Ace Hardware

Northbrook Ace is really the place.
Found a beautiful garden bench ON SALE! Wouldn’t fit in the car but a kind, thoughtful store manager lent us use of his vehicle and the bench is a perfect addition to our yard.
THEN decided to try home repair. Back to Ace and Stan the helpful hardware man.
He helped me locate the parts and talked me through the process. Went back when I
got stuck on one part and again Stan talked me through. I’ll be trying more DIY with
Ace and Stan guiding the way.

So I went in to fix a handle on my luggage and a piece on my belt. Jim found the screws necessary and then actually fixed my luggage! I had just come from a luggage store in Wheeling that said it would be $ 40 to fix my luggage! Actual cost at Ace…15 cents! If you want someone to point to the isle where the stuff is then this place isn’t for you. They take you and find the solution for you. What a fantastic experience. Jim exceeded our expectations. Alex at the register was also very friendly. Total cost 42 cents… time they spent helping me was over 30 minutes. If you think I must know them… the Truth is this was my first time here. It won’t be my last. time!

Uninformed and not helpful. Went for Christmas lights at Christmas time and the lights were in the back and not interested in bringing the out to sell.
Recommended we go to lowes, so we did.
Weird?

Helpful staff. Clean store. Overall a friendly helpful enviornment.

Our local neighborhood hardware store recently switched affiliations from Do It Best to Ace, but as far as I can tell they still have the same friendly people working there and for the most part the change was seamless. I am a big fan of this store, mainly because it is so convenient and they have good hours. I could get a lower price by driving up to the big warehouse store in the next town, but I would waste at least an additional hour if not more by going there.
What I can say about Northbrook Ace is that they are very helpful and they have just about everything you really need. It’s small town friendly service like you won’t find in the big box stores. Also, you don’t have to wait a long time at the checkout and there’s generally plenty of parking right at the door.
Yes, you will sometimes pay more, so if all you are interested in is price, go to a discount place. Personally, I really like having this store handy when I need something in a hurry. They will take the time to tell you what to do when your «quick 5 minute» plumbing repair job suddenly turns into a 2 hour nightmare.
Despite the fact that some prices are higher, a lot of things are actually competitively priced. And they also give you reward points and $ 5 gift certificates from time to time. I appreciate this store and I hope they will be around for a long time.
I have to mention one really nice thing that happened. I was trying to run a new TV cable through my wall, and I didn’t have the right tool for that. One of the helpful hardware guys sent me over to his home to get the tool and instructed his wife to give it to me. How many people can you think of that would do that? I was really impressed.

When you go to the giant warehouse stores, you get lots of choices but little human service. When you go to Do It Best, there is service everywhere. As in the good old days, I’ve had an employee spend a half-​hour helping me choose a $ 1 part. I go to these guys with all my household and repair problems, and once (believe it or not), they actually made a free house call when I got my key stuck in the front door lock and I was about to go on a trip. Unbelievable. And contrary to what you would expect, their prices aren’t more (and sometimes less) than the warehouses. I recently bought a vacuum cleaner at Do It Best that would have cost more at Target. And the guy at the store spent time with me helping me decide which model I needed.

[The scene: Me standing by the key counter.]
Employee: (approaching me) Do you need help?
Me: I just need to have my keys copied.
Emp: Oh ok, sure.
Me: [hands keys over to the employee]
Emp: Soooo, what is this for? (points to the key)
Me: (confused by the question) A… lock.
Emp: (laughs lightly) No, no. I mean, what does this go into?
Me: (again, bewildered) A… door.
Emp: Oh, I mean… Is this an apartment building?
Me: (still confused) What?
I was so confused. Like, I didn’t understand you had to specify where the lock was going, if it was a condo building, etc. I just wanted copies of my keys!
Nonetheless, this encounter provided much entertainment in the middle of the workday. (Really, I called my mom ‘cuz I was so amused.) Plus, service was fast (5 min) and keys were cheap ($ 2/​each)! They have tons of all the home improvement stuff, too… and coffee makers, candles, lawn chairs. Who knew?
Oohhh, Downtown Northbrook — how you’ve grown on me!

The «local store» seized the opportunity to gouge its customers after the rain and basement flooding of August, 2007. With customers desperate for a way to power up their sump pumps to pump out their basements, Bo It Best was charging $ 650 for generators which had sold the week before at Home Depot and Lowe’s for $ 400. And when the generators would not start a week later, no assistance or warrenty was offered. DO NOT PATRONIZE THESE CHEATS.