The Hardware Store — Local services in Atchison

I was going to give a one star review at first but the managers response to my complaint is what made me put 2 stars. I wish I could do more but unfortunately the intimidation the employee tried to do is too much to give a higher review as that is a manipulative power play and wrong. I told the manager I am all about accountability so I will share my experience as others deserve to know. To give some context my husband has been to this store several times and I have gone twice looking for items for my husband so we have regularly supported this business. I showed up at the store at 5:19 and they close at 6 pm., but they had the door locked. One of the guys in the store saw me at the door but ignored me. I called the store number and asked if they didnt close at 6 anymore and he said they did and I told him the door was locked. The same guy who originally ignored me when he saw me comes to open the door and I asked why it was locked and he replies "well we are getting ready to close anyways". No apologizing for the inconvenience, no how can I help you just plain and dry and combative. I am thinking Why am I being treated this way when you tried to be slick and lock the door an hour before closing? So I dont have time to argue and I just ask for a way to file a complaint, this guy takes me to the front and i ask the manager if I can speak to him in private. The guy starts following us everywhere we walk til I had to tell the manager like I'm not going for the whole intimidation factor of the guy trying to follow us down every aisle so we had to go all the way to the back so I could express my complaint of his unprofessional and dismissive attitude on a mistake on their part not mine. The manager was extremely helpful and even talked on the phone with my husband to try and help. The manager is a 5 star truly but since the guy tried to follow us and intimidate me into not being honest on my complaint I could give no higher than two stars as I dont enable manipulative behavior. I also want to add it was the elderly bald man who I had the encounter with as well same as the other poor review below me. It seems this isnt a one off situation so I have to put one star as his behavior isnt...

Rented a slit seeder. When I picked it up there was a pad lock on the depth setting which didn't allow the seeder to be set at max depth. They said "if it set any deeper than that it just burns the belt right off" I should have left it there at that point since there obviously is something wrong with the machine if it can't be used to it's max depth. I get it home and try it out and due to the pad lock the seeder barely puts marks on the ground on high spots, low spots it wouldn't even do that. Even on perfectly flat area the slits it cut were not even 1/8" deep, at that point I would have been better off scratching up the ground with a bow rake. I ran it for less than 5 minutes and I imediately took it back, I had it for less than an hour, 40 minuets of that time was driving home and back to the hardware store. I explained what was going on to Eric and it seemed like he was going to give me a full refund. Meanwhile Brent came over and asked what was going on, I explained and he proceeded to argue with me that there was nothing wrong with the machine. (Why's the pad lock on it if there's nothing wrong with it?) He then told Eric to charge me for 2 hours for the disfuntional machine that wouldn't do what it was supposed to. I won't be back, from my experince Belt Rent-all in st joe has better rates and takes accountability when their machines don't work like they are...

If you think back to the stories your daddy told you about the mom and pop hardware stores they had in his day, you're already familiar with this one. They aren't just eager to help you make a sale, but truly care about solving your problem if it's within their power. They have searched through catalogs until they found one that carried an unusual kind of hanger my autistic son uses and them ordered them for me without my asking for anything other than "you don't happen to carry these weird hangers do you?" they don't just ask what you want, but what it's for, and give phenomenal advice even if it means they don't...