Nick Danger wrote:

snip
Over the years, Home Depot became big and prosperous, and the
stockholders demanded that they squeeze out more profits, so they
had to cut back on expenses, meaning buying cheaper goods and
paying the help less. The contracting business picked up, and all
the contractors they had hired (the good ones anyway) went back to
contracting. The only help left were the losers or the oldtimers
and idealists who were still clinging in vain to the dream of a
place where customers and staff interacted in harmony. Some of the
neighborhood hardware stores eventually got their act together, but
performance was inconsistent, so most homeowners just accepted what
they got at HD, since by this time, they were conditioned to the
Big Box store shopping experience.

You went to different hardware/lumber stores than I did. The little
hardware stores had a wonderful array of esoteric stuff. True, there
was little call for many of the items but they carried them anyway.
Big, local hardware stores were a bit of a rarity but I was fortunate
to live in Honolulu and Kilgo's was available...they too have tons of
stuff and a staff that knows where they are and what they are for.

All the lumber places I went to would let me do my own picking. A
*long* time ago, you could pick and they would then mill to your specs
and load you up. That still exists some places (Mexico for one) but
probably not in the US.

There used to be a couple of fairly good lumber places near me where I
currently live (central Florida) but they are now "contractor only".
Nearest place I could buy now is 45 minutes away. Even though I can't
pick my own, it is easier to buy from NC and have it shipped to me by
truck. Lowes/HD don't have any worthwhile lumber...even their 2x4
studs would have been laughed out of town not too many years ago.

Seems to me that one of the biggest problems is the same as with
hamburgers...there are a couple of generations of people who have
never known a good one so they can't tell good from bad.


--

dadiOH
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