MacKay True Value Hardware & Rental

I needed to rent a pipe threader. The guy at the counter said they had one available, but he suggested I go elsewhere because all the dies were dull. What kind of management allows such poor quality in their rental tools that their counter staff tells customers not to rent from them?
I ended up going to Taylor Rental in Chelmsford and was completely satisfied.

I have lived in Westford for 10 years, and I am happy to support local business. That being said, I will drive 20 minutes out of my way to avoid this store. I rented a machine, and although there were half a dozen people «working» at the time, I was not helped. I didn’t say anything about my 25 minute wait, but when it was finally my turn to get loaded up, the employee made a comment under his breathe to me. Then he continued to complain about how I was in a rush (which I was only because I was renting their machine by the hour), and then continued to gripe even as I left the store. When I came back, he called me a jerk! I asked to speak with the owner, and he said that since I was in a rush, I essentially deserved a comment like that. The store is aging, the employees are cranky old men, and their prices are ridilculous. Even with gas close to $ 3 per gallon, I still think its cheaper to drive to Home Depot or O’Connors Hardware than pay their inflated prices. The sad part is I live right around the corner from them, and I will never set foot in that shady store again. Trust me — go somewhere else.

Horrible customer service experience. Employee was very rude, to the point I had to cancel my transaction. This business does not do well with diversity
No one deserves to be treated that way
What a shame for a local business

I wanted to rent a rug shampooer. All of the other stores use the rug doctor, $ 25 for 24 hours, MacKay has some brand I’ve never heard of, you can’t even find it on the net, it’s probably a bissell that they bought. Their price is $ 34 for only 8 hours, I asked if i could pick it up the night before to have help bringing it upstairs, they said they would have to charge me for 2 days. that would be $ 68 vs everyone else for $ 25. Other than this rental issue, they are helpful and have many hardware items.

The store is fine, but I am absolutely floored by how rude and indignant the owner is. We made a non-​storm related purchase Friday, 6 days after the big October snowstorm. When we got it home, we realized that we didn’t need the over $ 50 item. So the very next day, we went into MacKay’s to return it, but the owner stated that he would not take any returns on storm-​related items. When I explained that it wasn’t storm related, he became quite rude and a bit abusive, saying, and I quote, «There were 20 people who wanted that during the storm, and you bought it, so they couldn’t. You got that for you, and now I’m in it for me. I had to tell 20 people they couldn’t have one, I was here to serve the community, and now I’m in it for me. No one else is looking out for me, so I need to. I can’t believe you’d even ask.» When I asked him to calm down, and explained that it was in perfect resaleable condition, he got even more aggressive and kept reiterating, «I can’t believe you’d even ask… No. I’m in it for me now.»
So, Mr. MacKay, I will never ever shop in your store again (have spent thousands there over the years), and I encourage all of your customer base to travel 2.2 miles down the road into Chelmsford and visit Aubuchon Hardware on Summer Street, where they actually appreciate their customers. Or anywhere else. Because as far as I’m concerned after your rude and abusive (and selfish!) tantrum, I hope you end up all alone in your store, with no customers or employees to bother you, and then you can be all alone and «in it for me» all you want.