We have been customers of this store for over 20 years, even before it was bought by Bethel Mills…read moreand became an ACE Hardware store. We buy dog, horse and chicken food, paint, lumber, and much more and have usually had helpful, if somewhat spotty, customer service. ACE sent a flyer out with a bogo sale for paint in the days before Labor Day, 2018. When we went to our local ACE store-- Central Supplies-- it was closed on Sept. 3, the last day of the sale. They are normally open on Sundays so we were annoyed that we had driven a 10-mile round-trip into town for nothing. But when I called the next day and asked if they would honor the flyer's terms, given they were closed on the last day of the sale, I was told "no". I explained that we were loyal customers and that, if they were an ACE store, we expected that they should honor the terms of the flyer. Finally, after a clerk must have consulted someone, we were offered 50% off our second gallon of paint. I said, "thanks but no thanks" and hung up. I then tried to contact Bethel Mills, their owners, for a manager and ended up leaving a message but no one has bothered to get back to me.
I try to buy local in my small, rural community but more and more, the "big box" stores are making it easier to buy-- credit cards, finance plans, military discounts, larger selections, online ordering with 2-day delivery right to my door. The only thing my local store can offer is better customer service but it seems Central Supplies/Bethel Mills just can't be bothered. They should opt out of the flyer if they don't want to be open on a holiday weekend. By the way, we went to Lowe's instead and they were open and happy to help us.
