Handy Ace Hardware

Huge store with great selection. Nice people and excellent customer service. Plenty of parking. Easy to find. Big fan! Good Carhartt selection.
UPDATE
So, I’ve been there 3 times since my original review, and I’m a little disappointed. They’ve failed to replenish the stock of Carhartt or call us when they opened the new stock (as requested) The employees are spectacular, but I’m driving clear across town to visit this location. Not bad… just not as great as I thought.

Poor customer service. Walked in needing to get a wooden shelf cut down. Gary in the back was speaking to a lady ahead of me… minutes passed on discussions from ladies clothing store to tomatoes and not once did he acknowledge me or say one moment please or I’ll be with you in a moment. I don’t mind paying a little extra to get a job done or help support smaller stores but poor customer service… no thank you, I walked out.

Lots of inventory but if you come here needing advice or assistance with something, forget about it. If I want bad customer service, I’ll go to the big box stores and pay less. If I need help from people who (a) know what they’re talking about and (b) know what «customer service» really is, I’ll stick with Intown Ace on Scott Blvd, or Toco Hills. I’ve found both locations have employees who are helpful, polite and courteous. These locations will get my business from now on.

Would be 0 stars if it were possible. Was actually shouted at by one of their employees. Go to Home Depot or lowes you will pay less and you likely won’t get shouted at.

A wonderland of hardware!
I just wish it were closer.
It’s not close enough to be the first stop for basics, but the moment I think I’m going to have trouble sourcing something, I’m on my way.
I monopolized one of the employees today for probably 20 minutes to help me find a disparate selection of screws that had nothing in common with each other and we were up and down the various screw aisles until I had everything I needed for my project. I felt almost guilty that after all that I only had about $ 4 worth. but I find myself making the trek more and more and just getting it over with instead of futzing around with disappointment at the Big Box stores.

OUTSTANDING! This place is in direct contrast to Home Depot. At HD you can never find anyone to help you when you need them. At Handy they are go far beyond the call of duty and are immensely willing to help. I will never visit HD again…

I love this place! I came here to get my Axehandle fixed and their customer service was above and beyond. John was the gentleman that helped me with my Axehandle not only did he attempt to put a new handle on my ace but when he learned that he was not capable of doing so he referred me to a gentleman in house that could. I have now left my axe there to get the work that it needs. Not only was John extremely helpful but I brought my dog with me and I was able to bring her in store. I didn’t have a leash or collar but I was able to purchase one there. Upon retrieving my dog from the car I locked my keys in my car and a very helpful employee was able to help me to retrieve them, this saved me a lot of money! My sweet dog was very happy to find that they even had dog treats for her at the counter. Thank you to everybody who works here for your friendliness, and your impeccable hospitality and customer service!

Not impressed with this store. Staff are either angry or just pissed off every time I go in there. I don’t know what has changed. To be fair not every staff member is unpleasant to deal with. The cashiers are great and the folks in the garden area are always in a good mood. I do try to support ace but I think I will go to the one in Decatur for now on.

This is a big hardware store. When you have a real problem that you can’t solve at Lowes or Home Depot go see these guys. This weekend I needed washers for my 1953 American Standard sink. They had what I needed. And were able to help verify that what I would be doing is going to work. Now we have our sink back together and no leaks. Dry as a chip. Great way to get the job done.

I was so sad when the original Tucker Ace Hardware burned down:(. My husband and I would go by most weekends to pick things up. They were always so helpful and knowledgable.
I was ecstatic when this new one was built on Lawrenceville Highway. Yay!
Although being closed on Sundays is certainly an inconvenience for our many weekend projects, we take advantage of their inventory and advice whenever they are open. They are so friendly and have all sorts of random things. I get most of my stocking stuffers for Christmas from Ace too:)
This location feels bigger and brighter also. I will continue to take my business to this location. Between Ace, Home Depot and Cofer Bros. in Tucker, we are always well equipped for any of our projects.

Wow! New Store New Location! Super Sized!
Just a stone’s throw from Main St downtown Tucker in the Yum Yum Thai restaurant shopping center! Perfect location with plenty of parking!
Love how spacious the new location is compared to its two previous spots! The Customer Service is still #1!
Had no trouble locating the Gardening supplies I needed. Plus I was able to get the Plummer’s putty I needed for that leaking outside faucet! The prices were an exact match to other local retailers! Plus check out was super speedy! No lines! Love that!
I would much rather cater my business to a locally owner store rather than a foreign national chain. This is where I will be shopping for all my household DIY needs!
Come over and check out Handy and tell me if you agree!

Handy Ace Hardware in Tucker has reopened, not far from their old locations. This place is amazing! They sell every small part you could want. They have rows of screws, nuts, washers, nails, etc. — all sold individually. They also have a great selection of tools, adhesives, electrical items, plumbing items, paints, and millions of odds and ends. The service is very good — infinitely better than Home Depot or Lowes.

RUDE RUDE RUDE.
On 1÷6÷14, I purchased 5 styrofoam faucet covers, since the temp was predicted to go down to zero that night. I used three of them on my house, and in a few days went back to return the other 2 (which my daughter didn’t need for her house). I had my receipt and the covers still had the labels on them.
The «manager» informed me very curtly, «Sorry, that’s a storm-​reated item, we can’t take it back.» WHAT??? I replied that I didn’t buy them for a storm, I bought them for a hard freeze. He repeated his statement again — that was a storm, so we can’t take it back. SINCE WHEN IS A HARD FREEZE CONSIDERED A STORM? Are you telling me that there won’t be anymore freezing weather this winter? No m’am. After trying unsuccessfully to make this BULLY see reason, I gave up, left the covers on the counter, and walked out.
It wasn’t the money — they were only $ 3.50 apiece. But to have the gall to tell me (IN A VERY RUDE AND DISMISSIVE MANNER) that he can’t take back an unused item which they can easily resell is just plain BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE. I honestly don’t see how this awful store stays in business.
***** IF YOU EVER WANT TO RETURN ANYTHING, YOU BETTER MAKE SURE IT WASN’T PURCHASED FOR A «STORM». THEIR DEFINITION OF STORM SEEMS TO BE VERY BROAD. *****
Trust me, I’ll NEVER go back to this junky store — give me the helpful guys at Home Depot anytime.

Sooooooo sorry to hear about the loss of the store! You guys are the best!
OK, enough of that — now get to rebuilding. We’re not letting you off that easy. I can’t get squat done without Handy, so get to it.

My go to place for hard to find items. The staff is incredibly helpful.

I normally shop the mom/​pop Ace in Conyers in lieu of HDepot or Lowes; mom & pop were there… first. I was passing through Tucker and stopped into the new Handy City… and it’s just not handy at all, even worse in the new location for parking and narrow aisles littered with junque.
I had purchased two of the 50ft coiled watering hoses that Ace handles for $ 19.89 each… the last two in Conyers. I stopped into Tucker specifically to get one more for the garden… when I did finally locate the hose (on my own… I didn’t want to disturb the «vests» that were standing around chit chatting away; they were much too involved to ask if I needed help)…the hoses that they had were $ 25 each.
Same hoses as Conyers Ace… but $ 5.11 more.
If Ace ever wonders why they lose customers and business to the big box stores… it’s greedy, dirty, uncomfortable, junky and lazy hardware stores under the Ace name. This place is the dinosaur of hardware stores and I won’t be stopping in again.

Handy Ace isn’t the store I go to for most items — that’s usually Home Depot or Lowes (Home Despot or Blowes as I like to call them — tongue-​in-​cheek, collectively the BORG as in «Big Orange Retail Giant» with a nod to Star Trek the Next Generation). The problem with shopping at the BORG stores is that sure, they have the very generic stuff you might be looking for and usually at good prices (it’s still cheaper to order online with free shipping and no tax, but that’s only good if you’ve planned out way ahead), it’s for those obscure items that you shop at Handy Hardware, especially if you’re in the middle of a project and suddenly realize you’re missing a class 8 bolt and can’t get the front suspension back together — you get the idea. Handy Ace is especially good for restoring old hardware — case in point, the homes in my neighborhood mostly still have the old aluminum casement windows that crank open — often those cranks are missing — I’ve actually managed to find one still in package at Handy Ace that was a direct replacement (I may have bought the last one so don’t get too excited if you need the same). No place else I’ve tried had anything close.
So that gets into the real reason this store rates 5 stars for me — finding that oddball part that no one else has. The original store (that was located right across the street — I’m not sure if the address on Unilocal is the old or new — the old store was in the corner shopping center, the new is South-​East of the old store in a stand-​alone building that can be seen from the old store’s entrance) had been in it’s location for many, many years and I don’t believe any item had ever been removed from being «current» stock. What that means is that you used to be able to root around in the back of pegs and find hardware that hadn’t been available since the 80’s. Case in point, if you ever need to replace a 5″ Kwikset latch for a door — they actually still have these on pegs. Otherwise you’re up for a long online search for the same item with a slim chance of finding a match — think about going to a store and actually finding one still on the shelf! I mean they still have old Buck branded chisels in the tool bins and the company that made those was bought and sold many years ago. Most of the negative comments I’ve seen for Handy Ace are really due to the chaos of their move — the old store was packed to the gills and the new store is actually smaller — thus there are still boxes and bins of hardware in the aisles so be prepared (true even one year later).
The second reason this store gets 5 stars is due to the customer service and general knowledge of the staff. If you spend 5 minutes and can’t find something, make sure you ask — if the person you asked doesn’t know where something is, they will direct you to exactly the right person who either does know where the item is, or can give you some options (like special ordering a part for you). The service and wealth of information here is amazing. It’s also very old-​school so it may not appeal to everyone. If you’re in a big hurry this may not be the place for you — if you like to know the people you’re working with, who are consistently at the same store for year-​after-​year, then this IS your store. You build relationships at Handy Ace, try to do that at Lowes (heck try to find anyone at Lowes!). When I talk about ordering, know that Handy Ace still has access to suppliers (they have tons of catalogs) that the BORG have never heard of — it’s very likely that they’ll find that obscure part for you that only gets you a «Huh?» at Home Depot.
The third reason Handy Ace gets a 5 from me is the fact that you can still go in and hunt down that one fastener you need, like a metric 10.2 bolt in exactly the right fine thread and size, with matching washers and a nut, in open bins. You’re able to make sure it works with what you have (take in one and match the threads, etc) without opening packages, take the items up front and pay only for what you NEED. You don’t have to buy a pound of them, or some blister pack that makes you net a bunch of fasteners you’ll never need to use again (my shop is littered with little plastic packages of nuts, bolts and screws where I’ve only needed one or two and have never needed the same size again — you end of with all this stuff taking up space that’s a nightmare — all gotten from the BORG and of no benefit to you). I’m talking super cheap prices (many are around 4 – 10 cents each) and they do it old school — brown paper bag. You just don’t get that any where else (well you do at General and the other Handy Ace stores but that’s another posting).
So there are three reasons to go — just manage your expectations regarding the clutter and you’ll do fine. Make sure you TALK to the people who work there and you’ll understand why I go back.

This is the neighborhood «go to» store for all of those household odds and ends that you really have no idea where it came from or how to replace it.
The store relocated almost a year ago to its new location now, a stone’s throw away. When I came here after the move, I was totally put off– everything was a bigger mess than in the old location! (and some seriously bad feng shui!) Flash forward to yesterday when I stopped back in to have my old window screens re-​screened. Much more order and a much better traffic flow! I think they finally got it right.
Power tools, thing-​a-​ma-​jigs, cast iron pans, Carhartt jackets, nuts, bolts and little red wagons– they have it all here and you didn’t even know you needed it. I even bought a pizza peel here!
Everyone at Handy Ace is so friendly and helpful. I had my screens fixed and was out the door with a few other gadgets that I didn’t even know I needed. I used to work for the big box competitor and there are a few things that I still go there for, but for service and help anywhere near Tucker, Handy Ace is the place!

We visited the new location over the weekend. I had been to the old location one other time and had a pretty bad experience. Basically I had an older employee just brush me off and tell that I was screwed (trying to replace a seal in a bathroom faucet).
I had heard that this store was known for friendly staff and helpful service, so I thought that we would give it a shot. Plus I wanted to see the fancy new store.
This place had so much crap in it, you literally couldn’t get though some of the isles. It’s like a law suit waiting to happen. The way the store is set up makes no sense and you should just save yourself the trouble of looking for something and just ask an employee where it is. Pitiful lawn and garden section.
They had a whole bunch of employees working, but they seemed more occupied with each other, than with customers. Some weird folks in there, including a very scary looking woman.
We did get some help and found what we were looking for with little problems. But, I don’t see any reason to go back here again. I didn’t really see where they stood out from any other Ace hardware, except they had mounds of merchandise scattered all over the place. If a Hardware store can’t organize itself, I don’t really trust them to help me organize.

After getting treated like a dumb broad at Home Depot and Lowe’s (even though I knew exactly wtf I needed, I just couldn’t find it), I decided to go here.
I had been here when they were at their old location and the place looked like a bomb went off. Well… same thing here. They just moved into this location and it already looked like tornado had gone through there. You literally can not find ANYTHING. I could not even find the plumbing section there was so much crap EVERYWHERE. I doubt they will clean the store up since the old location was terrible too.
I did get the part I needed to fix a leaky faucet and didn’t get treated like a dumb broad, but the mess in there is enough to give me a panic attack.