Home Depot and power tools

"Swingman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> Ditto ... I've been known to seek them out, even with an 8' tubafour or
> two.
>
> Although when buying a single item that is too light to register on the
> "take out" scale, or too bulky to put there like said tubafours, and the
> droid keeps repeating itself, I tend to get pissed if lose my balance by
> having to leave my foot on the scale long enough to complete the
> transaction.

I've not had much luck. Most time something does not register or some other
problem. I tried again at the supermarket a couple weeks ago and it would
not register some of my items. I found though, that if you just toss them
to the bagging area, it does not matter.

I'll take a real person any day.

In article <[email protected]>, PHT
<[email protected]> wrote:

> I refuse to use the self serve registers. If that is all that is open I
> will go to the contractor's register to check out, which does not have
> any of the self serve kind. I have noticed others that will not go
> to these registers, even when asked to do so.

I'm with you.

--
Woodworking links and more at http://www.woodenwabbits.com

In article <[email protected]>, Larry
Blanchard <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Sat, 03 May 2008 03:15:51 +0000, PHT wrote:
>
> > I refuse to use the self serve registers. If that is all that is open I
> > will go to the contractor's register to check out, which does not have
> > any of the self serve kind. I have noticed others that will not go
> > to these registers, even when asked to do so.
>
> Same here. Seems to me they're just another way for the stores to
> eliminate jobs.

Additionally, I actually enjoy talking to people. For the most part,
the people behind the tills here in Saskatoon are friendly and enjoy a
bit of chatter.

>
> Our library even has a self-check option. I won't use it either.
>
> BTW, the incidence of stolen books and magazines has gone up because they
> can't tell if you actually checked your books out or just stood in front
> of the self-checkout terminal and made appropriate motions.
>

--
Woodworking links and more at http://www.woodenwabbits.com

PHT <[email protected]> wrote in news:481bd8e7$0$13850$5ec1c3
@news.usenethost.com:

>
> I refuse to use the self serve registers. If that is all that is open I
> will go to the contractor's register to check out, which does not have
> any of the self serve kind. I have noticed others that will not go
> to these registers, even when asked to do so.
>
> Paul T.
>

Never had a problem with them... But being a computer geek it's just
another computer system to me. I feel they're faster, and they allow me
to carry my single item purchase out of the store without yet another
plastic bag.

Puckdropper
--
Where's my remote?

To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm

Bob Alexander wrote:
> Wow, and I was just at my local Lowes store and their power tool area seems
> to be larger than the last time I was in there.
> Three larger sizes was set up, a Delta, Dewalt and a Bosch were there.


I've always had a strong preference for Lowes over HD. I've been in HD a
thousand times and I still can't just go directly to what I'm looking for. I'm
almost always able to do that at Lowes. I have to be desperate to shop at HD
these days.... and I've bought some big tools there: my table saw and my floor
standing drill press.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com

"Pat Barber" wrote:

> You know Frank... I found that hard to believe until
> I actually heard a guy bragging about bringing a shop vac
> back to Sears after he had used it to clean up his garage.

A 25% restocking charge, but only with a receipt would solve that
problem in a hurry; however, until the retailers figure out it has to
be done by the entire retail industry, it won't happen.

At the industrial level, returns are few and far between, almost
always with a restocking charge.

Lew

When I comes to HD or Lowes so much of what we see in our local one has to
do with the manager and maybe their immediate boss. The HD near me was
definitely in bad shape when I moved into my home five years ago. However
about three or four months ago it was obvious someone new took over, it is
now better organized, cleaner and employees are asking if you need help
again. It is one with large displayed tools removed, but I can deal with
it.

Meanwhile the local Lowes' which I use to drive the extra fifteen to twenty
minutes to has steadily gone down hill, seems to have a huge number of
employees all moving briskly somewhere, but actually doing nothing. Reminds
me of the Drill Sergeant from basic training who let us goof off one
afternoon but told us to "Make sure you mill about smartly!". The tool area
looks like a tornado went through and it's the one place you can never find
anyone to help. The condition of the tools on display is definitely not
making Porter-Cable, Delta and Black & Decker merger any sales, it looks
like a swap meet thirty minutes before closing. The placards would be
better.

Yet I've been in other ones of both and it varies so much from store to
store, you just really have to pick and choose. The number one rule for both
is don't go on the weekend especially in the spring.

--
Mike
Watch for the bounce.
If ya didn't see it, ya didn't feel it.
If ya see it, it didn't go off.
Old Air Force Munitions Saying
IYAAYAS
"Bob Alexander" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Old Guy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:dd6a67d5-a6fc-4538-aad9-7de11ccba713@k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
>> Well, the folks we love to hate have done it again.
>>
>> The LOML and I went to Home Depot, and I got my errands done before
>> she did, so I went to drool over the stationary power tools while I
>> waited. Couldn't do it. No display. Pation Furniture was there
>> instead.
>>
>> The person at the Contractor desk said that Corporate had decided that
>> the tool display wasn't bringing in enough sales, so they still had
>> the tools, in the box, and they could show me pictures of what they
>> looked like, but that was it.
>>
>> I suggested that I never bought things like that from pictures, and he
>> agreed, but said no one at the decision level wanted to hear concerns
>> from the front lines. I look to see big iron tools dropped from their
>> stores pretty soon, cause they don't sell any without working display
>> models. Watch for the closeouts, might be able to score a gloat or
>> two.
>>
>> Old Guy
>
> Wow, and I was just at my local Lowes store and their power tool area
> seems to be larger than the last time I was in there.
> Three larger sizes was set up, a Delta, Dewalt and a Bosch were there.
>

On May 1, 11:35 am, Pat Barber <[email protected]> wrote:
> You know Frank... I found that hard to believe until
> I actually heard a guy bragging about bringing a shop vac
> back to Sears after he had used it to clean up his garage.
>
> I have since had people suggest to me that any "special"
> tools needed for a project can be done in a similar manner.
>
> I thought it was maybe one or two out of a thousand, but now
> I believe it is a wildly popular method.
>
> Frank Boettcher wrote:
>
> The "I'm finished with my project, think I'll take this
> thing back and get my money back" syndrome.

I have a friend who "borrowed" a PC saw from, I think, HD. The day he
was returning it, I asked why. He was done with it. I blew my stack.
He still has the saw, a decade later...one of the last U.S. made ones,
too.

It seems that the only way to sell large hunks of iron, like
automobiles for example, is to have them on the floor so one can drool
over it. I believe their new policy will result in a decline in sales
of these items. I don't buy items like that unless I can see and feel
it. Just like I don't buy a car unless I can test drive it.

G.S.


On Thu, 1 May 2008 08:12:19 -0400, "Mike Marlow"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>But - in the world of retail, leaving hunks of iron or any other
>product out on the floor, just because you or I like to drool over it
>without purchasing, is quite foolish. That floor space is needed for the
>things that will turn cash.

"sweet sawdust" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:vYnSj.45866$%[email protected]...

> Just heard on the radio that HD is closing 15 stores due to lagging sales.
> Maybe their sales model is not working well.

It's a tough economy out there. The average HD or Lowes store runs on about
a 7% storewide margin - that's not a lot of margin. Little room for error.

--

-Mike-
[email protected]

"Lee Michaels" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Pat Barber" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> You know Frank... I found that hard to believe until
>> I actually heard a guy bragging about bringing a shop vac
>> back to Sears after he had used it to clean up his garage.
>>
>> I have since had people suggest to me that any "special"
>> tools needed for a project can be done in a similar manner.
>>
>> I thought it was maybe one or two out of a thousand, but now
>> I believe it is a wildly popular method.
>>
>> It is also a popular method of cleaning the basement after local
>> flooding.
> We all pay higher prices for our tools because of these bozos.
>
>
>My neighbor just did the same thing except it was his electronics.
>Except.... He charged them, brought them home, 15 days later he reports a
>break-in..... Files insurance, gets the money to replace them, pays off the
>credit card charge.... Gets his friend to bring them back and he has
>beautiful electronics for free. Had a party a couple of weeks ago (open
>house) and invites a cop.. he checks serial number on the items as he is
>aware of the breakin and he now sit in the jail for insurance fraud.

"Pat Barber" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> You know Frank... I found that hard to believe until
> I actually heard a guy bragging about bringing a shop vac
> back to Sears after he had used it to clean up his garage.
>
> I have since had people suggest to me that any "special"
> tools needed for a project can be done in a similar manner.
>
> I thought it was maybe one or two out of a thousand, but now
> I believe it is a wildly popular method.
>
>
>
> Frank Boettcher wrote:
>
> The "I'm finished with my project, think I'll take this
> thing back and get my money back" syndrome.

Around here the returns desk is populated with low paid teenage girls who
are too busy gabbing about the party last night or flirting with some
teenage boys, to do their job right. At the best of times they don't even
know what the item returned does or how it operates. All you have to say is
it doesn't work, and they will refund your money, as they couldn't determine
if you are right or wrong or cheating.

Again management does itself in.

On Sat, 03 May 2008 01:49:12 +0000, Lobby Dosser wrote:

> "Swingman" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> "Mike Marlow" wrote
>>
>>> To be fair - they are cashiers, not product specialists. I don't
>>> expect a cashier to know anything about the product she is checking
>>> out.
>>
>> Used to be a cashier used a cash register as a tool in transacting
>> business; nowadays the cash register transacts the business, and uses
>> the cashier as a tool for data input.
>
> Out here on the Upper Left Coast we are seeing more and more self serve
> registers. Typically one employee covers 6-8 of them. Instead of a
> friendly face and maybe some conversation, you get to listen to the guy
> at the next register bitching about the scanner and he gets to hear you
> cursing under your breath when yours tells you to take the item out of
> the bag for the fourth time.

I refuse to use the self serve registers. If that is all that is open I
will go to the contractor's register to check out, which does not have
any of the self serve kind. I have noticed others that will not go
to these registers, even when asked to do so.

Paul T.

--
The only dumb question, is the one not asked


http://www.USENETHOST.com 100% Uncensored , 100% Anonymous, 5$/month Only!

On Thu, 1 May 2008 10:53:17 -0400, "J. Clarke"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Frank Boettcher wrote:
>> On Thu, 1 May 2008 08:12:19 -0400, "Mike Marlow"
>> <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>Did you get many of the "I need a new part, I'll buy a tool, pull the
>part, and return the tool sans part or with the busted one" syndrome?
>

Hard to say, information coming back was often sketchy. Picture an
RSR (retail sales rep), usually young and fairly inexperienced who
gets to the store, has to set up any aisle displays that have been
authorized, check shelf stock,cleans stuff up, sets up a reorder,
maybe has an in store class to give, then lastly heads for the return
cage to authorize the RMA's for an equally inexperienced store clerk.
Most reasons are "alledged defective" Then rushes out because he's
got three more stores to get to today. And both these individuals are
more used to dealing in small stuff, much of which has a "destroy in
field" policy.

Industrial distributors and the sales people who call on them, are
more like old partners, tend to know their customers, can spot
customers who might have a history of questionable returns, can
immediately fix problems to keep returns from happening in the first
place. It's where heavy iron belongs.



Frank


>
>--

On Apr 30, 8:56=A0pm, Old Guy <[email protected]> wrote:
> Well, the folks we love to hate have done it again.
>
> The LOML and I went to =A0Home Depot, and I got my errands done before
> she did, so I went to drool over the stationary power tools while I
> waited. =A0Couldn't do it. =A0No display. =A0Pation Furniture was there
> instead.
>
> The person at the Contractor desk said that Corporate had decided that
> the tool display wasn't bringing in enough sales, so they still had
> the tools, in the box, and they could show me pictures of what they
> looked like, but that was it.
>
> I suggested that I never bought things like that from pictures, and he
> agreed, but said no one at the decision level wanted to hear concerns
> from the front lines. =A0I look to see big iron tools dropped from their
> stores pretty soon, cause they don't sell any without working display
> models. =A0Watch for the closeouts, might be able to score a gloat or
> two.
>
> Old Guy

They did this at a Home depot near me a couple a months ago. The floor
displays they had were sold at 30% off. The only had the jointer and
drill press left to sell when I got there. I already had a new jointer
just got last fall but the drill now sits in my shop...

Randy
http://nokeswoodworks.com

Swingman wrote:

>
> "Mike Marlow" wrote
>
>> To be fair - they are cashiers, not product specialists. I don't expect
>> a cashier to know anything about the product she is checking out.
>
> Used to be a cashier used a cash register as a tool in transacting
> business; nowadays the cash register transacts the business, and uses the
> cashier as a tool for data input.
>

Pretty good description, consider that borrowed.


--
If you're going to be dumb, you better be tough

"Nova" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:ydjTj.2334$cD3.448@trndny02...
> willshak wrote:
>
> <snipped>
>
>> Time is money. I can check out my small purchase before that line reduces
>> by one customer.Those people that don't use the self-serves are probably
>> computer illiterate and are afraid of them. I notice that a lot of stores
>> have self-checkout stations, the WalMart in that city being one of them.
>
> I had to make a quick run to Home Depot last evening for a small blister
> pack of screws. The two registers that were open each had a fairly long
> line so I attempted to use the self check out.
>
> The bar code on the plastic bag wouldn't scan. I had to wait for the
> attendant while see assisted another customer.
>
> The package was too light to register as being placed in the bag. More
> waiting.
>
> The bill scanner wouldn't recognize the new issue $5 bill, the only bills
> I grabbed off my dresser before heading to the store.
>

Let me get this right. You went to the BORG and nothing SCANNED???

I don't want to sound paranoid or anything, but you probably just died in a
parallel universe. Go to the doc and get checked out immediately! You can
not survive in this universe if you are unscannable. Be afraid, be very
afraid.

<G> Sorry, I am in that kind of mood today.

"Old Guy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:dd6a67d5-a6fc-4538-aad9-7de11ccba713@k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com...

> Well, the folks we love to hate have done it again.
>
> The LOML and I went to Home Depot, and I got my errands done before
> she did, so I went to drool over the stationary power tools while I
> waited. Couldn't do it. No display. Pation Furniture was there
> instead.
>
> The person at the Contractor desk said that Corporate had decided that
> the tool display wasn't bringing in enough sales, so they still had
> the tools, in the box, and they could show me pictures of what they
> looked like, but that was it.
>
> I suggested that I never bought things like that from pictures, and he
> agreed, but said no one at the decision level wanted to hear concerns
> from the front lines. I look to see big iron tools dropped from their
> stores pretty soon, cause they don't sell any without working display
> models. Watch for the closeouts, might be able to score a gloat or
> two.
>

Yeah - it's true that people who make decisions make those decisions based
on what they observe and someone "on the front lines" is always going to be
upset. But - in the world of retail, leaving hunks of iron or any other
product out on the floor, just because you or I like to drool over it
without purchasing, is quite foolish. That floor space is needed for the
things that will turn cash. Like it or not - this time of year, they are
going to turn cash with patio stuff. I'd be willing to bet that if you were
seriously looking to buy, someone would have opened up all the boxes you
wanted to see. But you weren't - and you're commenting about them providing
for the most of their customers (as indicated by the floor sales), because
like the rest of us, you just wanted to drool over the tools. For all the
bitching that goes on around here about every retailer out there, one would
think that people would find it agreeable that a major retailer would
dedicate their floor space to the products that the consumers are really
after at any given time of year.

As for never buying things from pictures - good for you. I do buy some
things just from pictures. I just bought a new spray gun just from a
picture on a web site. Didn't need to handle it or anything else, to know
what I was going to get. In your case, you weren't even going to buy, so
what's the big deal?

Sorry - this is just my personal campaign against all of the posts that
populate this forum that bitch about what the big retailers do, regardless
of how practical those decisions may really be in light of the population
they serve, or the realities of business.

--

-Mike-
[email protected]

On May 1, 7:12 am, "Mike Marlow" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
> Sorry - this is just my personal campaign against all of the posts that
> populate this forum that bitch about what the big retailers do, regardless
> of how practical those decisions may really be in light of the population
> they serve, or the realities of business.

Strange, isn't it? Some will post here with great glee about getting
a real bargain at the store, or pronounce how they took something back
that didn't meet their high personal standards of quality after using
it on a few projects. They like the no questions asked policy on
returns as they can take back a product if they just don't like it.
Due to big box policy that has developed over the years, it is now an
American right to return something on a whim.

Yet, we expect a lot from these folks. We always want the lowest
price, the best service, the finest selection of products (American
made if possible) as well as tool quality that goes from the best to
throw away junk that costs nothing.

And of course, while keeping margins really thin (my old commercial
rep >showed< me their markup many products I bought) and beating the
living snot out of their suppliers at every turn. And on that slim
markup we expect them to have knowledgeable, friendly, semi-retired
contractors on hand to dispense advice and instruct some wannabe on
building a fucking birdhouse.

If they don't get that kind of treatment from a patient, fatherly
instructor type that really cares about them and their needs, they run
back here and tell the tale of their arch nemesis, "the pimple faced
kid". It's always the same with that guy that wasn't respectful
enough, helpful enough, knowledgeable enough, or didn't snap to so
they could give great service immediately. They despise him. There
seems to be a great joy in sharing how they laid some kid low, and
then huffed out of the store without a purchase. I am sure all the
big boxes stood up and took notice.

All of these big boxes are no more than commodities brokers. They are
moving units through the system, and it wouldn't matter if it was
bricks or barbecue charcoal. Big boxes don't care what they sell, and
never have.

Their entire business model is now and has been since their inception
to provide enough service to get you to come back, but more
importantly, find the price point that will make want to put up with
their shortcomings. If they fail, they put that in the equation as
well, and they advertise to attract more customers to keep widget
volume up.

So really, I do hope these same whiners let us all know when they find
that perfect place that has <the lowest prices in town>, the best
service that can be bought, polite employees that are ready to help,
an endless supply and selection of tools and products on display
waiting to be fondled, and personal instructors that could be making
50K a year somewhere else working for 25K so they can answer all the
inane and pedantic questions some can imagine.

Just my thoughts...

Robert

I am looking for 3M VHB Exterior tape. I have seen where folks say
they got it at Home Depot. It is double-sided and the package
indicates you can stick it to bricks!

We want to use it to adhere stuff to the exterior surface of a
Rubbermaid Shed.

I searched the HD site and called them (they are too far away for a
visit unless we have to go to town for something we know we can
pickup!

Lowes is closer, but those guys (web and store) can't find their anal
orifice with a map.

THought to ask if anyone has purchased any of this stuff and, if so,
where and what is the product number/SKU

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On May 1, 7:12 am, "Mike Marlow" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>
>> Sorry - this is just my personal campaign against all of the posts that
>> populate this forum that bitch about what the big retailers do,
>> regardless
>> of how practical those decisions may really be in light of the population
>> they serve, or the realities of business.
>
> Strange, isn't it? Some will post here with great glee about getting
> a real bargain at the store, or pronounce how they took something back
> that didn't meet their high personal standards of quality after using
> it on a few projects. They like the no questions asked policy on
> returns as they can take back a product if they just don't like it.
> Due to big box policy that has developed over the years, it is now an
> American right to return something on a whim.
>

<snip some great stuff that I'm going to keep, and use in my next rant...>

Sing it brotha! Swingman - give him a groove to get this thing lifted up.
I'll throw in a couple of accent leads, as long as we don't mind an
occasional missed note. I'll crank the gain up so the missed notes aren't
so apparent.

--

-Mike-
[email protected]

Yup, HD is closing 15 under performing stores and stopping the opening
of FIFTY stores.

At HDepot returns I stood behind a pair of losers that returned three
tree trimming saw chains.
They said their boss got them new that morning, but they were already
worn and dull. Farkers.

"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" <mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com> wrote:

> Bob Alexander wrote:
>> Wow, and I was just at my local Lowes store and their power tool area
>> seems to be larger than the last time I was in there.
>> Three larger sizes was set up, a Delta, Dewalt and a Bosch were
>> there.
>
>
> I've always had a strong preference for Lowes over HD. I've been in
> HD a thousand times and I still can't just go directly to what I'm
> looking for. I'm almost always able to do that at Lowes. I have to
> be desperate to shop at HD these days.... and I've bought some big
> tools there: my table saw and my floor standing drill press.
>
>
>

Lowes has better lighting (nice to See what you're buying), is overall
cleaner, and lately seems to have more knowledgeable help. Kinda
different having the sales clerk point out the merits of several brands
of saw!

On 5/3/08 2:29 AMMay 3, "Puckdropper" <puckdropperatyahoodotcom> wrote:

> PHT <[email protected]> wrote in news:481bd8e7$0$13850$5ec1c3
> @news.usenethost.com:
>
>>
>> I refuse to use the self serve registers. If that is all that is open I
>> will go to the contractor's register to check out, which does not have
>> any of the self serve kind. I have noticed others that will not go
>> to these registers, even when asked to do so.
>>
>> Paul T.
>>
>
> Never had a problem with them... But being a computer geek it's just
> another computer system to me. I feel they're faster, and they allow me
> to carry my single item purchase out of the store without yet another
> plastic bag.

Well, I'm another computer geek and I get really frustrated with them. I can
usually figure out how to use them but the software design is so bad that I
want to re-design it on the spot.

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:7c1895e7-06d6-4b9a-a5a8-2715cfdbd687@l28g2000prd.googlegroups.com...
> Yup, HD is closing 15 under performing stores and stopping the opening
> of FIFTY stores.
>
> At HDepot returns I stood behind a pair of losers that returned three
> tree trimming saw chains.
> They said their boss got them new that morning, but they were already
> worn and dull. Farkers.

If I worked at the returns desk of HD and the like, I'd be fired the first
day for hitting the customer with crap like that. That is just plain fraud
and the stores and manufacturers willfully allow it with their policies.

"Frank Boettcher" wrote

> Over my many years with Delta, one of the things I used to hate to
> hear from marketing is "we've just cut a deal with (fill in your
> favorite big box retailer) to offer selected units in the industrial
> line".
>
> I would be guaranteed the necessity for working overtime in a chaotic
> manner to fill the units per store requirements by the contract time
> since they were never part of the original forecast.
>
> A year or two later, I could be guaranteed that I would have a large
> inventory reset with units sent bact to the factory as the current set
> of big box execs. figured out how dismal their inventory turns were on
> the iron and their minimum ratio of turns to space couldn't be met.
>
> During the contract, I could be guaranteed that my warranty would go
> up due to the liberal big box return policy and the inability of the
> machinery sales people to make sales stick. The "I'm finished with my
> project, think I'll take this thing back and get my money back"
> syndrome.
>
> And the cycle would repeat itself as soon as the memory of the past
> faded, or the big box buying execs turned over. For the
> manufacturer's marketing arm, it's like candy, you just can't resist
> it.
>
> IMHO heavy iron belongs with the local distributor. Their sales and
> service personnel are generally properly trained for the task.

A remarkable treatise on the vagaries of "educating beyond intelligence"
versus "common sense", left un-snipped on purpose for posterity!

:)


--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 3/27/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

on 5/2/2008 11:15 PM PHT said the following:
> On Sat, 03 May 2008 01:49:12 +0000, Lobby Dosser wrote:
>
>
>> "Swingman" <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>> "Mike Marlow" wrote
>>>
>>>
>>>> To be fair - they are cashiers, not product specialists. I don't
>>>> expect a cashier to know anything about the product she is checking
>>>> out.
>>>>
>>> Used to be a cashier used a cash register as a tool in transacting
>>> business; nowadays the cash register transacts the business, and uses
>>> the cashier as a tool for data input.
>>>
>> Out here on the Upper Left Coast we are seeing more and more self serve
>> registers. Typically one employee covers 6-8 of them. Instead of a
>> friendly face and maybe some conversation, you get to listen to the guy
>> at the next register bitching about the scanner and he gets to hear you
>> cursing under your breath when yours tells you to take the item out of
>> the bag for the fourth time.
>>
>
> I refuse to use the self serve registers. If that is all that is open I
> will go to the contractor's register to check out, which does not have
> any of the self serve kind. I have noticed others that will not go
> to these registers, even when asked to do so.
>
> Paul T.
>
>

If I am shopping in the nearby city (which is more of a big town than a
city) and stop in to buy a box of nails, or a few other small items, at
the HD there, I will use the self-serve checkout rather than wait on
line while a half dozen people, each with a dozen items or more, are in
front of me. Time is money. I can check out my small purchase before
that line reduces by one customer.Those people that don't use the
self-serves are probably computer illiterate and are afraid of them. I
notice that a lot of stores have self-checkout stations, the WalMart in
that city being one of them.
As for friendly conversation with people in the checkout line, I live in
a small town where a lot of people know each other. My pet peeve is
standing in the checkout line while the clerk and customer are having a
personal conversation while no checking or packing is being done.


--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

With-in a few miles of my home I have a Home Depot and a hardware store that
has been around since the 50s. If I want to buy a large tool in HD it's in a
box, if I want to buy the same tool in the hardware store he has a catalog
(picture) and can order it for me. So it is about a horse a piece.

Most tool makers have excellent web sites were you can get a wealth of
knowledge on what you're after, which in most cases will be more accurate
than the salesperson anywhere. So I have no problem buying that way if I've
done my research. At which point it comes down to who has the best price.
--
Mike
Watch for the bounce.
If ya didn't see it, ya didn't feel it.
If ya see it, it didn't go off.
Old Air Force Munitions Saying
IYAAYAS
"Old Guy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:dd6a67d5-a6fc-4538-aad9-7de11ccba713@k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
> Well, the folks we love to hate have done it again.
>
> The LOML and I went to Home Depot, and I got my errands done before
> she did, so I went to drool over the stationary power tools while I
> waited. Couldn't do it. No display. Pation Furniture was there
> instead.
>
> The person at the Contractor desk said that Corporate had decided that
> the tool display wasn't bringing in enough sales, so they still had
> the tools, in the box, and they could show me pictures of what they
> looked like, but that was it.
>
> I suggested that I never bought things like that from pictures, and he
> agreed, but said no one at the decision level wanted to hear concerns
> from the front lines. I look to see big iron tools dropped from their
> stores pretty soon, cause they don't sell any without working display
> models. Watch for the closeouts, might be able to score a gloat or
> two.
>
> Old Guy

"Pat Barber" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> You know Frank... I found that hard to believe until
> I actually heard a guy bragging about bringing a shop vac
> back to Sears after he had used it to clean up his garage.
>
> I have since had people suggest to me that any "special"
> tools needed for a project can be done in a similar manner.
>
> I thought it was maybe one or two out of a thousand, but now
> I believe it is a wildly popular method.
>

It is also a popular method of cleaning the basement after local flooding.
We all pay higher prices for our tools because of these bozos.

In article <[email protected]>, "Lee Michaels" <[email protected]> wrote:

>> The package was too light to register as being placed in the bag. More
>> waiting.

Toss your car keys down next to the bag. Always works for me.

"Nova" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> I had to make a quick run to Home Depot last evening for a small blister
> pack of screws. The two registers that were open each had a fairly long
> line so I attempted to use the self check out.

There is a lesson here. Based on your experience at HD, I'm going to check
my stock of screws and place an order with McFeelys to eliminate the need to
go through the same torture.

Lee Michaels <[email protected]> wrote:

> "Pat Barber" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> You know Frank... I found that hard to believe until
>> I actually heard a guy bragging about bringing a shop vac
>> back to Sears after he had used it to clean up his garage.
>>
>> I have since had people suggest to me that any "special"
>> tools needed for a project can be done in a similar manner.
>>
>> I thought it was maybe one or two out of a thousand, but now
>> I believe it is a wildly popular method.
>>
>
> It is also a popular method of cleaning the basement after local
> flooding. We all pay higher prices for our tools because of
> these bozos.

Eww. That kind of dishonesty never even occurred to me.

I did laugh some years ago when a friend took a worn-out BB gun back
to Wal-mart. His intention was to buy a new one, so he took the old
one with him to show the kind he wanted. When he got there a clerk
insisted that he return it. The return form asked why he was
returning it. He wrote, "wore out". They gave him a new one.

[email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:

[snip - no need for me to copy the entire post]
>
> So really, I do hope these same whiners let us all know when
> they find that perfect place that has <the lowest prices in
> town>, the best service that can be bought, polite employees
> that are ready to help, an endless supply and selection of tools
> and products on display waiting to be fondled, and personal
> instructors that could be making 50K a year somewhere else
> working for 25K so they can answer all the inane and pedantic
> questions some can imagine.

Here in Cincinnati I go to Mueller Company
<http://www.muellerco.com/>. They're not the cheapest place in town,
but their sales staff is knowledgeable and courteous. I bought a
band saw there a few years ago. When I got it home I discovered that
one of the wheels was cracked. I took it back a day or two later and
added more money to buy an American-made saw (which I still have).
When I buy a good table saw to replace the el cheapo thing I bought
used, I intend to go to Mueller. I could get it cheaper online, but
I try to patronize local stores when I can. In this case I can. I
bought a floor-model drill press, a planer, a (small) jointer, and
some other equipment from them. (clamps, etc)

I have no connection to them, in fact I think I annoy some of the
sales staff, but I like the place.

"Mike Marlow" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> That floor
> space is needed for the things that will turn cash.

Yuppers. Companies/stores are in business to make money. This same trend
can be seen in other markets as well, esp. as economic times make money
more dear. Look at the changes at Radio Shack. At one time you could buy
a whole wealth of component parts there, and had a good chance of finding
someone at the store that knew electronics. Now you can hardly find a
fuse, and all you get are blank stares when you ask an electronics-related
question. But then that whole market is going down hill. When was the
last time you say a TV repair shop? Why fix when it's easier/cheaper to
buy a new one. NO ONE does component-level repair on computers either.

"Mike Marlow" wrote

> To be fair - they are cashiers, not product specialists. I don't expect a
> cashier to know anything about the product she is checking out.

Used to be a cashier used a cash register as a tool in transacting business;
nowadays the cash register transacts the business, and uses the cashier as a
tool for data input.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 3/27/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

On May 4, 6:19=A0pm, "Lee Michaels" <[email protected]> wrote:
> "Nova" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> news:ydjTj.2334$cD3.448@trndny02...
>
>
>
> > willshak wrote:
>
> > <snipped>
>
> >> Time is money. I can check out my small purchase before that line reduc=
es
> >> by one customer.Those people that don't use the self-serves are probabl=
y
> >> computer illiterate and are afraid of them. I notice that a lot of stor=
es
> >> have self-checkout stations, the WalMart in that city being one of them=
.
>
> > I had to make a quick run to Home Depot last evening for a small blister=

> > pack of screws. =A0The two registers that were open each had a fairly lo=
ng
> > line so I attempted to use the self check out.
>
> > The bar code on the plastic bag wouldn't scan. =A0I had to wait for the
> > attendant while see assisted another customer.
>
> > The package was too light to register as being placed in the bag. =A0Mor=
e
> > waiting.
>
> > The bill scanner wouldn't recognize the new issue $5 bill, the only bill=
s
> > I grabbed off my dresser before heading to the store.
>
> Let me get this right. =A0You went to the BORG and nothing SCANNED???
>
> I don't want to sound paranoid or anything, but you probably just died in =
a
> parallel universe. =A0Go to the doc and get checked out immediately! =A0Yo=
u can
> not survive in this universe if you are unscannable. =A0Be afraid, be very=

> afraid.
>
> <G> =A0Sorry, I am in that kind of mood today.

You often are. <G> (Then, in my best Sammy Davis Jr impression):
"Don't ever change!"

"EXT" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

>
> Around here the returns desk is populated with low paid teenage girls who
> are too busy gabbing about the party last night or flirting with some
> teenage boys, to do their job right. At the best of times they don't even
> know what the item returned does or how it operates. All you have to say
> is it doesn't work, and they will refund your money, as they couldn't
> determine if you are right or wrong or cheating.
>

To be fair - they are cashiers, not product specialists. I don't expect a
cashier to know anything about the product she is checking out.

--

-Mike-
[email protected]

On Fri, 02 May 2008 16:00:11 -0700, Larry Blanchard
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Fri, 02 May 2008 15:53:40 -0400, Mike Marlow wrote:
>
>> To be fair - they are cashiers, not product specialists. I don't expect a
>> cashier to know anything about the product she is checking out.
>
>That's why Woodcraft (and others) don't have "cashiers" as such.
>Whoever is near the cash register does the job.

Right! At the bicycle shop, whoever is dealing with the customer
rings them out. We don't do commission, so that's not why we do it
this way.

We also do the "Nordstom's" treatment, where we walk the customer to
the item (or dressing room, service dept., bathroom, etc...), rather
than pointing them in the proper direction.

BTW... in the middle of "The Current Recession", the bicycle shop
just had the best April in the 12 years of current ownership.

---------------------------------------------
** http://www.bburke.com/woodworking.html **
---------------------------------------------

On May 1, 10:35 am, Pat Barber <[email protected]> wrote:
> You know Frank... I found that hard to believe until
> I actually heard a guy bragging about bringing a shop vac
> back to Sears after he had used it to clean up his garage.
>
> I have since had people suggest to me that any "special"
> tools needed for a project can be done in a similar manner.
>
> I thought it was maybe one or two out of a thousand, but now
> I believe it is a wildly popular method.
>
> Frank Boettcher wrote:
>
> The "I'm finished with my project, think I'll take this
> thing back and get my money back" syndrome.

It is indeed. And until this very last year, one of the HDs I go to
would take back a Christmas tree if it turned out to be "too dry" to
last until New Years.

I wrote this incident before. I bought a little trim gun(s) and
cheapie compressor combo at HD that had a sticker on it that said in
BIG letters to call their toll free number, and NOT to take it back to
the store. When I had a problem with the little brad nailer, they
sent me a new one rather than to have me take it back to HD. They
told me that on their combo kits, they were literally getting raped by
HD when they took them back as RTVs. The combo kit would come back
with the cheaper brad gun, no hoses, no nails, no cases, nothing .
Just a compressor and the lesser value gun.

When the advised HD to look at the box and make sure that everything
was in the return box that was in the original sale box, HD didn't
respond well. Eventually, the guy at the vendor told me that HD would
take back a compressor and nailgun without the box and give back the
cash. People literally bought the combo, took back some of the pieces
and pawned the more expensive (15 ga angle) nailer and made money.

That vendor told me that HD almost put them out of business as they
required 5000 units to be shipped as "combos" before they would sign a
contract.

Robert

I wonder how many tools Old Guy has bought online or over the phone or
mail order without ever handling or seeing them in person. Or seeing
and handling them in person from a local retailer and then purchasing
them online at a lower price. For specialty activities, like
recreational home woodworking, online/catalog/mail order/phone
purchasing probably consumes a considerable amount of the sales
revenue. I would guess almost all of the Grizzly machine owners on
this forum never saw their machines before they were delivered.




On May 1, 7:12=A0am, "Mike Marlow" <[email protected]> wrote:
> "Old Guy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> news:dd6a67d5-a6fc-4538-aad9-7de11ccba713@k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
>
>
> > Well, the folks we love to hate have done it again.
>
> > The LOML and I went to =A0Home Depot, and I got my errands done before
> > she did, so I went to drool over the stationary power tools while I
> > waited. =A0Couldn't do it. =A0No display. =A0Pation Furniture was there
> > instead.
>
> > The person at the Contractor desk said that Corporate had decided that
> > the tool display wasn't bringing in enough sales, so they still had
> > the tools, in the box, and they could show me pictures of what they
> > looked like, but that was it.
>
> > I suggested that I never bought things like that from pictures, and he
> > agreed, but said no one at the decision level wanted to hear concerns
> > from the front lines. =A0I look to see big iron tools dropped from their=

> > stores pretty soon, cause they don't sell any without working display
> > models. =A0Watch for the closeouts, might be able to score a gloat or
> > two.
>
> Yeah - it's true that people who make decisions make those decisions based=

> on what they observe and someone "on the front lines" is always going to b=
e
> upset. =A0But - in the world of retail, leaving hunks of iron or any other=

> product out on the floor, just because you or I like to drool over it
> without purchasing, is quite foolish. =A0That floor space is needed for th=
e
> things that will turn cash. =A0Like it or not - this time of year, they ar=
e
> going to turn cash with patio stuff. =A0I'd be willing to bet that if you =
were
> seriously looking to buy, someone would have opened up all the boxes you
> wanted to see. =A0But you weren't - and you're commenting about them provi=
ding
> for the most of their customers (as indicated by the floor sales), because=

> like the rest of us, you just wanted to drool over the tools. =A0For all t=
he
> bitching that goes on around here about every retailer out there, one woul=
d
> think that people would find it agreeable that a major retailer would
> dedicate their floor space to the products that the consumers are really
> after at any given time of year.
>
> As for never buying things from pictures - good for you. =A0I do buy some
> things just from pictures. =A0I just bought a new spray gun just from a
> picture on a web site. =A0Didn't need to handle it or anything else, to kn=
ow
> what I was going to get. =A0In your case, you weren't even going to buy, s=
o
> what's the big deal?
>
> Sorry - this is just my personal campaign against all of the posts that
> populate this forum that bitch about what the big retailers do, regardless=

> of how practical those decisions may really be in light of the population
> they serve, or the realities of business.
>
> --
>
> -Mike-
> [email protected] Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Frank Boettcher wrote:
> On Thu, 1 May 2008 08:12:19 -0400, "Mike Marlow"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>
>> "Old Guy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:dd6a67d5-a6fc-4538-aad9-7de11ccba713@k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
>>
>
> <a lot of relevant and accurate info snipped >
>
>>
>> Sorry - this is just my personal campaign against all of the posts
>> that populate this forum that bitch about what the big retailers
>> do,
>> regardless of how practical those decisions may really be in light
>> of the population they serve, or the realities of business.
>
>
> Over my many years with Delta, one of the things I used to hate to
> hear from marketing is "we've just cut a deal with (fill in your
> favorite big box retailer) to offer selected units in the industrial
> line".
>
> I would be guaranteed the necessity for working overtime in a
> chaotic
> manner to fill the units per store requirements by the contract time
> since they were never part of the original forecast.
>
> A year or two later, I could be guaranteed that I would have a large
> inventory reset with units sent bact to the factory as the current
> set
> of big box execs. figured out how dismal their inventory turns were
> on
> the iron and their minimum ratio of turns to space couldn't be met.
>
> During the contract, I could be guaranteed that my warranty would go
> up due to the liberal big box return policy and the inability of the
> machinery sales people to make sales stick. The "I'm finished with
> my
> project, think I'll take this thing back and get my money back"
> syndrome.

Did you get many of the "I need a new part, I'll buy a tool, pull the
part, and return the tool sans part or with the busted one" syndrome?

> And the cycle would repeat itself as soon as the memory of the past
> faded, or the big box buying execs turned over. For the
> manufacturer's marketing arm, it's like candy, you just can't resist
> it.
>
> IMHO heavy iron belongs with the local distributor. Their sales and
> service personnel are generally properly trained for the task.
>
> Frank

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Larry Blanchard wrote:
> On Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:56:54 -0700, Old Guy wrote:
>
>> The person at the Contractor desk said that Corporate had decided
>> that the tool display wasn't bringing in enough sales, so they
>> still
>> had the tools, in the box, and they could show me pictures of what
>> they looked like, but that was it.
>
> Interesting. I bought the Ridgid oscillating spindle/belt sander
> Monday and the store looked just like always. I'll have to check it
> out next time I'm in there. But right now I wonder if it wasn't
> just
> that store.

Somebody pointed out that they don't have the tools on display unless
they are near a Lowes. Well, the HD down the street doesn't have
tools on display. The one across the street from Coastal doesn't have
tools on display, but sure enough, the one in Manchester across the
street from Lowes _does_ have the tools on display.

> BTW, sometimes we get lucky. I knew prices were going up almost
> everywhere as a result of the tanking dollar and fuel costs, so I
> went to get the sander while the $199 price was still in effect.
> They had coupons for a dollar amount off depending on purchase
> amount
> hanging in various places in the tool aisle. I got $30 off on the
> sander! Usually those sales occur the day after I buy something
> :-).

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Puckdropper wrote:
> PHT <[email protected]> wrote in news:481bd8e7$0$13850$5ec1c3
> @news.usenethost.com:
>
>>
>> I refuse to use the self serve registers. If that is all that is
>> open I will go to the contractor's register to check out, which
>> does
>> not have any of the self serve kind. I have noticed others that
>> will
>> not go
>> to these registers, even when asked to do so.
>>
>> Paul T.
>>
>
> Never had a problem with them... But being a computer geek it's just
> another computer system to me. I feel they're faster, and they
> allow
> me to carry my single item purchase out of the store without yet
> another plastic bag.

Ever notice that at Lowes if you buy something that's too light to
register on the scale that reports something in the bagging area the
system gives you the option to skip bagging while at Home Despot you
have to wait for employee intervention?


--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Puckdropper wrote:
> PHT <[email protected]> wrote in news:481bd8e7$0$13850$5ec1c3
> @news.usenethost.com:
>
>> I refuse to use the self serve registers. If that is all that is open I
>> will go to the contractor's register to check out, which does not have
>> any of the self serve kind. I have noticed others that will not go
>> to these registers, even when asked to do so.
>>
>> Paul T.
>>
>
> Never had a problem with them... But being a computer geek it's just
> another computer system to me. I feel they're faster, and they allow me
> to carry my single item purchase out of the store without yet another
> plastic bag.
>
> Puckdropper

I'm with you. For the most part, I want to go into a store, get what I
want, and get out. If that's groceries, tools, or whatever it is i'm
looking for, I want to be done with it as quickly as possible. The first
systems that were auto checkout were a bit quirky and were more
frustrating that anything else. But the local grocery stores and HD seem
to have that worked out now, and I'm happier to bag my own stuff anyway.

--


Tanus

This is not really a sig

http://www.home.mycybernet.net/~waugh/shop/

willshak wrote:
...
> ... Time is money. I can check out my small purchase before
> that line reduces by one customer.Those people that don't use the
> self-serves are probably computer illiterate and are afraid of them.

If you're really on a time-critical mission or working, granted. But as
other respondents noted (and has been my experience as well), about as
often as not the da-ed things don't work reliably enough that the time
savings is minimal at best and the aggravation is certainly not worth
whatever small amount of time it might save.

I won't use the things simply for such reasons and I'm certainly not
computer illiterate--

...

> As for friendly conversation with people in the checkout line, I live in
> a small town where a lot of people know each other. My pet peeve is
> standing in the checkout line while the clerk and customer are having a
> personal conversation while no checking or packing is being done.

Chill, dood! :)

Life's too much a rush already--that's what we small town folk do
best--chat up the neighbor even if we did just see him at the donut shop
(aka "intellectual center" at 7)...

--

Swingman wrote:
> "dpb" wrote
>
>> I won't use the things simply for such reasons and I'm certainly not
>> computer illiterate--
>
> Indeed you must be. For the FIRST thing you learn about computers is to
> NEVER let one know you're in a hurry!

:)

_I'm_ highly unlikely to be in much of a hurry to begin with...I'm the
one who doesn't care whether the fella' in front is talking to the
clerk(ette)! (In fact, here it's a good chance I know him/her as well
and can simply just join in the party...)

When I have attempted to use one of the beasties, however (almost always
in the accompaniment of somebody else who does think they're in a
hurry), the previous posters' litanies of problems w/ them seem to crop
up virtually every time...it's the aggravation of that I can do w/o
finding the other aggravation of standing in the queue of lesser evil
even if there isn't somebody to chat up.... :)

I'd guess 90% of the "shopping" I do is at places where have open
accounts, anyway. In general, unless I can do that I don't patronize
the location on a regular basis.

--

--

Swingman wrote:
> "dpb" wrote
>
>> finding the other aggravation of standing in the queue of lesser evil
>
> "The Queue of Lesser Evil" ... make a good book title for Bruce Sterling. :)

Should I file for copyright? :)

--

On Sat, 03 May 2008 01:49:12 GMT, Lobby Dosser
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>Out here on the Upper Left Coast we are seeing more and more self serve
>registers.

Properly installed, I LOVE those things!

However, HD's don't work that well, and lots of items in a Home Center
don't lend themselves to them.

For stuff that fits on the scanner and outfeed shelf, and is properly
barcoded, I think they're great. It all falls apart when some dumbass
goes to the self-serve checkout with 19 sheets of drywall, (10) 16'
2x10's, or a riding mower.

An employee that guides the customers with items obviously unsuitable
for self-checkout to another line and rings them out would help
immensely.

Our local grocery stores have them as well. One chain's version works
very well, using scales and is set up for a relatively high scanning
speed. The other one is lame, trying to match an image with a
scanned picture as the item slowly travels under a camera.

---------------------------------------------
** http://www.bburke.com/woodworking.html **
---------------------------------------------

On Thu, 1 May 2008 08:12:19 -0400, "Mike Marlow"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"Old Guy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:dd6a67d5-a6fc-4538-aad9-7de11ccba713@k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
>

<a lot of relevant and accurate info snipped >

>
>Sorry - this is just my personal campaign against all of the posts that
>populate this forum that bitch about what the big retailers do, regardless
>of how practical those decisions may really be in light of the population
>they serve, or the realities of business.


Over my many years with Delta, one of the things I used to hate to
hear from marketing is "we've just cut a deal with (fill in your
favorite big box retailer) to offer selected units in the industrial
line".

I would be guaranteed the necessity for working overtime in a chaotic
manner to fill the units per store requirements by the contract time
since they were never part of the original forecast.

A year or two later, I could be guaranteed that I would have a large
inventory reset with units sent bact to the factory as the current set
of big box execs. figured out how dismal their inventory turns were on
the iron and their minimum ratio of turns to space couldn't be met.

During the contract, I could be guaranteed that my warranty would go
up due to the liberal big box return policy and the inability of the
machinery sales people to make sales stick. The "I'm finished with my
project, think I'll take this thing back and get my money back"
syndrome.

And the cycle would repeat itself as soon as the memory of the past
faded, or the big box buying execs turned over. For the
manufacturer's marketing arm, it's like candy, you just can't resist
it.

IMHO heavy iron belongs with the local distributor. Their sales and
service personnel are generally properly trained for the task.

Frank

You know Frank... I found that hard to believe until
I actually heard a guy bragging about bringing a shop vac
back to Sears after he had used it to clean up his garage.

I have since had people suggest to me that any "special"
tools needed for a project can be done in a similar manner.

I thought it was maybe one or two out of a thousand, but now
I believe it is a wildly popular method.



Frank Boettcher wrote:

The "I'm finished with my project, think I'll take this
thing back and get my money back" syndrome.

"Old Guy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:dd6a67d5-a6fc-4538-aad9-7de11ccba713@k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
> Well, the folks we love to hate have done it again.
>
> The LOML and I went to Home Depot, and I got my errands done before
> she did, so I went to drool over the stationary power tools while I
> waited. Couldn't do it. No display. Pation Furniture was there
> instead.
>
> The person at the Contractor desk said that Corporate had decided that
> the tool display wasn't bringing in enough sales, so they still had
> the tools, in the box, and they could show me pictures of what they
> looked like, but that was it.
>
> I suggested that I never bought things like that from pictures, and he
> agreed, but said no one at the decision level wanted to hear concerns
> from the front lines. I look to see big iron tools dropped from their
> stores pretty soon, cause they don't sell any without working display
> models. Watch for the closeouts, might be able to score a gloat or
> two.
>
> Old Guy

Wow, and I was just at my local Lowes store and their power tool area seems
to be larger than the last time I was in there.
Three larger sizes was set up, a Delta, Dewalt and a Bosch were there.

On Fri, 2 May 2008 18:26:52 -0500, "Swingman" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"Mike Marlow" wrote
>
>> To be fair - they are cashiers, not product specialists. I don't expect a
>> cashier to know anything about the product she is checking out.
>
>Used to be a cashier used a cash register as a tool in transacting business;
>nowadays the cash register transacts the business, and uses the cashier as a
>tool for data input.

And try to find one at Home Despot.

All going to self check up here.
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

"Pat Barber" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> You know Frank... I found that hard to believe until
> I actually heard a guy bragging about bringing a shop vac
> back to Sears after he had used it to clean up his garage.
>
> I have since had people suggest to me that any "special"
> tools needed for a project can be done in a similar manner.
>
> I thought it was maybe one or two out of a thousand, but now
> I believe it is a wildly popular method.


When going to school and working part time in the early 70's I worked in the
automotive department of the old Woolco stores. Next to our department was
the Glidden paint department. Even back then paint that was being returned
for a refund had to be inspected to insure that a refund on a paint can full
of water was not being given.

"Larry Blanchard" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sat, 03 May 2008 03:15:51 +0000, PHT wrote:
>
>> I refuse to use the self serve registers. If that is all that is open I
>> will go to the contractor's register to check out, which does not have
>> any of the self serve kind. I have noticed others that will not go
>> to these registers, even when asked to do so.
>
> Same here. Seems to me they're just another way for the stores to
> eliminate jobs.
>
> Our library even has a self-check option. I won't use it either.
>
> BTW, the incidence of stolen books and magazines has gone up because they
> can't tell if you actually checked your books out or just stood in front
> of the self-checkout terminal and made appropriate motions.
>

I went to the bank and the teller informs me that I could get cash form the
ATM machine at no charge out side. I looked her and just shook my head.
The liberals love these kind of people.

On Thu, 01 May 2008 15:35:41 +0000, Pat Barber wrote:

> You know Frank... I found that hard to believe until
> I actually heard a guy bragging about bringing a shop vac
> back to Sears after he had used it to clean up his garage.

The first I heard of it was several years ago when a guy who ran a camping
goods store told me I wouldn't believe how many tents he sold - for two
weeks! He also told me how much he added to the price of tents to allow
for that, but I forget the percentage - it was however, up in double
digits.

I can't comprehend people who have that little ethics and that much gall.
They might as well just rob the store, but that would make them liable for
criminal penalties. Hmmmmm ...

On Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:56:54 -0700, Old Guy wrote:

> The person at the Contractor desk said that Corporate had decided that
> the tool display wasn't bringing in enough sales, so they still had
> the tools, in the box, and they could show me pictures of what they
> looked like, but that was it.

Interesting. I bought the Ridgid oscillating spindle/belt sander Monday
and the store looked just like always. I'll have to check it out next
time I'm in there. But right now I wonder if it wasn't just that store.

BTW, sometimes we get lucky. I knew prices were going up almost
everywhere as a result of the tanking dollar and fuel costs, so I went to
get the sander while the $199 price was still in effect. They had
coupons for a dollar amount off depending on purchase amount hanging in
various places in the tool aisle. I got $30 off on the sander! Usually
those sales occur the day after I buy something :-).

On Fri, 02 May 2008 15:53:40 -0400, Mike Marlow wrote:

> To be fair - they are cashiers, not product specialists. I don't expect a
> cashier to know anything about the product she is checking out.

That's why Woodcraft (and others) don't have "cashiers" as such.
Whoever is near the cash register does the job.

But I wouldn't expect a big box store to do it that way - too much real
estate to cover :-). So in that sense you're right.

On Sat, 03 May 2008 03:15:51 +0000, PHT wrote:

> I refuse to use the self serve registers. If that is all that is open I
> will go to the contractor's register to check out, which does not have
> any of the self serve kind. I have noticed others that will not go
> to these registers, even when asked to do so.

Same here. Seems to me they're just another way for the stores to
eliminate jobs.

Our library even has a self-check option. I won't use it either.

BTW, the incidence of stolen books and magazines has gone up because they
can't tell if you actually checked your books out or just stood in front
of the self-checkout terminal and made appropriate motions.

"dpb" wrote

> I won't use the things simply for such reasons and I'm certainly not
> computer illiterate--

Indeed you must be. For the FIRST thing you learn about computers is to
NEVER let one know you're in a hurry!

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 3/27/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

B A R R Y <[email protected]> wrote:

> Our local grocery stores have them as well. One chain's version works
> very well, using scales and is set up for a relatively high scanning
> speed. The other one is lame, trying to match an image with a
> scanned picture as the item slowly travels under a camera.
>

The camera thing sounds really Goofy. I didn't think photo matching had
come far enough for use in a grocery store.

"Puckdropper" wrote

> Never had a problem with them... But being a computer geek it's just
> another computer system to me. I feel they're faster, and they allow me
> to carry my single item purchase out of the store without yet another
> plastic bag.

Ditto ... I've been known to seek them out, even with an 8' tubafour or two.

Although when buying a single item that is too light to register on the
"take out" scale, or too bulky to put there like said tubafours, and the
droid keeps repeating itself, I tend to get pissed if lose my balance by
having to leave my foot on the scale long enough to complete the
transaction.

It does have its plusses, however ... if the day has inexplicably gone too
damn good up to that point, I can pick that "other" language just to get
back in the proper frame of mind.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 3/27/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

Mike Marlow wrote:

>
> "sweet sawdust" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:vYnSj.45866$%[email protected]...
>
>> Just heard on the radio that HD is closing 15 stores due to lagging
>> sales. Maybe their sales model is not working well.
>
> It's a tough economy out there. The average HD or Lowes store runs on
> about
> a 7% storewide margin - that's not a lot of margin. Little room for
> error.
>

That, and HD has not been brilliantly managed in the past several years.
HD stock prices tanked several years ago (~$50 down to ~$30) and held
nearly steady for the past 5 or 6 years. Even when the economy and housing
market were doing well, their stock prices were sucking wind, never
reaching the $50 post-9/11 price (yes, that is right, after the 9/11 crash,
HD recovered to $50, then headed straight south). Lowe's hasn't done a
whole lot better, but seems to be more consistent.

Bottom line, HD really can't blame this debacle on the economy, they have
a more fundamental problem.


--
If you're going to be dumb, you better be tough

"Swingman" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>
> "Mike Marlow" wrote
>
>> To be fair - they are cashiers, not product specialists. I don't
>> expect a cashier to know anything about the product she is checking
>> out.
>
> Used to be a cashier used a cash register as a tool in transacting
> business; nowadays the cash register transacts the business, and uses
> the cashier as a tool for data input.

Out here on the Upper Left Coast we are seeing more and more self serve
registers. Typically one employee covers 6-8 of them. Instead of a
friendly face and maybe some conversation, you get to listen to the guy
at the next register bitching about the scanner and he gets to hear you
cursing under your breath when yours tells you to take the item out of
the bag for the fourth time.

"dpb" wrote

> finding the other aggravation of standing in the queue of lesser evil

"The Queue of Lesser Evil" ... make a good book title for Bruce Sterling. :)


--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 3/27/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

On Fri, 2 May 2008 23:33:04 -0400, "Edwin Pawlowski" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
>OTOH, Coastal has pretty decent displays in an industrial sort of way.

They do, as does Tools Plus. I've never been inside the HD across
from TP in Waterbury.

Coastal is also pretty good about opening a box if there's no display
model.

---------------------------------------------
** http://www.bburke.com/woodworking.html **
---------------------------------------------

B A R R Y <[email protected]> wrote:

> We also do the "Nordstom's" treatment, where we walk the customer to
> the item (or dressing room, service dept., bathroom, etc...), rather
> than pointing them in the proper direction.

Had that happen twice in the local Lowes last week. Sometimes I'll ask them
just to point so I can browse along the way.

Just heard on the radio that HD is closing 15 stores due to lagging sales.
Maybe their sales model is not working well.
"Old Guy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:dd6a67d5-a6fc-4538-aad9-7de11ccba713@k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
> Well, the folks we love to hate have done it again.
>
> The LOML and I went to Home Depot, and I got my errands done before
> she did, so I went to drool over the stationary power tools while I
> waited. Couldn't do it. No display. Pation Furniture was there
> instead.
>
> The person at the Contractor desk said that Corporate had decided that
> the tool display wasn't bringing in enough sales, so they still had
> the tools, in the box, and they could show me pictures of what they
> looked like, but that was it.
>
> I suggested that I never bought things like that from pictures, and he
> agreed, but said no one at the decision level wanted to hear concerns
> from the front lines. I look to see big iron tools dropped from their
> stores pretty soon, cause they don't sell any without working display
> models. Watch for the closeouts, might be able to score a gloat or
> two.
>
> Old Guy

"Lobby Dosser" wrote

> "Swingman" wrote:

>> Used to be a cashier used a cash register as a tool in transacting
>> business; nowadays the cash register transacts the business, and uses
>> the cashier as a tool for data input.
>
> Out here on the Upper Left Coast we are seeing more and more self serve
> registers. Typically one employee covers 6-8 of them. Instead of a
> friendly face and maybe some conversation, you get to listen to the guy
> at the next register bitching about the scanner and he gets to hear you
> cursing under your breath when yours tells you to take the item out of
> the bag for the fourth time.

Point well taken. :)

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 3/8/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

willshak wrote:

<snipped>

> Time is money. I can check out my small purchase before
> that line reduces by one customer.Those people that don't use the
> self-serves are probably computer illiterate and are afraid of them. I
> notice that a lot of stores have self-checkout stations, the WalMart in
> that city being one of them.

I had to make a quick run to Home Depot last evening for a small blister
pack of screws. The two registers that were open each had a fairly long
line so I attempted to use the self check out.

The bar code on the plastic bag wouldn't scan. I had to wait for the
attendant while see assisted another customer.

The package was too light to register as being placed in the bag. More
waiting.

The bill scanner wouldn't recognize the new issue $5 bill, the only
bills I grabbed off my dresser before heading to the store.

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA
[email protected]

"bob kater" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Lee Michaels" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>>
>> "Pat Barber" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>> You know Frank... I found that hard to believe until
>>> I actually heard a guy bragging about bringing a shop vac
>>> back to Sears after he had used it to clean up his garage.
>>>
>>> I have since had people suggest to me that any "special"
>>> tools needed for a project can be done in a similar manner.
>>>
>>> I thought it was maybe one or two out of a thousand, but now
>>> I believe it is a wildly popular method.
>>>
>>> It is also a popular method of cleaning the basement after local
>>> flooding.
>> We all pay higher prices for our tools because of these bozos.
>>
>>
>>My neighbor just did the same thing except it was his electronics.
>>Except.... He charged them, brought them home, 15 days later he reports a
>>break-in..... Files insurance, gets the money to replace them, pays off
>>the credit card charge.... Gets his friend to bring them back and he has
>>beautiful electronics for free. Had a party a couple of weeks ago (open
>>house) and invites a cop.. he checks serial number on the items as he is
>>aware of the breakin and he now sit in the jail for insurance fraud.
>
>

Ahhh..., the insurance fraud thing. Two thoughts...

Your neighbor got just what he deserved. I hope it was worth it for him.

Secondly, insurance companies are putting more and more people into fraud
investigations. The reason is simple. It doesn't cost them anything. Every
dime that it takes to pay these guys is less than the recovery/savings on
bad claims.

"J. Clarke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> Somebody pointed out that they don't have the tools on display unless
> they are near a Lowes. Well, the HD down the street doesn't have
> tools on display. The one across the street from Coastal doesn't have
> tools on display,


OTOH, Coastal has pretty decent displays in an industrial sort of way. I
drive past quite a few HD and a Woodcraft to get there.