‘She’s the definition of customer service’ – Marie Kuhnert has been ‘the face’ of Brandon’s Ace Hardware for three-plus decades

Marie Kuhnert has been answering hardware questions for the people of Brandon and Valley Springs for more than three decades.

Now in her 33rd year at Ace Hardware on Splitrock Boulevard, there seemingly isn’t a question that Kuhnert hasn’t heard either in person or on the phone.

She’s become the face of Ace, and owner Jason Melcher knows it.

“She’s been a cornerstone of our company,” Melcher said. “I don’t know if there’s many Brandon or Valley Springs people that she doesn’t know.”

That’s not surprising given how long she’s been at it. She’s been through three different owners and three different brands. She started when the hardware store was known as Coast to Coast. It was also a True Value Hardware store before Melcher took it over as Ace in 2011.

But no matter the name, Kuhnert has been there. She said she’s done “pretty much everything” over the past three decades.

“Now, I smile a lot,” she said with a chuckle. “I work at the counter and do some book work. I guess it’s still a little bit of everything.” 

Smiling a lot has become the norm for Kuhnert. She calls her customers “my people,” and they come with a number of questions. A typical day includes customers parading in at a constant pace, while the phone rings periodically at the front desk.

But each interaction comes with a smile, and a knowledge base to help.

“When you’re working in a store like this, there’s really no reason you should be bored. Ever,” she said. “It’s something that keeps your mind going. You learn so much. It’s been a very good asset.”

She’s also rarely stumped when it comes to identifying a particular piece of hardware, or where to find it in the store. But because the store has grown over the years and the sales floor is reset occasionally, it can make it more challenging.

“Sometimes I have to think for a few minutes to figure it out,” she said, again with a laugh.

She’s clearly earned some down time, and Kuhnert has now been taking every Monday off. She said she loves to hike, and she volunteers her time at various charities around the region.

After spending the last three decades answering questions for customers, she said taking the first Monday off earlier this year was a challenge.

“I was bored, but that was the end of that,” she said. “I’m always busy now. I’m never home.”

She’s lived in the Brandon and Valley Springs area her entire adult life. She said working at Ace has been a perfect fit for her because she enjoys the small, local, community feel.

“I love the people,” she said. “I love my coworkers, too. It’s just been the best place to work.”

Kuhnert said that along with Mondays off, Melcher has told her she can look for additional days, too. It’s something Kuhnert said she’s looking at because of her love of hiking and volunteering for other organizations.

“We don’t want her to, but she deserves it,” Melcher said. “Seeing her do the volunteer work is great, and she still loves to get to work and see all of her customers. She’s the definition of customer service on how she handles herself every day.”