Want to call the Plant Police? Vent here....

Someday Menards will be all over the country. The one I shop at has some really great employees. We moved here in 1982. There are employees there now that were there then. I know lots of them by first name & they know me as well. Quite a few shop at the farmers market too. If you go in there just to browse, an employee will ask if you need help every few minutes. The best part is they are knowledgeable.
I was in there today checking on a bathroom vanity. We are building one for a customer. The good plumber, Robert was right there to assist, even though he knew I was only after measurements. Of course the wood I need to build it will be bought there. The HD is just a stones throw away from Menards. 25 cars at HD, at least 150 at Menards.
Bernie

This is a very strange town, and you would have to live here to understand the situation. We have a lot of small family run businesses here, but these are the ones that contribute nothing back to the community. I don't shop the grocery store because I can't afford it, but after working there I can tell you, that store was always more than willing to, and always did, donate to every situation in this community and others. The small businesses that survive off the people have nothing to do with charity, or the people who have helped them survive. That is sad !

bb, what you have described is what determines whether or not I'll pay $5.00 for a small jar of mayo. If the local business has good customer service and participating in the community, then I support them even if their prices are a little higher and I have to juggle my budget a little.

I will not shop at WalMart however. I have usually found that although their "price point special" may be the lowest price for an item, the rest of their prices are often higher than at other stores. The quality is usually far cheaper than the price, which makes the item more expensive in the long run. But the main reason I boycott WalMart is that I watched a PBS Frontline expose on WalMart's business tactics and object to the way WalMart forced so many American businesses to move their manufacturing to China or lose the WalMart account.

No, I didn't say the grocery store has good customer service, it doesn't, which is one of the reasons I quit. I only said they contribute to many charities.

Hard to believe old Sam Walton wouldn't sell things in his store unless it was made in USA. He wasn't quite as greedy as the people running the joint now.

This is one long thread -

Yes, times have changed, Bernie. I used to do craft shows. I did okay until the show promoters starting allowing people to bring commercial stuff. At that point, the shows started going down hill. Everyone had the same thing as the stores, hand crafted items suddenly appeared expensive compared to "made in China", items. And of course, the show promoters thought the public should pay admission to see the same stuff they could purchase at Wal-mart. Greed is an evil thing.

I don't shop at ANY store that is crowded, so have maybe been in a WalMart or K-mart two or three times. I'm as peeved by other customers as I am by the employees. The customers who, if a cashier is swamped, stands there in a coma while (usually) she rings up all (usually) his items, then starts to bag them, while 6 other people are waiting in line. I've pushed through the line in a huff & started to bag OTHER people's stuff ... I get the strangest, blankest looks from everybody.

I buy 90% of my stuff online but kind of enjoy going to home-supply stores at off hours, low expectations or not. My favorite nutty encounter was at a Lowes or Menard's when I was helping my friend Paul on a drywall project. He had sent a kid to get drywall nails & was aggravated because the kid came back with the wrong type of nail. So he sent me, because I specialize in getting things right. So I'm wandering around the store stressing out over the right kind of mud, tape, etc.

Couldn't find the drywall nails. Broke down & asked a kid who had been ignoring me in the nail aisle for about 10 minutes. He told me they don't make the nails anymore because everyone uses screws now! I wandered around for awhile, digesting that, and decided that Paul wouldn't have sent me for nails if they didn't exist. Snagged another employee who didn't know where they were either but helped me find them (drywall fasteners had their own section off to the side, turns out).

My local Jewel grocery store is pretty good and I appreciate their hiring outreach for developmentally disabled people, even though they're often a hindrance more than anything. One time I asked a guy who was sailing around the store having the time of his life where the pickles were. "In the glass jars!" he declared, pleased as punch with it all. Unfortunately, I also ran into him bagging at checkout, where he proceeded to put every item in its own bag. We also had to stop & exclaim over the pickles. "See! In glass jars!" he said.

Talk about absent-minded customers. At our Farmers Market, we all start at the same time in the afternoon, so customers must wait for the bell before paying or bagging. Lots of times they stand there grumbling about having to wait, then lo & behold when the bell rings they go to there purse, pull out a coin purse & start digging out penny's & nickles. WHY DIDN"T THEY GET THEIR MONEY READY WHILE THEY WAITED! In stores they wait untill the cashier tells them the amount, then they start looking for their stupid checkbook.

that is a peve, the person who uses the "express" lane checks out with the max amount of items and does not start to write or even drag out the check book till the order is wrung up!

And I shouldn't even get started on the customers at garden centers (I've worked at 2) ... the ones who come in asking for an evergreen plant with blue flowers that blooms all year, that was one of my faves ... or the woman who turned down every foundation plant I pointed her toward because everything had some bad connotation with her childhood ... there was the guy who wanted something other than grass so we discussed sedums for awhile until he asked, "but can you MOW it?!" ... I about scalped a woman who wanted something "different" for her foundation plantings so I showed her a gorgeous Pinus thunbergii and she said, "Well, could I cut off those white things?"

And having a local nursery is no good if the owner is a lech & a crook. I worked at one of those this spring but you had to move fast to keep the guy's hands away from various body parts, and they paid me a whopping 8 bucks an hour even though I was the only person on the premises who knew ANYTHING about plants. I thought that was bad enough. Then the owner's wife pulled in my driveway last week to ask for my pay stubs because the state labor department was auditing them over 2 employees who complained about their illegal wage of $6 an hour. "You didn't!" I said. "Minimum wage is $6.50."

"Well, WE didn't know what minimum wage was," she said to me with a straight face.

Oh those people drive me crazy too! Sometimes my DH doesn't bag when he buys groceries.
I ask him "why aren't you bagging? See all those people waiting in line behind us?" and he
just says its part of the service. HAH. I just wanna get on with my life.

Tam

Edited to say: My reply cross posted with Summerkids - not about nurseries and such!

This message was edited Jan 2, 2007 8:47 PM

Yes to the bagging! Want to get the heck out of there NOW.

Jamminspoons , your comment "employees who are slightly agitated are more productive" would work for me. The more aggravated I get the more efficient I am. Interesting how people can be manipulated.

WM in particular has put a major effort into their marketing. They know to the penny how much you will spend per minute in the store. They delay "instant" background checks on firearms sales 30-60 minutes. The longer you and family are captured the more $$$ they make. They also put the "loss leaders" at the back of store so when you come in with family, you must pass by the housewares, toys, etc. Impulse shopping is a biggy. I sometimes accuse them of subliminal messages in the music. Spend a hundred dollars....

Dysons' comment about a long thread makes me wonder if we should start another... any thoughts? Might be a slow loader.
I

I say go for it Podster, you have my approval (like I'm really somebody!) (LOL)

I heard once somebody went to wal mart gun department, bought one of their cheap guns with no background check, walked down the street & robbed another store with that gun.

Here's the new thread. http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/681688/