Ace Hardware — Local services in Titusville

No Returns Ordering Online In Store

I received two yeti 64oz ramblers for Christmas. One was purchased from this store, but it was ordered there online because they don't carry it in store. Obviously, I don't need two of the same size so I decided to exchange it for a smaller version so I could have a big one and a smaller one. I went to three different Ace locations in Orlando because I am not local to the original purchase location. All three told me that because they did not have the same product on the shelves, they could not accept it even though I had the receipt.

So, I decided to call corporate and see if they could exchange it because every Ace is a franchise and that creates problems with inventories. Corporate told me to take it to the original location that it was ordered from. So, I called this store where it was originally purchased and let them know the situation to make sure it was worth the drive and that they would actually be able to return it. I even let them know that it was an online purchase made AT their store. They confirmed that they could over the phone so I sucked it up and brought the yeti an hour and a half away back to this store. They were very nice at the store and tried to exchange it, but were unable to due to their system. They told us to try with Yeti, but Yeti was extremely rude and unhelpful.

Now, I have absolutely no way to return or exchange this yeti that I don't need after being told I could and there being a clear return/exchange policy on the receipt saying "return in store". My goal with this review is to bring attention to Ace's flawed return/exchange system for online orders and potentially make corporate aware that they are discouraging online sales when things like this happen. The only fault of this store was mistakenly telling me that they could return it when they couldn't and making me drive an hour and a half both ways for no reason. I would have added a star for their customer service if I didn't just spend three wasted hours on the road because of them.

I hope this gets resolved or at the very least, something was learned so that others don't go through what I had to. Taking this to Twitter next to get corporate's attention; these things...

Me and my wife needed a cooler for a tubing trip. On our way to lunch we passed this place so we stopped in. I wanted to look at some pack out mounting brackets so we stopped there first and I didn’t see anything I thought would fit my truck then we went out to the garden center and looked at some Plants during this time we had already been asked like four times if we needed help finding something and we said we were just looking around. Then we went to the cooler section and my wife was looking at the yeti cups trying to figure out which one she wanted. We had two more people come up to us and ask us if we needed help. We said we were fine. Then she found the cups she wanted so we looked at the coolers we were trying to figure out what color and what size yeti cooler we wanted when another person asked us if we needed help and we said we were fine Then they just stood there and watched us until we found the cooler we wanted Me and my wife both thought this was weird, but didn’t say anything Then when we went to check out We weren’t allowed to check out until I proved The name on the credit card was mine by getting my ID out of the truck. So I went out to my truck got my ID came back in. And proved I was not stealing someone’s credit card. Wow, what an experience Me and my wife put our cooler in the truck. Got in the truck talked about how weird the hole thing was and decided never to come back. I just think it’s super embarrassing. Being treated like that. If I ever want yeti stuff again, I will go to Bass Pro. If I ever need parts for a job, I will go to Home Depot She told me it was company policy to match the ID name to your credit card name I don’t know why I should feel embarrassed about spending $400 on a cooler and a cup but I do. If you’re this worried about people stealing, just lock the front doors and don’t...

We went to Ace to purchase some Stihl power yard equipment, including the KombiMotor and several attachments. There was one hanging on the rack for anyone to handle, as well as several attachments. I'd asked about a manual, to which he said "I think we have some in the back". I'd asked for a boxed unit for the motor & attachments, to which the clerk replied "Stihl doesn't work that way, you just take the one here".

I was blown away at that answer - I'm basically buying a display unit, handled by who knows how many people - at full price. I called him out on this by asking "how many people have handled this?!" to which he replied "just me". Oh really? I asked "so no customers have ever handled this, dropped it, etc.??" to which he said "oh, I don't know". At that point I'd had enough & said "we're done here". If that's how Stihl does business, I want no part of it.

I wrote to Stihl and Ace to complain about this and the answers I got were very different from what I was told from the clerk. None of their products come in boxes. Upon purchase, the unit is gassed up, started, & if needed, tuned up. The customer is then given a short course on the use and safe operation of the product. The customer is then provided with tools, spare parts, and a manual.

The manager, "Michael", then contacted me via email & said he'd call me to speak to me personally. I'd asked that he call after 6PM. We never received a call. I wrote him & told him that at this point, we're going elsewhere. We basically got a "sorry" and that the clerk would be retrained in Stihl procedures.

All too often, companies are right there to take your money. It's when you experience a problem that they show their true colors. We're basically done with Ace. Too many other...