When the name “Home Depot” comes up for the third time in an interview with Dale Hardware’s owner Kyle Smith and director of store operations Tara Dunford, it’s clear that the retailer has something to prove. Founded in 1955, the store began in the town of Centerville back when the area was still mostly farmland. Today, decades after Centerville was absorbed into the city of Fremont, there are two additional national hardware retailers in town. Despite this increased competition, locals continue to choose shopping at Dale, proof of its value to the surrounding neighborhoods. In its seventh decade of business and third generation of ownership, Dale Hardware is a testament to an era of charming family-run companies.
But the store is anything but quaint or outmoded. At 100,000 square feet, the place is magnificent and modern, impressive in its sheer scale. Shiny sets of power tools are displayed a short walk away from rows and rows of new barbeque grills. The aisles hold an unfathomable number of plumbing fixtures, gardening equipment and miscellaneous home repair items. “We have 9500 SKUs of just nuts and bolts,” Dunford said, adding that across the entire store, Dale’s carries double the number of items compared to a national big-box chain. If customers are missing a component of IKEA furniture, for example, they can come find a match.
There are also other conveniences: the store’s key section can handle advanced services like programming the chips on most vehicle keys, and for $9.99 will re-key locks that customers bring in. In addition, there’s custom window and door screen fittings (“For when your dog runs through it,” Smith says,) and propane gas refills (“It’s cheaper than a trade-in, where you lose what’s left”).
But perhaps the most amazing part of Dale Hardware is its plant department. The airy space features flowers, vines, edible plants and greenery galore. MJ, the employee who helped to create the nursery over a decade ago, described her vision: “I want people to enjoy walking around, and hopefully they leave having a great experience,” she said, comparing the feeling to attending a Grateful Dead concert. “You gotta have a little bit of passion for the type of work I do,” she added.
Expertise and customer experience are points of pride at Dale Hardware. “This isn’t like walking into one of those big-box hardware stores, where they hire any Joe that doesn’t know a wrench from a screwdriver,” wrote a local Google Maps reviewer. “At Dale, you[’re] gonna get someone in electrical that knows electrical, someone in plumbing that knows plumbing.”
Smith and Dunford credit this superior service to a rigorous training program. Staff members aspire to become “Dale Aces” after meeting certain knowledge and experience thresholds. The goal is for customers to access advice on almost any imaginable home project.
It can be tricky to preserve this local neighborhood atmosphere at a time when both the stores and the brands they carry have become increasingly consolidated. Since the 1960s, Dale Hardware has been part of the ACE Hardware cooperative, which allows stores to join together and collectively negotiate with suppliers. But because ownership remains independent, neighborhood ACE hardware stores have their own look and feel, based on local tastes. On Saturday, June 29, to celebrate ACE Hardware’s 100th birthday, Dale is hosting a block party to showcase all sorts of products, family-friendly activities, and information. “It’s one of our biggest events of the year,” Dunford said.
Over the years, the business has experienced many changes in consumer habits. The rise of huge neighboring apartment developments in Fremont means fewer complex do-it-yourself home projects. “A lot of people don’t realize you can fix something yourself,” Smith says, recalling how the times have changed since he was a boy and a go-to handyperson at the store. And with online shopping, traditional retailers who cannot compete on price must now compete on convenience and service.
Amidst these changes, Dale remains rooted in the belief that locally-owned businesses offer tremendous value: from small, day-to-day personalized service to the larger impact of giving back to a community. “Our money stays local,” Dunford says, pointing to Dale’s “roundup” program that gives shoppers an opportunity to round up their cash register total for the benefit of local causes. “Small actions can add up,” Smith said, as Dale donates tens of thousands of dollars every year.
As MJ put it, “It’s all in the soil. Everything grows successfully based on how you treat the soil.” She was talking about plants, but perhaps it’s sound advice for businesses and the communities they serve as well.
Dale Hardware Block Party
Saturday, June 29
11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Dale Hardware
3700 Thornton Ave, Fremont
(510) 797-3700
What some call great customer service at Dale is a far cry from what it used to be. Gone are the days when employees actually had previous job work experience in the department they worked in at Dale. Gone are the days when it was easy to find someone to help you instead of searching for someone, according to a former employee I spoke to at a different kind of business, he claimed that Dale went through a process to get rid of old-time senior employees so they could hire new ones at a lower labor cost. These were the employees that had real work experience and were totally knowledgeable about the products they sold. Dale also has the highest hardware prices in the entire area and many of the specialty items have disappeared.
From what I have been told, Dale owns the property of the entire block where the store is located. So as a business all they have to do is break even with sales, and they still make money between rent of other businesses and property values. Several years ago, they changed their cashier setup to those in banks and airline counters, making the experience more impersonal, and generally requiring waiting in line like cattle going to slaughter.
As far as their nursery is concerned, based on the comments in the article they likely have never gone to Alden Lane nursery in Livermore, which for me is not just a store but a destination given the remarkable layout and selection of items.
If Dale still had the level of customer service, they used to offer I would be shopping there despite the higher prices. But since it is only slightly better, and sometimes worse with misinformation, most of my hardware shopping is now at Lowes, Harbor Freight, or Amazon. Adding to the obstacles is Fremont’s Zero Vision Program, which for me seriously adds travel time to get there, generally due to waiting on stop lights purposely set out of sync to slow traffic. Given all these issues, Dale is now my hardware store of last resort.