a low Unilocal rating. He also complained that I never gave a good Unilocal rating for past good service. I replied that I just recently started to Unilocal.I also replied that my post did acknowledge «I usually get good service…» (see below). While talking, the man who I think is the other brother (owner) walked by & said something under his breathe which I could not hear but thought was derogatory. The manager I was talking to said «Yeah.» I asked the manager if he was talking about me. He said «Yes.»
That is he last straw. Look at other people’s ratings. They either get a 5 (selection, help) or a 1 (attitude, especially of the owners but now one manager).
I WILL NEVER SET FOOT IN THEIR STORE AGAIN.
— - — - — original review — — - — -
I live 6 blks away & have been a customer for over 60 yrs. I usually get good service but today the owner/​manager was rude feeling self important.
I bought a fluorescent light bulb. I asked him if he could recycle the old bulb that I brought (to match). I told him I walked 6 blocks cuz I had shoulder surgery 2 days ago & am not allowed to drive until I heal. He said «No, that is hazardous waste» (which I knew) but it is a small service for a senior citizen who has been a customer since before he was born. It is a small service for a person who is facing 6 – 10 months of recovery from the surgery.
As a local biz owner myself, I can assure you that I do not treat my customers this way. I know that the True Value Hardware in Rodeo does accept old fluorescent bulbs to recycle. However, I live walking distance from Pastime & the bulb just burned out today.

I’ve shopped here off and on for about 30 years (my mom lived nearby). I, too, have wondered about the managers sort of hanging around the registers. One day, I happened to go in with a relative who works loss-​prevention (security) in retail. He spotted them right away and explained it’s a sign the store has had to deal with a lot of theft. He also said their scowls may be on purpose.
This is an area where there are transients, and the store is chock full of stuff to steal for the heck of it. Dealing with that is not their fault.
Selection: Like any store, they have some things found nowhere else (love the clear plastic things that hold a light switch up or down, the roast racks, and hot pads in many colors), and don’t have other items. The prices are in-​line with other Ace hardware stores I go to.
I’ve mostly had very good service there, including happily letting me return about three different sets of door knobs. You do need a receipt, but that’s no surprise. Sometimes the younger guys know less than the old farts do, that’s no surprise for a hardware store, either.

I thought I’d write a review after my first visit at this Ace. I’m kind of new to the area so I hadn’t been to this Ace. I was looking for a replacement mop head for an O’Cedar mop. I had already tried the Ace on Cutting near Point Richmond and they didn’t have it and said it would take a week to order it.
I had noticed this Ace when I went to Off the Grid but didn’t realize how big it was. I was pleasantly surprised to find the mop replacement. I asked someone where they were when I came in, the checker, and he politely told me which aisle.
Then I remembered I needed some screw driver bits and I found someone to ask in about 10 seconds. She took me to where they were and handed me which ones I needed.
Then I decided to walk around a little and see what else I might need that I forgot about. I remembered I had been looking for some premixed grout at Home Depot a few weeks ago. They had none in white, well they had some but all the containers were broken open and it was spilled all over the shelves. There was no one to ask to see if they had any in the back so I gave up at HD. At Ace they had exactly what I needed and the shelves are so neat and clean.
They have such a big assortment of items.
I didn’t have any interactions with the manager except I paid with a $ 50 bill and the checker handed it to the manager to check if it was real. I asked the checker why he couldn’t do that himself as it doesn’t take an advanced degree to look for the little strip and watermark but he said it was a rule the manager had to do that.
So maybe the manager is a control freak.
But I’ll be back because they seem to have just about everything one might need and more staff to help then at HD.
Also, I like the big parking lot.

Lots my set of keys on Bart (car, apt, and mailbox) a few months ago. Fortunately I have a roommate who has his copies and thank god that ace hardware is right there and opens pretty early.
Took his set in the morning and made copies of all my keys and purchased a new D-​ring for my keys. All included less than $ 15 and all keys work like a charm. They are very quick and efficient. At first they had little bit of trouble with the mailbox key, but were able to find the right blank and everything since then has been right as rain.
I ended up making additional duplicates of all my keys from there as an insurance policy in case I lose my set again, god forbid that ever happen.
Great job ace hardware and thanks for saving my life on the cheap!

I find it rather serendipitous that for having such a large maze of pathways and aisles chock full o junk that they have absolutely NOTHING when one needs it.
Secondly, the price one pays should, besides convey product value, also exhibit efforts offered in customer service provided by staff with some actual knowledge skills and abilities in both the items they stock as well as the ability to not sneer at at customers when asked about items they should stock as standard. I swear I never get a simple ‘Hello can I help you?’, ‘Let me check for you,’ or a genuine answer on anything, nor do I believe the other zombies holding deli numbers catatonically awaiting 20minutes for help do either. If a store charges higher prices than big box stores then they ought to offer a more valuable customer experience in means of quality of assistance.
Finally, I find it parallel and again rather disturbing, yet surprisingly comforting, to not be the only one who has had the stink of death look cast upon oneself by the black polo shirted, grumpy faced management who lurks over the cash register corner exuding a most displeasant demeanor at customers standing in line, almost like a hack overseeing cons in Alcatraz.
Today I approached this grumpy soul while all the rest of the zombie customer drones held lunch ticket numbers to ask a simple question… My approach was simple, seeing that if he is standing on the sales floor doing nothing, then he is fair game to be approached. After all, HE is a manager, he should know everything and offer THE best at customer service. So, after kindly saying hello, do you… (insert immediate push back by manager and sneer)… He said, ‘I am not going to answer your questions, that’s not my job.‘
Apparently he likes losing customers and the after effect of the fallout of bad PR.
Good job El Cerrito ACE. You suck.
Unilocal, you should be ashamed too for sequestering reviews good or not so good in the ‘not currently recommended’… You suck too.

I just had a most unpleasant experience at my «hometown» hardware — and now see that there have been several other reports of similar experiences as well. If local businesses expect to compete with the big Box stores, they need to EMPHASIZE, not minimize, customer service.
When I presented a coupon that was a big Father’s Day promotion, I was told that it didn’t apply because of a $ 12 minimum and that batteries weren’t included. I said that I didn’t see that on the coupon, so the clerk called for the manager, saying «I guess she didn’t hear me». The manager was no more considerate, and said that the fine print on the bottom said to see the store for more exclusions. If I hadn’t made a special trip to purchase batteries, or been enticed by not only the paper coupon, but a similar one online, I wouldn’t have thought anything about this. However, even if the coupon has such exclusions, it would have been much easier to accept them if the staff had been even slightly more personable.
I will be taking my business elsewhere.

I have never done a review before on Unilocal, but after my wife and I both had experiences similar to many reported on here, I felt I had to write about Pastime.
I moved out to the area about 25 years ago, and Pastime used to be WONDERFUL. I cannot emphasize enough what a terrific store it was, with superb customer service and a great, quirky owner. My experience since it got taken over by ACE has been decidedly mixed.
While they still have excellent help at the number-​counter (which is necessary, since they do not mark ANYTHING, so it is very hard to find even the simplest stuff on your own), they have replaced the quirky owners with aggressive, suspicious and pugnacious managers, who stand and watch customers like prison guards, aggressively challenge any request for a refund, and generally seem to think they are in a South Bronx store filled with thieving addicts circa 1980, instead of nice and kind El Cerrito/​Albany in 2015.
My wife is of color, and they seem to particularly view anyone who is not White Anglo with great suspicion. There is one manager in particular who appears to be Australian who is likely the one who threatened that other reviewer to a fist fight. He seems to seethe with anger, and like with any store, the employees seem to be in fear of him. Like others said, if you know exactly what you want and don’t have any need to return anything, your experience will be fine. But since their prices are higher than the big box up the street, they should match those prices with commensurate service, and not operate as if they were in Fort Apache the Bronx in a bad movie. Too bad, as I like to support local businesses, but I cannot recommend them and will not be shopping there in future after many years of patronage.

After reading other negative reviews here, I realize that a lot of people have been mistreated in this store.
I remember a time, many years ago, that I got consistently good service but that was probably 10 – 15 years ago. The last dozen times I’ve been in, the service was okay, though once a cashier made some rude remarks about me in Spanish to her Spanish-​speaking co-​worker, which I thought was bad customer service.
Today, however, was bad enough to prompt this review. I picked up a number as soon as I walked in the store and after waiting 15 minutes with no one coming to help me, I found a stock clerk in one of the aisles and told her that I’d been waiting 15 minutes. She walked over and asked for customer service over the intercom. After waiting 5 more minutes (20 minutes at this point), I found her again and said, «No one has come to help me,» but instead of saying something like, «let me try to find someone,» she said in an exasperated matter, «I can’t do anything about it! I called and that’s all I can do!» When I asked how many customer service clerks they had on the floor then, she cut me off and said, «I don’t know!»
About 5 minutes later someone did come and call my number and without asking me what I was there for, looked at the broken metal pipe I was carrying and started walking away, saying, «We need the plumbing department.» As we were walking, I told him that I had a small plastic container with some dust or granules that came through the kitchen exhaust pipe flue that had come down onto the top of my range, but he kept about 5 feet distance and said that he didn’t know what it was without really looking at it.
I then told him that I needed to replace the kitchen drain pipe and he said to put it on the floor. I had cleaned it out and wiped it down so it was not wet or corrosive, so I started to place it on the shelf so that he could take a better look at it, but instead he said more loudly to put it on the floor.
On my way out, I asked to speak with a manager, who to his credit, did parrot my words and said sorry. But I took my business to Berkeley Ace Hardware right afterwards (because I was so upset at the poor service at Pastime) and got hella faster service and LOTS more help. So I’ll probably start shopping there for all my hardware needs.