Do you miss 'real' hardware stores?

[Kenm810]

jspringertx,

May I add one to your list,
When I was a teenager, many --- many years ago. My family owned a Wholesale Plumbing and Heating supply company,
and while working the sales counter for several years I often ran into the requests you listed.

5. A young woman was sent by her husband with instructions of what to get, --- and after several minutes of hemming and hawing, She finally blurted out the her husband was having a problem at home and needed a new 12" Ballcock assemble right away!
In her rush to the sales counter she hadn't noticed the 3 or 4 seasoned trades men by the coffee machine behind her.
Poor Dear, there where several smiles and chuckles at her expense that day.

[jspringertx]

I remember one of our favorite customers (Mooney Warther, a famous carver) that came to our hardware store and always bought files. Everyone hid when he came in as he was so loud and I was stuck waiting on him.

We had our files in a cabinet, in boxes, and sold them by the each. I asked him if he wanted a mill file and he told me that he wanted one of the bastards over there. He then laughed, paid for the bastard file, and left the store.

He also asked me how many points does a good brick need? I hesitated while I counted the corners and he blurted out that if it was a good brick it wouldn't need any corners...it already had them. He then laughed loudly at my ignorance, hopped on his bicycle and rode off into the sunset.

He was one of the many memories I had of an "old fashioned" hardware store....how I miss them.

[Oliver Lande]

to add my own little "horror story".

I use our local big box (Menards) as well as the Home Depot's (3 within 5 miles of my home) and Lowes.

My problem with Lowes is that they do not stock maple boards. They can get it in a week, but then the quality would be their choice not mine. As far as their customer service, I head immediately to the oldest employee I can find. They seem to always have time to help me with inquiries or problems.

Then there is the HD - No one will ever be able to mention them to me without bringing up the memory of my last experience. I wanted to check out zero clearance inserts for my Rigid table saw. (Everyone knows they are related, right?) I talked to a guy in the tool department but since they don't stock a saw as large as mine (portables only) he sent me up to the customer service desk. THERE WERE SIX EMPLOYEES STANDING NEXT TO THE DESK "SMOKIN AND JOKIN", I had to get tired of waiting and then ASK for their help. Eighteen year old "Bobby" comes over, I explain the problem and he just gives me the "dumb look". So I have to TELL him to look in the computer! Can't find it says Bobby! - Look Harder says I - Try a catalogue!
Bobby looks through the catalogue. Fifteen minutes have gone by, I'm ready to climb over the counter, there are still 5 employee standing around the front door. Bobby snags an older guy who is strolling by, I tell the guy what I am looking for - he grabs an accessary catalog of Rigid tools - HE THROWS IT AT BOBBY AND SAYS "LOOK IN HERE", then walks off.

At that point so did I ----- I got home - got an email off to Home Depot, they followed up with a phone call to me and said they were going to give me a 30 dollar gift certificate for my trouble. They also asked if I had talked to the store manager, I said keep the gift certificate and I hadn't called the manager and wouldn't call the manager since he is the one who hired the Yahoo's.

My wife (over my STONGEST objections) drug me in there 2 weeks later to look at some blinds she wanted to buy. Guess what? not a single employee under the age of 30 and EVERY SINGLE ONE of them was busy.

Oh - yeah - I made 4 new inserts in less time than it took to dance with Bobby!

[John]

Maybe it's just me; maybe I'm the only one. I went to our local Lowe's yesterday to purchase a 'J'-roller. Being a logical sort of fellow I figured that a tool would be found in the tool department.

If the tools to paint with are in the paint dept., the electrical tools are in the electrical dept., the cement tools are with the cement., the drywall tools are with the drywall, the gardening tools are in the garden dept., plumbing tools with plumbing supplies, why wouldn't you expect the J-Roller to be in the cabinet dept, near adhesives and laminate stock?

As for the old time hardware stores. We have a few and I rarely go there. They have very high prices, are so poorly laid out you have to ask where something is, and the employees are average at best. If you need a dozen 90 ell's they will have no more than 11. The big box stores here are laid out well. I can generally find what I need on my own in a timely fashion. AND their prices blow away the old time HW stores. YMMV

[Kenm810]

Here’s a true story of an Old Time Hardware Store.
I was born in a small town called Calumet in the copper mining area of the Keweenaw Peninsula; we had a General Store a few blocks from our house, it was our Hardware store, our Grocery Store, our Gas Station, and our Department store all rolled into one. If you need something, -- They had it, if they didn’t have it, -- you did without. My Dad had been a Lumber Jack since the time of the Depression's CCC Camps in upper Michigan, and did odd jobs on the side. When I was about 8 years old, my Dad had cut and delivered to the Widow Woman that lived across the street her winter supply of wood (no one could afford Coal back then) He told me she needed her winter wood stacked in basement and in shed behind her house, he said she didn’t have any money to pay me. But if I stacked the wood she would give me one of the puppies that her rust red colored Cocker Spaniel was expecting in a few weeks. He also said the dog would be my reasonability and that I had to feed it, clean up after it and walk it every day. I agreed!! We didn’t have toys and frills for pets back then. I didn’t even have money for a collar or leash, but somehow I managed to save up 12 cents. So off to the General Store I went, I asked the Gabby Hayes looking clerk for a piece of rope, He asked me how long did I want it. I answered – forever Sir I really don’t plan to bring it back. He stood there looking down at me for a moment, then smiled and said no – how much rope do you need. I opened my hand and showed him my 2 nickels and 2 pennies, and answered – that much Sir, I need it to walk my new dog. He smiled again and cut off a 5ft piece of ¼” rope off the reel. Then show me how to tie a loop at both ends and how to use it so I wouldn't choke my new puppy. I handed him my 12 cents and thanked him and headed towards the door. Before I got to the end of the counter, the clerk’s wife who had been listing to our conversation stopped me and handed two small brown paper bags and said they were for me and my puppy. I hurried home to see what in the small bags, the first had a small ham bone for my puppy, the second had 6 pieces of sugar candy, 2 nickels and 2 pennies.

Rusty - My Little red Cocker Spaniel was my ever faithful companion for 15 years.
After nearly 60 years I’ve never forgotten him or the kind folks at the General Store.

And I still use the same answer today when any one asks me how long do I want it.
(Forever -- I really don’t plan to bring it back)

[Jvicaretti]

We are lucky enough to have a small privately owned hardware store in the town I live in. While they don't have a large assortment of hardwood when it comes to tools, electrical fixtures, plumbing fixtures, animal feed etc., etc. they have it all. And the woman who works there full time knows where everything is and even what it is used for. The prices are a bit higher but it is a trade off.
It is a pleasure to shop there.

[Jeff_Birt]

why wouldn't you expect the J-Roller to be in the cabinet dept, near adhesives and laminate stock?

Fair question, guessed you skipped over the very next sentence...

We'll after searching all the aisles twice and finding the only employee around (who was covering tools and hardware) was already tied up; I went back to where the edge laminate is sold; no dice in either place.

Even if I had zero idea where to find something at one employee in the whole blasted place should have had a clue. But, again I am willing to admit it might just be me. When my daughter was little I went to Wally-World to pick up some crayons and a coloring book. I found the crayons in the kids section right with the little kids books and similar items. The coloring books however were on the opposite side of the store in stationary! Go figure that logic

In reading all the great stories in this thread it reminded me of something that happened to a sister of mine. We never had a lot when I was growing up. The first TV I can remember us having was an old BW set that Dad scrounged up and got working. It had a bad part that was no longer available. The part was a fusistor, basically a fuse with a small amount of resistance. Dad somehow surmised that the resistance of the bad part was equivalent to a 200W light bulb, so he wired in a ceramic socket in the back of the set and installed the 200W bulb. When ever you turned on teh TV you also had a backlight!

When one of my older sisters moved out on her own my folks gave her the old TV as by that time we were living large with a color set. My sister had the TV for a few months and the 200W bulb went out. So, she goes down to Loveland lumber our local lumber yard and HW store, in our huge town of North Lewisburg, Ohio (perhaps 2500 folks at that time). She tells the clerks, "I'm looking for one of those big light bulbs that go in the back of the TV." I think she just about got laughed out of the store. She was quite embarrassed to ask Dad what part she needed for the TV. I mean, as far as all us kids knew all TVs had a big lightbulb in the back.

[fyrpuppy]

Yep you do because because "Pulling" your hair out don't count.....LOL

I'm not losing my hair, I am just folically challenged!!!

[Don Butler]

These stores, as a general rule, will not have a J roller because of several reasons. Speaking from my experience as a buyer in several large merchandising companies, They are apt to think of a J roller (if the buyer even knows what it is) as something better suited for an art supply house.

By the way, that's where to go for a J roller.

Another reason is lack of demand. Now that doesn't mean you haven't been asking for it. But your asking goes nowhere. Responsible store employees will relay requests for items not carried so the buyers and manager know of the demand. Sadly, the attitude of store clerks in these places goes something like this:

"They don't pay me to do that. All I want is sundown and payday."

And when I say 'art supply' I don't mean places like craft supply stores. Michael's and A.C.Moore's don't cater to serious artists except for a nice line of expensive brushes. A store that specializes in real art supplies will have it and know they have it. I think that your best shot at getting a quality J roller is through an Internet Art Supply place. Try Dick Blick for a place to start. Search with the phrase "art supply". You'll find dozens of places.

Better yet, try searching for "J roller"! I did and found that Rockler carries a good one. With the cost of gas and the inconvenience of trying to find someone who even KNOWS what a J roller is, it will probably save money, time and frazzled nerves to simply go on line or call their toll-free number and just have then send one.

Just yesterday, I innocently went into Lowes thinking I could buy a few half-pint cans of brightly colored paints for my latest carving.

HAH! I finally found them in a store I originally thought to be unlikely to have them, a sort of second rate Lowes or Home Depot, and they had them. Apparently the big box stores feel that such two-bit items aren't worth their time.

<rant mode off>

TTFN!

Don

[Audie]

Here’s a true story of an Old Time Hardware Store.
I was born in a small town called Calumet in the copper mining area of the Keweenaw Peninsula; we had a General Store a few blocks from our house, it was our Hardware store, our Grocery Store, our Gas Station, and our Department store all rolled into one. If you need something, -- They had it, if they didn’t have it, -- you did without. My Dad had been a Lumber Jack since the time of the Depression's CCC Camps in upper Michigan, and did odd jobs on the side. When I was about 8 years old, my Dad had cut and delivered to the Widow Woman that lived across the street her winter supply of wood (no one could afford Coal back then) He told me she needed her winter wood stacked in basement and in shed behind her house, he said she didn’t have any money to pay me. But if I stacked the wood she would give me one of the puppies that her rust red colored Cocker Spaniel was expecting in a few weeks. He also said the dog would be my reasonability and that I had to feed it, clean up after it and walk it every day. I agreed!! We didn’t have toys and frills for pets back then. I didn’t even have money for a collar or leash, but somehow I managed to save up 12 cents. So off to the General Store I went, I asked the Gabby Hayes looking clerk for a piece of rope, He asked me how long did I want it. I answered – forever Sir I really don’t plan to bring it back. He stood there looking down at me for a moment, then smiled and said no – how much rope do you need. I opened my hand and showed him my 2 nickels and 2 pennies, and answered – that much Sir, I need it to walk my new dog. He smiled again and cut off a 5ft piece of ¼” rope off the reel. Then show me how to tie a loop at both ends and how to use it so I would choke my new puppy. I handed him my 12 cents and thanked him and headed towards the door. Before I got to the end of the counter, the clerk’s wife who had been listing to our conversation stopped me and handed two small brown paper bags and said they were for me and my puppy. I hurried home to see what in the small bags, the first had a small ham bone for my puppy, the second had 6 pieces of sugar candy, 2 nickels and 2 pennies.

Rusty - My Little red Cocker Spaniel was my ever faithful companion for 15 years.
After nearly 60 years I’ve never forgotten him or the kind folks at the General Store.

And I still use the same answer today when any one asks me how long do I want it.
(Forever -- I really don’t plan to bring it back)

Dang Ken, what a great story! Thank you for sharing that!