It's not limited to tools....
I remember when my mother was the office manager of the local small lumber
yard. She used to complain that they bought products for higher than Home
Defect and (then Pergament) sold them for; Stanley Doors, Kwikset locks,
screws, windows, cabinets, plywood, lumber, electrical, tools, etc.....
When the local HD opened up, their business got hurt big time. Some days
there were only a handful of customers as all the contractors and home
owners ran to the HD for everything....
Then a funny thing happened. People started coming back. We heard
complaints that the lumber was thinner, the screws broke, and locks were
made of plastic. First came the contractors. They were more concerned
about quality than price b/c no matter how cheap the part, if you had to go
back to fix something, you lost money. Then came the homeowners b/c they
were tired of trying to figure things out for themselves. Somehow, the 16
year old HD kid didn't know as much about plumbing as the 45 year old lumber
yard counter man who had worked there for 25 years. And when you asked the
counter man where something was, he walked you over and knew EXACTLY where
it was. I hate nothing more than asking a kid for something I can't find,
and having him come over and do the same blind looking I was doing.
(personal experience here) -> the Stanley Fire Door I just installed in my
garage (from HD) came with 2 spring hinges. Both of them were broken out of
the box. And you can't get a replacement b/c the hinges that come with the
doors are rounded, and the spring hinges that Stanley sells individually are
squared. Oh, and the holes don't line up, so a bit of grinding won't help.
We had to take them off another door at HD
Oh, and before someone points out that I too shop at HD, it's worth noting
that a) where I live now, all the local lumber yards have closed down, and
b) Chinese junk is popping up all over the place now anyway.
Mike
>Frank Clarici Wrote:
>
>Moen, Nutone, Stanley, all make substandard goods (in china) bearing
>their names specifically for lowes and home defect. Slant fin will not
>sell to home defect, neither will any decent lighting supplier.
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