Sadly, after coming here for so many years - ever since it opened (we were there on opening day),…read morewe are saying "no mas" to the Kensington store. Why? Most would say high prices - but there is a convenience factor, and a safety factor (no sketchy characters in the parking lot - are you paying attention, Home Depot Aspen Hill?), and most importantly, the regular dollars-off coupons, which make the higher prices somewhat more palatable. So lets explore for a moment. Wouldn't you think that after so many years of coming here 2-3 times a week on average (sometimes more, sometimes less), at least someone there - one, maybe more - would recognize us? But it never fails. No hello, no "nice to see you," nothing. Instead, it never fails - one particular cashier NEVER fails to ask, "are you an Ace Rewards member?" Well, let's see - I was here yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that ... and you asked the same question - and I'm wearing the same paint-stained t-shirt - and I just handed you one of your coupons (which are for members only) - so, what do you think? So irritating. But, not the end of the world ... until the final straw. First, I'm in the nuts-and-bolts, serve-yourself isle - been there at least 100 times - and the same fellow (older) walks up and says, "so, do you know how to count up your items and mark them down?" Yes, old timer, I think I can handle that - let me see - four bolts, four washers, four nuts - yup, got it!! Again, not the end of the world - but really, how many times does this guy have to see me ... okay, never mind. Got what I needed and head to the checkout - I have lots and lots of items, about $100 in total. I avoid the "are you an Ace Rewards member" fellow and head to the other cashier. No hello, how are you, etc. She rings up the items and I put down my $10 off coupon - and she says, "that coupon won't work." Her logic - one of the items (and I have many) is "already discounted" by one dollar. So I say, okay, take that item and charge it separately ... she struggles with that a bit, and I still have over $50 and therefore, $10 off. And she says, "that coupon isn't valid because these items aren't discountable." So I say, "which items - all but one are Ace branded items - and where does it say on the back of the coupon that any one specific items here is not discountable?" Of course, the coupon says nothing of the sort - just some vague boilerplate language. After some further back-and-forth, she clearly is incapable of explaining her reasoning and clearly is making up the rules as she goes along. So I say, "tell you what - no sale - and tell the manager that you caused a no-sale of $100 of goods, over made-up rules that you can't explain." Remember, this is over a $10 coupon, which is a 10% discount off already inflated prices. (I also had the lesser $5 off $35 coupon, but - no deal!).
I end up going to the big box store (Lowes Gaithersburg) and getting the same items, for much less money than what I would have spent, even if she had granted the discount.
In a nutshell - what should be a friendly, local hardware store, where maybe not everyone knows your name but hopefully someone does, is nothing of the sort. Just a high-priced, limited-inventory place that I will avoid - and that, after spending thousands and thousands of dollars at this store over the years. We were so glad when it opened, replacing Hardware City - which was the world's WORST hardware store. But, we suppose the ghosts of poor customer service and overpriced items have not abandoned the building. So - Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice - avoid those ghosts of the past and endure the big boxes. One day maybe we will have a local customer-oriented store - the Bethesda store is somewhat better, but parking is a nightmare - sad to say, but unless it's an absolute emergency, we won't spend another penny in this store - ever.
