A-Boy Electric & Plumbing

I’ve lived in the neighborhood for over 20 years, and have watched this place go from being friendly and convenient, to having the rudest staff and a small stock on hand. Several times, I’ve been condescended to by Mike (I refuse to seek out help from him), and have seen him treat other female customers like idiots. But it turns out the rudeness is not gender-​based: when my husband went in a couple of weeks ago, he was treated like a pain in the butt. It’s a shame that a neighborhood place doesn’t know how far customer service can go.

The service has gotten so bad in my past few visits. the store is over-​staffed and the staff members literally cannot answer my questions– or are so SLOW and rude that I’m frustrated
Garden Area– I asked about a fertilizer and man said, I’m not the person to ask, i just came over here to give your dog a treat. He never did leave to get the person I needed– he just kept playing with my dog and i ended up Googling the answer.
Cashier #1– literally yawning when I walked up. Asked him if was bored, he says YES. Proceeds to be slow and rude. Wouldn’t move from area to do anything… no help unloading cart, no help with moving things around so he could scan them (asked me to do it myself) and then got mad at me for telling him what soil i wanted «before he was ready»
Cashier 2– chimes into say that i won’t get the soil in the back until I pay for it (DUH)
I’m thinking it might be worth the drive to a real nursery next time.

Not sure why I never stopped by here — probably the name. Glad I finally did. It’s one of the most complete hardware stores I’ve found with a screw collection that could rival McMasterCarr. Almost. It’s impressive.

I’ve never had such an awful customer service experience. We bought a set of towel hardware, and it turned out to be missing the mounting hardware. So I had my husband exchange it but they gave him a different finish which, I had to take it back because it didn’t match. The woman looked at the kit and at me and said no, we’re not dealing with this kit again. I just wanted to exchange it for separate pieces (unexplained)that matched what we have. She yelled to the other cashier and says you can deal with this — that kit from yesterday. Now all the customers in the the store are looking at me. I decided to have my husband take it back another day, and we will not be exchanging it — just return. Wow. That will be three visits, and still no hardware. Not our fault that they sold us an incomplete kit. I wanted to support a local company but heading to Home Depot now.

Had a great experience working with Jerick! He helped me find what I needed and got me a great price. I am rebuilding a home from the studs. So I will definitely be back for more. The staff is wonderful, the selection (for stock) was good but wish they had more in stock merchandise. Over all I am happy.

This area doesn’t have a big home-​improvement center, so A-​Boy is the only choice for a quick mid-​project necessity. They have a respectable selection of plumbing, hardware, and electrical supplies, plus a knowledgeable staff. I love the expanded hardware section they recently put in place. That was a good decision on their part because, honestly, most of the big ticket items are overpriced at A-​Boy and they should focus on the little things like hardware, plumbing pieces, paint brushes, etc. Actually, pretty much everything is more expensive at A-​Boy than other shops, but the convenience makes it worth it for certain items.
The showroom is fairly comprehensive, but I’m not going to pay $ 250 for a faucet that is $ 130 on Amazon. However, I did buy a Toto toilet from them, where they were honest about online competition and said they could do $ 30 over online prices, which is worth it to me to support a local business. Maybe that should be their policy — we charge 10% over Amazon for bath fixtures.

For tools, fasteners, parts, etc. I always find what I need at A-​Boy. And I can buy exactly the quantity I need as opposed to a box of 100. The employees are much more helpful than the big box stores as well.

Fantastic customer service. Very helpful staff. They don’t have a huge selection, but a smaller store makes it easier to get in and out in a timely fashion. I’d much rather shop here than a big box store!

It’s great having this store close to our neighborhood, but it’s a bit odd to find shelves half empty and choices of quality tools absent. The staff makes the best of it because they’re solution oriented. Mike has helped us many times with his wealth of knowledge but John goes beyond expectations of a neighborhood hardware supply house… these guys are worth waiting for while they help other customers.

This place has everything necessary in a home DIY fundamental level. If you live in Hillsdales area and you need to modify your house in a fundamental level, you don’t have to go anywhere too big too far like some other bigger storage. It is convenient and they categorize their stuff very clear and easy to find.
However, there’s unlikely any customer walking in to this place. Personally, I think this store is useful for this community. Let’s support it before it goes out of business.

It’s been really handy to have this store right down the street when I need things here and there. Today I came in to exchange an empty propane tank. Jane had no idea what she was doing. She tried to charge me $ 33.00 when I told her an exchange was $ 21.95 she tried to argue with me, once I paid the correct amount I waited 5 more minutes to get help. Sawyer came and exchanged it for me. He didn’t even offer to take the new tank to my car. It was heavy. At Fred Meyers they bring it to your car, no matter how far away you parked. They are also $ 2.00 cheaper. I will be going their next time.

Great local hardware store with helpful and knowledgeable staff. I always go here first. I love that we have a local store to support.

i’ve been trying to come here for the 14 years that i’ve lived in portland. i’m writing this less for future customers and more for the A-​boy management. dammit people, get your act together.
most of the times i come to your store, i leave empty handed. you don’t seem to carry the most basic of items. today i needed some coolant for my truck. yup, place for it on the shelves, but empty and none in the backroom. how do you run out of stuff like that and not have it replaced?
normally i would never complain or post here if this was a one time thing, but this exact scenario plays itself out over and over. the store always looks pulled apart. A-​boy is right down the street from my house and i’d far prefer to give my money to the smaller venues … but i’m sick of not finding common items.

I heart DIY, but I’m definitely not a home-​improvement expert, which is why I appreciate the friendly, helpful folks at this locally owned hardware store. I typically feel lost the moment I walk into such places, but the A-​Boy folks take me right to what I need. Last Saturday I went in for more soundproofing supplies and I was out in about five minutes. In my book, that’s great!

For 10 years I have passed this place while driving home from work and never known exactly what it was. «Electric and Plumbing» is definitely a limiting description, because I am rarely in dire need for anything electrical or pipe related. However; this store carries «Everything but the kitchen sink» — AND the kitchen sink. I discovered this when a friend moved into the neighborhood and I helped her move. She needed pegs for a book case. Done! Wheels for under a wine cabinet. Done! Gardening gloves. Done! Furniture anti-​scratch pads. Done! Hooks for hanging art work. Done! Spray paint. Done! Ceiling lamp hooks. Done!
Not only do they carry a million little do-​dads, but they have lighting, tools, some garden/​outdoor furniture, sinks/​faucets AND electrical and plumbing items.
The best part of all, their prices are less than if you purchased the item at a large chain!
If you live in the Burlingame area, or pass through it, you need to give this store a shot, before looking elsewhere. Not only will you probably find exactly what you need, but their customer service people will walk you to the items and explain how to use it or install it.

Basic neighborhood home and garden shop. Not too many helpful staff though so you best be ready to help yourself. Has many things you need to start or maintain your garden.

I have lived in the area for over a year and have driven by this store many times thinking it was mostly a garden center for some reason. I always passed it by because I figured they did not have hardware or tools. So I would always go way over to the Ace Hardware in Beaverton to buy my hardware items.
Well, the other day I was passing by and decided it was time to check out this store and see just what they had, I was not expecting much. However, when I walked in I was totally amazed at their selection. I was looking for some fasteners and was a bit overwhelmed with all the bins and boxes that they stock. I was wondering how in the world I would be able to find just what I needed.
Well, just when I was thinking it was going to take a long time to track down what I needed, an employee named John came up and cheerfully helped me find just what I needed. I was so impressed with his knowledge and helpfulness that I decided right then and there that this was going to be my new hardware store. I will be doing a lot of business here since they have the things I am always needing. Wish I had discovered just what all they had to offer here sooner!

As our neighborhood hardware store, I have put up with a few idiosyncrasies at A-​Boy for convenience, but I can’t handle poor customer service combined with a dwindling inventory and higher prices.
Most recently I ordered a custom shower door from them. I had a very tight deadline that they thought they could meet. After paying for the door, it took a full week to get the space measured; a direct result of them not getting order placed. Furthermore, I had to bug the contractor for install schedule; something they should have done. When all said and done, the «designer» blew it off saying that the glass company wouldn’t do anything. It was A-​Boys mistake, not the glass company. Mistakes happen, it’s how companies take responsibility for those mistakes that sets them apart. A-​boy failed. I guess I’m back to Home Depot.

This business is fantastic! They have a wide selection of products, and although they didn’t have the obscure, tiny fuse I was looking for, the sales team member wrote down the name and phone number for two other hardware stores where I could find a fuse replacement.
Great customer service!

Hard Ware Stores.
Some don’t deal with them, and some consider them an essential ingredient to self help. Supplemented by the Internet, they are a great resource at their best to help you keep your home working.
Plumbing is one of the least standardized elements of our built environment. Threads diameters. Quality minimal. Sort of works for a while is norm. Poo runs down hill and hardware stores have been following the same pattern over years.
Normally I would go to A-​ball, but they closed replaced by an adult store, so I ventured to A-​boy.
Most every toilet has a flopper. If you lift the lid and peer inside, the flush handle is connected by a chain to a rubber piece at the bottom shaped like the space ship disk of that old Star Trek series. Every few years that rubber piece has to be replaced. If you don’t, you will incur large water bills because of leaks. Degradation is increased by anti-​toilet ring drop-​in tablets. A flopper is about $ 5. Your water bill is increased by a leaky flopper by 3−10x the cost of fixing it per month. In the worst cases you can hear the leak. Or turn off the valve going into your toilet and see if the tank water level goes down from a flopper leak.
I bought a replacement flopper, they are about $ 5 here, but it still leaked. Asking, they called in their plumbing expert. He suggested laying a bead of Vaseline or axle grease around the outlet to even out gaps. By the way, that plumbing expert was in their 20’s. So generational transfer is working.
That kind of suggestion is what Hard Ware Stores provide as value.
Like this A-​Boy.