Ace Hardware Blog

The Key to Success is Cheaper Than it Looks!

Have you noticed that many newer vehicles use plastic headed keys that seem much larger than they need to be.  I used to think it was to make losing them much harder (kind of like the reason old gas stations used to attach a piece of 1 x 6 lumber to their restroom keys).  Although a good guess, it is wrong!

Many vehicle manufacturers have begun implanting transponder chips into the key heads.  Each chip has a unique code that will only work in the vehicle it was intended for.  This is an attempt to thwart would be car thieves.  Unfortunately, its also effective in thwarting owners who want to purchase a cheap duplicate.

Until recently, the replacement keys were only available from the specific vehicle manufacturer.  This often came at a fairly steep price (well over $100 each!), but as usually happens with new technologies, the prices are coming down.  At least they are coming down at Dave's Ace Hardware in Milton.  Last fall, we took the plunge and purchased the equipment to read and write the codes on a large percentage of chip keys currently in use.  In fact, we can now duplicate keys for about 75% of the cars and trucks that use them (still can't do Ferrari's, Porsche's, Lamborghini's, Mercedes, Bentleys, etc.  Sorry!).  The bigger news is we can do it while you wait for between $49.99 and $69.99!  While that is more expensive than a typical house key, it's far less expensive (and more convenient) than going back to the dealer.

If you're curious whether you even have a chip key, stop at our customer service counter and insert yours into our special key analyzer.  It will instantly tell you if you're the lucky owner of a chip key and perhaps more importantly, whether you should be even more careful not to misplace your only other spare key!

Happy Spring!

There's just something inherently wrong with snow on the first day of spring!  This is what our greenhouse looked like on Friday, March 21 after I finished plowing snow off the parking lot.  Fortunately none of our plants have arrived yet.  Depending on he weather, we usually take our first delivery around the third or forth week in April.  If this is any indication, we may have to wait until May this year.

According to the TV, Madison, WI officially topped 100 inches of snow this winter which sets a new all-time record.  I don't know about you, but that is a record I'd prefer not repeating any time too soon.

I had to laugh.  One of our special spring promotions is for a "four step" lawn fertilizer program.  Usually it begins with a pre-emergent crabgrass preventer, but this year I am suggesting a 50 pound bag of ice melter instead!  In all seriousness, though, it won't be long before we can all get back to our lawns and gardens. 

Spring is also one of the best times to apply grass seed, so whether you are over-seeding and existing lawn or starting a new one, we have the quality seed and starter fertilizers to make your project a big success. 

Stop in soon.  We'd love to show you what's new at Dave's Ace hardware.

No Room at the Inn

Last Thursday, my wife, daughter and I went to Dallas, TX to attend the spring Ace Hardware Convention.  Our flight left late in the afternoon and arrived at about 10 p.m.  Once we arrived, we were surprised to see it had snowed!  The temperature was in the 20's.  We picked up our rental car and drove to the hotel.  Upon arrival, we were advised that several of their guests had been forced to stay another night since so many flights were canceled (guess they don't do airport snow very well in Dallas).  Unfortunately, we were told they'd made arrangements for us to go to a different hotel down the road.

Upon arriving at the replacement hotel, we checked in and carried our bags to the new room.  Imagine our surprise when we opened the door and found the room already occupied!  Fortunately for us, the folks were from an Ace store in Morris, MN and had  been ejected from the same hotel as us.  Understanding our plight, they invited us to come in and use their phone to call the front desk.

Once I got customer service on the phone I told them how happy I was with the room but wondered if they could send us 3 roll-away beds since the room apparently included ANOTHER COUPLE!  40 minutes later, a bellmen arrived with a new room key.  We got our luggage to the new room only to find it was a "conference type" room.  Big table, chairs, wet bar, and one queen sized bed that folded out of the wall!  Obviously that wouldn't do for three of us.  About a half hour later, a roll-away bed arrived.  I got 5 hours of sleep.

I left early Friday morning for the Ace show.  Lori and Savannah ate breakfast, schlepped the luggage to the rental car and returned to our original hotel to check in...... but they still didn't have a room.  Back to the other hotel they went.  There, they checked into a different room (and weren't too happy about it either!).

Saturday Morning I got up early and went to the Ace show and once again Lori and Savannah hauled the luggage to the car and went to check in at the original hotel.  It was about 11 a.m.  This time, luck was with them (sort of).  The hotel actually had our room but the desk clerk advised them that "check in is not until 3 p.m."  Obviously, this was the wrong thing to say to a lady that just moved her luggage for the forth time.  After a bit of negotiating, they found a suitable room and allowed her to check in.  Although we finally got the room we wanted (for one night), we weren't exactly wowed by the experience.

When I think about it, it was a lot like how I've been treated at other businesses.  Some times things don't work out exactly as we plan but we always try to do the best we can for our customers.  Sometimes it's hard to explain how unexpected problems arise, but I've always said, "problems are really opportunities to exceed our customers expectations".   Solving problems is what sets us apart from all the other retailers.   It seems that many people have come to expect mediocre resolutions.

When dealing with problems, our staff is empowered to "error on the side of generosity" and to treat our customers as they would want to be treated themselves.  It seems like common sense to me.... but if it was common, everyone would get it.  Fortunately for Dave's Ace, too many other business simply don't! 

Practice Makes Perfect!

Last week, Todd Hesgard and I spent a few days in sunny Knoxville, TN (actually it was snowing!) at the Woodstream Company's Mosquito Magnet Headquarters. 

In case you hadn't heard, Woodstream purchased the assets of the American Biophysics Company (AMB) early last year after AMB filed for bankruptcy protection.  Since then, Woodstream has been working feverishly to improve the service level Mosquito Magnet owners receive.  Fortunately for Dave's Ace customers, we have been offering professional service and repairs on Mosquito Magnets since 2005.  As one of only a handful of certified "Platinum Service Providers" in North America, we have earned a well deserved reputation for excellence (sounds like I'm boasting!).

Anyway.... back to Knoxville.  We joined a group of eleven other service providers to share techniques and brush up on our diagnostic skills.  We  also learned about a new on-line resource for certified service providers which will make ordering and tracking parts much more efficient.  In addition, we learned the new process which will finally allow us to perform fast in-warranty service, so customers will no longer be forced to ship their units back to he factory (something we've been asking about for years).

Last year we performed service work on over 400 Mosquito Magnets from all over the country.  We even did some of the harder jobs that other shops were unable or unwilling to tackle.  Our customers ranged from individuals told by big box stores "it's not our problem" to local hardware stores sending them in on behalf of their customers (apparently demonstrating yet again the difference between them and the warehouse stores!).  For 2008, we have completely renovated our service area including increasing our capacity to test 14 units at one time (we always run repaired traps at least one hour before returning).  We stock every part for every currently produced model (Defender, Liberty and Liberty Plus) and have the knowledge and experience to ensure your machine continues to suck up those pesky blood sucking mosquitoes.  This year our goal is to provide the fastest turn around times possible (usually 3 days or less). 

Next time you are in the store, be sure and ask Todd or me to show you our repair facility.

Kids On Stage Show a Success

Last weekend the Milton Optimist Club presented their 19th annual children's production.  This year's show was called "Wooing Red Riding Hood", a spoof on the story of Little Red Riding Hood.  In addition to the Little Red Riding Hood character, there was a Medium Purple Riding Hood (played by my 10 year old daughter Savannah, shown at left), Big Green Riding Hood, an Evil Queen, a King, a UPS Driver, a Big Bad Wolf, a Fairy Godmother (of course) and many other uniquely strange and bizarre characters.

The show included a number of "commercials" for local businesses including a hard hitting advertisement for the Garden Weasel available at Dave's Ace Hardware!  The whole show lasted almost 2 hours and was followed by an opportunity for fans to have pictures taken with their favorite stars and even get a few autographs too!

Can you imagine working for over two months with a group of 3rd through 8th graders (I have a hard time dealing with one!)?  Although there were a lot of folks who contribute to the shows success, Julia Foster-Armstrong, Lois Skatrud and Mark Burdick deserve special recognition for their effort this year and in years past.  Congratulations to all.

Dave Does Washington (DC)

For the third time in four years, I had the honor of going to our nation's capitol to visit with lawmakers regarding issues important to independent hardware retailers.  As the chairman of the North American Hardware Association's Legislative Leadership Council, I was actually representing thousands of independent retailers!

While in Washington, I spoke to Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and staff members from the offices of Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), Congresswomen Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI).  While it was apparent that each person I spoke with did not agree with everything I suggested, they were all receptive and appreciative of my efforts on behalf of small business people throughout Wisconsin and the United States. 

I am already looking forward to making an appearance in 2009.  Who knows, maybe I'll  meet our new president (but most likely not).