Big box stores: Inferior tools?

[Soundguy]

I don't have any problem believing that story at all. I don't doubt for a moment that HD and Lowes, have different models built to their specs, that may or may not be quality tools. But the Point is they are different tools. The only thing that I and LD1 (and I think others) were questioning is that the exact same model number of tool bought at one place should be the same as the exact same model number of tool bought elsewhere.. That is all I am saying.

James K0UA

ditto that...

 

[Soundguy]

Remember who does most of the tool shopping at a Home Depot. Not professionals, usually it's weekend warriors and casual users. For them, the tool does the job just fine, like the angle grinder I mentioned early on in this thread.

that may be true in your area. where I live, there are some funny demographics and layout. at one point you can drive about 6 miles and cross 3 counties ( really! ).

there is a contractor supply and hd/lowes in the north end of 1 county and the south end of the last county. the 'middle county' has ONLY a hd an lowes. that middle county is in medium growth still for homes and subdivisions... I can assure you that every morning you see contractor trucks at 6am at lowes loading up everything from block to lumber and tools.

dewalt seems to be the choice of the pro's working here, though you do also see a good bit of them at the HF in north side of town. and yeah.. some of those are fly by nght looking.. but some are also needing that throw away tool as well.

different areas yeild different options.

I'm sure my example holds no water for a more rural area OR a big city..e tc. or a place with sprawl.

my loaction is kinda unique in that I can actually 'see' down t he road thru a couple counties the way it works out.

 

[jymbee]

Interesting that folks on opposite sides actually agree but took so long to get to that conclusion.

Not really that long-- more a reflection of how these types of forums function. As more and more post their experiences over the days, most are willing to take any new information into account. If we were all having this discussion in real time probably a concensus would happen pretty quickly. That concensus being "I still believe what I believe, unless you can prove otherwise".

 

[jymbee]

The guy never answered the question as to whether or not they make different versions of the same tool or if they sold higher quality tools at contractor supply stores compared to what is sold at Home Depot. He totally sidestepped the entire first part of the question, and just answered the last sentence.

Exactly the same thought I had. A pretty carefully crafted "non-response". Must be a politician at heart...

 

[JDgreen227]

dewalts are mostly made in Mexico (hey, it's better than china at least) and Snap-On claims their cordless drills are made in USA, though there batteries are made china. Also some or most of metabo's are made in Germany, again... better than china. Milwaukee Sawzall's are "assembled in USA".

"Assembled in USA" huh? I have found a number of products made in other countries but the box they are packed in might say "Assembled in USA" however for all I know that line means they were PACKAGED in the USA. The term "assemble" can be interpreted "to bring together".

 

[Soundguy]

"Assembled in USA" huh? I have found a number of products made in other countries but the box they are packed in might say "Assembled in USA" however for all I know that line means they were PACKAGED in the USA. The term "assemble" can be interpreted "to bring together".

i agree.

I have bought stuff that said assembled in usa and I found individual components that had made in china stickers on them.

go figure!

 

[bcp]

From an article at:

"Made in America" rules are confusing | NBC News

"Assembled in the USA" is allowed only if you "substantially transformed" the product or if most of the work involved in making it was done in America. If all you're doing is what the FTC calls a "screwdriver assembly" of parts from around the world, you can't claim your product was "Assembled in the USA."

 

[mikehaugen]

"Assembled in USA" huh? I have found a number of products made in other countries but the box they are packed in might say "Assembled in USA" however for all I know that line means they were PACKAGED in the USA. The term "assemble" can be interpreted "to bring together".

I understand this, and that is why I put it in quotes. The whole importing goods from other countries thing is really getting out of control and really bothers me (some that pay attention to my posts know that I rant about this a lot). I do however figure that "assembled in usa" is a step above "made in -----". At least someone here is getting a job besides the seller. I have been paying an awful lot of attention to this for the past 5 years or so, wish I had been doing it longer. But then again it has gotten worse in that time period. I bought 2 pairs of irwin vice grip clamps (made in USA) a couple years ago because they were on sale... went to another store of the same chain a couple days later to buy 2 more and they were made in China. I guess it was right at the changeover. Not sure if irwin makes anything here anymore.

 

[Danno1]

The HD's near me, the people are to the point of being annoying. Every 15 steps I take someone is asking me if I need help with anything. I know that they are trying to be helpful, but anytime I have actually asked for help I would have been better off just looking for myself. I know my way around most of these places pretty well by now and would like to be left alone. I obviously see if there is an employee near me and if I needed help I would ask for it. Sorry, but I am sure that I am not the only one that feels this way.

You're not the only one that feels that way Mike. Those are my sentiments exactly!


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[dmccarty]

You're not the only one that feels that way Mike. Those are my sentiments exactly!

I have to agree. It is one thing to ask if you need help, or to say hey when I walk in the door, which they generally don't do, but when I am sitting there looking at something and pondering a problem, the constant nagging if I need help ticks me off. Its rude. I am a big boy. If I need help, I will ask.

The constant nagging was so bad one day, I seriously thought about talking to the manager. :shocked: I LIKE and want friendly customer service. I appreciate the effort that type of service takes but constantly asking if I need help is NOT friendly service. It is annoying and rude to interrupt a conversation or someone obviously thinking.

I am polite to the employees because I know they are doing what they are told, but gracious, they can put me on my last nerve sometimes.

Our last trip to Lowes, I was wearing a red shirt and the wifey and I were looking at appliances. We were having a conversation and you would have thought it was obvious that we were together. An older lady came up to us with a pump in her shopping cart. She stood there for a minute or two, very close to me which was odd. The conversation paused between my wife and I and the lady asked me if the pump would work at her house? :laughing: I said, "I have no idea." Of course she thought I was being a rude employee. :laughing::laughing::laughing: I politely told her that I did not work at Lowes.

When I was in school, I worked across from a Sears. My work attire was just like the Sears staff, nice shirt, trousers, tie, etc. I would walk through Sears to go to the food court, and more often than not, people would ask me where they could find this or that. :laughing: This was in an area with a large elderly population, and since I was young and dressed for the part, they thought I worked at Sears. Here I am, many decades later and apparently still dressed for the part. Is it a promotion to work at Lowes over Sears? :laughing::laughing::laughing: I would like to think I was getting ahead in life.

Oh, yeah, I don't believe a device with the same model number is different from one store to another. :laughing::laughing::laughing: Back to our regularly schedule conversation.

Later,
Dan