Westlake Ace Hardware — Local services in Ellicott City

OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SUPPORT! BLOWS HOME DEPOT AWAY!!! Ask a question from an employee, they know where to find it! Ask how to work with it? They tell you how it works! Don't get that from Home Depot. I remember when Home Depot was coming rumored. I told Andy Clark and said he should consider selling before they put him out of business. He said there are loyal customers that would keep him afloat. THANK GOD HE DID! Years later, the Home Depot is a JOKE! With kids in the isles, older adults that can barely speak english or understand them and when you ask how something works or where it is, they don't know. If they do know where something is by rare chance, they pick up the box and begin reading the instructions. Heck, I can do that myself! THANK THE LORD JESUS Andy Clark is still around with his hardware store. When I need to find something unique or that I need real help with, I don't bother with Home Depot. I go to Clarks! They help me find what it is I need, and know how to explain to me to do what it is I need to do on any project. Sometimes his price on some things are maybe a $1 to .50 cents higher like say on Spray paint, but he has spray paints that Home Depot don't carry like Epoxy paint!

And when you walk into Home Depot, sometimes I haven't been able to find an employee for as many as 17 isles! Walk into Clarks and there are ten people there at the front asking if they can help you! TOTAL DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE over Home Depot when you have to walk around for ten minutes and finally ask the person to call their manager on duty because the person doesn't know their own department! Had to do that several times! True stories! Spent 30 minutes trying to get someone in Plumbing to help me one time and not one person in the store knew a thing about plumbing! I had to leave and go to Clarks to get my answer! Same for paint and hardware. Spent 17 minutes trying to find a person in hardware once until I finally had to go to the service desk to get a Home Depot store manager to help me!

And I don't have to buy a whole package of screws from Home Depot for $1.25 when I only need one .12 cent screw! And nothing takes the place of asking someone in Clarks hardware where something is and the person walks you right to it on the shelf rather than the person at Home Depot that looks at me like a dunce when I ask them were something is in their OWN DEPARTMENT they're assigned to and they tell me, "I'M NOT SURE!" Well Hello Not Sure! My name is Shawn Kelley! And I'm...

TLD: rude customer service and tried to sell me an open box lawnmower as a new one.

Update: per their below request, I email them on Sept 7th. On October 7th they replied back with "Thank you". Lol taking aways 1 star from my original review and definitely not shopping at this location anymore.

I was there on 8/29/20 to buy the Ego Select Cut Lawn Mower. The sales guy I talked to was very nice and seem very knowledgeable. However, they didn't have the mower in stock and it wouldn't be in stock until the end of September.

I did some research and decided to get the EGO POWER+ 21" SELF-PROPELLED MOWER LM2102SP instead. Before I finalize my purchased I had a couple of questions. I returned to the store and asked for help on 9/5/20. The first guy I talked to was again very nice. He was new and didn't know the answer. He went and got the expert (this guy was wearing black). I waited 15 minutes before the expert showed up but they were very busy today and he was helping another customer. So I completely understand. I started asking the guy a couple of questions and got a very unwelcoming vibe from him and he didn't know the answers to my questions. At this point I realized I probably know more about this product than the sales guy. So I decided to get the mower anyways.

The sale guy went to the back and return 5 minutes later with the mower. To my surprised he pushed the mower out without the box. He put all of the accessories inside the grass bag. At that point I asked him why the mower isn't inside the original packaging. He looked at me and said something like "why do you want it in the box? I thought you wanted it outside the box." At no point during our conversation did I said to him that I want the mower out of the box.

I was about to spend $600 on a mower and this guy was trying to sell me an open box item. This could have been a returned item or a defective item. It's not normal to buy a brand new item that's not in the original packaging.

Anyways I went to another Ace Hardware store and got what I needed and got friendly service during the process.

I gave this place 3 stars because there are friendly people who works there. I just happened to get someone who didn't want to be...

I went to 7 Home Depots and Lowe's to get a door 🔑 key cut, to no avail. This key apparently does not exist in popularity any more. At 3 of the 7 locations, some random person would make a suggestion.of Ace in Ellicott City.

I kept meaning to go, but had business in other areas and kept trying other areas. A 4th person suggested Ace Hardware in Ellicott City. He explained that they were a lot like a general store from the olden days, carrying a lage amount of hard to find things that no one else carries.

I got the memo and made a special trip on this key mission. Large ample parking lot was already 80% full on this early Thursday afternoon. The patrons looked peaceful and happy...hunh. Strange. The lawns were manicured, everything neatly done and in colorful bloom like a park, the grassy areas like a golf course. Ok...I am happy to be in this lovely parking lot.

I walk in through the wide doors...great accommodations for the amount of people entering and egressing simultaneously. I scan the signs and see they have cleary marked the sections making navigating a new store a breeze. From the doorway I easily identify the highly reccommended key cutting station. Ok...I'm in....let's see what happens.

Uh-oh ...trouble....tooooooo many shiny pretty wonderful things to take in on my direct short path to the key stand. Hmmmmm....do I need an Ace Hardware sponsor?? I feel weak.😰😂

Within seconds of reaching the counter, a friendly face with a nametag that says "Dave" greets me warmly. I explain the events leading to my travel to this store and tell him although I am on a stick and move timeframe today on key business, I most certainly will be back for other things, whether the elusive key is found here or not.

He chuckled at my drool and set about his key business...delivering to me in mere moments 4 perfectly cut keys, thus solving my key debacle in less than 2 minutes flat!

I am a fan...I may even plan a girl's trip to this Ace. Yes, people, it's THAT good. Take a lovely drive down Route 40 and find out for yourself, grab a lunch and make a day of it. Lots of dining and drink choices in...