I F'ing Hate Home depot!

[cbass]

They can sukit

and all u homeowners think its the best thing ever don't ya?

[tele caster]

lol

[Leo_Gnardo]

NOT a fan of Home Despot. There was a mom n pop hardware half a mile from my house. I could find what I needed in 5 or 10 minutes and get out fast. They packed up & left when the foundation for our local Home Despot was being surveyed, not even excavated or poured. Takes me hours at the Despot to find anything and the "help" is no help at all. "No drug" policy, big sign at the entrance. If you even think you might test positive don't even bother filling in an employment application. What a laugh! Their employees carry on as if they're in a "highly medicated" stupor. Nothing short of bizarre. I'd rather have stoned hippies working there, as long as they actually help the clients.

Don't get me started about the competition "Lowe's", twice as worse. It's LOW all right. And constantly threatening to close because there "isn't enough business." Well who was in a big rush to open in the housing bubble? I'll believe it when there's a going out of business sale. Fat chance of that. Lumber? You call that lumber? 2x4's are good for hockey sticks they're so bent. Just rubbish. Employees act like extras in a zombie movie. Somebody freshly shot up with morphine could do better.

Yes I am a home owner. Except for the little slice the bank still owns, and the rest the tax department keeps trying to take away.

When I was growing up my Dad was a builder. He took me to all the lumber yards and hardware stores. I learned a lot and gained respect for the craft. They're all gone now. The future didn't turn out the way I expected, or wanted. Support your local hardware and lumber dealer if you still have one.

I'll stop now, my blood pressure just went up 20 percent.

[LeftyStrat]

Well I hate Walmart (and by extension, Lowes). But it does seem Home Despot is geared towards clueless home owners, and Lowes more towards contractors, so as much as I hate the Walton offspring, I generally look for things in this order:

- Stoneway Hardware (locally owned and their employees know their shit). They call themselves Fastenerds. I didn't realize the nuts for Claristat pots are found in the lamp section!?!

- Lowes.

- Home Despot.

Arthur Blank is very anti-worker, so he can kiss my lilly-white ass. And I'll fart while he does it. Hopefully the day after eating sauerkraut.

[Phil_S]

Well I hate Walmart (and by extension, Lowes)...

Just because they frequently co-locate doesn't mean they are co-owned. Read here: http://msgboard.snopes.com/cgi-bin/ulti ... 001059;p=1

[Leo_Gnardo]

Well I hate Walmart (and by extension, Lowes)...

Just because they frequently co-locate doesn't mean they are co-owned.

Reminds me of an old road joke.

Q: What does La Quinta mean? (hotel chain)

A: There's a Denny's in the parking lot.

[LeftyStrat]

Well I hate Walmart (and by extension, Lowes)...

Just because they frequently co-locate doesn't mean they are co-owned. Read here: http://msgboard.snopes.com/cgi-bin/ulti ... 001059;p=1

Wow. I really thought they were owned by Walmart. Thanks for clearing that up. I can shop there without guilt.

Leo, when I lived in Texas there was a large hardware store that found a way to compete with Home Depot and Lowes. They treated their employees well and were closed on Sundays. All the retired craftsmen and contractors want to work there. The quality of advice and help you got there made you forget you were paying ten cents instead of eight for that screw.

[Teleguy61]

Big Box marketing strategy:
National chain, opens new store, undercuts local competition, until locals are driven out of business, raises prices 30 per cent.
Then the average zombie-like American consumer who thinks TV ads are true, and believes McDonalds is actually food, won't go anywhere else.
And then they are stunned and amazed that the DeWalt tool that they bought at HD or Lowes is not the same tool for sale as True Value hardware, because most of the interior parts are made of plastic.
No, really? I can't believe that. You mean I have to take the tool back to HD to get the warranty honored?

[Leo_Gnardo]

Lefty, there's still a mom n pop about 9 miles away, Davies Hardware. They finally had to link up with Tru Value to keep the place open but nonetheless they are still there. With a lot of hard to find bits & bobs and help who are really helpful. "If we don't have it you don't need it." and 9 times out of 10 they have it or can get it quick. I go there when I can. And don't mind paying a little extra. Last guy to pick up an amp here a couple hours ago by coincidence used to work there.

Teleguy, deWalt AFAIK is a prestige tool line. Their tools sold at Despot and Lowe's are second rate plastic? HMPHH! Another coincidence, one of my customers is the deWalt regional rep. (He plays bass, his daughter mandolin). I'll have to quiz him on this. I was planning to score some deWalt sanding/grinding gear. Thanks for the heads up! More biz for Davies Hardware.

[LeftyStrat]

Teleguy, that's one of the things I find most deceptive. And it's not just done with tools.

It's also done with television sets. That Sony you buy at Walmart is an inferior product to the Sony you'll buy anywhere else. Walmart pressures Sony, Sony lowers quality to meet the demands of Walmart.

Walmart has so much power they sometimes end up destroying companies. Here's a great article about a CEO that told them to fuck off:

http://www.fastcompany.com/54763/man-wh ... o-wal-mart

[drew]

Walmart has so much power they sometimes end up destroying companies. Here's a great article about a CEO that told them to fuck off:

http://www.fastcompany.com/54763/man-wh ... o-wal-mart

That was then . . . this is now.

[JazzGuitarGimp]

Walmart has so much power they sometimes end up destroying companies. Here's a great article about a CEO that told them to fuck off:

http://www.fastcompany.com/54763/man-wh ... o-wal-mart

That was then . . . this is now.

so big bux wins again. I wonder if walmart put briggs and straton up to making a bid for snapper...

[Leo_Gnardo]

http://www.fastcompany.com/54763/man-wh ... o-wal-mart

Thanks for the link Lefty. Fascinating, and chilling.

I have a Snapper mower. Took 15 years of hard use to get it to quit. It's premium all right, cost $500 new. A cheapie WalMart mower would have been just what the article says: disposable. (A term I use for certain amplifiers.

One of these days when I'm feeling spendy I'll haul it over to A-1 Mower & Small Engine Repair & see if ol' Stu can revive it. In the meantime I was lucky to get a freebie from a neighbor who bought himself a riding mower. That will have to do for now.

[M Fowler]

My favorite True Value hardware store went under, they carried all my amp building hardware plus knobs. I miss them.

Home Depot sucks hind tit.

[LeftyStrat]

Well that sucks. I understand looking for bargains, but we've become a throw-away society.

I was encouraged that some younger person online asked about products that would last a lifetime or more, and I believe there's a sub-reddit dedicated to that subject.

I've got two items for you. These were given or purchased around eighteen years ago, when my wife and I got married. They stood by and suffered the abuse of kids growing up:

- Waring Blender: Chrome base and real glass pitcher.

- KitchenAid Mixer: This is like the tractor of the kitchen, it has attachments to grind meat, stuff sausage, and repel aliens. Okay, I don't have the alien repelling attachment, but I do have a Slim Whitman CD.

Pretty sure these might outlast my children.

I find all of this very de-humanizing. What great pleasure to build something that someday your grandchildren or great-grandchildren will use. What great connection to an ancestor you've never met to sit at a table they built.

Yes, I understand the concept of impermanence, I've studied my share of Buddhist philosophy. But there is also compassion. What kind of world will our children grow up in where things only last fifteen minutes.

What kind of legacy to have a product you built not only last more than 50 years, but still be treasured? I was born in 1959. Bassman. Stratocaster. Les Paul. The Cadillac with big fins.

I guess I'll stop here. My seventeen year old daughter says new stuff isn't as cool as old stuff, and the other day I heard her blasting out the first Yardbirds album. At least that makes me feel good.