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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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
Brian<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 5/3/2021 9:01 PM, Bob Spidell wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:38b2b690-f913-f37f-a5a1-c3d1ad0b994f@comcast.net">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.
<br>
<br>
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.
<br>
<br>
Vent mode off.
<br>
<br>
Bob
<br>
<br>
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