WC Mississippi News

A young local college student and hardware associate was recognized in a national campaign by Ace Hardware after going above and beyond the responsibilities of his job while working at the Cleveland Ace Hardware in Cleveland, Mississippi.

In the summer of 2018, Sam was working at the store as a sales associate. One day, Sam received a call to help a customer, Milton, an 83-year-old Army veteran who was battling cancer. Milton had come to the store simply to buy a shovel, not knowing how his shopping experience would impact his life on a deeper, more personal level.

Upon hearing the call over the radio, Sam responded as normal and went to help the elderly man. Milton explained how his shovel was not penetrating the ground very well due to the dry Mississippi Delta summer, and went on to explain how his beloved dog of 15 years, Boe, had passed away the day before. Milton needed to dig a hole so that he could bury Boe on his property. Sam, who was raised by his grandparents to respect his elders, offered to help Milton dig the hole for Boe after work.

True to his word, when Sam's shift was over, he showed up at Milton's house. He dug a hole for Boe, covered his body with a blanket to shield Milton from having to see his beloved companion no longer alive, and placed the dog in his final resting place.

"It is just the right thing to do," Sam said. "Help if your help is needed, that always pays back to you later in life." 

While Milton and Sam's story did go viral, Sam's intention that day when offering to help was not for recognition, but because he holds the values of respect, care and giving help to others in times of need.

It was Sam's kind act that ended up getting him recognized by Ace Hardware Corporate in a national campaign called "Heartware Stories." Sam's actions that day are indicative of Ace Hardware's associates acts nationally that have helped Ace Hardware retailers win the J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Award for the 15th time in 16 years. Ace also has received the highest score in the J.D. Power Home Improvement Retailer Satisfaction studies every year from 2007 to 2017, and again from 2019 to 2022. 

According to the J.D. Power website, the award recognizes the highest-performing companies within its benchmarking study to "help companies increase consumer consideration and ensure that highest-performing brands stand out in the crowd."

J.D. Power's annual U.S. Home Improvement Retailer Satisfaction Study takes the responses of real customers assessing companies in the five categories of Staff and Service, In-store Experience, Online Experience, Merchandise and Price. The study then ranks the companies by those responses, and this year Ace Hardware ranks No. 1 in all categories, according to a May release.