> Well, I was at a Lowe's yesterday (yes, it was Super Bowl Sunday, but
> this was in the early afternoon) and it was fucking dead -- way deader
> than it was last year during the spring when I was renovating my house
> and making regular Lowe's runs. Earlier last week, my wife and I were
> at a Home Depot looking at doors and it was similarly dead (again,
> relative to a few months ago). That's the housing downturn for ya.
I've been going to Home Depot and Lowe's fairly regularly for the past 9 months. Compared to 2 years ago, these stores are pretty dead around here.
> Tully mentioned the shitty service at Home Depot, etc. It really is
> abysmal. OTOH the big box hardware stores are _way_ cheaper than the
> indies, and better stocked too. When it comes to hardware, if I need
> an expert, I'll hit an indie, but if I know what I need and I don't
> expect to have any questions, I'll hit Lowe's or Home Depot.
Home Depot channels people to their self-checkout lanes, much like Wal-Mart does. Lowe's doesn't have self-checkout lanes, at least at the store here that I shop at. It's pretty insidious how these chain stores will skimp on paying workers in such obvious ways.
I really ought to patronize indie hardware stores more, but they aren't exactly the best places to get lumber.
Chuck