Buikema’s Ace Hardware

I rented a rug Doctor yesterday. I called to see if they rented them and checked out pricing prior to coming in. When I was on the phone asking about pricing and if they even rented them out the female sounded very young and didn’t know about pricing or if hey charged more for the bigger machines (rug doctors) Overall she sounded «dumb». I feel bad for saying that but she didn’t know any question that I asked. I almost didn’t come here because if I’m going to deal with her checking the rug Doctor out it might take an hour. If your going to have people answering the phone at least have some knowledge about what your store offers. She also quoted me wrong when it came to the solution that I needed for the vacuum. I might come here again but only if I know exactly what I’m buying.

My wife came out to this store for paint for a very small bathroom we were repainting so I had her go to ace. The gentleman she dealt with sold her a $ 50 gallon on paint and my wife wanted a faint like blue color. She gets home puts it in the wall and it’s completely white, she takes the paint back and they say we can’t add color to this so then my wife buys a $ 35 gall paint that you can add color too! This place is way over priced and take advantage of people not knowing exactly how to do things! I will never shop here again

We’ve always had a great experience at this store! Recently we needed to touch up paint our bathroom and couldn’t remember the exact paint color so we brought in a sample from the wall and they marched it perfectly! We have always experienced excellent customer service and the employees are willing to help us. They have a wide selection of items anything from school supplies to grills to bird feeders to tools and more. Yes, it’s not as big at Home Depot but it’s a great place to stop.
Plus our kids LOVE the mini shopping carts here too.

I am constantly amazed at how awful this store can be. My recent visit cemented the fact that I’ll never be going back to this Ace Hardware location ever again. It started with me asking for help finding an item. The male employee I asked was beyond condescending, but eventually pointed me upwards am aisle before quickly walking away. About 10 minutes later, I’m ready to checkout. Of course their computers freeze (like they have every single time I’ve entered this store). I’m asked to please take my items to another register. That computer freezes too, and the make matters worse, the very nice checkout lady calls got help. Yep, the condescending male employee (who happens to also be a floor manager) comes over and continues his pig headedness (not only towards me, but also towards the poor checkout girl). Mr. Floor Manager fiddles with the computer for 10 – 15 minutes before blaming my rewards card and me for crashing his computers. He goes on to suggest I check out without my rewards card then take my purchases to another Ace, return everything, re-​buy everything, then use my rewards card. Really??? I ask if I should just come back later, and in front of my 3yo daughter, other customers, and employees he says, «Well I don’t know if your card is going to crash our computers again or if they’ll even be back up.» My kid looked genuinely scared, so instead of telling him off, we walked out. They lost my business, and hopefully others will read this review and go somewhere else for their hardware needs.

I am not a fan of Buikema’s, I was in there one day & the manager was ripping into a older employee about sweeping up. Really in front of customers… I asked the gal at the desk who he was & she said our jerk of a manager. She & I both were embarrassed for the poor man. I would have walked out without giving notice if I was that man. So I have not gone back in there again. :(…

I was always a home depot guy, but had to stop in here for a quick part because i was in a rush. They were so helpful that i just couldn’t help but to keep coming back anytime i could. Ive been going to this ACE since 09 now and it is by far my favorite hardware store. I just wish they carried more products so i could give them more business.

Visit this Ace, or its sister store on Main Street, if you want to experience rude service and help that acts like you are a major annoyance in their day! The paint staff at both stores in particular is so condescending and unhelpful.
I spent an hour between two stores to get paint and really truly want to keep small retailers in business but customer service drove me to Home Depot. There I was treated with respect, got my questions answered in a kind manner and got the paint I wanted. This isn’t the first time I experienced such poor service but usually I say «one more try.» Not after today. I’m done with Ace.

Lived in Wheaton for 47 years and always try and shop locally to support our merchants. And, I used to frequent Buikemas on N. Main st. Used to be a nice place!
Then they opened Danada that was closer to my home. To make a long story short, the place has lots of inventory but the staff is the worse i have ever seen in a hardware store. And that now includes North Main as well. Hell, if I am not going to expect any customer service, I’d rather shop at Home Depot & pay lower prices!
But today was the icing on the cake. Tuesday morning, store was very quiet. Went to possibly purchase two Weber products. Together totaled just under $ 800.00. Weber prices are the same no matter where you go so why not save the gas! Anyway, Stood in the BBQ isle for 15 minutes. One employee (young kid) walked past me, not a word didn’t even look at me. Waited another 10 minutes and finally went to look for someone. Another 5 minutes and finally found the «key guy’. After asking if he could locate someone for me, the answer was «you will be lucky if anyone ever helps you over there, but I’ll try ad find someone». I go back to the BBQ isle. On my way back, there was that same kid (employee) standing there in the adjoining isle, texting on his phone. I didn’t say anything just to see what happens. A minute later, he walks past me again while I am standing by the grills, shoved something up on a shelf (now I know he works in that dept), pulls his phone out of his pocket and begins texting again as he walks away! No one ever did show up so I walked out of the store and went somewhere else to buy the Weber grill and Weber smoker!
For me, it’s back to home depot where I can find the same lack of help and poor attitudes, and save money at the same time!

I stopped in here a couple of times recently while working in the area and upon first entering the building, I thought I was going to be in for a 5 star experience. The store is bright and spacious, with aisles that seem to go on forever, just packed with merchandise. I got the feeling that this visit was actually going to be fun… after all, what guy (sure, girls too) doesn’t love getting lost in a hardware store? Unfortunately, my optimism was about to be turned inside-​out in a matter of minutes.
Since my first visit here was to have paint mixed, I stepped up to the Paint Dept and saw no one working behind the counter. No big deal, there’s a «Ring Bell for Service» sign, so I do just that. Four times. No one comes (and I’m within ear shot of the cashiers, but they don’t bother to notify anyone on their personal intercom system, either). So I start walking, looking for someone who can help me or at least find someone to assist me in finding someone to mix my paint so I can get my can and get back to work. I have to go all the way to the back of the store before I can find one person actually working, and when I ask him if he can help, he looks like I just interrupted his Thanksgiving dinner, but at least he alerts someone on his personal intercom. I thank him and head back to the paint department.
Where I wait… again. And then I wait some more, for what had to be at least ten minutes.
Finally someone comes and the calibration is broken on the tinting machine. (sigh) Eventually, they got my color right, but I just waisted my whole lunch time in a hardware store and I’m not one bit happy about it. Disappointing, because like I said above, I thought this was going to be a very happy experience. Another negative point would be the very high prices. Sure, you’ll probably find what you’re looking for here, but you’re really going to pay for it. As an example, I bought a pint of MinWax varnish the day before at Home Depot for $ 4.99. It’s $ 8.99 here.
Bottom line: Abundance of merchandise earns Buikema’s three stars, but that’s where the fun ends.

This is my favorite hardware store. It’s clean, bright, well organized and the staff are incredibly helpful in person and on the phone. I always find what I need and often find a few things I didn’t know I needed! I always feel confident with the advice given or products recommended by staff. I’m never made to feel stupid because of my lack of knowledge or experience, but rather I’m treated with respect and provided with useful information. This is not the closest Ace (or hardware store) to my home, but I drive out of my way to come here.
Shares driveway access with Outback Steakhouse. Easy parking.

This used to be my favorite Ace store when I had reason to be in the area. Now, I don’t get here often, and the construction on Butterfield really encourages one to AVOID the area.
This place was hopping today. One entire row of the parking lot and part of another are now dedicated to dirt, mulch, and other yard products. That makes the parking lot even more of a hazard than normal.
I picked up a couple items and was on my way. Fortunately I did not need assistance because it looked like that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.

I would give this a location 5 stars however, one sales person in particualr has forced me to drop it down to 3 stars. We went to Ace Hardware to exchange some light bulbs that my husband bought for the track lighting in our kitchen. We just moved into our our new home last week so he is unfamiliar with these particular bulbs that are needed. We went up to the service desk and there was a sign that said «closed, please use register 1». Because we were in a hurry my husband asked me to stand in line at register 1 while he ran to the back to get the correct bulbs. The woman (name started with an «S») was very rude on why we didnt have the reciept and that she didnt think that I came to the register right away (assuming as though the bulbs were stolen).
My husband was upset about this and told a manger that we were just looking to exchange and about the clerk’s attitude. He said that he will talk to her. So we went to another check out line because I decided to pick up a few items (one item included a coke that my husband grabbed from the cooler) and didnt want to deal with her again so I check out in another line.
As we are walking out the door, she accuses my husband of stealing the coke!!! Seriously??? Didnt you manager just tell you about your attitude, and then you do it again 3 minutes later!!! My husband was so upset that he is unsure that he even wants to shop there despite the fact that he LOVES that place.
EVERYONE ELSE THERE WAS GREAT, BUT «S» SHOULD BE PUT IN THE STOCK ROOM AWAY FROM CUSTOMERS. SHE WILL SCARE THEM ALL AWAY.

I went to Buikema’s Ace Hardware because I wanted to get a key made for my car after I dropped mine and it split apart. The man who helped me (can’t remember his name) ended up not being able to make a new key and thought it might be because the battery was dead. (His key reader wouldn’t read my key). So, he replaced the battery for me. But the key reader still wouldn’t work. So I said thanks anyway and went back out to my car. Put the key in the ignition and… nothing. Crank and crank and crank but the car wouldn’t start. I ended up having to have my car towed to the dealer– which was quite a pain in the a** at 5pm on a Saturday. When the dealer called Monday to tell me what was wrong with the car, he said whoever had installed the battery put it in backwards and for some weird reason that caused the car not to start. The dealer put the battery in correctly and the car started up just fine. Now, this guy at Ace may not have realized it was going to do that, but if you do car keys regularly, you should at least know which side of the battery goes up, no? Just saying… it was not a fun experience and I would NEVER recommend going here for a car key or battery replacement! At least not unless you’re willing to risk needing a tow and a rental car all because some idiot couldn’t put in a battery correctly!