Why do we keep driving to far away stores that are understocked, understaffed and don't care?

[ultrarunner]

I must have the wrong kind of account. In my experience they are about the most expensive place you can buy anything.

I kid you not... it was more expensive to throw away 4' GE bulbs than to buy them delivered from Grainger...

My brother was shopping the internet for dimmable compact fluorescents prior to LED for family room canned lights... I had 4 delivered to his house for the price he paid for one...

The Hubbel hospital grade outlets better than anyone at the time and when I needed medical grade vacuum pumps Grainger offered identical but 40% less than the medical suppliers...

On the other hand let's just say I have not bought any power tools from Grainger.

When you think about it... the company must be doing something right to remain an industry leader all these years but it is through contract pricing.

 

[ultrarunner]

The only local stores I have found that have great hardware selections are the old school Ace and True Value hardware stores. They still have awesome selection for nuts, bolts and screws.

Yep... the ACE that closed had an entire room just nuts and bolts and nails...

Another was for glass and screens...

They also had a retired locksmith in the lock department.

You can tell I still miss the convince and my truck was never broken in... wish I could say the same for Home Depot and OSH...

 

[ddbackhoe]

Big box stores (and tractor dealers) could be built closer to customers, but they're not. Small stores could lower their prices and increase their stock to compete with them, but they won't. Frankly I miss home dairy delivery, the ice man, and the coal delivery truck. What do you think is going on these days? It's 'bad management'. Do they want our biz or not?

The big box stores have redefined retail management. Most of them defer any issues to the store management and the store management blames corporate. In-store is not responsible for most things because they blame the “vendor” .
Rather pitiful that the customer is the problem in their view. Self -service registers are not a plus either. Almost forgot; a shrug of the shoulders and a strong “sorry bout that” resolves all issues.

 

[ddbackhoe]

Not that I recall. Even if I need 6 bolts and have to buy a box of 10, it's cheaper than driving a bunch of miles and hitting 2-3 different stores hoping they'll have enough.

Call Fastenal, tell them what you need, ask them how much they cost and how many you have to buy. They'll have it in a bag waiting for you at the counter.

Yep. I must always have special needs because they never have what I want. They are also 25 miles away and only open M thru F.

We have the same at our local branch. I quit trying and just order from other places like mcmaster

 

[Hay Dude]

I kid you not... it was more expensive to throw away 4' GE bulbs than to buy them delivered from Grainger...

My brother was shopping the internet for dimmable compact fluorescents prior to LED for family room canned lights... I had 4 delivered to his house for the price he paid for one...

The Hubbel hospital grade outlets better than anyone at the time and when I needed medical grade vacuum pumps Grainger offered identical but 40% less than the medical suppliers...

On the other hand let's just say I have not bought any power tools from Grainger.

When you think about it... the company must be doing something right to remain an industry leader all these years but it is through contract pricing.

I have a Grainger outlet nearby and have bought a few very overpriced items from them. One of the counter sales guys told me their bread and butter is state/local/city accounts where nobody cares how much they overpay for their stuff.

 

[sixdogs]

The big box stores have redefined retail management. Most of them defer any issues to the store management and the store management blames corporate. In-store is not responsible for most things because they blame the “vendor” .
Rather pitiful that the customer is the problem in their view. Self -service registers are not a plus either. Almost forgot; a shrug of the shoulders and a strong “sorry bout that” resolves all issues.

Not only this but the modern corporate big box store is trying to do absolutely everything possible to get 100% of the money you spend as gross profit. If they can buy something for 1/4 cent and sell it for $1.00, it's likely high fives in the marketing department.

 

[MossRoad]

I'm gonna have to jump on the Grainger is Expensive band wagon as well. We only use them as a last resort now. However, they do have good service and we've never had a problem with them other than pricing.

 

[MossRoad]

We used to have both Ace and True Value hardware stores here in town. The local Ace family has slowly bought up all the Ace hardware stores in the area, then bought up all the True Value stores and converted them to Ace and branded them with their family name in front of Ace.

I liked both stores. Fortunately, they've seemed to keep the same employees, and they all are very well stocked, have knowledgeable people in the stores (at least one old guy in every store) and are just all around pleasant places to do business. They are just a bit higher priced than the big chains, but worth it in my opinion.

 

[TheMan419]

I recently needed a part for my mom's mower and the local dealers wanted 4 times what it was online and they didn't even have it in stock. The locals didn't get my business.

I have found if I show the amazon price they will often price match. Especially when it is that large of a difference. Of course that does not help the not having it in stock issue.

 

[TheMan419]

We used to have both Ace and True Value hardware stores here in town. The local Ace family has slowly bought up all the Ace hardware stores in the area, then bought up all the True Value stores and converted them to Ace and branded them with their family name in front of Ace.

I liked both stores. Fortunately, they've seemed to keep the same employees, and they all are very well stocked, have knowledgeable people in the stores (at least one old guy in every store) and are just all around pleasant places to do business. They are just a bit higher priced than the big chains, but worth it in my opinion.

The one on the South Side closed. I keep hearing they are moving to a new location, but no idea on an opening date or actual location. Any rumors?