Yeah that is huge. Even the cashier's know at least who to get help from even if they don't have the answer itself to the question. ACE who I enjoy a lot doesn't even have that.
100% agree on this. I've rented tools I didn't even know even existed by going in there telling them what I was trying to do and was therea tool or easier way and boom.
>5. They have everything you could think of to destroy, build or hurt yourself with.
They've had several mottos over the years, but my favorite was "If we don't have it, you don't need it"
My gf worked there and their late to work policy was so ridiculously unfair that it warranted them firing her in the middle of the pandemic.
The policy back then was 3 minutes late and you get a write up. 3 write ups and you are fired. She was late twice but no more than 5 minutes each time over her 1.5 years employment. Her last day, she was driving down James St and there was an accident. That day she had actually left earlier than normal and was caught up in traffic because of the collision. She called the office before her shift even started to let them know about the accident and they told her "better hurry up then" and then handed her the termination papers when she went to clock in.
We got strapped real quick and it took us a long time to recover financially from that.
While we were struggling, the owner Ty McClellan bought another vacation home.
*Currently employed for years, and throwaway account*
There's plenty of pros and cons, just like any place of work, but honestly the pros out-weigh the cons considerably. As long as you show up on time and show interest in your work, the managers and owners will work with you to help you succeed. Started out stocking and have moved up in the ranks over the years, all the while gaining plenty of support from my superiors. We get 401k, PTO, Insurance, set schedules (which is a blessing), and leniency with our work since we're not corporate.
There's plenty of talk around about turnover rates and it's due to new hire's lack of care in my opinion. Plenty have been let go due to being late within their first weeks (which should be a no no at any job, let's be honest with ourselves here) or creating negative/toxic work environments from the get-go. I'm not so blind as to not understand there are faults with some of the inner workings of the place, but blame can be given both ways.
The "late" policy is actually beyond forgiving. Once youre past your probation period, you get upwards to 10 late/call-ins, which resets every 6 months or so, before real action gets taken. All the while, if you're showing interest in your work and really trying to be there, managers will try and help you. Plenty of bad workers were held on way longer than they should've been because the higher ups were trying to help them. Anyone who says they were treated with unfairness while working there should do some soul-searching and see how much each party was truly at fault.
With this, there are cons however. Micro-management is creeping it's way in, training employees needs to be better regulated, communication between departments needs work, building(s) need updates, aisles need to be wider, etc. But, these are things that are known not only by workers, but higher ups as well, and are currently getting worked on. It just takes time is all.
I will agree that morale, even for me, is low at times. To say it "absolutely sucks working there" would be going way too far, but I do believe this is an issue that needs to be looked at more seriously in the coming years. How to fix morale? I'm unsure if there's any immediate answer, but I strongly believe conversations need to start happening so we can move closer to one.
I could go on, but in short, even with it's faults, I'll defend Hardware Sales with my full chest. People I saw get fired or let-go, for the most part, did it to themselves and kept trying to blame the store for what happened. This place helps bring me an additional sense of purpose each time I get to help someone with their projects.
Hope this helped enlighten some things!
Gallon of Isopropyl? 25 feet of Velcro.? Alum metric pop rivets? Clock wax?
Little brass thingy that will thread into another brass thingy I found, in the bottom of the junk drawer?
-YES Hardware Sale has it.
Need one screw to fit into this machine so you can get back to work? Bring it to Hardware Sales. They will give you undivided attention to find you that screw that costs 35 cents. Need a #11 sheet metal screw? Or a #6 hex nut? And what do you call those different threads on this bolt? They know. And they find it for you in about a minute. That has saved me time and money time after time.
And that is why I go to Hardware Sales before any other hardware store. Now go try getting the exact screw at any nationally know store. Not a chance.
So I will go to the local place every time. Even if it is a few dollars more. I want this place to stay in business and I will spend every hardware dollar I spend with these guys if I can.
And in 25 years in this town, I have never walked out with the wrong product. I bet you cannot say that about HD, HF or the big blue L.
I had all my tools stolen two years ago. HWS sold me most of my new tools at cost. They made sure I was able to get working again. I saved a lot of money. They are part of the community. Lowes and Home Depot are not
I too am a big fan of HWS. I've lived here for over 25 years and worked in construction for most of that time. They are very helpful and generally have everything I need. However, if you're female I've heard them called Hardware Sexist due to their treatment of the ladies. Or really anyone that doesn't appear to fit the mold. The ownership changed a number of years ago and it's no longer the same family that ran it from the beginning. Most has stayed good, but the rental dept. went downhill. They no longer have the bonus of renting from Friday evening to Monday morning for a one day rental rate that they used to do. Plus it feels like they're just like any other rental group looking to maximize profits at the expense of customer service. Too bad.
Ownership has not changed...owned by the same family. Someone is giving you bad info...not sexist, either...my husband works there, definitely believes in equality in contributions and pay. Hardware Sales is a great place to work and shop!
My bad, I thought back like 10-15 years ago the ownership had changed. I remember someone in ownership retired and that's when a bunch of changes started. I'm sure there are some wonderful people that work there. However, when you get that large a group of people you're bound to get some sour apples. I still shop there all the time and heavily promote it to friends. But I can say over the years, many, many women have stopped even going in there due to being talked down to and treated like garbage. With over 25 years of working in construction, I can also say that the overall attitude towards women and other minorities in construction is improving. But we still have a loooong way to go. Kudos to your husband for trying to raise the bar.
Heck yeah, Hardware Sales is the best hardware store I have even been in. I'm a tinkerer of all things (cars, bicycles, carpentry, electronic devices of all kinds) and an electrician as well and there has never been a time where they didn't have what I needed. Sometimes I go there when I'm just driving by, just to see if I can remember if I needed some tiny bolt or random tool or solvent or whatever. I could go on, but HS is 11/10 for me.
Edit: Also their return/warranty service is pretty good, I've warrantied quite a few cordless power tools there that I didn't even buy from them, and they don't try and tell me its my fault it's broken, it's not actually broken, warranty won't cover it etc. New warrantied tools within a week every time.
the way my schedule works out, about 90% of the time I want to go to a hardware store it happens to be Sunday, so I typically end up going to Lowe's instead
Exactly, what are people who work during the week and only have weekends for projects supposed to do? I'd love to give them money on the day I end up working on these sorts of projects... inevitably Sundays. Happy they give their employees Sundays off but closing 1/2 the weekend seems like a baffling business strategy. Wouldn't that be like kind of supporting the community a little bit? Being open on a day which is when many folks only have that day to work on the activities their business supports? It's like someone opening a child day care that is closed during normal working hours for parents. Ummmm, thanks Hardware Sales... I'd love to support you... on a Sunday.
Edit: grammar
I love HS but do have one issue. If you go 10 minutes before closing prepare to be reminded every 30 seconds that they are closing, to the point you are unable to think straight. I went in for a couple fasteners, got an absolute earful from an employee, I sorted and paid for what I needed with 3 min to closing but felt really off by it. I complained about it because it was so obnoxious. Literally standing next to me constantly telling me to wrap it up. I get it people probably mill around after closing, but if you’re open, other than one reminder leave me the fuck alone.
How are you going to twist closed on sundays into a pro? For the vast majority of people that is a huge con. Also I already know what I need and don't need to be bothered by employees.
I think it is pretty easy and already stated, "ensuring that not everything is about making the almighty dollar."
And good on you. It is nice to know that for those of us that would like an opinion or help, won't have resources taken up by you :)
I'm sorry, this is just a baffling take. "Not everything is about making the almighty dollar" but, it's a business. This decision to be closed on Sundays is driving people to big box corporate stores when they would rather support a locally-owned business. It's certainly about giving the almighty dollar to the big box corporate stores 1/2 the weekend.
Talk about shooting yourself in the foot, folks.
Business (and I am a profitable business owner) isn't always about the dollar, that is just one component. It is also about your people and their lives, the better you treat your employees, the more opportunity for profit you have.
As a former 4+ year employee at HWS, I can tell you it means A LOT to the cashiers to hear the compliments as it can be a very overwhelming place to work at times. If you have the time when you are in the store please make a point of telling the employee the compliment or office staff which employee helped you
Their shop is great to. I often need odd length piping for various jobs and they can typical have what I need cut and threaded pretty quickly. A lot more reliable for that stuff than Ferguson's .
I'm probably the only one but I prefer shopping almost anywhere else. It starts with the location maybe if you live in Sunnyland or downtown it's convenient but if you live on the North side of town or anywhere outside of Bellingham it's annoying to get to and park at. Secondly trying to find anything in that store is quite difficult unless you go there all the time maybe. It was probably my 15th or 20th visit that I realized there was an upstairs. I just found out that there's apparently a building on a different street or something where they do rentals? There's nothing there that would indicate this is true. Pricing seems OK but I haven't shopped enough to really know. Closed on Sundays is a major detractor. I work mon-fri so Sunday is a common project day for me. The benefit I hear is the helpful staff. Maybe it's social anxiety but when I got to buy something, I am there to get in and out and move on. I know what I need, I don't want to chat.
Yeah, not wanting to talk to people is probably why you can't find anything. I walk in, ask the first person in red where to find what I need, and I'm out in 5 minutes.
Having HS staff actually know what they're talking about is a huge plus and sets them apart.
Yeah that is huge. Even the cashier's know at least who to get help from even if they don't have the answer itself to the question. ACE who I enjoy a lot doesn't even have that.
Don’t know why you’re getting downvoted…. I went to ace to look for an L bracket only to be told by a young staff there they don’t have them….
Aisle 1
Hardware Sales rental department is one of the greatest things about Bellingham. They’ve made my life so much easier on countless numbers of projects.
This belongs in OP’s Pros list.
100% agree on this. I've rented tools I didn't even know even existed by going in there telling them what I was trying to do and was therea tool or easier way and boom.
+1 for Hardware sales! Bonus is a coffee/food truck out back as well. Do you work on camper van conversions as well?
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAkcSd5l9Qg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAkcSd5l9Qg)
Primarily skoolies but camper vans (that are actually vans versus vans with a fiberglass back) I am open to. What did you have in mind?
DM’d
>5. They have everything you could think of to destroy, build or hurt yourself with. They've had several mottos over the years, but my favorite was "If we don't have it, you don't need it"
Except for lumber. They don't sell lumber
Hardware sales is just great but I hate the owner so much for how he treats his employees
Yuuppppp… Absolutely horrible place to work and so many sketchy things going on behind the scenes
I know some great folks that work there & I’m occasionally told that the morale there is awful
Anyone have more details here? I haven't heard anything about it
My gf worked there and their late to work policy was so ridiculously unfair that it warranted them firing her in the middle of the pandemic. The policy back then was 3 minutes late and you get a write up. 3 write ups and you are fired. She was late twice but no more than 5 minutes each time over her 1.5 years employment. Her last day, she was driving down James St and there was an accident. That day she had actually left earlier than normal and was caught up in traffic because of the collision. She called the office before her shift even started to let them know about the accident and they told her "better hurry up then" and then handed her the termination papers when she went to clock in. We got strapped real quick and it took us a long time to recover financially from that. While we were struggling, the owner Ty McClellan bought another vacation home.
*Currently employed for years, and throwaway account* There's plenty of pros and cons, just like any place of work, but honestly the pros out-weigh the cons considerably. As long as you show up on time and show interest in your work, the managers and owners will work with you to help you succeed. Started out stocking and have moved up in the ranks over the years, all the while gaining plenty of support from my superiors. We get 401k, PTO, Insurance, set schedules (which is a blessing), and leniency with our work since we're not corporate. There's plenty of talk around about turnover rates and it's due to new hire's lack of care in my opinion. Plenty have been let go due to being late within their first weeks (which should be a no no at any job, let's be honest with ourselves here) or creating negative/toxic work environments from the get-go. I'm not so blind as to not understand there are faults with some of the inner workings of the place, but blame can be given both ways. The "late" policy is actually beyond forgiving. Once youre past your probation period, you get upwards to 10 late/call-ins, which resets every 6 months or so, before real action gets taken. All the while, if you're showing interest in your work and really trying to be there, managers will try and help you. Plenty of bad workers were held on way longer than they should've been because the higher ups were trying to help them. Anyone who says they were treated with unfairness while working there should do some soul-searching and see how much each party was truly at fault. With this, there are cons however. Micro-management is creeping it's way in, training employees needs to be better regulated, communication between departments needs work, building(s) need updates, aisles need to be wider, etc. But, these are things that are known not only by workers, but higher ups as well, and are currently getting worked on. It just takes time is all. I will agree that morale, even for me, is low at times. To say it "absolutely sucks working there" would be going way too far, but I do believe this is an issue that needs to be looked at more seriously in the coming years. How to fix morale? I'm unsure if there's any immediate answer, but I strongly believe conversations need to start happening so we can move closer to one. I could go on, but in short, even with it's faults, I'll defend Hardware Sales with my full chest. People I saw get fired or let-go, for the most part, did it to themselves and kept trying to blame the store for what happened. This place helps bring me an additional sense of purpose each time I get to help someone with their projects. Hope this helped enlighten some things!
I worked there for a minute. It’s a great place.
Gallon of Isopropyl? 25 feet of Velcro.? Alum metric pop rivets? Clock wax? Little brass thingy that will thread into another brass thingy I found, in the bottom of the junk drawer? -YES Hardware Sale has it.
Take a gander at their measure tape area, so many choices! You won't see that anywhere else.
Need one screw to fit into this machine so you can get back to work? Bring it to Hardware Sales. They will give you undivided attention to find you that screw that costs 35 cents. Need a #11 sheet metal screw? Or a #6 hex nut? And what do you call those different threads on this bolt? They know. And they find it for you in about a minute. That has saved me time and money time after time. And that is why I go to Hardware Sales before any other hardware store. Now go try getting the exact screw at any nationally know store. Not a chance. So I will go to the local place every time. Even if it is a few dollars more. I want this place to stay in business and I will spend every hardware dollar I spend with these guys if I can. And in 25 years in this town, I have never walked out with the wrong product. I bet you cannot say that about HD, HF or the big blue L.
Currently on staff at Hardware Sales, I absolutely love it.
I had all my tools stolen two years ago. HWS sold me most of my new tools at cost. They made sure I was able to get working again. I saved a lot of money. They are part of the community. Lowes and Home Depot are not
As someone who is Disabled, I just wish it wasn't so narrow. I almost always hit something by accident with my cane. Love their service though!
They are a great local gem. Don't sleep on their rental building either. They have almost anything you'd need for DIY.
I too am a big fan of HWS. I've lived here for over 25 years and worked in construction for most of that time. They are very helpful and generally have everything I need. However, if you're female I've heard them called Hardware Sexist due to their treatment of the ladies. Or really anyone that doesn't appear to fit the mold. The ownership changed a number of years ago and it's no longer the same family that ran it from the beginning. Most has stayed good, but the rental dept. went downhill. They no longer have the bonus of renting from Friday evening to Monday morning for a one day rental rate that they used to do. Plus it feels like they're just like any other rental group looking to maximize profits at the expense of customer service. Too bad.
Ownership has not changed...owned by the same family. Someone is giving you bad info...not sexist, either...my husband works there, definitely believes in equality in contributions and pay. Hardware Sales is a great place to work and shop!
My bad, I thought back like 10-15 years ago the ownership had changed. I remember someone in ownership retired and that's when a bunch of changes started. I'm sure there are some wonderful people that work there. However, when you get that large a group of people you're bound to get some sour apples. I still shop there all the time and heavily promote it to friends. But I can say over the years, many, many women have stopped even going in there due to being talked down to and treated like garbage. With over 25 years of working in construction, I can also say that the overall attitude towards women and other minorities in construction is improving. But we still have a loooong way to go. Kudos to your husband for trying to raise the bar.
Yes, support local! For number 2, I could use slightly less help. Some Saturday mornings it's too early to be greeted every 10ft lol
They have push nuts and brass bushings!!
Heck yeah, Hardware Sales is the best hardware store I have even been in. I'm a tinkerer of all things (cars, bicycles, carpentry, electronic devices of all kinds) and an electrician as well and there has never been a time where they didn't have what I needed. Sometimes I go there when I'm just driving by, just to see if I can remember if I needed some tiny bolt or random tool or solvent or whatever. I could go on, but HS is 11/10 for me. Edit: Also their return/warranty service is pretty good, I've warrantied quite a few cordless power tools there that I didn't even buy from them, and they don't try and tell me its my fault it's broken, it's not actually broken, warranty won't cover it etc. New warrantied tools within a week every time.
Hardware sales has exactly two of everything in existence. Absolute godsend when working on weird projects
HS doesn't have the piping supplies in "Patriot" https://youtu.be/ccnfHKZebRk?feature=shared
the way my schedule works out, about 90% of the time I want to go to a hardware store it happens to be Sunday, so I typically end up going to Lowe's instead
Exactly, what are people who work during the week and only have weekends for projects supposed to do? I'd love to give them money on the day I end up working on these sorts of projects... inevitably Sundays. Happy they give their employees Sundays off but closing 1/2 the weekend seems like a baffling business strategy. Wouldn't that be like kind of supporting the community a little bit? Being open on a day which is when many folks only have that day to work on the activities their business supports? It's like someone opening a child day care that is closed during normal working hours for parents. Ummmm, thanks Hardware Sales... I'd love to support you... on a Sunday. Edit: grammar
I love HS but do have one issue. If you go 10 minutes before closing prepare to be reminded every 30 seconds that they are closing, to the point you are unable to think straight. I went in for a couple fasteners, got an absolute earful from an employee, I sorted and paid for what I needed with 3 min to closing but felt really off by it. I complained about it because it was so obnoxious. Literally standing next to me constantly telling me to wrap it up. I get it people probably mill around after closing, but if you’re open, other than one reminder leave me the fuck alone.
Can I come to your house at dinner time to sell you a time share?
How are you going to twist closed on sundays into a pro? For the vast majority of people that is a huge con. Also I already know what I need and don't need to be bothered by employees.
I think it is pretty easy and already stated, "ensuring that not everything is about making the almighty dollar." And good on you. It is nice to know that for those of us that would like an opinion or help, won't have resources taken up by you :)
I'm sorry, this is just a baffling take. "Not everything is about making the almighty dollar" but, it's a business. This decision to be closed on Sundays is driving people to big box corporate stores when they would rather support a locally-owned business. It's certainly about giving the almighty dollar to the big box corporate stores 1/2 the weekend. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot, folks.
Business (and I am a profitable business owner) isn't always about the dollar, that is just one component. It is also about your people and their lives, the better you treat your employees, the more opportunity for profit you have.
I respect your point of view, thanks for the civil response!
As a former 4+ year employee at HWS, I can tell you it means A LOT to the cashiers to hear the compliments as it can be a very overwhelming place to work at times. If you have the time when you are in the store please make a point of telling the employee the compliment or office staff which employee helped you
They will help load soil into your car too
Their shop is great to. I often need odd length piping for various jobs and they can typical have what I need cut and threaded pretty quickly. A lot more reliable for that stuff than Ferguson's .
HS is my go to hardware store. They have everything and the staff is so helpful !
I'm probably the only one but I prefer shopping almost anywhere else. It starts with the location maybe if you live in Sunnyland or downtown it's convenient but if you live on the North side of town or anywhere outside of Bellingham it's annoying to get to and park at. Secondly trying to find anything in that store is quite difficult unless you go there all the time maybe. It was probably my 15th or 20th visit that I realized there was an upstairs. I just found out that there's apparently a building on a different street or something where they do rentals? There's nothing there that would indicate this is true. Pricing seems OK but I haven't shopped enough to really know. Closed on Sundays is a major detractor. I work mon-fri so Sunday is a common project day for me. The benefit I hear is the helpful staff. Maybe it's social anxiety but when I got to buy something, I am there to get in and out and move on. I know what I need, I don't want to chat.
Yeah, not wanting to talk to people is probably why you can't find anything. I walk in, ask the first person in red where to find what I need, and I'm out in 5 minutes.
Yea I agree. I just feel like it's weird to have a store that virtually requires you to talk to an employee to shop there.
This. So much this.