Thanks to Ace Hardware (by Pam Garland)

In this day and age of the mega-stores, we all complain about customer service and how it used to be. Who hasn’t had the experience of the cashier that doesn’t make eye contact, much less smile. Often they can’t count back change, but instead depend on the computer to tell them how much is owed back to the customer. Try finding someone to assist you in a particular department. Either you get the standard “not my department” or they just tell you they don’t know and wander away.

There are still a few places here in Greenville where customer service counts. Ace Hardware and Eikenberry’s come to mind. At Eikenberry’s you can still get a smile and a “can I help you find something?” They still assist you with carrying your groceries out to your car and will even deliver groceries to the elderly or disabled. Plus, the store isn’t so big that you need to sit down and rest between the front of the store to the back. With the mega-stores, it’s no wonder that they have to have so many shopping scooters.

I don’t think I’ve ever been in Ace Hardware where I haven’t been met by an employee asking if they can assist me. I’m the one sent to the hardware store for a part in the middle of a home improvement project. Often, I have no idea what the part is or what it does, but my husband needs it quick. With my husband in a crawl space waiting, I can run to Ace and be back home in minutes. Ace employees are always so knowledgeable and not only will take me straight to the product, but will usually modify it if I need it. They will cut the pipe to the size I need or open the package and make sure the replacement part is the same as the original part. I’ve also asked the management to match a price on an item I found cheaper at the mega-store and often they can. It never hurts to ask.

Recently, I went to Ace because my Black & Decker weed eater stopped working correctly. I had purchased it a little over a year ago and it did have a two year warranty. But normally, the stores will tell you to contact the manufacturer for the warranty on a product over a year old. Not Ace. They replaced it immediately. Special thanks to Ace employee Bob Reed for his excellent customer service.

I’m just as guilty as everyone else for shopping at the one-stop mega-stores to save a few dollars. But I think it is important that we also support the small local business owners too. At both Eikenberry’s and Ace Hardware, you can run in quickly and grab what you need within minutes and get excellent customer service. Both businesses have sponsored numerous school and community projects to support Greenville. Let’s show them support back by frequenting their stores.