Ace Hardware — Local services in Portage

I rented a UHaul from this location. Apparently, UHaul customers are NOT CUSTOMERS. As I waited in line to return the truck, I was told by one employee that they could not check me in - I should just go home and have a receipt emailed to me. I said I would wait, as there were discrepancies in the amount of gas they claimed was in the tank and what there actually was. The lady said again, just go home and get an email and call UHaul, I CAN'T HELP YOU - but I never asked her to, because i knew from picking up the truck, she couldn't help me. At this point, I do not trust any of them, I want to be present when they check the truck. Bob was called, over intercom, to check me in, 10 minutes later he arrived. In the meantime, it was my turn in line to talk to the ONE person who could handle the rental(Mattie).WHEN I STEPPED UP IN LINE, SHE REFUSED TO WAIT ON ME. SHE STATED THAT SHE COULDN'T HELP ME BECAUSE " SHE HAD CUSTOMERS TO WAIT ON." I ASKED, "WAS I NOT A CUSTOMER?' SHE REPLIED, "I CAN HELP THE NEXT PERSON IN LINE." "Bob finally arrived and started mouthing off that I should act like an adult and he planned on "taking his sweet time" to check me in" and he did. How adult of him. When I finally got my receipt, I asked about the gas discrepancy, I was told call Uhaul, I asked for a pen and Mattie? turned and walked away - like the adult she is? I would never rent from Uhaul again, if this is what they think is excellent customer service. LYING about the amount of gas in the tank is unacceptable. I took pictures of the gas gague when i started, it didn't read full, but i thought maybe the guage was off. I took pictures of the guage after I added gas - the tank was definetly down 5-6 gallons, when I started. Yes, in the end I had to call UHaul because of the gas, but I never should have had to if they hadn't lied about the gas and if they hadn't been so rude about their...

I try to support local businesses as much as possible, including when it comes to my hardware needs. I try to only go to the large chain hardware stores as a last resort. I try to either go to the Ace hardware at the intersection of Central Ave. & Willow Creek in Portage or the Ace hardware near Central Ave. & Ripley in Lake Station. On Monday morning 10/25/21I pulled into the parking lot to the Ace hardware on Central & Willow a few minutes after they were scheduled to open. The lights were on and I saw a woman who worked there approach the front. As I got out of my vehicle to approach the door I tried motioning to her to see if they were actually open, but I got no acknowledgement and I felt like she ignored me. When I got to the door a huge dog (well over 100 pounds) came to the door and before I even tried to pull the door open the dog began barking ferociously, so logically I didn't even try to open the door. The woman came to the door still ignoring me with no acknowledgement of my presence and took the dog away. I tapped on the door to see if she even noticed me and as she was taking the dog away her first and only acknowledgement of me was to rudely roll her eyes at me and raise her finger as to say don't you dare knock on my door again. That was the first and only time she even attempted to communicate anything to me. After that without a second thought I got back in my vehicle and drove away. I will no longer support that Ace hardware but will support the one on Central and Ripley in Lake Station. I don't know what caused such rude behavior but at this point I don't really care. Not only will I not knock on your door, I won't ever walk through it again. If you can't be even remotely courteous to someone who comes to support your business, why are you even in business...

My truck rental experience was truly disappointing from start to finish.

The staff - all 3 we interacted with - were rude and acted like my rental was an inconvenience. I received a confirmation call from another location than the one I had chosen and was initially given a pick-up time earlier than I had requested (or could arrange for); when I expressed my schedule needs for a later time, I was made to feel like I needed to accommodate the rental location rather than the other way around. When my partner went to pick up the truck, the staff again acted like the rental was a bother and inconvenience. When the cashier had issues handling the payment, a manager was brought over whose offensively foul language and abrasive attitude was wholly unprofessional. When we later returned the truck, we again we met with an overall lack of communication and rudeness when we were spoken with. When I expressed concern/confusion and requested clarification on the $40 difference in my final bill, I received an attitude for having asked (complete with loud sigh and an eye roll) and an abrupt explanation of miles - largely because I had to travel 20min out of my way to the rental location.

Overall, I would say the customer service was truly abysmal and the truck decent. I would choose U-Haul again, but would rather use my own vehicle than rent a truck from this...