Category Archives: Hardware Store Hours

blogging, community, customer service, entrepreneurship, hardware store, Hardware Store Hours, Hardware Store Life, keys, Life In Wilkes, nuts and bolts, old hardware stores, old school hardware store, service oriented hardware store, Shop Local, southern living

Service Oriented Hardware Store

Leave a comment

Most folks know to stop by Wilkes County Hardware for a key that works… but did y’all know that we do all of the following things each and every single day as services???

Hundreds of key blanks available for duplication!!!!
  1. Key duplication- need an extra key or lost the extra key to your car. Bring your original key 🔑 into Wilkes County Hardware and get a new one made.
Chip keys are also available and coming soon, Sidewinder keys!!!

2. Rekey door locks- sometimes for safety reasons you need your door lock rekeyed or would like to have your NEWLY purchased door lock keyed to your current key. We rekey in the store with locks in hand. You must call the locksmith for on site services with rekeying door locks. Ask for assistance inside Wilkes County Hardware for this service in store and pricing information.

Deadbolts and door locks can be keyed to the same 🔑 key

3. Padlocks keyed the same- want to use the same key 🔑 for multiple padlocks??? We have options for you to key padlock to your key.

4. Pool Water Testing- Summer splashing fun requires a bit of maintenance… bring a sample of your pool water to Richard for a quick test (for free) to see what needs to be addressed, chemicals added, etc.

5. Chain ⛓️‍💥 Cutting- chain cut to exact length, by the foot. Please note: once the chain is cut and purchased it is not returnable!

6. Pipe threading- Galvanized and black pipe cut to size. Threading is also available if needed.

Wilkes County Hardware has a good selection of Galvanized and Black Iron pipe that are available for cutting and threading. Fittings also available in store.

7. Window screen repair – old screen doors or window screens looking a little bit worn out? Bring them by for a quick update.

8. Roll pipe cut to length – this stuff is a bulky beast to cut and many other hardware stores now will NOT cut it to length. Instead, you are forced to buy the huge roll 😳. But at Wilkes County Hardware, we cut it by the foot for our customers. Thanks for supporting local!

9. Glass cutting- Glass cut up to 36 inches long, bring exact dimensions. Glass expert on staff, thankful to have Tim Billings experience and expertise!

10. Tool Handle Replacement- old wooden handle all busted up? Stop by to pick up a replacement tool handle or leave it with us and we will do the work.

This oldie goldie tool is used during tool handle repair… shaving off the excess

11. Kerosene heater repair- Wick replacement available with many popular styles in stock.

12. Knife and scissors sharpening- if those knives seemed to be a little bit dull, drop them off and we can give them a sharpen for you. Scissors need a bit of TLC??? Fabric scissors require more time and effort to sharpen- bring a piece of small fabric with you so we can test them as we work on them to make sure they are perfectly sharpened.

13. Free Assembly- Purchase a large item from Wilkes County Hardware like a Traeger grill, wheelbarrow, etc and we will assemble it for you prior to pick up.

14. Special Orders- We order new or needed products for our customers every week! Sometimes you find the hardware store product in stock but you might need a larger quantity, ask us to order it for you!

Gallons are common in store but we have the capacity to order 5 gallon bucket for a much larger job!

15. Carry Out- We carry out packages, or bulky large items to the vehicle for our customers all the time!

Pool chemicals, large bags of bird seed, and potting soils tend to be bulky and heavy and carry out is standard in store.

Someone shared this thought with us not long ago, it is definitely worth sharing… “We all make choices as a consumer, so choose to support your favorite small businesses so that they can continue be open. If we choose not to support small businesses they cannot thrive and survive. “

Thank you for supporting local businesses in our community!

customer service, entrepreneurship, hardware store, Hardware Store Hours, Hardware Store Life, old hardware stores, Shop Local, southern living

FAQ’s -Frequently Asked Questions

Leave a comment

If you are inside shopping at our hardware store, you will probably hear the phone ring ☎️. We field lots of questions each and every day of the week. Here’s a list of the top 5 most popular questions that we address on the phone and in personal conversations with our customers

1. What time ⏰ do you close today ???

AND along the same lines…

Are y’all still closing early on Wednesday afternoons? NO! We have regular store hours on Wednesday and have had normal store hours on Wednesday afternoon for about 7 years now.

Old newspaper research… came across this ad that may help explain why businesses closed early on Wednesday in our small town so many years ago.

2. Can I park in the back parking lot and come in the back door? 🚪Yes! Absolutely! The lot is public parking and parking is also available on 10th Street in front of our store.

The back door is used by our staff as an entrance and many of our regular customers. You don’t have to use the front entrance on 10th Street if you’re having a hard time finding a parking spot.

3. Is it possible for you to order this item for me???💻 Yes! I’ll be glad to check our current inventory and get a price on that item for you.

We have added several new inventory items over the last few years BUT if you can’t find it quickly, ask us if we can order it for you.

4. Can you make me a key?🔑 If you have an existing key, then we probably can… no key, call Bill, the locksmith next door.

This item is a best seller! Hiding a key 🔑 so you don’t lose your new key!

5. How’s business going? 🛍️We need your support each and every day. We appreciate your loyalty and making purchases inside our small business so that we can continue to add new products, staff and grow our economic community in Wilkes. We want to be here for YOU years down the road. When you shop local, your money stays in our community. Please support all small businesses( retail, restaurants, and service providers) in our two towns. They need your continued support always! Local supports local!!!

Thank you for your support as we approach year 8 in the hardware business!
Hardware Store Hours, Uncategorized

Store Hours

Leave a comment

When we purchased Wilkes County Hardware in 2015, the store hours were different from what we observe now. The hours were like they say “banker hours”. We were open everyday at 7:30am to catch the early birds and closed at 5:00pm on most days…the exception being Wednesday afternoon and Saturday. Both Wednesday and Saturday, the store always closed at 12:00pm. It was hard to believe that in 2015, that stores were closing at 12:00 in the middle of the workday, observing that old “banker” tradition.

What was the “bank hours tradition” that I am speaking of? Well, when I was growing up in North Wilkesboro as a young child, I can remember that banks always closed early on Wednesdays. It was just done that way here in the South. Why? You may ask, because the banks used that afternoon to do paperwork. Other people say it was to catch Southern farmers coming into town on Saturday because in the middle of the week, they were always too busy to be in the midst of downtown North Wilkesboro, NC. So the former owners of Wilkes County Hardware, carried on the tradition for years, keeping up those old bankers hours. Many local folks knew and anticipated our closing every Wednesday, and would make sure they came in the store before 12:00.

Richard kept the hours the same for a few months and he began to notice a significant trend. People were coming up to our doors and it appeared that shopping after 12:00 was necessary for lots of folks in town! Richard would often still be there working on paperwork and was seeing a trend that we needed to address quickly.  After discussion with me,  we formulated a plan on how to move forward. We would launch a massive social media campaign in order to let people know our new store hours for Wednesday afternoon. Richard also planned to update the store hours on the doors as our customers enter our historic building. The Wednesday “banker” hours are long gone now and seem to be just a memory. Occasionally, even now, we do have a few people to call the store and ask what time we close on Wednesdays, and they are pleasantly surprised when we say 5:00pm.

Saturdays was another one of those oddball 12:00 days for closing time for Wilkes County Hardware. The store was always busy in the late mornings and often the 12:00 push for customers to get in and out before closing…  well I’m just going to say it—- it was hard to close the store and not let our customers shop and do what they needed to do, and many Saturdays we did hold closing until our customers were finished with shopping- after 12:00pm. So Richard and I talked about this one too and we decided upon 2:00pm to close. That has been a good change for our store. Out of town customers can make it to us in plenty of time, shop with leisure, & ask questions about the history of our store. We did the same ads, social media launch with changing store hours as we did with the Wednesday hours and got the word out to our community. Our regular store customers can purchase what they need before they get too deep into a weekend project, seek advice, purchase that speciality nail or screw,  or even have pool water tested.

Richard and I are currently in discussion about  store hours for our future, extending shopping hours to 5:30 or 6:00. We posed a question to social media followers and fellow customers a few weeks ago to survey their interests in the extension of shopping hours to 5:30 or 6:00pm. I am just going to say our customers are absolutely awesome!!! They gave us great feedback. They said 5:30, not 6:00. Our feedback was positive & very honest. Many customers stated, “you guys need your family time too”.  Let me just tell you, our customers are super!!!! What an honor it is to work in such a fabulous community! I am anticipating that we will be making an announcement in a few weeks about our new updated store hours.

What I have found in the trend of store hours is flexibility is the upmost importance. Observing customers and how they are interacting with our store, looking for patterns for when they seem to be coming into to our store… early? late in day??? and of course the “old school” method we love to use at our store- just to simply ask our customers what they need. Happy Hardware Shopping Yall!!!!:)