Title: Unfair Treatment & Community Disappointment at Kings Beach Ace
I've been shopping at this Ace Hardware for 6-7 years as a loyal customer. Unfortunately, my experience recently has been nothing short of disappointing, unprofessional, and frankly, humiliating.
It began when I returned an item (a Dewalt angle grinder) and was told I couldn't receive my refund in cash because it was over $100. I was told to wait for a check. When I waited to speak to the assistant manager at the back of the store, he informed me we needed to speak with the store manager Shera -- who also happens to be his wife -- about an unspecified issue.
Shera had previously made me extremely uncomfortable years ago when she followed me closely around the store while she was still just an employee. It was so unsettling that I had to report it to the store manager at the time. That issue was supposedly resolved. I believe her behavior may have stemmed from an unrelated misunderstanding that occurred over six years ago--long before Shera was even working there. I personally resolved that misunderstanding with the store owner, and we left things on good terms. However, once Shera became the new manager and appointed her husband as assistant manager, the situation shifted. It feels as though old, irrelevant history was used against me, and their personal feelings began interfering with my ability to shop at my local hardware store.
I was then told by the assistant manager that I had been watched on camera by him the entire time I was shopping and he believed I was behaving "suspiciously" -- stating things like me picking up an item and putting it down in a different aisle/ location and looking at my phone while shopping. Apparently, those things were "weird" he said followed by me no longer being welcome or allowed to shop at their establishment moving forward. It was apparent, based on personal feelings, they had been trying to find any reason to remove me And were tired of waiting.
A employee even once pulled me aside and admitted that every time I entered, staff talked about me over their radios making negative comments and taking turns watching me as I shopped.
Now, I have to drive 20+ minutes to another store, and in a small town like Kings Beach, this kind of treatment -- especially with word getting around -- is extremely damaging and embarrassing. read more