Sam was super duper helpful with me. He found a screw that was perfect for a project I was building. Would never have been able to do this on my own. Thanks! read more

Watch out for the dishonest checkout girl! A young woman rang up 2 items for me, and then hit Accept on the payment machine herself before I could see what I was being charged - a highly questionable move. Turns out she'd charged me for 3 items ! When I asked why the price was so high, she fumbled for a while and then said, "Oh, did the machine overcharge you? I don't know why that happened." Please. Caveat emptor! read more

I just had a lovely hardware store experience. I stopped by to pick up a bunch of random things I needed for various projects- Gertie was so helpful - we talked over what'd I need for my project and she helped me find everything (Thanks Gertie) read more

Anybody remember 15 years ago a movie was filmed in Ace Harware on Cole,Can't remember,Need Help with memory,Thanks

Great place. Super helpful reasonable prices. Love the bucket sales--if it fits in the bucket its 20% off!--awesome

Read the signs ! Some things cannot be returned. Being one of the few times in a hardware store, I did not know this. Tina was still nice enough to return the cut rope for me. Great service :) read more

Love the local vibe, everything is cute as a button, some of the employees just look exhausted, be it over work, over drinking. But most of the time I come in the employees are very opinionated and almost can't bother to help. But I'd rather deal with them then Lowes. read more

For a relatively small space, Cole really packs in a lot of merchandise. As important, I have never met a friendlier or more knowledgeable staff. I always get the help I need to solve whatever problem I am working on. Just wish we had a Cole Hardware in North Beach but it is always worth the drive. read more

The prices are not too high for the area, so I love going here to buy things for my apartment, and the staff is super friendly and make up for some of the rude customers that seem to want an express checkout line. They were even nice enough to adjust my bike seat for me one time, so I really feel like it is my neighborhood hardware store. I would say they are great! read more

This place is great. It has so much to offer at reasonable prices. Did I mention the friendly staff? Two in particular are amazingly helpful and friendly, there is Renato, and I think Matthew is the name of the other. Both have a vast amount of knowledge and information on endless amounts of tools and equipment making them valuable assets to your latest home project. read more

Great locally owned hardware shop. The selection is pretty good too despite the small space. It's amazing how much they can cram in there! The employees are really nice and helpful too. Just as a word of warning - they have this big cardboard cutout of who I'm assuming is the Cole guy who started the chain. It startled the crap out of me thinking someone was just lurking there, staring you down as you walk in. So yeah, be wary... read more

Tina & Julie rock! They go the extra mile for me every time I shop on Polk St.

This place is great! The staff is super helpful-there's always someone available to help you within a minute of walking in the store. And they're willing to go the extra mile-my roommate bought a christmas tree this past year and one of the staff members helped her carry it to our apartment three blocks away, no extra charge or anything. This place definitely deserves five stars. read more

The friendly employees are always quick to help me find what I need for the random projects I do around the house. When it turns out that I purchased the wrong item, they never make me feel bad for making a return. I wont go anywhere else! read more

This Cole's location is one of my favorite, though most Cole's in San Francisco have amazing staff members. Recently, I needed a mail box key duplicated. I took the original to Cole's on Polk. First and second attempts at creating a functioning duplicate failed. However, on the third attempt, Rick promised to get it right, SUCCESS!! Returning the two failed keys was incredibly simple. Though I had the receipt, as a member, the receipt was not required. I highly recommend becoming a member as it simplifies returns and exchanges. read more

Wow. This place is great. I never want for anything when I go to this wonderful little treasure trove of stuff. The staff is always friendly and finds whatever you need in a wink. I love the selection and could spend hours just walking the aisles. Also love that they have 'events' like wine and cake sometimes. The window displays are awesome too. Like little artist's galleries. Thanks guys for doing a terrific job and meeting all of my household needs! read more

Great hardware store! Staff is very helpful and there's a little bit of everything. We needed to get a few spouts on the fly and they had them. Your local Home Depot but with a personality and it's in the neighbor hood. They have cleaning supplies, tools, nick knacks and much more. HIghly recommended. read more

Moved into the neighborhood last week. Needed tools. Cole's had everything and the prices were fair.

I love this hardware store. It's a little labyrinthian, but the payoff is that it carries almost everything under the sun. I've bought paint here several times, had keys made, etc. and my experiences have only been positive. The staff is super nice and helpful, and I am happy to support a local business. read more

Long time Cole Hardware customer when i first went to the store on Cole St. When it opened on Polk St, i went there since i am local resident. I also frequented the Cole on 30th & Mission when i worked in the neighborhood. I always went to Cole for all my items for the fact of CUSTOMER SERVICE!! I am very sad to say, today turned it around for me. I had 6 keys made today..the young Black man who made the keys, was very pleasant & nice& helpful. I also brought in my (spent) batteries & 1 (spent) CFL bulb which was wrapped in paper. I put the batteries in ziplock bag with the wrapped CFL bulb ..I am very meticulous on how i prepare my trash/recycling, etc. so not to make mess or break into pieces. I was told to give the recycling to cashier: Ms. Ana Delia (young 20'ish Latina) who said Gee, its' quiet in here... just standing around. (in my younger days, people did not stand around ... you do things in your area to improve it and look busy, such as straighten out the display, pick up the loose crinkled papers on the counter which are receipts left by customers, etc) I asked her to if she takes the spent recycling: and handed her the ziplock bag which was closed, she had her expression of not pleased to take it, and said: you need to separate them. I said I wrapped the CFL in paper, but please give me back the small bag so i can take the CLF out of it, to separate it from the batteries. She said No, and put the entire ziplock bag (with CLF) in a bucket behind the counter. By then, my keys were done and i was given a receipt to claim them, as the key maker put them in an envelope with the claim number to give to cashier. I gave the claim number, she immediately asked for my Cole # ..I said just a second, as i was just handed back my set of keys with the Cole tag on it. She said well, if not, give me your phone #...(hello, did you not hear me say I have the tag?!?). The transaction was completed with my credit card and another cashier (Latin male who was at cash register, counting cash), who handed me my receipt. NOTICE: Not a thank you from Ms Ana D. or the other cashier? Well, i said to Ms. Ana D. that she need to display better customer service, and immediately she said She DiD NOT... (wow! when someone immediately gets defensive, as someone , especially a long time customer, is trying to say something...and she cuts you off...that's clear indication, she needs to be retrained in customer service, customer relations or better yet , relieved of her duties...she is a front face for Cole hardware, and that's not their style). As I was leaving,the young Black man who was the key maker, said Thanks and Have a good day.... now,that's a good customer service. I used to promote Cole Hardware to all my coworkers, friends and family to shop there,but i am sorry to say, I will take a long vacation from Cole Hardware and take business elsewhere. Cole Hardware: your family especially your dad built the business on customer service besides the items for sale and knowledge on how to do things ...but you need to hold customer training sessions for all your employees. Hint to the cashier: if the store is slow and you are a cashier, you can keep busy by straighten up the area around you, without leaving the cashier counter... and NOT STAND AROUND, Looking bored. If you take pride in your store, as an employee, it will show and shine to all others. read more

love it! cute little hardware store in the heart of russian hill. has litterally everything you could want in a 1200 sq foot store - was able to get silicon glue, a shopping cart, duct tape a microwave and a garbage can in one visit. a little pricing (i am sure because of location) but well worth the quick trip! read more

Maybe I just hit them on an off day, but they were pretty rude to me. I went in to buy paint at 10am. They had 2 people in line and no one else in the store. I asked if someone could help me in the paint dept and the woman said no because they were too busy. There was no one in the store! She told me that I'd have to wait for 30 minutes. Um, my meter was going to be up by then. I knew exactally what I wanted and it would have taken them 10 min (if that) to help me. I just found their customer service to be lacking. I went to Fredrickson's on Filmore instead and they were much for helpful. read more

I don't use this nearby hardware store regularly since I now live out of state but regularly visit the city for personal reasons. I know the store to be a very good resource and decided to buy a mask to deal with the plume of smoke from the wild fires. This was Nov 15, when authorities encouraged limited outdoor activities. The young clerk at the register showed me the throwaway N95 model that would suffice for my brief 4-day stay. I casually asked about the higher level N99 mask and he showed me another model also on the counter. He proceeded to tell that it was not a throwaway model. I was informed that it was washable and to be used indefinitely. Of course the priced followed from $3 for the 1st model to the $30 for the better model. Health being my first criteria for the purchase, I decided to buy the 2nd model only to discover that the fine print in the packaging shows that it is to be disposed once it stops being effective because of the charcoal filter, etc. This was false advertising on the clerk's part. And on top of that, there was who appeared to be a manager or person of authority next to him not correcting him on any of his claims. Since this was the1st day that a health alert was announced, there were many individuals in line specifically for the purposes of buying masks and they could have also been taken advantage of my misinformation. Yes, buyer beware but I don't believe anyone wants to be taken advantage of when a health crisis is present. I could report them to the BBB. read more

I guess I'm with that minority that has been ignored and /or treated shabbily in this store. From the first visit, shortly after they opened, I wondered why the employees were so attitudinal or apathetic. I guess I was used to Brownie's where I had always received very friendly and helpful service. There are a couple friendly people here. But unfortunately they're not in the majority. Cole hardware is like a very expensive 5 and dime. Nobody there appears to have any actual product knowledge when it comes to hardware. And I could forgive that if they were nicer. But generally, they're not. I've had a couple really unpleasant experiences at this store and will now only shop there when there's some great sale going on. And even then I have to steel myself before going in. Perhaps I don't look well-off enough. Whatever the case, they really could use an attitude adjustment. I will stick to Brownie's for real hardware and anything else I can get there first. read more

If you go to Cole Hardware on Polk, make sure you already know what you need. I'm pretty handy (used to be the maintenance manager at a facility in SF) and cringe every time I overhear the staff here trying to give help to customers. They are always friendly and if you didn't know anything you'd probably think they were very helpful and you would be politely lead down the wrong path and never know it. One aggravating thing that has come up several times is getting things like pipe cut. On occasion I have needed lengths of galvanized pipe, last time I needed 37 inches of 3/4" pipe. The price listed on the wall was about $3.50 per foot, a tad high but reasonable enough. I went to the register and was getting rung up while someone went into the back to cut the pipe and when it got rung up the total came to almost 24 dollars! I pointed out the apparent error and the cashier was insistent that this was correct. The conversation went something like this: Robbins: Um, I think that price is a little off there Cashier: No, that is right R: The sign says $3.50 per foot C: Yeah, thats right R: Ok, so 3.5 times three is 10.5, plus some more for that extra inch right? C: You are getting four feet of pipe R: You are kidding, but then 3.5 times four is $14, you are still $10 off C: No, we have to charge you to cut it. R: It costs $10 to cut it?!?! C: No, it costs $2 to cut it, and $3 to thread it per end R: What good is galvi pipe that isn't threaded? (I pulled out my calculator) Well radio the guy up stairs and tell him to cancel the order because I'm not paying $7 per foot for 3/4 galvi pipe! (For get the fact that they have kept the ends of countless lengths of copper ($$) pipe that I've purchased from the in the past, they probably owe me more than an inch of galvi!) This is one strong example but is typical of the service you get there if you are buying anything that is not mounted on cardboard and not shrink wrapped. After that $7 pipe experience I walked down the street to Brownies and picked up the pipe, the guy there said it would come to $10.5 and asked if I still wanted it, I asked if they charged for cutting or threading and he said something like "what, who does that? "do you charge for cutting or threading" and he said "why would we charge for cutting or threading, I mean who is going to buy unthreaded pipe?" In summary, they have a decent selection of shrink wrapped items but 90% of the staff is worse than useless - very polite but very useless. read more

love these dudes. im always lost in this place and they always guide me. good looking out. also thanks for making me super cute pretty keys with stars and lightning bolts read more

the best customer service anywhere. friendly, completely knowledgable, totally wonderful. plus it's fun to just browse here.

Great resource to have on upper Polk. A older gentleman working there answered my questions honestly and with no nonsense. He told me what would work for my specific problem and what would be a waste of money. So, it might be worth it to just stop a staffer and ask. They also stock some eco friendly cleansers not available at the Real Food Co. or Walgreens nearby. read more

I needed an extra lag screw to hang up a pot rack, and this place was nearby and open at 6:15pm on a Sunday -- this counts for a lot. They seem to have a wide selection, but I just needed light bulbs and bolts. Super convenient neighborhood hardware store. read more

great neighborhood hardware store with prices close to that of home depot and much more helpful service. I can attest to this as having recently moved into the Russian Hill neighborhood and having had to make several hardware purchases. First I made several trips to home depot for the bulk of the items. Then one day I realized that I was short a couple of wood screws and headed over to the friendly neighborhood hardware store where to my surprise, the price for a box of wood screws was 10cents more than I had paid at home depot. I did a little bit more of price checking and found similar results. since then, I have been back several times for various sundries and patio furniture. they always have a helpful answer to all of my hardware questions (in comparison to home depot where service is a hit or miss -- I was sent walking back and forth between 2 different departments multiple times with no resolution to a question about paint thinner). will go back to raid the potted herb selection one of these days. read more

Larry is wonderful! i had a locksmith challenge and he sent me out a great professional guy. I had a fence to build and he recommended With Fencing. Both jobs were done professionally and quickly. Really Cole Hardware is the place to go for work to be completed in the city. larry knows who is the best person for the job. really wonderful!! read more

I lived very close to the Cole on Polk for over 22 years. I the past year I moved to another part of the city which of course means many more hardware projects due to adjusting to new circumstances. I've tried to adapt generously but I found I am spoiled by the expertise of Felicia and Gertty. These women have escorted me through many a project with ease which made my life quickly better. I have found both of these women's expertise posses a reputation outside of the store for helpfulness and knowledge; in fact, Felicia originally worked at Cliff's on Castro and still has staff members there remembering her fondly. Due to these women's helpfulness I have and will make the trip over to Russian Hill to the Cole Hardware in order to receive real help, generally after a quick local fail where the staff member at another hardware store come to the problem with limited knowledge. It feels nice to have people who take pride in their work give you truthful advice whom you know speak from expertise. sincerely, Robert Dodd read more

All you want from a hardware store--each little widget you need, people available to show you around. They're good with the neighborhood, aren't trying to gouge you on prices, and even when it's busy, you can still track down someone to guide you through a project you're doing. read more

Love love love Cole Hardware. They are so helpful and knowledgeable.

I love Cole Hardware. The staff is always very efficient, helpful, and friendly. They always have what I need.

This well-stocked neighborhood hardware store is so helpful! Not only opened and figured out what battery I needed in a small device, but let me use their tiny screwdriver to install it. In and out in 5 minutes: problem solved. (Greeted the minute I walked in by not one but TWO staffers asking, can I help you?) read more

Great place to get your DIY stuff. Knowledgeable help and they actually want to help you. It is nice to have help that isn't hiding from you and are sincere about wanting to help you. They have great service and most anything to fix old and newer homes. read more

always always helpful and friendly!!! i have been in there several times during a busy rush and everyone works together to try to help everyone as fast as they can. love this place. its so nice to go to a hardware store where the employees are knowledgeable. read more

This is one of the most helpful places in SF. Very knowledgeable staff. Was very easy to find babyproofing supplies here. The veggie plants they sell are wonderful too! read more

I never thought I could have so much fun shopping in an hardware store. I just love this place it is a one stop shop. Gertie is a real treat she is very helpful and knowledgeable. I decided to paint an accent wall in my home not only was Gertie so professional and attentive she was very patient and really helped me out with selecting the correct color and type of paint. There was no pressure just genuine service. Thanks again for a wonderful experience. :) read more