My Peeve About Hardware Stores

[Iplayfarmer]

Do you realize how much energy (human calories) it would take for someone to go through all the bolt bins in this country and keep everything sorted out? My gosh, man just think if the person doing it was a (heaven forbid!) meat eater. All those cows being fed to feed the bolt sorters of the world, just the amount of methane gas staggers the treehuggers mind! And don't get 'em started on chickens and all the pollution they cause. And even if the bolt sorters were vegetarians, they would be eating up corn that we so desperately need for that good ol' E85!!

Proving anything can be spun. (Hope Al isn't a member here, he doesn't need any more ideas)
jp

Right. I feel better now. I'm saving the environment with my bolt that's an inch too long.

Now I don't have to feel bad about burning fossil fuel indirectly with the electricity that I'll use with the reciprocating saw cutting the extra inch off.

 

[Soundguy]

Hacksaw! good exercise too!

soundguy

 

[jeffinsgf]

My local farm store (Race Brothers) does Grade 8 and Grade 5 by the pound. Stainless and metric are by the piece. Our Lowe's has added something in both the hardware and plumbing sections that should help this issue. They've screwed big buckets to the pillars near the binned parts with a sign that says if you've got the wrong item, put it in the bucket, instead of back in the bin.

 

[mjncad]

Self checkouts and the like are always put in by management under the guise of making a better, faster, and more convenient shopping experience. With very few exceptions, I have yet to see the benefits to the consumer. If you ask me, its not about serving the customer like they try to spin it, its just one more way they can squeeze a little more profit out of the sale. Kinda like how some local stores are charging for plastic grocery bags to allegedly help the environment.

Colorado's legislature is planning on introducing a bill to charge 6-cents for each plastic bag a customer receives from the store during checkout with 3-cents going back to the store. I already decline bags of any kind if I don't need them. Besides keeping them out of the landfill, I figure that I'm doing my minuscule part to save the store money and hopefully keep prices down. This applies to Mom & Pop stores mostly as Big Box Mart could care less.

With the Social Engineers in charge of Colorado's Gummint, I suspect this bill will pass the legislature and be signed by the Governor.

 

[mjncad]

Do you realize how much energy (human calories) it would take for someone to go through all the bolt bins in this country and keep everything sorted out? My gosh, man just think if the person doing it was a (heaven forbid!) meat eater. All those cows being fed to feed the bolt sorters of the world, just the amount of methane gas staggers the treehuggers mind! And don't get 'em started on chickens and all the pollution they cause. And even if the bolt sorters were vegetarians, they would be eating up corn that we so desperately need for that good ol' E85!!

Proving anything can be spun. (Hope Al isn't a member here, he doesn't need any more ideas)
jp

Since the USA has gone from a manufacturing economy to a service one; bolt sorters could be the cornerstone of the Social Engineers upcoming stimulus package to create jobs.

 

[mjncad]

Our Lowe's has added something in both the hardware and plumbing sections that should help this issue. They've screwed big buckets to the pillars near the binned parts with a sign that says if you've got the wrong item, put it in the bucket, instead of back in the bin.

Great idea assuming people read the signs by the buckets. How many languages are the signs printed in?

 

[Scooby074]

Colorado's legislature is planning on introducing a bill to charge 6-cents for each plastic bag a customer receives from the store during checkout with 3-cents going back to the store. I already decline bags of any kind if I don't need them. Besides keeping them out of the landfill, I figure that I'm doing my minuscule part to save the store money and hopefully keep prices down. This applies to Mom & Pop stores mostly as Big Box Mart could care less.

With the Social Engineers in charge of Colorado's Gummint, I suspect this bill will pass the legislature and be signed by the Governor.

Its 10 cents here. So instead of made in Canada plastic bags, they try to sell you made in china "cloth" bags for around a buck.Somehow thats "green". Im sure that the plant where they're made in china cares about the environment

I say, what about paper bags? Were closing pulp mills left and right so theres certainly the manufacturing capacity, they're recyclable and come from a renewable resource thats grown right here. But hey, what do i know

 

[Bedlam]

We tend to use both plastic and also the cloth bags.However usually never remember to get the bags to the store lol.
Just bought three of the cloth ones about 4 bucks each the first time out the side ripped out on one.I have some older ones my mom has bought and they are real material. well built and were less money when she bought them

Now that they are 'enviro in' it seems some have started to charge more and the quality if far less.
In the 'old' days as a kid i remember using cardboard boxes.

 

[Bird]

Do you realize how much energy (human calories) it would take for someone to go through all the bolt bins in this country and keep everything sorted out?

I have some idea because one of my brothers once brought me a couple of 5 gallon buckets full of nuts, bolts, and washers. They were so heavy I could hardly lift them, but I spent some time sorting stuff.

At the time, my brother worked for a company that sold and installed a great deal of all kinds of RV accessories, from generators, appliances, and air-conditioners to awnings, levelling jacks, etc., etc. Many of those items came with "universal" mounting hardware; i.e., lots of spare nuts, bolts, washers, adapter plates, etc. which were just dropped on the floor, later swept up and put into the trash bin. The boss said it would cost more to do anything else than the stuff was worth.

 

[Bird]

I already decline bags of any kind if I don't need them.

I do that frequently, and I realize the cashiers would be in trouble if they loaded bags too heavy for the old ladies, or so heavy that they tear and dump the contents, but it seems to me that nearly all grocery stores use far more bags than needed. We do use some at home for waste basket liners, and we keep some in each vehicle for litter bags, but we have a place to store the excess and periodically take them to the recycling box at Walmart.