Aptos Ace Hardware

Doug Crocker

2024-03

Always helpful staff to help find anything you need. Literally the opposite of the big box stores where you have to walk around in hopes of finding someone to help. Different business strategies but I sure like having the quick and easy help when I need it! I definitely always recommend Ace for the lesser experienced DIYer.

Dennis Derecho

2024-03

One of the long-standing "traditional" style hardware stores in the Santa Cruz area. They always seem to have sufficient help that is ready to offer assistance.

Tom Horner

2024-01

Great local hardware store. Easy to get in and out quickly.

Ralph Wadensweiler

2023-05

I have been meaning to write a review for this Ace Hardware store for some time now so, here it is: 5 stars for an amazing paint department. The paint team is super helpful, well beyond any support you will receive from the Kelly Moore team in the same shopping center. In fact, I have quit buying Kelly Moore paint after many frustrating encounters there. Go to the the helpful paint store here at Ace; you will not be disappointed!! In addition, the rest of the store is stocked with a full selection of any other items you need for the kitchen, garden, garage, etc., also with friendly employees, ready to help you with anything you need.

Char Ahgg

2022-05

Great local business with inaccessible store. Seems this store is for able bodied patrons only. If you use a mobility device of any kind do not come to this store. Store has 3 levels with stairs for each. Each level has exterior doors that are chained up. Good luck finding someone to unlock the ONLY access there is. It’s humiliating asking for assistance to open one pair of doors takes 25 minutes and 8 people. Then the same circus is needed to get out.

J Rafanan

2023-05

Looking for something to fix, work on, clean up, build, paint, hammer, chop, screw, bolt, eat?, Well this Ace has a lot so pretty much if you need it they most likely have it. Friendly staff and very helpful. I don't know Ace personally but I think of him as a friend 🤔

BBR2

2021-05

Nice hardware store. Milwaukee, Dewalt, and Craftsman are their tool brands. Key cutting is the old fashioned style. I've done paint matching there and it worked out fine. Staff are friendly. They seem to have a little of a lot of things.

Lansing Huck

2019-05

I love my local Ace Hardware. The prices are not that much higher than Home Depot and they have a wide variety of items, much more than you might think. Plus the people who work there tend to know what they are talking about when I go there for something that I am not familiar with, much more so than Home Depot. Plus unlike Home Depot, I don't get the impression that the sales people are trying to avoid me. Usually when I walk in there is someone right there who asks me if I need help and what I am looking for.

Reesa Abrams

2024-01

Helpful, take great care of customers

Holly Stires

2021-05

There were many customers today, they were trying to stay distanced from each other though. The key maker helped me choose a design for a key copy. I enjoyed his story about wildlife in Minnesota, and am impressed by how his coworker was willing to help another woman with her quick set rekey. The cashier was kind and efficient.

Ruth Ingram

2023-09

Always helpful staff and well stocked with the basics. Nice to have in this community.

Amanda Hill

2022-05

This is usually my go to place. Today I went to purchase something really heavy so I grabbed the cart out front of their store. Didn't realize it wasn't their store cart. I've had back surgeries so I can't lift 50lb bags of stuff. The gentleman that works there kind of reprimanded me in front of other customers (which was really embarrassing) for bringing in the cart. I honestly had no idea. What I will say is that I will stick with home depot. I didn't see him offering to help carry it to my car for me.

JOCKO ROGERS

2018-05

Roy, in the Painting Center is a real master with color matching and helping you with all phases of painting. (He's had a lot of experience renovating homes and can advise you on anything else, as well.)While some folks seem to not care for having a "Greeter" at the door, I find that when I'm needing some bizarrely obscure item, that person at the door can help shortcut a lot of wandering around.All the folks on the floor seem to have some construction/trades experience and can really be helpful when you've got some home improvement mysteries to solve.

Paul Offermann-Sims

2017-05

Ace is a dwindling chain. It is being stomped out by home depot, another chain with a much more successful business model. The convenience of proximity is the one major advantage this place has.Ace is overstaffed. It is often hard to walk around the store because of the throng of employees. Still, they're very friendly, easy to find, and can be quite helpful with answering simple questions.Ace is overpriced. All the same items are marked way up compared to any other hardware store around. It is only worth going here if you are working nearby, and just need a couple small items.Ace has its own brand of semi-useful items, which deserves a word of caution – do not waste your money on any of the products with the Ace logo on them, except for the simple stuff that can't break, like maybe electrical tape. The line is full of cheap knock-off imitations which cost as much or more than the real things.Go to OSH or San Lorenzo Lumber instead.

Mike X

2016-05

Decent hardware store with high prices (hard to compete with the big box stores like Home Depot) but there's a short old guy who glares at you as you come in, sometimes he doesn't even ask you if he can help, just stands there glowering at the customers entering the store. I'm assuming that it's the owner frustrated with shoplifters but it is a serious bummer to go in there and have that guy give me the stink eye every time I come in to buy something. Which I've been doing for years and he can't seem to remember that I'm the guy that keeps coming in and giving his store money.

Mama Consuelo

2020-05

Found the mid size Phillip's screwdriver missing from our set. Bought a new complete set for my 26 yr. old son to start his tool collection Convenient location and good folks to help you find what you need. Thanks.

Charles Perkins

2021-05

Used to be my local hardware store when I lived in Capitola. Generally find the staff to be more knowledgeable than the average, and they have a better-than-average stock in their garden, and bird feeder sections. I still make trips there for some items I can't seem to find at other Ace stores even though I now live in Watsonville.

Kian Stipp

2022-05

Alot of the essential little things are sold out every week, and havent been restocked yet. The young man with the glasses is a budding locksmith, and very helpful. Great electrical, hardware, paint, wood, sealant, and plumbing selections. No front display for roof and flood preparedness and repair. Could have put ponchos and caulk and plastic sheeting and tarps in a spot next to christmas stuff. Should carry more RV and propane products, bumper and morale stickers, and warning signs. EX. Horizontal 2 stage regulators, POL propane tee, propane hoses, fittings, gasstop inline shutoff valve, and stay back dont tailgate sticker are items I would have bought there but had to order online. These are also commonly used on BBQ, tiny homes, and in law units. I would also like to buy local stickers to put on my rig. They are super cool about dogs and have an extensive snack and trinket selection though. Pet stuff should just refer people across the street to local pet store and use the shelf space for more signs, stickers, and gas fittings.

Sue Kelly

2021-05

Awesome staff! Went looking for potting soil employee took the time to show me what's on sale looked for it in back of store carried it up to register then another employee carried it out to car! You would never in a million years get that great service at home depot! Thankyou Aptos Ace Hardware!

Lou InKona

2023-05

Great Store from the outside looks small but its huge inside with very helpful staff.

Tom

2023-05

The people working here make you wonder how they've stayed in business all these years. Poor sales staff and even worse manager.

Carole Lindner

2019-05

I've been shopping at the Aptos Ace Hardware for many years. Knowledgeable staff always greet you as you enter and can point you in the right direction or call ahead so another staff member is, for instance, waiting at the key machine or in the paint department. Officially a 'chain,' but always feels like an independent, mom 'n pop hardware store, especially (important) now that OSH is gone. Unfortunately, they phased out their cool garden gadgets, but a remodel has given the store a spacious feel and the old-timers are ready, as always, to provide excellent service.

Toni Burton

2020-05

I love this store. The staff is amazing on every level. Best Ace Hardware ever. Over 20 years and they never let me down on anything I need.

Eric Lamb

2021-05

Super friendly staff. Fasteners, paint,, garden supply,, power tools... all the hardware store good stuff.Shop local to bolster local economy, cuz there's enough box stores in the world already.

Wells Shoemaker

2019-05

I love Ace in Aptos. These wonderful folks have endured a shopping center rebuild that would (did) crush most small businesses, but the local confidence and convenience of Ace, coupled with the "I can help you find it, fix it, build it" service has kept it here by popular demand. It's not a store for contractor tools, but it satisfies 95% of any need for serious woodworkers, savvy homeowners, and more.

shelly kimball

2023-05

Love my neighborhood ace!Friendly atmosphere, always helpful employees..Usually, have what I need!!

Kyle Watts

2022-05

Ive been shopping here for 25 years. I really value the Aptos Ace Hardware. Great service and very positive attitudes amongst then staff members. Christine is great!

Jack L

2018-05

This review may be slightly long, but this ACE experience needs to be shared and escalated. I was a thirty-year customer of ACE hardware, specifically at the Aptos location, for the last fifteen. It was always a very friendly experience. I am shocked and appalled by today's experience -- and with the "manager", no less. Two days ago I went to the store seeking a simple rubber belt for a Hoover vacuum cleaner. The fellow working in that department suggested I get the model number of the specific vacuum for which I needed the belt and then come back. I did just that, and returned today with the model number (BD120) off the cleaner. Of course the whole idea was to match the correct belt to the specific cleaner. First, the fellow in the paint department searched the belts in stock, however the belts each have a unique part number, but each package doesn't list the model it's for, and the fellow wasn't familiar with them. I suggested a quick online search to match the model with the part, since they have numerous computers in the store. I did not have my cell. Another fellow tried to help and get online in the paint department but could not get Google on that computer.I then spoke to a woman on the floor and asked if she could do a simple part search online. She said that only the manager had internet access. I asked if the manager was present. She then said, "I'm the manager". Her name is Rachel. I again asked if she would do a quick search to match the model. It would have taken perhaps thirty seconds. She would not do it. In fact, it was an unusually slow day and the store was fully staffed. When I came in, other clerks were there chatting with her. Not do a parts search in a hardware store? Huh?! She said, and probably will say, that "we don't have the part." She and her staff could not know that, since they did not know how to match the model and the part. Again, the point was to find the part number via the model. So, they might have actually had the correct part, and it could have been easily found. Again, the guys who looked simply did not know the part number. It might in fact have been in stock.I explained to Rachel that I was a regular customer at that store for fifteen years. I said I had never received such unhelpful customer service there. She then sarcastically said, "So write a letter." Huh?! Like, "Hey, I don't care, don't bug me. Go ahead and complain." Rachel apparently takes her job and customer complaints very casually. I cannot express how shocked I was that the store manager would be so rude and disrespectful, and worse yet, so utterly dismissive of customer service. ACE is the "place for your friendly hareware store", right? All previous managers I've known there over the years have been helpful, couteous, and friendly. Rachel did nothing to help me as a customer and in fact only escalated the situation. Again, I was accustomed to this being a friendly neighborhood store, but Rachel was quite offensive.At no point did I even raise my voice or behave antagonistically, I merely suggested to Rachel that it would have been an easily solved problem if she would help do a part search. Rachel had the audacity to tell me to leave the store. Again, this store had been a regular and friendly shopping experience for many years, and in fact many of the staff relish a visit with my dog. The cahsiers looked embarassed by Rachel's behavior.I wonder how many thousands of dollars I have spent at ACE over the last thirty years? Many, many thousands. I won't spend another cent at an ACE again. Somehow, this particular store in Aptos now has a manager who is completely mismatched with her role. Rachel really should not have a customer-centric role, especially as a manager. I am sorry for the rest of the staff, who have been so helpful over the years, and whom Rachel embarrassed. Rachel reflects very badly on them and on ACE as a company. I am shocked and disappointed. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this with an upper-level executive of ACE.Jack L, Aptos CA

Julie Avalos

2019-05

I went to this Ace Hardware location several times recently when moving my son to Aptos for college. The staff was very friendly every time and went out of their way to help me. Today I called and asked the employee who answered the phone if she could find an item for my son and put it on hold for him to pick up after class. She said no problem and asked the department manager for the item needed and it was there for my son at the register when he came in. I really appreciate the great customer service at this Ace Hardware location because great customer service can be hard to come by these days.

Selina Thompson

2018-05

Super nice and friendly. Every time I go in there is someone available and willing to help out. My favorite hardware store in the county.