Whittemore Hardware

I went to this store during the big storm on 2÷5÷16 upon a recommendation from a Home Depot employee and boy was I pleased with the customer service here. I had assembled my snow blower the morning of the storm, only to realize a key was never provided in the box. To my dismay, Home Depot does not sell spare keys, but when I called this store, they quickly asked for my model number and gave me a call back to say they had the specific key I needed. They even reserved it for me at the register and when I went to retrieve it, one nice gentleman also showed me around the store and gave me instructions on how to mix the gas with stabilizer and how to store the blower after the season. Highly recommend and will come back for tune ups in the future.

Hi i sent my wife to this hardware store to see if they had some belts for my snowblower the young man at counter would not help her saying they were to busy to look up the numbers and some were at lunch my wife drove 15 miles to get there she was begging this guy to look up the number to see if they had them he would not help her. And by the way she was the only customer in the store she left very upset and could not believe what just happened. Now i know why HOME DEPOT is doing so good so much for supporting the little guy never again Jim C

These guys are the best. The store is large, they have a little bit of everything, and what they don’t have they are happy to order for you. They greet you, pay attention to you, give you advice and help if you need it, leave you alone if you want to be left alone, hold the door open for your stroller. It’s convenient and local and the prices are reasonable. Sure, Lowe’s and Home Depot are giant megastores and probably have a lot more stuff, but you can wander up and down those aisles forever looking for a salesperson and when you find them they look confused and they always have to page their manager or whatever and it takes ages. At Whittemore you can walk in and say to Mike, «I’m looking for one of those twisty things you use to hold a bunch of cords in place» and he will know what you mean and walk you right to it. Check here first.

I had my snowblower here serviced the summer of 2014 (before all the snow). They picked it up and delivered it. They quoted me a very high price for the service. I want to say it was 150 or more. I figured they were close and a local business — so why not. It was during the second snow storm the snow blower would not move. With all the snow we got, there was no way I could get it fixed last year. I ended up bringing it to a place in NH. The guy that finally fixed it said asked, ‘did you have this serviced?’ He said whoever serviced the snowblower but washers on the wrong side causing it to malfunction.

Brought in some car keys to be copied with my own blanks. Arthur was going to help me then one of the owners in a side conversation told Arthur not to help me. Policy is they only cut their own keys. I was more than willing to pay. I have bought well over $ 10K worth of stuff from this store and the owner should recognize my face. Poor form.
Arthur was very apologetic and pointed me toward a locksmith. So much for keeping my dollars in town.

As a resident of Melrose for the last ten years, I’ve always tried to support local businesses. I’ve been treated awfully by these guys twice now. This week the owner had a meltdown in front of me, yelling at me for not knowing exactly what part I needed. Sorry I’m not that knowledgable about hardware. Luckily the guys at Home Depot were happy to help. No yelling either. I’ll never shop here again. Sad really. I wanted to help the little guy.

I initially thought this was a very competent, friendly local hardware store. Recent experiences have substantially changed this assessment.
I bought a new Toro snowblower from Whittemore Hardware in November 2014, which cost over $ 700. The unit was asssembled and delivered by Whittemore. During my first use of the snowblower vibrations shook loose a knob and U-​bolt connecting the upper and lower handles. The handle fell apart and the bolt was immediately lost in the snow (despite looking). I was forced to make temporary repairs to the snowblower with other bolts I had available.
After the storm I went over to Whittemore to explain what happened, and requested a replacement bolt. An employee spoke to a mechanic, said the store would provide a replacement, took my name and number and promised somebody would get back to me.
One week later I had not heard anything, and we had a subsequent two foot blizzard. I went back to the store the following Sunday and was told the mechancs were not on duty, but that they hadn’t received any Toro parts the previous week. I spoke to the manager on duty, left my information (again) and said I would appreciate a call before making a third trip back to the store.
Today (two days later) I received a call from a mechanic who said my part had arrived and I could come over to pickup. Within a half hour I arrived at the store. The repair window was closed, and when I asked if the mechanic was available I was told by a rather annoyed man that he went home sick. The front desk staff attempted to help, and checked if the part was located in their area. It was not, so a search would be required in the repair room.
At that point the «annoyed» man loudly said «no more parts for today, that’s it, this is ridiculous.» I protested, saying this was my third trip back to the store and that I had just been called to come and pickup the U-​bolt. In a huff, this gentlemen went to the back to check but first exclaimed «I don’t care if this is your fourth, fifth, or sixth trip back to the store. Snowblowers vibrate, parts fall off all the time!»
Really now? I just purchased a brand new, $ 700 item from Whittemore, which was assembled by the store, and it lost a part during it’s first hour of use? And for this I was given the brush-​off?
While Huffy went into the back I asked the front desk employees to speak with the manager on duty. They said nobody was available, only the owner. So I asked to speak with the owner — and was told that the man who just told me off was the owner!
Wow.
When the OWNER returned with my part, I said how dare he — as the store owner — treat a customer in this fashion. This was entirely inappropriate given the money I had spent and three visits to the store get the part. His response was basically «F*^k you and the horse you rode in on». I parted with similar expletives.
Now if I were the OWNER of a hardware store, and if demand for parts the day after a snowstorm was high, and my employee had gone home sick, I would damned well be WORKING THE PARTS DESK MYSELF, trying my best to keep my customers happy. Instead he handled this in the worst possible fashion, and made me feel like I had made a big mistake ever purchasing an item from this store. He was having a really bad day, he said. Oh really?
I will never shop at Whittemore Hardware again.

I love this place, they have everything you need and are super helpful. Never going to Home Depot again!

These guys are great! One gentleman spent a long time helping me find a bolt for my motorcycle. Another time I was looking for rope to replace a broken pull on my snowblower. They ended up winding it for a small charge. Now Whitmore is my first stop instead of the box stores

Whittemore Hardware gets the highest possible marks from me because of my transaction with them on Saturday. I walked in looking for a certain model of snow blower. They had it in stock, ready for immediate sale. The price was the same as the big box store and I didn’t have to wait three weeks for delivery. On the contrary, at first they told me it would be a couple of days; but when someone saw that it was supposed to snow the next day, they found a way to deliver it that same day. I literally had the snow blower in my garage two hours after I bought it. I appreciated the lesson that the delivery person provided. Five days after purchasing, I used the machine for the first time and was so grateful to have it. It wouldn’t have been possible with the box store. Score one for the local little guy.

Place is great. They are very helpful and you can always find someone to assist you. I go here whenever I need a small item — usually $ 20 or less. They obviously don’t have the inventory of the big box stores or the pricing so you should have that in mind before going. Very nice people.

I had a tuneup on my snowblower and when I got it back it was leaking gas from the shutoff and not running well. They had just rebuilt the carb. When I called to tell them (the work was warrantied), they were somewhat rude on the phone. They did come pick it up and fix it, but it really left a bad taste in my mouth. I’ve been bringing my power equipment there for over 4 years but they lost me as a customer.

I go for the whole buy local thing… PROVIDED the prices are fair, the service is decent and the inventory is ample. Fortunately, Whittemore hits on all three counts.
The staff is knowledgable, friendly and always available. They can answer all your questions on projects big or small. While they can’t compare to Home Depot or Lowes in terms of inventory, Whittemore has what I need for 90% of my projects. And surprisingly, in the price department, they are very competitive with the big box stores. Some things are a few cents more, but when you factor in the cost of gas, your time to get to the store (not to mention the hassle factor of looking for things in the big box, dealing with idiots in the parking lot, etc…) the scales clearly tip in Whittemore’s favor.

A few years ago when we had all the rain and basements were flooding, my elderly mother went into Whittemore to buy the same sump pump that Home Depot had run out of. Home Depot had been selling them for $ 40 and Whittmore charged my poor mother $ 80. THE EXACT SAME SUMP PUMP. Disgusting to take advantage of local elderly residents. When I called to complain, whomever answered the phone (owner, I assume) hung up on me. So I went to the store to try and reason with them. They were so rude to me.
These people are crooks. They do not care about their customers.

Really nice and super helpful employees, so much more knowledgeable than Home Depot. Took off one star because its tiny with no ramp for my stroller. Otherwise I go there for all my hardware needs!

These guys are great. They fit alot of stuff into a small shop. Staff is professional, helpful and knowledgeable. You know — sort of like Home Depot advertises that they are in those ads that are insulting to the intelligence of anyone who’s ever actually been there seeking knowledge. When you ask the staff a product question at Whittemore, they don’t just read you what it says on the side of the box. They actually know stuff.

This is a small hardware store on Main St in Melrose. They have a lot of stuff in there that you need for a small place. It is true that the prices may be higher than a box store, but it is good to support the local economy. I recently brought my snow blower in for a tune up and some minor fixes. They had it finished 3 days early, just in time for another predicted snow storm. The people there couldn’t have been nicer on the phone or in person.

I am surprised to see the low number of stars for this place. During huge rainstorm when every pump in the region was sold out and we had a foot of water in the basement they drove to NH and back for pumps. We probably saved thousands of dollars because they found us a pump! In gratitude, we try to use them first for small purchases. Service has always been great and they usually have what we need. Much nicer than a hike through home depot.

I was trying to buy a Toro lawnmower from a local merchant and hardware store, ad gave them the model number of the unit from Home Depot. The unit was on sale at Home Depot for $ 299 assembled, Whittemore wanted $ 399 for the same item, plus another $ 50 to assemble for a total of $ 449.
When I asked them if they could match the price or come close, they very quickly said they were not interested and hung up…
I have used them for screen repair (pricey) but very good, and they are very helpful on small and hard to find items. I will continue to patronize, just wish they would improve their telephone manners…

the folks here are helpful, and i love local hardware places — much better than the big box variety. Whittemore has a great assortment of stuff, and the staff have always been willing to help me sort out what i need for a project.