Young's Ace Hardware — Local services in Lodi

I usually try to avoid posting negative reviews, but in this case, I feel like it needs to be said.

One of the things I’ve always appreciated about Ace is that it’s a convenient local hardware store with all the small parts and pieces you might not find easily at a big-box store — and you don’t have to walk a mile to get to them. That’s why I stopped by the Ace in Lodi today, hoping to quickly find a few gas fittings and a replacement hose. I even brought the old parts with me to make it easy.

When I walked in, a salesperson greeted me and asked what I was looking for. Great start — or so I thought.

After showing him what I needed, he glanced at the items, nodded, and said, “Yeah, we have those.” Then he walked me a short distance down the main aisle, pointed vaguely toward the far end, and said, “Our brass fittings are down there somewhere.” And that was it — no offer to help find the exact parts, no follow-up questions, nothing.

To be honest, I don’t enjoy going to stores in the first place, and what makes it worse is when the people working there seem indifferent about whether I find what I need. I’m not expecting red carpet treatment, but if you ask what I need and I’m standing there with parts in hand, it would go a long way if you walked me down the aisle, showed me where things are, and helped me find the specific fittings — especially those oddball pieces that aren’t always obvious.

Instead, I was left feeling like I was an interruption. It wasn’t that the store didn’t have what I needed — it’s that the person working there couldn’t be bothered to help me find it.

Here’s the truth: everything they sell is available online, often with free next-day delivery. The only reason I go to a local hardware store is because I need something now. But experiences like this make me think twice. If I can be a little more patient, I can avoid the frustration — and the dismissive customer service.

I might be back — but only if I absolutely have to. Not...

Me and my friend went into this location a few weeks ago because we were trying to find a certain chainsaw blade for a Stihl chainsaw and they may have been the only location that had this in stock. We walked in and we checked their chainsaw blades and saw that the home for the one that we needed was empty and we immediately walked up to an employee to see if they could help us and they said that they were out of that blade. We then asked if they would be able to check to see if the Lockeford location had this blade in stock because I remembered that the Young's family owns both that location and the Lockeford one. Instead of trying to help me and my friend so we wouldn't make a wasted drive to Lockeford, the employee said that he couldn't call the Lockeford store and would not give an explanation as to why but obviously he didn't want to help us and we were very frustrated and we said "we will call on our own" and we immediately left. I will never stop at this location again especially since the employees don't seem to want to make an effort to actually help their customers but instead expect the customers to do their job for them!! We called the Lockeford location and luckily they have it in stock so we were able to get it and we complained about the Lodi store to the manager there and he said he would make a note of it. I would stop at the Lockeford location before I would go to this one because the employees at the Lodi one don't seem to want to...

First I'd like to say, this is a great local hardware store. I own several BGE's & their selection of EEgcessories is phenomenal! Also large selection of supplies for all your BBQ needs. Pellets, woods, hickory, pecan mesquite wood chunks & chips etc. Also have a large selection of rubs, seasonings, bbq sauces etc. Why the one star? As soon as I walked in, I was asked to remove my backpack & leave it at the counter... Seriously? I'm sure this place has ample security cameras around, in addition to the numerous staff that are wandering around asking if you need any help at all. I'm not a person that would shop lift anything, 62 yrs old & have a back pack to make it easier to carry a few inhalers for my asthma. I can see if someone younger in elementary school walked in with a backpack but even that is a bit ridiculous! This policy is ridiculous as you don't know the reason why some people carry backpacks or does this store just assume anyone with a backpack is gonna rip something off? Ridiculous & I won't be back & am going to inform all my BGE group to avoid this place for their Big Green Egg accessories or for any other BBQ needs. Just...