I have lived in Tempe for 20 years and frequented Paul's for many of those. The other night I had less-than-stellar customer service at the store location. That said, within 2 hours of voicing my disappointment about the establishment, I was contacted by a family member who owns it. She not only tried to make up for the issue, she really seemed to understand the importance of putting the customer first.
I thought some of the store personnel lacked in their customer service, and that is something I hate to see in a locally-owned business. I like to frequent Paul's and others over the big boxes, but if the service isn't there, it makes it seem just on-par with the national guys. I can say after this experience that this is a store with local roots that still treats its local customers well, and they quickly make up for any shortcomings.
Amazingly enough, they also seem to have a great selection of just about everything I'd expect in a hardware store -- despite the fact the location is small in comparison to a Home Depot. Sometimes smaller is better, and in this case I'm convinced that's the case. I'm glad to have Paul's as part of the neighborhood!