I went to Ace....

[mrk305]

I wanted to get a turkey fryer or something like that....

I had a couple hours to kill Sunday, but I was stuck with my four year old son. He was born deaf, but he can hear now because he got a cochlear implant (bionic ear) surgicaly implanted when he was almost two. He is four, but his hearing age is two. Okay, he rides the short bus, but don't give me any crap. I love him more than anything, but he can be a huge pain is the ass.

I have and idea! Let's go to Home Depot and get Daddy a turkey fryer. I put my empty propane tank it the truck and me and the little guy took off. We got to the Home Depot and the place was packed. You have been there on Sunday. People have carts of 20 foot lumber, buggys of sacrete, in a hurry not watching where they are going.

I know where to go to fix the toilet. I know where the ceiling fans are. I know my way around the tools section and the lumber department, but I don't know where turkey fryers are. They are not near the grills or fireplaces or appliances, but my kid was being a pain in the ass and there is no help to ask. I left.

I went to Ace Hardware thinking they would not have it and I would order it online and have it dropped off at their store and just get my propane tank refilled and pick up the cooker later.

Helpfull hardware man....
"Hi, how are you guys doing?"
" Good. I want to get a propane tank refilled and order a turkey fryer online and have it delivered here. How does that work?"
"We have one here. I'll get it for you. Where is you tank at?"
"Out front in the red truck"

So he goes gets the turkey fryer, and brings it up front. He goes out to my truck and fills up the tank and puts it back on the tailgate. Maybe five minutes, total. I was in the big box store for thirty minutes plus and didn't spend a nickel. Forget the fact that I was with little special ed' kid. I have got an extra ten bucks that I can spend for customer service.

Sometimes the helpfull hardware man can be just as good as the LHBS. I like to buy local and buy from the little guys. If I thought they would have had it in stock I would have gone there first. I will call and ask next time.

Another thought. I bet your LHBS can get, or has more than you have seen at their store or online on their website. Why don't you call and ask.

 

[fretman124]

I live in a small town. I'll go to the big box stores if I'm buying a crapload of something like lumber or shingles. But if I need just a smidgeon of screws or a single tool or pretty much anything else, I buy local. The customer service usually rocks, cause we pretty much know where everbody lives. plus when you factor in the cost of gas to drive 40 miles round trip, going to the city for stuff just don't make sense.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

I have two Truevalue Hardware stores within twenty minutes of me and won't go to either one unless I must. One would think that all of the Mom-and-Pop places are service oriented to stay in business, but unfortunately that is not the case here. Every time I go to one of these places the clerk acts like I am wasting his time and ruining his day. Couple that with the higher prices and that's enough for me to go elsewhere. You guys are lucky, IMHO.

 

[Whiskey]

I like Home Despot for quick hardware runs, but yes they do have probably the worst customer service of any of the "big box" hardware stores. Ace hardware stores usually fantastic, sure you may spend a few more cents on a box of screws but their customer service is usually worth it.

As far as the Turkey Fryers go, they are generally with the grilling/fireplace stuff. And I am shocked that you could not find one in Georgia, the Home Depot in Columbus stocked them all year round.

 

[david_42]

It's a no-brainer for me: Skyberg's is 5 miles from my house, Lowe's is 40. And since Skyberg's is tied into the Ace network, his prices are just about the same. They carry strange things (like 8 inch barn spikes) you need out in the country that Lowe's doesn't. The owners are the fourth generation to run the place. Special orders, no problem and they call when it comes in.

On the other hand, Lowe's is 3 miles from the Golden Valley Brewpub ...

 

[Cheesefood]

If you want to know why the Depot can suck so bad, read up on pat CEO Bob Nardelli's demise. He was the guy who was passed over as Jack Welch's replacement. Anyway, he got hired in at something like $240 million per year, salary, to run Home Depot, taking it over from the original founders who were about as nice of guys as can exist.

Nardelli decided to replace check out clerks with self-serve machines, reduce the number of floor workers and dehumanize HD. The result? Stock that went nowhere, despite rising profits. Nardelli just got Das Boot. It's an extremely facinating look at what can go wrong in corporate America when you have the wrong kind of leadership.

 

[rpucci]

Typically, I avoid home desperate and go to the local Ace affiliated hardware store. They are way more knowlegable, helpful and friendly. Plus, the girls at the checkout are very easy on the eyes

 

[Evan!]

That guy was the exception, not the rule. I rarely find that the people at the smaller shops are any more service-oriented than the ones at Lowes. The exception here is the plumbing department. Trying to find someone who knows what they're talking about, isn't an *******, and isn't being monopolized by some ****** who wants a lowes employee to give him home plumbing lessons, is often impossible. It's not that much better at the smaller shops, but never worse. Honestly, unless I know for a fact that the smaller guy has what I need, I'll go to Lowes. yes, the lines suck and take forever. Yes, the person in front of you in line ALWAYS has some kind of problem (no UPC code, etc.). But rarely do I find myself in a position where they don't have what I need. And I'll gladly exchange the mom and pop atmosphere for actually getting what I came for.

 

[Brew Runner]

If you want to know why the Depot can suck so bad, read up on pat CEO Bob Nardelli's demise......(cut)

Nardelli decided to replace check out clerks with self-serve machines,

Ironically, that's what I dislike the most about Lowes. It's a much better store than HD, but it's a PITA doing the checkout yourself and still having to show the anti-shoplifting flunky my stuff and the reciept for it. HD is a dump I try to avoid.

I have quite a few options here. I can either drive 35mi east and go to Lowes/HD, or I can drive 25mi west into Kern county to either Ace or True Value. On top of that, Kern county has a lower sales tax and fuel is usually $0.05-0.10 less than in LA county. Guess where I prefer to go.

 

[El_Borracho]

I use them all.. Then again I have two of each in my zip code alone.. Each being Lowes, Ace, and Homedepot... In fact Ace down here wouldn't even be "mom and pop".

Depends on your area.. Over populated? Service sucks.

 

[cubbies]

The Ace's in my area are ridiculously small. The shops themselves are small, and shelves are never full. On top of that, the closest Ace is 20ish minutes away and Lowe's is less than 5. I hate Lowe's with a passion, their service is terrible, the checkout is ridiculous, I have gone numerous times and never even saw a service person. But when it comes down to it, I will save myself time and money by going there, so that is what I do.

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

If you want to know why the Depot can suck so bad, read up on pat CEO Bob Nardelli's demise. He was the guy who was passed over as Jack Welch's replacement. Anyway, he got hired in at something like $240 million per year, salary, to run Home Depot, taking it over from the original founders who were about as nice of guys as can exist.

Nardelli decided to replace check out clerks with self-serve machines, reduce the number of floor workers and dehumanize HD. The result? Stock that went nowhere, despite rising profits. Nardelli just got Das Boot. It's an extremely facinating look at what can go wrong in corporate America when you have the wrong kind of leadership.

My father is in construction sales. He laughs at home despot. Ya see, they have the huge huge stores, but they require their suppliers to quote all their prices by the pallet rather than the truckload. WTF? The result is, in a town of any significant size, the local places have better prices when you're buying professional-sized quantities.

Home Despot attempted to break into that market and they're failing. Talk to a normal distributor and they'll tell you straight out- Look, if HD or Lowes has a sale on sheetrock, then buy it from them because I can't beat their price on sales. But for everything else, I'll be a few cents cheaper. And they are.

 

[PseudoChef]

When I went to Home Depot looking for a sink threading to attach my IC, the plumbing clerk/guy on duty flat out told me, "those don't exist."

I found it myself within 5-10 more minutes.

 

[kornkob]

*shrug* The Home Depot near my house is actually pretty decent in terms of help except when its busy as hell. I don't seem to have a problem getting help finding stuff or getting questions answered.

It's still not like the 'old days' of HD where most of the floor guys were retired tradesmen or guys on a 2nd job with a primary job in the trades. Instead of the expert advice I used to get a few years back I now get good service-- they just aren't knowledgeable about building, which I don't really expect of my store clerks.

The local Ace hardware is okay but prices and selection aren't great. I spend a lot more money at HD and Harbor freight (which is a great place to buy tools you only ever expect to use once)

 

[cheezydemon]

The Home Depot near us sucks completely. There are four or five 17 year olds standing behind the service counter goofing off while one lane is open along with the u-scans and the line is back into the aisles.

The "mom & Pop" place was OK, but their prices suck normally and they gouge people on "ice melt" when it snows. The price goes from $1.99 for the tiny bag to $5 if it is snowing.

So I shop at Lowe's. I have to drive past the Mom and Pop store but only 2 miles farther, and I have 4 wheel drive.