Needham Garden & Hardware — Local services in Needham

They replaced the clutch on my five year old Ariens snowblower and returned it after testing the machine. Unfortunately there were a few minor issues outstanding that caused the machine to not drive in a straight line. They were great to adjust the skids and air pressure etc to make it run straight for free (after three days in a row of telling me to leave the machine outside but not showing up). Guy was very nice about it on the phone. Again they returned it after testing it. Next snow storm I try to engage the auger and the machine shuts off. After taking the cover off I see that they put in a bolt that’s too long and was pinching the auger belt and causing the engine to stall as soon as I engaged the auger. I removed and cut the bolt in half and reinstalled it and plowed the driveway, but after I finished, called and explained that I had to cut a bolt in half that pinched and almost punctured the auger belt and I wanted it replaced. I specified the exact bolt and belt. Again they were nice about it and took the machine back (this time showing up without calling to schedule a pickup) but didn’t communicate the issue to the mechanics. A few days later they called and defensively said the bolt was the right size, as apparently none of the three people I spoke with previously wrote down what I told them, and so they nicely but needlessly replaced both belts. They also told me then, after previously testing the machine twice, that now it needs a new auger bearing. Frustrated from them twice returning a fixed and “tested” high quality and relatively new snowblower only to not have it work, and get spoken to disrespectfully about a mistake they made with the wrong bolt, I pushed back as to why after testing it so much and working on it so much, the auger bearing now needed to be replaced “very badly” at a high cost. When I asked to speak to the manager, the guy who picked up very quickly lost his temper and yelled at me. I told him to not replace the auger bearing and return me the machine, which they did free of charge. I subsequently brought the machine to a local and highly recommended mechanic who said the auger bearing is fine. Machine has run great since. Overall, my impression is there are some nice people there and they try to do the right thing, but their communication, competence, and execution leave a lot...

I would like to take a moment to acknowledge Matt. My blind brother and I visited the store in search of a RedMax Leaf Blower EBZ 9000 and a weed whacker. After some time without success, we continued to explore the store until we encountered Matt. We inquired about the items, and he promptly offered his assistance. His response was both swift and efficient. He ensured that the equipment was in good condition and took the time to demonstrate how to use it. Thanks to his exceptional support, we ended up purchasing two RedMax leaf blowers and two weed whackers. Matt's politeness and kindness truly stood out. His willingness to assist my blind brother meant a great deal to me. As a single mother, I have witnessed my brother's journey since he lost his vision at the age of six due to an accident. We often remind each other that one provides strength while the other offers sight. Together, we are working towards fulfilling our dreams by building a business. The outstanding help we received from Matt was invaluable to us. I wanted to share a bit of our story to ensure that Matt receives the recognition he deserves for providing such attentive service and creating a remarkable...

They sold me a MacKissic Leaf Shredder for a grand and failed to honor the warranty

So I have a pretty big piece of property with lots of leaves and small branches to shred. They told me this would handle the branches and leaves around my house with no problem. Wow were they wrong. After about 5 hours of use, the rubber baffle on the chipper was destroyed and now no matter what I put in it (leaves or sticks) is all blows out the chipper opening and into your face. After about 10 hours, one of the vines I put in the chipper wrapped around the shaft and caused the engine seal to fail. When that happened all the oil leaked out and the engine blew. I then had a $1000 hunk of steel. So I took it back to the store and all they could tell me is that it was my fault as I had let it run out of oil. It was obvious why it failed, but the two bit store I bought it from had nobody that could really troubleshoot what went wrong as they never took it apart enough to determine the real cause. (Pictures available to prove that was the cause.) I discovered this only as I was putting on a new...