Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
|
Home Repair (alt.home.repair) For all homeowners and DIYers with many experienced tradesmen. Solve your toughest home fix-it problems. |
Reply |
|
LinkBack | Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#241
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
"We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!"
In article ,
aemeijers wrote: Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to reply wrote: That would keep me from asking to open the box. Jim Redelfs wrote: In these cases, particularly if I am familiar with the item, before agreeing to open the item, I will do my best to inform the customer of the package contents and/or answer their questions that caused them to ask to see inside. This is why stores used to have demonstrator models on display- actual plugged-in working units, not empty shells zip-tied to the gondolas. As to the alarm clocks- don't most have the db ratings listed on the box? Not specifically to alarm clocks, but I have too much experience with dB figures for consumer electronics: 1. Products X and Y specify dB at different distances, and too few consumers know how to translate/compare these figures. 2. Product Z specifies dB without specifying what distance. 3. Products sometimes have incorrect/dishonest dB figures. - Don Klipstein ) |
#242
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
"We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!"
On Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:54:09 -0500, AZ Nomad
wrote: On Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:35:01 -0500, Mark Lloyd wrote: On Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:34:53 -0500, AZ Nomad wrote: On Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:35:14 GMT, aemeijers wrote: Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to reply wrote: That would keep me from asking to open the box. Jim Redelfs wrote: In these cases, particularly if I am familiar with the item, before agreeing to open the item, I will do my best to inform the customer of the package contents and/or answer their questions that caused them to ask to see inside. This is why stores used to have demonstrator models on display- actual plugged-in working units, not empty shells zip-tied to the gondolas. As to the alarm clocks- don't most have the db ratings listed on the box? Do any of them have such ratings? Can you name a single example? And what is the industry-wide measurement standard which would make this information useful? You aren't aware that sound pressure levels can be measured? Never heard of the decibel unit? There's still a lot of missing standards. What standards are used to calibrate the meter? Where do you put the sound-level meter? Under the pillow? 5 inches in front of the clock? What is the "standard test room" like? How quiet is it? How many square feet of curtains? All these and more affect sound level readings. Unless measurements are made under agreed-upon controlled conditions, they're of limited (if any) use. This lack of standards reminds me of the useless "peak music power" ratings on audio equipment. However, I know of no alarm clock maker that bothers to do so. BTW, you might know that bels (a decibel is .1 of a bel) are NOT a unit of sound. They're just a way of representing ratios on a logarithmic scale. 0db is an arbitrary point. -- Mark Lloyd http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com "The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion." |
#243
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
"We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!"
On Aug 24, 9:58*am, Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to reply
wrote: Mark Lloyd wrote: In article , Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to reply wrote: When that happens with me, I find a salesperson and ask if I can see the insides. Please be aware that this is actually a very complex act, which some people have trouble with. I understand that, but if, for example, I can't listen to the volume of an alarm that an alarm clock makes, I don't want to buy it, except possibly if I get a guarantee that I can return it if it's not loud enough, but I would prefer to know how loud the alarm is before purchase. *A lot of "Loudest alarm" alarm clocks have unbelievably quiet alarms. And what is the difference between the procedure in WM and any other store? Well, there is one. WM will take it back no questions asked. Harry K |
#244
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
"We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!"
On Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:51:24 -0700, Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to
reply wrote: George wrote: Same here. If you buy a loaf of bread and a pound of cheese it isn't taxable. If you buy a sandwich at the deli it is. It gets a little bizarre with other things. Certain types of wrapping paper/film and bags for example are taxable and others aren't. The most ludicrous sales tax policy I ever heard of was when we were driving from Pennsylvania to Georgia, and my mom went in a store in some state to buy a pair of socks. The clerk asked if the socks were for someone over or under the age of 14 (or some teenage, under-18 number), and my mom asked why and was told that clothing for people on one side of the number was taxed and for people on the other side of the number wasn't -- I forget which was which at this point; I was a very young child then. My mom asked the clerk if that meant that clothing for [whichever age group had their clothing taxed] was optional. Did the clerk laugh? My mother used to joke with the clerks from the 1930's to the 1970's and she finally gave up, because they never got it. They always gave her a serious, blank look. |
#245
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
"We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!"
On Sun, 24 Aug 2008 11:55:25 -0700 (PDT), Harry K
wrote: On Aug 23, 10:21*am, mm wrote: On Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:40:56 -0400, mm wrote: c Did they say they would shop at any WM or that they wouldn't shop at Meant to say, Did they say they would NOT shop at an WM..... this one, because they resented it being in their town.- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Answer: letters to the editor from people I know that I saw in the Moscow WM. You seem to be on a witch hunt or something. I think you're being hard on those people. They can be truly opposed to their building a WM and give up or change their mind later. Even wanting none in one's own town but shopping at one in another town is reasonable. I'm sure they didn't lobby to get one built in Moscow, but it's already there. I don't want a 7-11 two hundred yards from me, where I can see it, but I'll go to one two blocks away. Harry K |
#246
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
"We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!"
In article ,
mm wrote: Even wanting none in one's own town but shopping at one in another town is reasonable. I'm sure they didn't lobby to get one built in Moscow, but it's already there. I don't want a 7-11 two hundred yards from me, where I can see it, but I'll go to one two blocks away. Harry K You really can't get a better illustration of NIMBY than that. |
#247
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
"We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!"
In article ,
Mark Lloyd wrote: I'd probably get the wrong answer, maybe from some salesperson afraid to admit to not knowing. I'm also pretty accomplished at admitting I don't know. I am afraid that if I DIDN'T know the answer, but made one up and delivered it to the customer, I would get it wrong or someone would overhear my b.s. and call me on it. The worst would be that my wrong information resulted in poor service to the customer. The common alternative to looking stupid. I try to NOT look stupid, even when I don't have a clue. I'm pretty good at it. bg A lot do. They can still leave out important info. How about a photo of the BACK of the device (often more important than the front, as it shows connections)? Agreed. For remedies that requires such detail, opening the box and, often with cameras, reading of the Owner's Manual is required. I bought my first dSLR camera and THEN learned about the concept of "crop factor" with image sensors smaller than the size of a full frame of 35mm film - the benchmark by which virtually all lens's focal length is determined. It was a BIG deal, wasn't on the outside (or readily available INSIDE) of the box, but I still have (and love) the camera. It's too bad that most packaging is designed to minimize waste and thwart a shoplifter. -- JR |
#248
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
"We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!"
On Aug 21, 3:51 pm, Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to reply
wrote: George wrote: Same here. If you buy a loaf of bread and a pound of cheese it isn't taxable. If you buy a sandwich at the deli it is. It gets a little bizarre with other things. Certain types of wrapping paper/film and bags for example are taxable and others aren't. The most ludicrous sales tax policy I ever heard of was when we were driving from Pennsylvania to Georgia, and my mom went in a store in some state to buy a pair of socks. The clerk asked if the socks were for someone over or under the age of 14 (or some teenage, under-18 number), and my mom asked why and was told that clothing for people on one side of the number was taxed and for people on the other side of the number wasn't -- I forget which was which at this point; I was a very young child then. My mom asked the clerk if that meant that clothing for [whichever age group had their clothing taxed] was optional. If you go buy .22 bullets at WM (as least around here), the ask you if it's for a rifle or a pistol. If you say "rifle" they ask if you're over 18. If you say "pistol" they ask if you are over 21. It doesn't make any sense, esp. when you consider that the state doesn't restrict the purchase of bullets. They also now ask you if you're over 21 for spray paints and some auto things like break cleaner. |
#249
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
"We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!"
"Pat" wrote in message news:6b78525b-41dc- They also now ask you if you're over 21 for spray paints and some auto things like break cleaner. When I was buying spray on top coat sealer for metal I was only allowed to buy one can at a time. I needed three, so I had to leave the store, put the can in the car, come back in, buy the second, lather, rinse, repeat. As if buying only one at a time will stop morons from huffing. Ridiculous. |
#250
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
"We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!"
Jim Redelfs wrote:
I'd probably get the wrong answer, maybe from some salesperson afraid to admit to not knowing. I'm also pretty accomplished at admitting I don't know. I am afraid that if I DIDN'T know the answer, but made one up and delivered it to the customer, I would get it wrong or someone would overhear my b.s. and call me on it. The worst would be that my wrong information resulted in poor service to the customer. Wow, you need to come over here and teach seminars to retail people on how to say, "Sorry, I don't have that information," or maybe to the management on why it's better to admit you don't know something rather than look ignorant. There is a horrible dearth of that around here, even when I ask the waffling retail people to their face, "are you trying to say you don't have the answer to that question?" It's like there is some unwritten law in retail around here of "Death before admitting you don't know something." The other thing that REALLY irks me is if you ask if they carry something and they say, "Did you see it on the shelf?" If I did, I wouldn't be asking. (this, of course, is ludicrously counterbalanced with the question by the cashier, "Did you find everything you were looking for?" One of these days I am going to be able to tell the cashier that I couldn't find something because the person on the floor refused to help, and then I bet heads will roll.) My eyes are not always as good as they used to be, and sometimes a second pair or eyes to find something is helpful, like the nice pharmacist that found the OTC med for me when I told him that I thought it should be located around such-and-such category but I didn't see it. |
#251
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
"We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!"
Pat wrote:
They also now ask you if you're over 21 for spray paints and some auto things like break cleaner. In California it's against the law to sell spray paint to minors. Too much gang tagging going on and too many snuffers. |
#252
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
"We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!"
Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to reply wrote:
Pat wrote: They also now ask you if you're over 21 for spray paints and some auto things like break cleaner. In California it's against the law to sell spray paint to minors. Too much gang tagging going on and too many snuffers. Connecticut too, for spray paint anyway, don't know about brake cleaner. Go through the automated checkout at Home Depot and it makes me wait for an employee to check my ID if I have spray paint (not an issue with the manual checkout--it is intuitively obvious to the most casual observer that I'm over 21, but the computer can't tell). -- -- --John to email, dial "usenet" and validate (was jclarke at eye bee em dot net) |
#253
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
"We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!"
On Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:22:47 -0700, Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to
reply wrote: Pat wrote: They also now ask you if you're over 21 for spray paints and some auto things like break cleaner. In California it's against the law to sell spray paint to minors. Too much gang tagging going on and too many snuffers. In Texas, I was surprised to find the law applies to felt-tip markers too. I hadn't even thought of someone sniffing those until I saw clerks checking ID for those buying markers. -- Mark Lloyd http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com "The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion." |
#254
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
"We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!"
On Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:20:42 -0700 (PDT), Pat
wrote: -snip- If you go buy .22 bullets at WM (as least around here), the ask you if it's for a rifle or a pistol. If you say "rifle" they ask if you're over 18. If you say "pistol" they ask if you are over 21. It doesn't make any sense, esp. when you consider that the state doesn't restrict the purchase of bullets. But the feds do. You must be 21 to buy pistol ammo. The store can choose to believe you or not if you say you are going to shoot it in a rifle. Jim |
#255
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
"We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!"
HeyBub wrote:
George wrote: And for those who would suggest "no one has to sell to Walmart" just consider the chronology. The deal starts off good, the supplier makes enough margin to stay in business and keeps expanding. Once Walmart becomes their major or sole customer they then demand unreasonably cheap prices. If you have a large investment in a facility you can't afford to loose major volume because you loose your economy of scale so your only choice is to do whatever is necessary which includes cheapening the product, paying Walmart wages, closing the plant and going offshore depending on what is being manufactured etc. Good story, but I sense a flaw. How is it in Walmart's best interests to drive it's suppliers out of business? Do you actually have a consistent opinion about anything? Unless your mission is to be the jerry springer of Usenet you just make yourself look silly. Walmart DOES send its own experts to its suppliers to show these suppliers how they can streamline, optimize, and improve their production, back office techniques, shipping schedules, etc. Techniques that have worked at thousands of other suppliers. Some companies, however, may think they know more than Walmart or ignore the advice. |
#256
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
"We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!"
HeyBub wrote:
George wrote: Absolutely. In fact, you might consider doing so as your DUTY as a Capitalist. It seems you are really fixated on the Rush Limbagh version of capitalism where whatever is done is just OK as long as someone is making out. So let me pose a question. Lets say your folks are retired/elderly. You really aren't in frequent touch with them but one day they sheepishly admit they lost a significant part of their nest egg because they were scammed by a broker who was on the fine edge of legality. Would you immediately ask for at least the phone number of the broker so you could congratulate him and if not why not? Possibly. Michael Milken was known as the "Junk Bond King." He was sent to prison for marketing high-yield, essentially worthless, bonds to finance corporate mergers and acquisitions. His "creative" efforts helped launch, MCI, Turner Broadcasting (CNN), AOL, the cell-phone industry (via Craig McCaw), several of Steve Wynn's Las Vegas hotels, and other endeavors. I'm sure some got hurt by his shenanigans (including Milken himself). But millions more got jobs. So what is your point? That those companies would never exist unless it was for a POS like milken without a moral compass screwing people? That the cellphone industry or hotels wouldn't exist? That somehow everything is OK because lots of folks got screwed but some folks got jobs they would have gotten anyway through normal growth? |
#257
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
"We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!"
RickH wrote:
On Aug 18, 4:18 pm, "HeyBub" wrote: "[PLAINFIELD, Penn] Walt Neidlinger spent years trying to keep a Wal-Mart-anchored shopping complex from being built... "The traffic would have been suffocating for their little community, neighbors argued, so when the massive retailer and its partners packed up their plans and left ... Neidlinger was ecstatic. He figured he'd wait for the next plan to come along and remembers thinking, 'What could be worse than Wal-Mart?' "Over the past year, Neidlinger says, he's gotten an answer: RPM Recycling -- the metal-shredding plant on the same land -- causes daily noise that sounds like a freight train rumbling down the street, and frequent explosions that shake his walls." http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-...,5038048.story Women LOVE WalMart, I know I cant say anything bad about WalMart around my wife. Women expect value and low prices and they get that from Wal Mart. Men on the other hand have the luxury to be idealistic, union loyal, anti-chinese activists, or whatever concept floats their political boat, etc. Whereas most women just want to make the family budget function properly, and Wal Mart lets them accomplish that. For most towns a Wal Mart is a boon to the local economy, because soon after they open, many other smaller retailers and restaurants will infill the area creating economic growth. Chicago union-strapped politicos have kept Wal Mart out of the poor black neighborhoods, against the will of the poor residents. Well those residents are still suffering with no place to buy fresh produce, or much of anything else for that matter, and a serious lack of local jobs. I hear commercials all the time with people praising Wal Mart. They say stuff like, "When our local factory closed down and moved to China, we were devastated. No jobs. Then Wal Mart moved in. 300 jobs. Thank you Wal Mart." What isn't said is that it is likely that Wal Mart, or the Wal Mart business plan, was a big part of the reason the factory moved. They demand a lot from their suppliers. Inferior products for a lower price. And another reason the factory moved is the fact that Americans are cheap asses. You complain about jobs going overseas for cheaper labor and operating costs but you have absolutely no problem buying those products over slightly more expensive and harder to find American made products. You reap what you sow. If you aren't willing to spend time searching for American made products, (yes it does take effort now days), and spend a little more for those products, then you are a BIG part of the problem and should STFU. |
#258
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
"We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!"
Wayne Boatwright wrote:
On Tue 19 Aug 2008 12:53:45a We're very careful shoppers, and not unaware of many of WM's practices Americans are very uninformed on stuff that matters. Sure we know who won the world series and who hit the most home runs for the season or who made the most touchdowns or baskets. Who had the most traveling penalties, but many still think Iraq attacked us on 911. Many can't even point out their own state on a map. That's how we got GW Bush for 8 years and why we have Obama as Dem candidate and McCain as Rep candidate. How can you be expected to know or even care that Wal Mart and it's ilk uses virtual slave labor and has their suppliers pollute to their hearts content in the name of profit. Then they advertise how good corporate citizens they are. Not much has really changed since the 19th century. Greed and ignorance rules. |
#259
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
"We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!"
|
#260
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
"We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!"
Caesar Romano wrote:
On Sat, 20 Sep 2008 04:13:43 GMT, wrote Re "We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!": And another reason the factory moved is the fact that Americans are cheap asses. We aren't cheap, just particular about where we spend our money. For example, we love taxes and consider it our patriotic duty to pay higher taxes. It's true because brother Obama says so. If you were particular about where you spend your money, you'd care where the items you did buy came from and under what conditions they were produced. Any "compassionate conservative" knows that. |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|