Some stores take the evil part too seriously.
All you need are a few small items. That's it. Nothing rare or exotic. No special orders.
You get to the shop, and are presented with any or all of the following:
- no items left in the bin, despite assurances from the online inventory check
- a single item left in bin, but damaged in some way
- item in the wrong bin
- item with no bar codes
- staff that don't know what they sell (notes 1 and 2)
- staff that don't know what you're talking about (notes 3 and 4)
- you are forced to use "self checkout"
- the self checkout is filthy and badly labelled with poor instructions
- the self checkout scanner is scratched up so badly it can't actually read the barcodes
- the on-hand staffers are computer illiterate and can't actually help you
You can help!
Vote with your money!
Stop spending your cash at places like this!
With luck, it will make them go away!
note 1: The staff didn't know the difference between aircraft shears and tin snips, nor did they know why the handles on the shears come in different colours.
note 2: After hunting through the shop fruitlessly looking for "stain pens" to touch up damaged furniture, the staff said "we don't sell those kinds of things". On the way out via a different aisle, a wide array of these items were found hidden in an area that had nothing whatsoever to do with stain, furniture, or even pens/markers.
note 3: On two seperate occasions, I needed elevator bolts and Chicago bolts. The fastener aisle was, as usual, a mess in terms of any logical presentation. Not a single person had any clue what these items might look like, and only a couple had the vague idea that I might want to "look in the section where the bolts are".
note 4: I needed to mount some pictures in frames with glass and backing boards so I went looking for glazier's points. Blank stares from the shop staff. I did get sent to a big aisle full of pre-hung windows. That salesperson also had no idea what these strange mystery items might be or where they could be found.
4 comments:
Which large DIY store were you in? I'm happy to vote early and often if I know where I shouldn't go!
This particular rant of mine should apply to ANY store where the inmates are running loose.
In my own case all of the example notes, and the reason for the rant itself, are drawn directly from experiences at Home Depot.
They have, of course, already destroyed virtually all independent hardware stores and lumber yards.
I can recall a time when shops had staff that actually used (or at least understood) the goods that were for sale. Music stores and head shops seem to be the only ones left who follow that practise...
Just catching up with the blog. My classic home improvement store experience:
Peter S: "Excuse me, where is your Naval Jelly?"
Sullen Clerk looking disgusted: "We don't sell that sort of thing here."
Peter S: "Naval Jelly, for removing rust"
The guy had no idea what it was, and assumed I was looking for KY. . . at Home Depot.
Glad to know who's behind the bobcat image.
P
Peter, that made me laugh. Good thing you weren't also looking for a tapered reamer or grease nipples.
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