A Simple Mission

[billroper]

We have a number of old cans of latex paint in our garage. daisy_knotwise has been talking about getting rid of them for some time, but you have to neutralize them first by mixing them with cat litter to dry out the paint before dumping them in the trash. And although we had some leftover cat litter, we didn't actually have any paint stirrers left from out last painting expedition.

"No problem," I said. "I can run to Home Depot and pick up paint stirrers. While I'm there, I'll replace the boards in our con-going bookcases that have seen many better days."

Gretchen thought this sounded like a good idea, so off I went. I grabbed the paint stirrers (free) and a paint can opening key (cheap and better than using a screwdriver). Then I headed off to the laminate shelving section.

What I needed were eight identical 24 inch boards. They did not have eight identical boards. I asked a fellow working the aisle if they had more somewhere and he told me that if they had them, they would be on display. The most they had of any given board was four, and only one set of four at that.

I headed to the cash register to pay for my fifty cent paint can key.

"Did you find everything you were looking for?" asked the cashier.

"Nope." And I told him that I'd been looking for eight identical boards and that they didn't have them.

"You should check on line. Just because they weren't on display, doesn't mean they aren't in the back."

"That would seem like a good idea, but the fellow that I asked said that there weren't any. And he didn't bother to check."

The cashier was suitably appalled and promised to report it. I promised to go to Menard's.

And so I did. Where I found eight identical boards, one of which was damaged. Not what I had in mind. So I found an employee and asked him about it.

"Hmm. I think we had a truck come in today." And a few minutes later, he came back with two more boards, fresh off the truck.

And thus I bought my eight boards from Menard's instead of Home Depot.

Home Depot is becoming increasingly frustrating in what they don't have in stock...

Comments

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you found what you needed at Menard's. My experience has been that the bigger the chain, the less attention they pay to customer service. It's not universal, but it seems stable as a rule-of-thumb.

[billroper]

Well, Home Depot's stocking policies seem to be a mystery to me.

Menard's is a fair-sized chain of big-box hardware stores in our part of the Midwest, but smaller than Home Depot. :)

[poltr1]

My first trip to a Menard's was in 2009, when I was working in Indianapolis. This past fall, they just opened up one about 5 miles away from me. I like their selection, their prices, and their service. I would go there before I go to Home Depot or Lowe's.

And I haven't forgotten the smaller local hardware stores,like Centerville Ace Hardware. They had a replacement power cord for a Salton Hotray heating plate; Menard's didn't carry any such cord.