Grafton Ace Hardware — Local services in Grafton

Picked up a EGO Power lawnmower on 5/4. Got home and setup the lawnmower only to find the battery charger was showing a red first light and the battery was not charging. Looked at the manual and the red light is supposed to signify that the battery is too hot or too cold. It is Wisconsin, but it was over 50 degrees. I brought it inside and let it sit on the charger for over an hour, still nothing. Did a little research online and found that sometimes the batteries need to be reset out of the box. Went through the reset procedure, still was not charging.

At this point I called Ace and told them that my battery was not charging on the lawnmower I had just purchased. They asked how long it had been charging, I told them it has been sitting on the charger for over an hour. The employee said he talked to the owner and suggested it takes longer than an hour and should be charged overnight (the manual says an hour for full charge). I told the employee the first red light on the charger was on. I told them what the manual said about this. Instead of pushing further, I told them I would wait and see what happens overnight.

The next day, battery is still not charging. Called and they said to bring in the mower so they can exchange it. I get to the store and the employee then tells me that I will not be exchanging for another lawnmower, but that the store owner wants to look at the battery and charger. Unfortunately for me, he had already left for the day.

At this point I'm upset. I waited at the store for the manager who had apparently just stepped out and would be back in 15 minutes. 30 minutes later the manager said this is the first they are hearing of the issue and that they have new employees who don't know the process. I got nowhere with the manager and they insisted it had to be looked at.

It is now 5/6, I call at 10:30 and they apparently had still not looked at the battery. I asked to talk to the owner. I am then told that the battery is bad and they will have a new battery waiting for me at the front register. I went in a picked up the battery. Not sure who I talked to, but he explained that he has experience with the batteries and that's why he needed to look at it to verify whether it was the battery or the charger. I took the new battery and left.

Three wasted days, when they could have just replaced the battery and charger when I called the day I picked up the machine or exchanged the entire lawnmower. They could have looked at it all they wanted at that point instead of wasting my time. Very frustrating and of course there was no apology for the inconvenience.

Quick follow-up. The new battery was fully...

I don't know the operational model of this store, or how ownership effects it - compared to other Ace stores... but it's quite a mess.

They're stuck in an era of no computers. They're not digital at all... everything is on paper and clearly discombobulated. Here's just one example:

A simple phone call to inquire about a power washer. I was told that of the total two (2) that they have to offer, only one (1) was available. I asked "do I need to give you my name, to reserve this?" The nice young man on the other end of line assured me that I do not. Approximately 15 minutes later, I enter the store and pick up a few things and make my way over to the rental area. "I'm so sorry, as soon as I hung up with you someone else rented the power washer".

Slightly confused, I said "Ok, that's fine. When will one of them become available next?" I was told "Tomorrow at 9 AM, and I'll put it down right here (this is when a 2 inch stack of papers called a calendar, that has the dates manually written into it, is pulled out)". I let the nice boy know that my name is Eric and here is my number, please call me as soon as it's available.

No problem.

The next day: 9 AM, no call. 10 AM, no call. 11 AM. I call.

"Oh are you Eric?" "Yes, is the power washer available?" "They were supposed to call you if it is, let me check for you" "Thank you" 10 minutes later a new voice comes on the line "Oh man, I'm so sorry. It'll be back here at noon" "What do you mean noon? I was told that of the two (2) that you guys rent, one (1) of them was going to be free at 9 AM?" "No we only have one (1)"

At this point, my entire weekend plan of power washing the paint off my deck so I could start building my pergola and then begin staining it were canceled. As I work full time (like many of you) and I have a 10 month old son... I do not get 3 day weekends very often.

Thanks Ace, thanks for not joining the rest of us in 2016 and buying computers. Or at least some free software that can help schedule your rentals...

After talking to some of my neighbors ( I live in the area ), I have come to learn that Ace is significantly over priced on everything. Paired with the inability to be an organized business, I will not be shopping there ever again. I've already spent over 1000$ on materials, yard supply, garden supply, etc... elsewhere.

The people and friendliness there 10/10 The variety of goods 7/10 The cost of said goods 4/10 The fact that they're horribly unorganized 1/10

If you're going to waste my time over a 3 day weekend, tell...

Helped Saved My Basement! Strong storms came through the evening of Tuesday, Sept 28, 2018, and the power went out in Oostburg. I ended up on a mad scramble to find a generator to run my sump pump and Ozaukee Ace Hardware came through like champs, staying open past their normal closing time to allow me time to drive down to their store and buy a generator. This was in stark contrast to my experience with Harbor Freight Sheboygan that same night who actually had generators in stock but when I spoke to them on the phone were unwilling to stay open 5 minutes longer to sell me a $700 generator. Both the clerk I initially spoke to and the manager at Harbor Freight said, "Sorry, we just closed and we can't stay open for you" even though I explained my basement was about to flood, was literally 5 minutes away, and would pay that instant over the phone with a credit card. It was after this experience that I called Ozaukee Ace Hardware as they were the only place still open. Thank goodness for the extremely nice people who were there that night! They truly lived up to what their brand is known for--quality products at a fair price with very helpful and friendly...