I shook the toolman's hand

[N8YX]

Background:

From 1975 til about 2002 this mall (located in Akron, OH) was a happening place. It peaked in the mid 80s, and some of my fondest memories were experienced in and around the setup:

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l2a2ipJGqG1qaivw8.jpg

Off to the right about 100yds is (for now) a Sears store. The mall itself was sold back in November after sitting dormant for several years, and Sears announced in January that it would be closing this facility.

I went there tonight to gather a few things (including a workbench) and ended up chatting a bit with Thomas, who had been employed with the chain for 26 years. For someone who was at a crossroads in life, he seemed upbeat - though none of the store employees will be transferring elsewhere. After he checked us out and we gathered our bags, I couldn't help but shake the man's hand and thank him for the many years of service he and his fellow workers had put in at the place...and relate to him how we in the area looked to the store as a staple which would always be there for us.

Maybe we should have made the pilgrimage more often. A man can only buy so many tools, and the Craftsman line of yore simply did not break. Maybe economic factors beyond our control were at work and in the long run it wouldn't have mattered how much we spent.

I'll miss the place.

For those of you who have a "Thomas" in your neck of the woods, let 'em know they're appreciated and valued. Corporate probably won't.

[kf0rt]

Used to have a little independent shop in Longmont, CO many years ago. I'm ashamed that I don't recall the name. Little five-and-dime shop where, for the price of a five cent washer, they'd teach you how to install it. Traylor's Hardware -- knew I'd remember it. This was back in the mid 80's. If they didn't have the part you needed on the shelves, they'd be happy to search for it in the basement (and more often than not, they had it). Loved that place, but they eventually succumbed to the Big Box stores we have today. We moved out of Longmont when Traylor's was still in business, but I still miss being treated well when I'm at my worst.

Sears has always been hit-or-miss for me out here, but a lot of this has to do with management at the regional and store level. I once walked out of a Sears on an auto repair deal and didn't enter a Sears store for about 15 years after wards. Bought a washer/dryer at the local Sears a couple years back, and the service was still very sub-par; felt like I was in a Radio Shack where all they cared about was the profits from extended warrantys.

I wonder if the service industry is catching on. Home Depot isn't too bad, IMO. But, I'll have to relate a story on that sometime. Usually, I know what I want and can get in and out pretty fast.

Indeed, though... If someone helps a lot, they deserve your thanks.

[W3WN]

Having worked on the other side... and I still have a dusty orange apron hanging in the garage (it's quite handy on Halloween or when I need some pockets while working)... yes, if you get good service, TELL the person.

They always hear the crap. They rarely hear the praise.

[N7RJD]

Bought a washer/dryer at the local Sears a couple years back, and the service was still very sub-par; felt like I was in a Radio Shack where all they cared about was the profits from extended warrantys.

Home Depot isn't too bad, IMO.

If you think that's bad about Sears, try living somewhere that they don't run their own delivery but use private contractors that have the listening capacity of a brick wall. I'm sure they can hear fine but can't listen to save their lives.
I had a new fridge delivered and left the wife with instructions to tell them to drop and run, I would hook up the ice maker. Because of their not listening I came home to the job of trimming the copper line back about three feet and finding
a hardware store that was open where I could pickup new ferules for the compression fittings, they had twisted the copper line to the point of it splitting along a good foot and a half.

Home Depot is ok in a pinch but I do prefer Lowe's most of the time. Either had their faults but while I find it annoying at times when people try to "over help" at least I know I can get help if needed. I picked up a pretty heavy workbench from Home Depot
where a group of their people were more than happy to watch me wrestle the thing off the shelf and onto one of the flatbed carts.

I did have a funny experience at Home Depot once. I purchased some 3/4" plywood and had them cut it to size on their panel jig. I had joked with a friend that with the way my luck was going I would get somebody that didn't know how to use the thing properly and would cut his fingers off. I mentioned that joke to the guy that was going to cut it, he told me that actually this was his first time using it. Pieces were cut without incident and all went well if you don't count him helping to load the pieces into the cart without regard for my finger that had found it's way between the two sheets. Nothing life threatening and I can still flip the bird while driving so all is well.

[N7RJD]

For those of you who have a "Thomas" in your neck of the woods, let 'em know they're appreciated and valued. Corporate probably won't.

I always give a friendly "Thank You!" whether to the person that asks "Would you like fries with that?" or someone pulling me from in front of a speeding bus.
It may not be high praise but a quick show of appreciation does go a long way and can help to keep somebody's day for being one of those days they wish they
had just stayed in bed. It can also give them the boost that helps carry them past the next prick that comes up and feels they are entitled to everything yesterday.

[W4RLR]

We still have friendly, knowledgeable tool guys and gals here. They work at Ace Hardware.

[NA4BH]

We have two Ace Hardware stores in our little town. One is an old fashioned type with seeds, hardware, and bear traps. The other is more of a building supply place. They are owned by different people and do quite well, in spite of Lowes being a few miles down the road. I would rather do business with the small family owned store and help a fellow neighbor out. But sometimes you have to pay it to the man.

[NQ6U]

My favorite hardware store story is from the Ace Hardware that opened in the Hillcrest neighborhood of San Diego, where I lived before moving here to the Islets of Langerhans. For those of you who are unfamiliar with San Diego, Hillcrest is the heart of the gay community there. It's not as overwhelmingly gay as the Castro in San Francisco, more like 60-40 gay/straight, but the gay presence is very apparent.

Shortly after the new store opened, I went in for some electrical stuff. The store is narrow and deep, laid out on two floors--housewares on the street level, hardware and tools in the basement. The funny thing was that the housewares section was attended to by men, while the clerks in the hardware section were all tool-belt wearing lesbians. And they knew their shit, too.

[KA5PIU]

Hello.

I have worked with lesbians on construction sites before.
They tend to balance out the act.
Sure, it would take a few days for everyone to figure out their place, but once that was all over everything ran real smooth.
Quite a few lesbians are rape cases who turned to this as the solution.
Once they figured me out, I have my own problems, I was perfect!

[N8YX]

We still have friendly, knowledgeable tool guys and gals here. They work at Ace Hardware.
And therein lies the rub: Were Ace to offer a wider selection of high quality hand-tools and power tools, I would patronize them exclusively. As it stands, Craftsman tools are arguably the best thing going outside a Snap-On or Matco/Mac truck, and they're warrantied 24x7 too. (Try getting a replacement Snap-On ratchet at 2:30PM Sunday afternoon.)

The converse of this is: Were Sears to have a comprehensive hardware department I would shop there exclusively.

Our local store was more than just a tool outlet - it was a main (full venue) catalog store. Many, many housewares and related goods were purchased there by me and my family over the years. I would rather do business with a Sears outlet than a Wal-Mart or Lowe's when it comes to certain products.


The funny thing was that the housewares section was attended to by men, while the clerks in the hardware section were all tool-belt wearing lesbians. And they knew their shit, too.
If I spot the latter type, I head straight for them. Besides having a couple things in common (snerk!), me and the butch crowd can get down to business post-haste and discuss what I'll need project-wise instead of going through the whole "Look at me! Aren't I a cute little blonde clerk??!!??" (who doesn't know her a$$ from her PVC elbow) spiel.

The late mother of a friend of mine was like that: Big, rough-looking Polish/Dutch woman who was one of the better car mechanics I've ever encountered. Yes, she worked at the Sears in question until retirement...

[W3MIV]

About thirty years ago, I wrote an annual report for Easco Corporation, the primary manufacturer of Sears socket sets and other hand tools. The socket/ratchet manufacturing plant was in NC, and I was flown down there in the company's Lear to tour the plant and interview some of the workers and managers while a photographer shot various manufacturing processes. I used to write the "up front" matter in the annual reports for a number of Fortune companies -- the bean-counter asshats in the accounting departments were responsible for the "back matter" -- the financial statements. I got a bunch of "bennies" from that trip -- we flew from that plant direct to another plant (aluminum extrusion) in Hartford CT that was also an Easco operation and I thought the pilot was going to object to the "new" weight of my briefcase. Eight-point sockets, and all were guaranteed against stripping or other failure for the life of the product. Even the chrome plating was guaranteed against flaking. Same with the other hand tools, open-end and socket-end wrenches and other forged steel tools. I believe Easco was later sold to another corporation, and I have no idea of whether or where the tools may be made now. I still have mine.

I also still have a weird, ergonomic claw hammer that Easco manufactured, and Sears tried to sell, that had a very strangely bent handle. It was shaped almost in the same pattern as the shaft of a scythe. I kept it out of curiosity, but I have never been able to use it long enough to get used to the strangeness of it.

[W5GA]

I also still have a weird, ergonomic claw hammer that Easco manufactured, and Sears tried to sell, that had a very strangely bent handle. It was shaped almost in the same pattern as the shaft of a scythe. I kept it out of curiosity, but I have never been able to use it long enough to get used to the strangeness of it.
It's really difficult to improve on a hammer. Far too few moving pieces to allow any major redesign to be a commercial success.