Big Blue consultants

[76nemo]

I had to be a smart*ss and place this short story here.

Local supply house closes at 5pm. Soooo, at 5:30, one journeys over to big blue for some SE cable and a meter can, oh and some ductseal, they did have that


Having some SE cut, I ask where the weatherheads were, the e department was redone this week. After knowing what cable I want, he directs me to a RNC head. "No Sir, I need a head for this SE cable". Ohhh Son, you can't do that, SE is only to be used from the "bottom" of the meter into your house, not from your head to the meter!!!!

Really?????? ~ No Son, the power company won't connect, he makes the cut your throat signal. Hmmm, this a local thing you've heard? Oh no Son, that's NEC across the board. Why thank you Sir, ductseal went back on the shelf, they didn't have a 100A can, and I came home disgruntled. Why can't the da*n supply house stay open to 7 at least

 

[ItsHot]

typical visit

typical visit

Sounds like you had a typical visit to the "big blue"!:-?

 

[Pierre C Belarge]

I had to be a smart*ss and place this short story here.

Local supply house closes at 5pm. Soooo, at 5:30, one journeys over to big blue for some SE cable and a meter can, oh and some ductseal, they did have that


Having some SE cut, I ask where the weatherheads were, the e department was redone this week. After knowing what cable I want, he directs me to a RNC head. "No Sir, I need a head for this SE cable". Ohhh Son, you can't do that, SE is only to be used from the "bottom" of the meter into your house, not from your head to the meter!!!!

Really?????? ~ No Son, the power company won't connect, he makes the cut your throat signal. Hmmm, this a local thing you've heard? Oh no Son, that's NEC across the board. Why thank you Sir, ductseal went back on the shelf, they didn't have a 100A can, and I came home disgruntled. Why can't the da*n supply house stay open to 7 at least

Nemo
You need to learn the 6 Ps

Proper PreParation Prevents PisPoor Performance

Plan your day so you can make it to the supply house, call ahead with the supply list- or better yet, have them deliver to the job site.

Don't blame others for something you ultimately have complete control over.


Not trying to be harsh, but maybe a wake up call to plan and think ahead whenever possible.

 

[frizbeedog]

I once had to replace an underground feeder to a pole building. 200+ feet of 4/0 SE cable that an un-named Big Box Store sold to a customer based on the advice from the experts at that store. I think advice from the experts is one of thier marketing catch phrases.

Oh....by the way, if you want expert advice you can attend one of their weekend classes. :roll:

 

[frizbeedog]

Proper PreParation Prevents PisPoor Performance

That's 5 P's

...did you prepare?

 

[76nemo]

Nemo
You need to learn the 6 Ps

Proper PreParation Prevents PisPoor Performance

Plan your day so you can make it to the supply house, call ahead with the supply list- or better yet, have them deliver to the job site.

Don't blame others for something you ultimately have complete control over.


Not trying to be harsh, but maybe a wake up call to plan and think ahead whenever possible.

Wha, not a response I expected Pierre. If I deal with the supply house all of the time and only resort to the big shops when needed, I didn't really feel enthralled to memorize their inventory. You have a GREAT point though. It's not like I intentionally went there after 5, there are only so many hours in the day, and with today being so nice, it made for a couple of extra hours of pleasurable outside work:smile:

I know I am an *ss, it's clear in my signature, I don't have to be spoon fed:grin:

You missed my point. It's not like I lost the job, I just lost faith and didn't place any real blame on anyone. If blame was to be placed on anyone, then you had it right, I just didn't see anything wrong in the attempt

 

[76nemo]

I once had to replace an underground feeder to a pole building. 200+ feet of 4/0 SE cable that an un-named Big Box Store sold to a customer based on the advice from the experts at that store. I think advice from the experts is one of thier marketing catch phrases.

Oh....by the way, if you want expert advice you can attend one of their weekend classes. :roll:

YEAH, next week is how to install a ceiling fan/light. I'll be able to charge an extra dollar or two per hour after completion:wink:

 

[jerm]

I've called our supply house at 4:30 and asked them to put something out back or in the mailbox for me to pick up after they close. They're always happy to do that, and nothing has ever "disappeared" between the time they close and the time I get there.

 

[480sparky]

That's 5 P's

...did you prepare?

I see 7 myself.

 

[76nemo]

I've called our supply house at 4:30 and asked them to put something out back or in the mailbox for me to pick up after they close. They're always happy to do that, and nothing has ever "disappeared" between the time they close and the time I get there.

Definetly, nice to have good relations. Let me reitterate. I had today planned yesterday. I didn't expect it to be this nice today, so I did something this evening that I wasn't going to do until tomorrow, I went out on a whim. Going home to some cold brewskies doesn't put any money in the savings. Would have been nice to enjoy the evening in that fashion, but it was too nice to go home and retire!!!

 

[dbuckley]

The six P thing is a term used in the British Army; Planning and Preparation Prevent Piss Poor Performance. Some people like to prepend a 7th P, for "Prior".

 

[Pierre C Belarge]

Wha, not a response I expected Pierre. If I deal with the supply house all of the time and only resort to the big shops when needed, I didn't really feel enthralled to memorize their inventory. You have a GREAT point though. It's not like I intentionally went there after 5, there are only so many hours in the day, and with today being so nice, it made for a couple of extra hours of pleasurable outside work:smile:

I know I am an *ss, it's clear in my signature, I don't have to be spoon fed:grin:

You missed my point. It's not like I lost the job, I just lost faith and didn't place any real blame on anyone. If blame was to be placed on anyone, then you had it right, I just didn't see anything wrong in the attempt

I was ignoring your point, to make my own...thread jacking is what some call it.

Sorry it was at your expense, I was trying to provide a point I learned from my past.
Which is, it is easy for us to blame others for our shortcomings...I myself was pretty good at it.


Another pet peeve of mine is when people say..." I had no other choice". That is never true (I rarely use the word never, as it has such powerful meaning), we always have a choice, we generally tend to take the one we are most comfortable with, even if it is not our ultimate need.


One more thing...if you could not get the material you needed, the silver lining is that maybe it was not meant to be.

 

[peter d]

Just curious, why do many of you say "big blue" and "big orange" like it's some secret code or dirty word? It's simple: Lowes. Home Depot. There, was that so difficult????

 

[frizbeedog]

Just curious, why do many of you say "big blue" and "big orange" like it's some secret code or dirty word? It's simple: Lowes. Home Depot. There, was that so difficult????

Sinner .

 

[peter d]

Sinner .

LOWES. HOME DEPOT. LOWES. HOME DEPOT. LOWES. HOME DEPOT.

 

[quogueelectric]

That's 5 P's

...did you prepare?

Today at a customers house I saw a dog a pool and a frisbee in the backyard when I looked around I wanted to see if the dog had enough sence to watch out for the pool while chasing the frisbee. The big wet dog caught the frisbee and brought it back. The homeowner came home soon after and screamed was the dog in the pool?? I held my poker face like I had pocket aces. :grin: I thought of you Frizbeedog.

 

[Minuteman]

Back to the OP. The Big Box Consultants.

Back when I wore a uniformed shirt, I always hated gong into a big box, because I knew somebody would ask me a question. I also seem to be near a "consultant" as they do something like - cut a piece of 14/3 S.O. and tell a customer how they can bury it and connect it to a 30-amp RV outlet, or how to tap off the 50-amp range outlet for a vent hood circuit..

So, I was in Home Cheapo last month, and I see a GC that I know wearing a orange apron, cutting wire. He says that they hired him to work 25 hours a week (weekends and 3 week days) for $30 per hour. Helping customers and advises on what the store should stock. He says that he is doing a restaurant remodel at night. Might quit because his phone has started ringing again.

 

[jrannis]

I had to be a smart*ss and place this short story here.

Local supply house closes at 5pm. Soooo, at 5:30, one journeys over to big blue for some SE cable and a meter can, oh and some ductseal, they did have that


Having some SE cut, I ask where the weatherheads were, the e department was redone this week. After knowing what cable I want, he directs me to a RNC head. "No Sir, I need a head for this SE cable". Ohhh Son, you can't do that, SE is only to be used from the "bottom" of the meter into your house, not from your head to the meter!!!!

Really?????? ~ No Son, the power company won't connect, he makes the cut your throat signal. Hmmm, this a local thing you've heard? Oh no Son, that's NEC across the board. Why thank you Sir, ductseal went back on the shelf, they didn't have a 100A can, and I came home disgruntled. Why can't the da*n supply house stay open to 7 at least

I have never used that type of cable but, I wonder what he thought the "SE" stood for?

 

[ultramegabob]

Having some SE cut, I ask where the weatherheads were, the e department was redone this week. After knowing what cable I want, he directs me to a RNC head. "No Sir, I need a head for this SE cable". Ohhh Son, you can't do that, SE is only to be used from the "bottom" of the meter into your house, not from your head to the meter!!!!

S.E. risers are not allowed for service entrance in my area anymore either, but you can still use them to connect to an overhead to an out building, such as feeding a barn...

 

[petersonra]

I wouldn't worry all that much about it.

The quality of the advice available at the big box lumber yards ranges from pretty darn good to pretty bad.

many of them do have some people with good experience that can be really helpful, although you can also end up with the 18 YO kid who can barely figure out how to plug in his ipod.