[Shop-talk] [OT] Unbelievable

[Brian Kemp]

I agree that it is unbelievable how bad some of the home centers can 
be.  Needed a vacuum cleaner belt fast.  Not in stock anywhere other 
than HD per the websites.  The nearest HD said there were five in 
stock.  Couldn't find any.  Next one said there were three in stock - 
none there.  Drove to a third one with seven listed in stock and still 
none available.  The employee at the last location said they are 
frequently shoplifted.  At each store I asked for help finding the belt 
and each employee said there were none in the store.  The sad thing is 
that a week later, the websites still had the same inventory numbers 
listed.  You would think there would be a process to correct inventory.  
I'm in the Los Angeles area and have a number of stores to pick from and 
they are managed very differently.  I have not gone to the one nearest 
to my office in about five years because it is so poorly managed and the 
items like the plumbing and electrical fittings are all messed up.

My last adventure was a replacement battery for my wife's key locator.  
Went to Lowes because they had 47 listed on their website.  Had an 
employee help me and checked all the battery storage areas and we 
couldn't find any.  A month later, the website still said 47 and the 
hook for that size remained empty.

I used to live near a nice True Value hardware store.  Much smaller, but 
organized better and there was always an employee willing to help me.  
The prices are a little higher, but the convenience and service are 
worth it.  Sadly the landlord ended their lease to put in a restaurant 
that closed a year later (before the pandemic)

Brian

On 5/3/2021 9:01 PM, Bob Spidell wrote:
> Pardon me, I just gotta vent. Not being able to find these plumbing 
> pieces at HD and Lowe's--even though their websites said they had 
> bunches in stock--and at a plumbing supply, I finally broke down and 
> ordered from Lowe's (2"<->2" elbow, external thread to slip joint, and 
> a 1.5" plug, for a different application). So, after FedEx apparently 
> lost, then found, the shipment they showed up today. One problem: the 
> jackass that packed them jammed the 1.5" plug into the threaded end of 
> the elbow so hard it may be impossible to remove it without breaking 
> the elbow. I'll get it in a vice when I get to my shop tomorrow, but 
> there's no guarantee of successful extraction.
>
> I get it; working the line at a warehouse is a shit job, but someone 
> went out of their way to do this. I usually apply Hanlon's 
> Razor--"Don't attribute to malice that which can be explained by 
> incompetence"--but the plug is jammed in the elbow so hard someone 
> really had to work at it. I hope it felt good.
>
> Vent mode off.
>
> Bob
>
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