Complaints

This profile includes complaints for South East Ace Inc.'s headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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South East Ace Inc. has 2 locations, listed below.

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  South East Ace Inc.

  815 State St Cayce, SC 29033-4313

• 

  South East Ace Inc.

  2085 N Beltline Blvd Columbia, SC 29204-3975

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/29/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Date of Transaction: 9-16-2023
  Notes: ordered 6 quarts and 1 Gal of matched paint, was told my the man who mixed up the paint that I these would be perfect matches, now that we are getting around to applying the paint- nothing matches and is very inconsistent. I called and spoke to the manager, she stated they couldn’t do anything about it and I should have made sure the match was perfect at purchase. How on earth can I make sure the match is correct when I cannot see it up against the wall? I asked for the store owner or franchisee information to discuss the issue with them, she stated she will not give out any of that information and that she was the only manager I was able to speak to, so with a simple SC-SOS search located the owner and had found his LinkedIn to attach to the complaint. This was no small purchase, and considering this is completely the fault of the individual who mixed the paint, I believe that a refund in full or remixing the paint is a very reasonable request. South East ACE should take pride in the products they sell- not disregard consumer complaints when they mess up their work.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/11/2023

  Mr. B****** had called approximately 14 days after purchasing several quarts/gallons of paint color matches.  Our color matching software uses spectrophotometry to capture and replicate colors from samples brought in by customers.  Our policy requires customers to approve the matched colors before purchasing the product against the samples they bring in.  There are several variables that may affect the way paint touches up including the product's angular sheen (the amount of shine that the specific product has), the applicator used (was the product applied the same way it originally was ie: brushed, rolled,etc.), and the overall lighting of the space as compared to flourescent lighting in our stores. Since there are several confounding variables that may affect a paint match, the customer is responsible for approving the match prior to leaving the store.  

  When tinting saved Benjamin Moore colors (the product line that we carry exclusively) from our system, we ensure that if there are issues due to our automated tint machine we will reconcile the product in question--however, we do not make that same guarantee with color matches and rely on the customer to approve or disapprove colors before exiting the store.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/11/2023

  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  While I was in the store ordering and picking up the paint, I was never asked in any way, shape, or form if I “approved” the paint. This manager is attempting to cover up for her own employees mistake. If only one gallon of paint was incorrectly matched, I could understand that there might have been some issue. But this was every single tin of paint! Not a single one was correctly mixed, but we weren’t able to tell this until after we applied the paint to the wall. The colors are extremely off, and I was assured by the employee that the paint colors were matching and correct. This is complexity the fault of the individual who mixed the paint, and considering you already have an area to resell mis tinted paint, there is no reason as to why I cannot return my paint for a FULL refund. Your incompetent staff are the ones who caused the issue, own up to their mistake and refund this purchase. If I order a custom sandwich from subway, and once I come home bite into it and find out it’s been made wrong- guess what subway does? THEY FIX IT. Exact same scenario, YOU ACE HARDWARE NEED TO OWN UP TO YOUR STAFF MEMBERS MISTAKE. 

   

  
  
  Jonathan B******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/04/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased two items on 12/4/2022. On 12/13/2022 I tried to return a drill, because I found a better price at **** *****. That day they said the system was down. Since the store is 30 minutes away I called *** Hardware toll free number, before returning to make sure I wouldn’t have a problem. Today I was told they are refusing my return for no reason at all. I am also a premier member meaning I have spent a lot of money with *** Hardware. Furthermore, a customer service agent hung up the phone after I was instructed to call and speak with the store manager. I will never step foot in another *** hardware again. I have spent thousands of dollars with *** Hardware now I will spend the rest of my life making sure no one shops there so they won’t be treated the same way.