Hey Guys:

Don't know if this ever got straightened out in the original thread, but at
a point recently one of our esteemed posted that he had been advised that
Home Depot was now selling Romex in 200' foot rolls instead of the customary
250' rolls. Apparently, one of his local suppliers (obviously known for his
integrity and accuracy...), had informed him of this development.

Well, I looked at my local Home Depot the other day and what to my wondering
eyes should appear? Nothing but 250' rolls of romex. Didn't see a single
200' roll.

Seems the fellow who informed one of the brethren here was somewhat
uninformed. Though, if memory serves me at all (and that all by itself is a
questionable feat these days...), the local supplier supposedly even called
the Home Depot near him and confirmed this. No big deal really - mistakes
do happen. I just wanted to follow up on this to make the record straight.

Seems to me the price was something in the neighborhood of $68, but that
could be changed by now. Wire price changes are almost a daily occurrence
now.

OK - back to that heated debate Robatoy is holding with himself over in that
other thread now...


--

-Mike-

On Apr 8, 2:00 pm, "Mike Marlow" wrote:
Hey Guys:
the local supplier supposedly even called
the Home Depot near him and confirmed this. No big deal really - mistakes
do happen. I just wanted to follow up on this to make the record straight.

OK now... MIke... hold up a bit. Proper posting etiquette is to BASH
Home Depot. While you aren't really on anyone's ass, you didn't run
anyone down either. Shame on you. And no comments about the kiddos
with bad complexions?

;^)


Seems to me the price was something in the neighborhood of $68, but that
could be changed by now. Wire price changes are almost a daily occurrence
now.

Actually, it is hard for me to comparer anything between HDs these
days. Some carry different brands of things, some will close out a
products while other stores will continue to carry it, and some will
discount products while others won't. Here, our HDs literally don't
even carry the same merchandise.

I guess they are following the Walmart model, and that is they use the
computer to target their market and order their products.

I am in a sad way, now as far as vendors go. I get my lumber,
shingles and paint from those vendors specifically, but my local
hardware store just closed. It was only about 2 miles from my house.
Talk about convenient. Their service was just about nothing, but boy
were they convenient.

Now when I need a saw blade, drill bits, anchors, a deadbolt, 6 feet
of soft copper, etc., and all the other stuff I use I will be at the
mercy of the big boxes.

Sigh.

At least we have those.

Robert

On Apr 8, 4:00*pm, "Mike Marlow" wrote:
Hey Guys:

Don't know if this ever got straightened out in the original thread, but at
a point recently one of our esteemed posted that he had been advised that
Home Depot was now selling Romex in 200' foot rolls instead of the customary
250' rolls. *Apparently, one of his local suppliers (obviously known for his
integrity and accuracy...), had informed him of this development.

Well, I looked at my local Home Depot the other day and what to my wondering
eyes should appear? *Nothing but 250' rolls of romex. *Didn't see a single
200' roll.

Seems the fellow who informed one of the brethren here was somewhat
uninformed. *Though, if memory serves me at all (and that all by itself is a
questionable feat these days...), the local supplier supposedly even called
the Home Depot near him and confirmed this. *No big deal really - mistakes
do happen. *I just wanted to follow up on this to make the record straight.

Seems to me the price was something in the neighborhood of $68, but that
could be changed by now. *Wire price changes are almost a daily occurrence
now.

OK - back to that heated debate Robatoy is holding with himself over in that
other thread now...

No I'm not.

wrote:


I am in a sad way, now as far as vendors go. I get my lumber,
shingles and paint from those vendors specifically, but my local
hardware store just closed. It was only about 2 miles from my
house.
Talk about convenient. Their service was just about nothing, but
boy
were they convenient.

The city fathers cut deals with both H/D and OSH to put stores within
a few hundred feet of my local hardware.

OSH lasted less than a year, and the H/D is rarely crowded.

The hardware now stays open longer hours, but continues to survive in
spite of the non competitiveness of the situation (Tax breaks,
sweetheart land deals, etc).

Of course it doesn't hurt that they are a repair station for many
brands of tools as well as the master renewal parts supplier for a lot
of wood working tools.


Want a ShopSmith? They have them on the sales floor.

Lew

On Tue, 8 Apr 2008 15:20:53 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

On Apr 8, 2:00 pm, "Mike Marlow" wrote:
Hey Guys:
the local supplier supposedly even called
the Home Depot near him and confirmed this. No big deal really - mistakes
do happen. I just wanted to follow up on this to make the record straight.

OK now... MIke... hold up a bit. Proper posting etiquette is to BASH
Home Depot. While you aren't really on anyone's ass, you didn't run
anyone down either. Shame on you. And no comments about the kiddos
with bad complexions?

;^)


Seems to me the price was something in the neighborhood of $68, but that
could be changed by now. Wire price changes are almost a daily occurrence
now.

Actually, it is hard for me to comparer anything between HDs these
days. Some carry different brands of things, some will close out a
products while other stores will continue to carry it, and some will
discount products while others won't. Here, our HDs literally don't
even carry the same merchandise.

I guess they are following the Walmart model, and that is they use the
computer to target their market and order their products.

I am in a sad way, now as far as vendors go. I get my lumber,
shingles and paint from those vendors specifically, but my local
hardware store just closed. It was only about 2 miles from my house.
Talk about convenient. Their service was just about nothing, but boy
were they convenient.

Now when I need a saw blade, drill bits, anchors, a deadbolt, 6 feet
of soft copper, etc., and all the other stuff I use I will be at the
mercy of the big boxes.

Sigh.

At least we have those.

Robert
The big box stores have a habit od doing the "walmart thing"
They sell something ridiculously cheap as a loss leader, or to "corner
the market". Soon no-one else can afford to carry it and sell it, so
Wall Mart (or HD, or whoever) is the only local source.
Then they decide it's not worth carrying anymore because they are not
making any money on it and it's against company policy to increase
prices - ha ha.
Suddenly what you used to be able to buy anywhere for $10, and
yesterday could only buy at Walmart for $5, can not be bought for ANY
price, anywhere.

I hate what the big box stores have done to commerce, on the whole.
The lower prices (when they do exist) just are not worth it.

ANd now the beggars expect ME to operate the checkout too!!
I still use a "bricks and mortar" bank and use the tellers, not the
bank machine. If they are going to get the service fees, they're darn
well going to provide service!
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
news:EaTKj.3706$3w2.2900@trnddc05...

wrote:


I am in a sad way, now as far as vendors go. I get my lumber,
shingles and paint from those vendors specifically, but my local
hardware store just closed. It was only about 2 miles from my house.
Talk about convenient. Their service was just about nothing, but boy
were they convenient.

The city fathers cut deals with both H/D and OSH to put stores within a
few hundred feet of my local hardware.

OSH lasted less than a year, and the H/D is rarely crowded.

The hardware now stays open longer hours, but continues to survive in
spite of the non competitiveness of the situation (Tax breaks, sweetheart
land deals, etc).

Of course it doesn't hurt that they are a repair station for many brands
of tools as well as the master renewal parts supplier for a lot of wood
working tools.


Want a ShopSmith? They have them on the sales floor.

Lew



A local hardware store packed up and moved, right next door to Menards!
(Menards is a big box store in the midwest) They moved there maybe 10 years
ago so it must have been a good move for them. I wonder if they don't feed
off Menards customers to some point. I figured they were doomed for sure!
Greg

On Apr 8, 8:22 pm, clare at snyder dot ontario dot canada wrote:

ANd now the beggars expect ME to operate the checkout too!!
I still use a "bricks and mortar" bank and use the tellers, not the
bank machine. If they are going to get the service fees, they're darn
well going to provide service!

You know, that is a pet peeve of mine also. I might be more inclined
to use the self checkers if they even worked. But they are twice the
time and effort as they just don't work for multiple items. I have
yet to have that system work for me, and it has failed about three or
four times.

When it does, they call someone over, and then that person resets the
machine, they do the same thing they do at the regular checkout, and
we are finished.

How is that an improvement?

Robert

On Apr 8, 4:23 pm, Robatoy wrote:

No I'm not.

I am reminded of a great Simpsons episode.

Homer is in torment as he keeps hearing the voice of his conscience
while doing something he isn't sure about.

He picks up a bat and listens a little more.

"Stupid left side of the brain... I have you now! I'm sick and tired
of you interfering!"

He aims squarely for his forehead and smashes himself. Three, four,
five times. He collapses in a heap. He moans.

"Guess I showed you", he says weakly.

"Not really" he hears.

"D'oh"

He falls over and passes out.


Robert

The city fathers cut deals with both H/D and OSH to put stores within a
few hundred feet of my local hardware.

OSH lasted less than a year, and the H/D is rarely crowded.

The hardware now stays open longer hours, but continues to survive in
spite of the non competitiveness of the situation (Tax breaks, sweetheart
land deals, etc).

A local hardware store packed up and moved, right next door to Menards!
(Menards is a big box store in the midwest) They moved there maybe 10
years ago so it must have been a good move for them. I wonder if they
don't feed off Menards customers to some point. I figured they were doomed
for sure!
Greg


I'm in a small town 50 mi west of Austin, Tx. HD came in about 4 years ago.
We have a great Ace Hardware, the staff can answer any question. I thought
that Ace would go away. Thank heaven they didn't. The selection out paces
HD by miles. Some times it takes a while, but true value does win in the
end, HD isn't worth my time, most of the time.

wrote:

OK now... MIke... hold up a bit. Proper posting etiquette is to BASH
Home Depot. While you aren't really on anyone's ass, you didn't run
anyone down either. Shame on you. And no comments about the kiddos
with bad complexions?

The first thing I thought of was zits... G


As for store help, there's "B a r r y 's Fast Food Economic Index®".

I've noticed over the last 25-30 years that in areas local economy can
be accurately measured based on the person taking orders, and the
service received, at local fast food drive-thru windows.

The sliding scale, based on a simple order "A number 9 with a Diet Coke":

If the order taker can't speak a coherent sentence, is totally twitchy
and distracted, and keeps asking you to clarify things, it takes forever
to get the food, and the order is still wrong in the end, SELL!!!!
You're at the top of a booming local economy! Bonus points are added if
the person answers a personal Nextel walkie-talkie call (Where ya' at?)
in the middle of your sentence.

If the person taking the order is well-spoken, educated, and efficient,
and the order is filled fast and correctly, the economy is in the
dumper. Negative bonus points if the fast food employee was the last
person to show you a new home, unsuccessfully tried to sell you a
variable annuity, or was the F&I person you dealt with when last buying
a car.

Fill in the scale in-between, and use a decently sized sample, not just
one or two experiences.

It works with Home Depot and Lowes to measure the health of the local
construction economy.

"B A R R Y" wrote in message
...
wrote:
If the order taker can't speak a coherent sentence, is totally twitchy and
distracted, and keeps asking you to clarify things, it takes forever to
get the food, and the order is still wrong in the end, SELL!!!! You're at
the top of a booming local economy! Bonus points are added if the person
answers a personal Nextel walkie-talkie call (Where ya' at?) in the middle
of your sentence.

If the person taking the order is well-spoken, educated, and efficient,
and the order is filled fast and correctly, the economy is in the dumper.
Negative bonus points if the fast food employee was the last person to
show you a new home, unsuccessfully tried to sell you a variable annuity,
or was the F&I person you dealt with when last buying a car.


Ironically true. The local HD that I go to has an exceptional location but
service that has been **** poor at best. Naturally you see fewer and fewer
customers in that store. Beginning on Good Friday I noticed what looked
like a triple staff and people that actually made eye to eye contact and
wanted to help. My son witnessed and mentioned this strange behavior last
night.

On Apr 9, 8:28*am, "Leon" wrote:
"B A R R Y" wrote in igy.net...

wrote:
If the order taker can't speak a coherent sentence, is totally twitchy and
distracted, and keeps asking you to clarify things, it takes forever to
get the food, and the order is still wrong in the end, SELL!!!! You're at
the top of a booming local economy! *Bonus points are added if the person
answers a personal Nextel walkie-talkie call (Where ya' at?) in the middle
of your sentence.

If the person taking the order is well-spoken, educated, and efficient,
and the order is filled fast and correctly, the economy is in the dumper..
Negative bonus points if the fast food employee was the last person to
show you a new home, unsuccessfully tried to sell you a variable annuity,
or was the F&I person you dealt with when last buying a car.

Ironically true. *The local HD that I go to has an exceptional location but
service that has been **** poor at best. *Naturally you see fewer and fewer
customers in that store. *Beginning on Good Friday I noticed what looked
like a triple staff and people that actually made eye to eye contact and
wanted to help. *My son witnessed and mentioned this strange behavior last
night.

I was in HD this am, I walked into the tool corral and this guy
practically sprints across the main aisle from the checkouts asking if
there is anything I need help with.

I remember in Rehoboth before the HD was built, I HATED going to lowes
because the people were all cranky and you could never find anyone.
Now its just the opposite.

wrote

You know, that is a pet peeve of mine also. I might be more inclined
to use the self checkers if they even worked. But they are twice the
time and effort as they just don't work for multiple items. I have
yet to have that system work for me, and it has failed about three or
four times.

When it does, they call someone over, and then that person resets the
machine, they do the same thing they do at the regular checkout, and
we are finished.

How is that an improvement?

It's all relative ... if you go to the self-serve propane gas cylinder
exchange kiosk first, the self-serve checkout inside the HD will then strike
you as a quantum leap in time saving technology.

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

On Apr 9, 6:58 am, B A R R Y wrote:
wrote:

OK now... MIke... hold up a bit. Proper posting etiquette is to BASH
Home Depot. While you aren't really on anyone's ass, you didn't run
anyone down either. Shame on you. And no comments about the kiddos
with bad complexions?

The first thing I thought of was zits... G

As for store help, there's "B a r r y 's Fast Food Economic Index®".

I've noticed over the last 25-30 years that in areas local economy can
be accurately measured based on the person taking orders, and the
service received, at local fast food drive-thru windows.

The sliding scale, based on a simple order "A number 9 with a Diet Coke":

If the order taker can't speak a coherent sentence, is totally twitchy
and distracted, and keeps asking you to clarify things, it takes forever
to get the food, and the order is still wrong in the end, SELL!!!!
You're at the top of a booming local economy! Bonus points are added if
the person answers a personal Nextel walkie-talkie call (Where ya' at?)
in the middle of your sentence.

If the person taking the order is well-spoken, educated, and efficient,
and the order is filled fast and correctly, the economy is in the
dumper. Negative bonus points if the fast food employee was the last
person to show you a new home, unsuccessfully tried to sell you a
variable annuity, or was the F&I person you dealt with when last buying
a car.

Fill in the scale in-between, and use a decently sized sample, not just
one or two experiences.

It works with Home Depot and Lowes to measure the health of the local
construction economy.


Interesting metric. It follows along with what a friend of mine
postulated about 20 years ago under the guise of maximal economy. For
maximum economic output you want people working in jobs that maximally
tax their abilities. You want the person behind the counter at
McDonalds to be in a job that is just barely manageable for them. So
when the economy is in the drink it's obviously not at max capacity
and you end up with CPA's tallying orders not cooking the books.

hex
-30-