Spectacular Work

[Rick]

The sump pump went belly up at church so I spent the morning changing it out. The work I performed was spectacular. There is no question about that. If a plumbing job requires no less than three trips to Ace Hardware then you can rest assured it is spectacular work. That is, after all, the quality benchmark. As luck would have it, this morning, like most plumbing jobs, was spectacular.

[madmax]

Send a vid to Mike Rowe. Celebrate the dirty jobs.

[Rick]

I have a lot of respect for Mike Rowe but I have yet to see him make a single trip to Ace Hardware, which makes me really suspect of the quality work he does.

[madmax]

The Lowes cashiers know me by my first name. But they give my dog a treat. I want a Reeses Peanutbutter cup if I come in more than once in a day.

[finallyME]

At least I know I am not the only one.

[crashdive123]

I now factor in two to four trips the the hardware store in for jobs depending on the job.

[randyt]

back in the old days when I ran cube vans we carried enough stock to plumb a two bath house, not so now days.

[Rick]

Oh, make no mistake, I do as well. Just one piece at a time and that requires a trip to and from Ace. I probably have more money spent in fuel than in plumbing supplies.

My wife used to ask me how long a job would take. My reply was, "about 15 minutes but it will take all day running back and forth to Ace."

[hunter63]

The three trips are industry standard......That why service guys drive a bigazz van stocked to the gills with every thing that most every job in the world will require.....
EXCEPT THIS ONE.......So you get only one trip.

So when you show up a ACE hardware or Granger (pro's)....and 3 of your companies trucks are already there..... was well as some of your competitors truck...."Becomes a "Union Meeting"...or it's raining and you don't need to be on a roof....or it's 2;30 and you are hiding out.

Three trips is indeed DIY industry standard.......

There was this one guy at ACE that got a tad perturbed when I had extended my visits to 5 close to 9:00 closing time as I was complaining about having to buy a pound of plumber putty to re-set the sink drain after banging into it,.... taking off the hot water feed hose that wasn't sealing up for the third time.

[kyratshooter]

I was one of the guys working at ACE Hardware, and we actually kept score on the trips you guys made.

3 really is standard.

One for what you think you need.

One to exchange for the right size and/or get the thing you forgot to put on the first list

One to replace the one you broke

The third trip entry to the store is always prefaced with the words "You ain't going to believer this..."

My favorites were the reworks of the plumbing in the Victorian era homes where they brought a 150 year old lead distribution manifold in that had 10 or 15 pipes coming off the entry unit in all directions, all in a 15" section, and it was slimed into a solid dripping leaky mass.

Usually they would hand it to me and announce they needed another just like it that did not leak.

[hunter63]

The plumbers putty episode ended by me complaining that I didn't need another pound to get hard and useless like the pound I already had for the last project.......

As It was 8:45, closing at 9:00 PM trip 5.......The guy take a screwdriver off the rack, opens the one pound can....scoops out a good sized gob with a new putty knife/scraper....into a paper towel......hands it to me and says, "Here, take this, and get out of my store"

Discussions to this point was about having to buy 5 washers, when you need two.....or 2 packages when you need six and the pack has 5......crap like this.

My last visit to ACE was a week ago.......Wife ordered a Hibachi for Fathers Day from Vermont Country Store....was on back order from May till August...Then informed her that they will not be getting any in.

So let me know....found one on line for ACE.....free delivery to my local store.....Ordered it got a conformation that it shipped in August.
As I was going out of town for a couple of weeks , so called the store and ask them to hold it for me till I returned to town.
They assured me they would watch for it and put my name on it....

Was gone for about 3 weeks watch for a delivery conformation for some on....store call, e-mail.... something.....Nothing.

Stopped at the store, and was told they never received it ....and acted like I was crazy ...What do you mean, receive something for the interweb?????

So returned home, got ahold of the customer service.......He had to look then put me on hold for while.
Comes back on the line and says....Yes, they have it at the store....to GO BACK and get it.

So go back and as I walked it one of the ladies at the front counter says......."You called the interweb and told on us"
I said "Damn straight, You stole $45 buck of my money......."

Kicking and screaming into the modern age.....???
No wonder they are getting their azz kicked by the interweb.
I use to go there because they knew what was going on.......Not any more.

[Rick]

The guys at my store are great. They are a bunch of older guys that have been there done that so they have a pretty keen idea on what's going on. I'm still waiting to walk in and find them standing there holding the next part I need to pick up but with experience I am sure they will get there. I make a LOT of trips to Ace.

In my hometown the Ace was a blacksmith shop that had been turned into an Ace Hardware. The old guy that ran it was the son of the blacksmith. The only thing I found that they did not have in stock was a left hand thread English lug nut. True story. I think two of everything else on the planet was in that building and the old guy knew where everything was. All you had to do was walk in the front door and show it to him or describe it. I miss that guy and that store.

[madmax]

We had a store like that in Ocala, Rick. Tofaletis (sp). Don't try to find that that thimagig you need on the shelf. Hand it to ANY employee and they will retrieve a replacement. Floor to ceiling. Front to back. Whatever you need. Miss them too.

[kyratshooter]

We had an old hardware store in one town I lived in that straddled the town creek like a bridge. It had been there since before the War, and since this was in the south I am speaking of the Civil War.

I needed a tube type well bucket and could not find one anywhere. This was before the internet so if you could not find something "tough noogies"!

I walked in there and asked for the bucket. Not only did they have one, it had the original price tag of something like $1.75 on it and that is what they charged me.

[hunter63]

All those stores are gone in our area......
That last store as you describe closed up....because the New Store that sells China stuff, replaced it.
The owner or the last Old Guy store, now works at the New Store....and cuts keys....grumbles and talks to him self a lot......seems bitter.

[WolfVanZandt]

Sigh, I miss small town America.....