Almaden Ace Hardware

I love this store — this is the only place I shop for household thing I need NOW. Otherwise, I do amazon. Little store with tons of stuff and the team is always very helpful.

Poor Customer service. I have lived all over the country and the one thing I loved about Ace was the excellent customer service. You walk in the door and someone is there asking if you need help. You pay more, but the service is great. NOT THIS STORE. WOW. Very unfriendly and they never ask if you need help. Also, be prepared for some frowns if you return an item — it will not be greeted with a smile. While Home Depot is large and not very personable, at least you get better prices, obviously much better selection, and not treated like you a liar when you return something.
One more thing, beware of the associate JACI — she is the rudest sales person you will ever meet. It’s shocking they keep her around given how disrespectful she is. Maybe her manager should reach out to me so I can provide an example of complete disrespect she showed me when I was at the sore. I have officially boycotted this store — too bad b/​c it’s convenient for me :(

Ace in Almaden gets an F for customer service. My daughter walked down to Ace to get duct tape. Too bad for her she was a little too close to closing time. She was in the store, duct tape in hand, ready to go to the register. The clerk turned the lights off and said «We’re closed.» That was that. A wasted trip. I guess they didn’t want her money. I guess going home was more important to the clerk. A normal customer service interaction would have let the customers in the store complete their purchases. It’s not like she was lingering or taking too long. She went in, grabbed duct tape and headed to the register. No sale.

So far, after our move back to Almaden, we’ve had to make 3 stops here and I have to say I’m impressed! For such a little hardware store (in comparison to Home Depot/​Lowes) in a smaller community it has had everything we were looking for! I mean, we were at Home Depot the other day looking for a magnetic screwdriver set and they didn’t have it! But, low and behold this place did! Also, the staff are very friendly and we’ve been greeted every time we walked in :)

I came in for some help repairing a leaky faucet and Andy and Mike both helped me find what I needed, explained how to install it, and gave me a few alternate solutions. I was impressed by their knowledge and willingness to quickly help me get what I needed. Great service!

BUYER BEWARE! Just tried to do a return on some items that I’d purchased at the Los Gatos store and was informed that THEY DONT ACCEPT MERCHANDISE BOUGHT AT OTHER ACE HARDWARE STORES!
I like to support local businesses and I like ACE because they’re usually helpful. However this policy — if, in fact, it is one — is lame and should be made clear at the time of purchase.
Think twice before making purchases here.

It has everything. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. It wins big convenience points for being located in a shopping center with Safeway, restaurants, two banks, Starbucks, and my favorite dry cleaner.

Well I want to say that the Ace selection really saved me today. I must admit I tend to go to those high volume hardware stores with hd initials, but they did not have a screw smaller than #6. ACE had #4s in ½″ and many other sizes as well and not just that. They had them in stainless steel and regular steel. They not only had standard nuts, but had nylon lock nuts. It was AWESOME!
And like always they have an attentive staff, something pretty much unheard of at that other place. Over there I have to call customer service from the lumber dept to get a manager to send someone after waiting 15min.
Anyway also check out their great remodel. Very clean looking store indeed.

nicco is the man, he knows where everything is at and is smart and helpful!!! nan has a welcoming person. these two deserve recognition

Hidden gem in a busy plaza for your hardware needs.
Parking can be a challenge depending on the time of day but usually theres always parking somewhere in the plaza. The employees are very helpful when assistance is needed.

I just left this store looking for a water heater part. It was a last minute problem and the store was about to close. The clerk let me in and he knew right where the part was. It was awesome… The customer was friendly and knew right where everything was. The new remodel job is fantastic. I love this store!

I went there today to buy some anchors to hang a shelf. The store is being remodeled. I found this out AFTER I tried to find wall anchors. I asked the sales lady where things were and she said «all over». Is that customer service? Could she have asked me what I was looking for when I walked in and told me the store was depleted? She was almost sarcastic. Hoping they are remodeling their employees with their store because there are a lot of hardware stores in Almaden and better customer service!

Parking is very cramped here. Store is large but also cramped with lots of merchandise. Very difficult to find items as there seems to be no signage or organization of departments. You will have to ask for help to find merchandise.
Staff is helpful, pricing seemed high for backpacks. If you just want to browse you will find something to buy.
Just wish store was better organized with signage. 3 stars

This is the only place locally (beyond an auto dealer) that has a key coding machine. The keys run ~ $ 60, significantly less than the stealerships.

This is a traditional small hardware store that carries almost everything you could possibly need in life. Finding what you need can be a challenge because the place is packed to the gills, but the staff is normally helpful and friendly. Its much more convenient than driving to Home Depot or OSH.

I love this place. I think the employees are tested on where specific products are located in the store because they never fail to ask me what I need and then point me directly to it. Who wants to wander around that big warehouse store competitor, passing employee after employee who looks right past you, wasting time?

I left this place VERY frustrated that I couldn’t find my 25w type B bulb today. But, that isn’t Ace’s fault. The clerks were helpful and didn’t hassle me one bit when I returned a bulb that I bought that did not work.
So in the end, they did their jobs well. Friendly service, and I can’t fault them for not carrying a bulb that Home Depot didn’t carry either. Turns out a lamp specialty store carried it, but I got a different one that is working fine in this putzy little lamp that was hardly worth the trouble.

The staff is really nice and usually helpful but I have to say to stand in line here is a bit of a nightmare. They have this weird tape on the ground about 6 feet away from the register that everyone is suppose to form one line at, but it is so confusing everyone just huddles… I hate the checking out part… it is close to home so I go there when need be. But very rarely.
Too bad. Maybe they will fix the register portion and make it more user friendly.

This is usually the place my husband likes to go to. For me, it’s just ok. It’s like an old fashioned hardware store. They seem to somehow carry everything in this small place. I wish I was still a kid because I would love to come into this place for their candy. They have candy that the big grocery stores don’t stock.
But, other than that, I always feel like I might be paying too much for something here. It is close and so it’s nice to have someplace in Almaden Valley to go to when you don’t want to hit up Home Depot again and the trip to OSH seems like overkill also.
Lately I have had occasion to get keys made here, The last several times I have had that done I have been disappointed in the outcome. The keys don’t work (for two separate places) which has not only caused problems, but the necessity to save receipts, come back and have it all done over again. Even a close place turns this task into a pain when the necessity for it becomes too much.

I keep going in here when I need something small — something I deem not worth my time and the gas (even driving a hybrid) to get to OSH or Home Depot … but I rarely leave without wondering how they stay in business (heh, likely through other people who don’t want to drive further for one little thing?!) This place is pricey and the staff are almost-​never helpful (either in offering to help, or in actually being able to help when cornered and asked a question).
Yesterday I went in to buy four new castors for my parrot cage. I had to find them myself, the staff were all chitchatting with one customer about the weather (literally). So I wandered a bit, found what I needed, and went back to the front to stand in line to pay (one line feeds to both registers). When I was next, another customer went ahead of me straight to the register. I said «Excuse me I was next» — he ignored me. Now, I was on the cell at the time, so I asked my friend to hold a sec, put the phone down and said louder, to let the teller hear too, I said «Excuse me, I was in line and am next» — both the guy and the teller (both tellers in fact) ignored me.
So I put down the castors (and the candy bar I’d picked up) where I was and left saying «Fine, I’m happy to take my business somewhere else.» I’m not sure they even noticed me leave.
Whatever — I went to OSH, and got what I needed, with help and input from the staff depsite OSH being *swamped* with people, at half the price (and no candy bar, so my hips would likely give ACE a 5-​star just on that alone).
Maybe this will convince me, once and for all, to quit going in there. OSH isn’t that much further, is definitely cheaper, and hey they’re a sponsor of the Sharks! :)