[Shop-talk] [OT] Unbelievable

Tue May 4 07:07:50 MDT 2021

Sadly, my experience has been that big (and too often, not-so-big) box employees are either inadequately trained or simply lack the motivation to put any work into looking for something that is not readily obvious.  I went into a Tractor Supply store last week to buy Cotton Picker Spindle Grease 00, which I am sure is not a frequently purchased item.  (FWIW, I want to see if it is a good lubricant to use in my Alpine’s steering gear, since traditional gear oil often leaks out and regular grease is often too thick.). Their website showed the store carried it, but the kid who helped me looked through the motor oil section and said they didn’t have it.  I suggested that it might be somewhere else, but he was adamant that it would be with the auto oils and additives.  I eventually found another employee willing to look harder and they had about a dozen bottles in a completely different section just a few rows away.  

This has happened to me more times than I wish to count, and I now rarely accept the first “we don’t have it” response and often just find it on my own.

Jim 

p.s.  Writing the above reminds me of an experience more than 30 years ago.  We had just moved into a new home and needed smoke detectors.  I did some research on them and discovered that there were then two types, photoelectric and ionization.  I don’t remember which type I decided to get, but went to a local big box store (the national chains hadn’t taken over yet) and was studying their detector display.  A young girl came over and asked if I needed any help.  

“Yes I do.  Can you tell me which ones are photoelectric and which are ionization?” 
“Oh no, sir.  They all run on batteries."

> On May 4, 2021, at 7:54 AM, Pat Horne <patintexas at icloud.com> wrote:
> 
> I’ve gotten to the point where I call the big box stores & have them actually lay eyes on what I am looking for if the quantity is shown to be less than 20. If they confirm that they have it I then place an on line order & pick it up in a few hours. It saves a bunch of time. 
> 
> Peace,
> Pat
> 
> Pat Horne 
> We support Habitat for Humanity
> 
> 
> On May 4, 2021, at 12:25 AM, Brian Kemp <bk13 at earthlink.net> wrote:
> 
>  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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