Supply house Vs The orange store

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mdshunk said:
There's great value in busting through the door of a real supply house, calling out "three 4-11's, 6 feet of 3/4 flex, and a T-101", having it on the counter in about two minutes, scribbling your name on the slip, and driving off in your truck the next minute.
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In theory anyway. You must have exceptionally good supply houses if you can get that stuff in 2 minutes and be out the door. At least around here that's impossible. Service at the trade suppliers is on par with the box stores.
 
peter d said:
In theory anyway. You must have exceptionally good supply houses if you can get that stuff in 2 minutes and be out the door. At least around here that's impossible. Service at the trade suppliers is on par with the box stores.
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Bummer for you. The three that I frequent the most jump pretty quick when someone jerks the door open. Just the way it should be. At one in particular, I'll head for the shelves right off the bat to get the things that I know where they're kept, and a counter guy will intercept me mid-aisle and I'll rattle off to him the things that I don't know where they're at for him to get. We both meet at the counter at roughly the same time, and I get rung up. I don't know if that's how it's supposed to work, but I gave myself permission to work it that way. When I hit the door, I automatically assume everyone in that store is now working for me, and I order them around. Some people might call that being an ass, but I call it getting results.
 
mdshunk said:
When I hit the door, I automatically assume everyone in that store is now working for me, and I order them around. Some people might call that being an ass, but I call it getting results.
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Sure, so long as those employees aren't already taking care of someone else. But you wouldn't do that, right Marc? :)

Having briefly worked at a supply house I made every attempt to get the contractors out the door as quickly as possible, so I became one of the "go to" guys in the branch. On the other hand, the cash customers buying one 3-way switch and a 60 watt A lamp, I couldn't have cared less about.
 
peter d said:
Sure, so long as those employees aren't already taking care of someone else. But you wouldn't do that, right Marc? :)
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Of course not. I'd wait like everyone else in that situation. I will position myself and maybe make a remark so that I'm sure I'll get my preferred guy (the fast guy) when he's freed up. However, I'm not beyond snatching the guy out of the office to help me or going to the shelves to round it all up myself when it's clear I'm going to be longer than I care to tolerate.
 
mdshunk said:
Of course not. I'd wait like everyone else in that situation.
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Oh goody. The way you wrote it, it sounded like everyone has to drop what they're doing (even waiting on customers) to wait on you....just checking. :)
 
peter d said:
Oh goody. The way you wrote it, it sounded like everyone has to drop what they're doing (even waiting on customers) to wait on you....just checking. :)
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Nah. There's normally at least one guy free unless I come early in the morning, or right near closing time. It's standing room only then. I try to say out of those places during those hours if I can. I experimented with calling ahead, but that was hit-and-miss. They don't seem to have a sense of urgency about my order until I'm there in person.
 
HD around me put signs on every electrical shelf saying call the HD service pros for your at home elctrical needs.

They are my competition.
They have better marketing.
A recognized name.
They will hire electricians and dictate what the pay will be.
It has been said they will pay the subs a gutter low amount.
They have little risk of loosing money on a job because their costs are fixed.
If their is a problem with the job they will push it back to the electrician.
If their is damage my guess is it would go to the electrician and their insurance.
They have been known for not hiring licensed electrical contractors.
They have been known to use one EC license number for the whole state.
If you look at the web site, the license numbers listed are questionable as being more than just a fake number.

Just what electricians need is more companies to pimp them out at a low cost.

They also pressure the suppliers to provide lower quality products that look the same for a lesser amount. Some products have the same part number with a "R" at the end.

Around here they did away with most of the cashiers. So you have to deal with the "unexpected item in baging area, please wait..." and other issues.

They sell items like home generators for about the same as my dealer cost.

Many box stores can be sold out of the most common and needed item. Then you need to go to the next box store to get some white 14.

If you need a material cart you may have to do a lap around the place to get one.

You have a much better chance of geting someone elces return that has missing parts or is broken.

Many items on the shelf are in the wrong location. You find what you need, look at it, then grab a few more. If your lucky by the time you get to the register you realize you got a few that are different.

They have how-to electrical calses and displays. Looking at the electrical class sample wall with electric is a joke. Looks like someone with a few days experiance did.
 
I have both big box stores closer to me than my supplier but I prefer to deal with them. Quick in and out, easy returns, better prices, etc. as many have mentioned.

I'm a small fish and I know I don't get their best prices. 12/2 and 12/3 romex is usually a lot cheaper at lowes but I save bigtime on about everything else when buying from my supplier. I keep current on wire prices when I'm at Lowes to pick up weed killer, etc.

I have a good relationship with the counter guys at the supply house. When I place a wire order there, usually with many other items, I just tell them Lowes price and after a little "computer magic" they always meet it or come close enough to make the stop there not worthwhile.

This arrangement has worked for me.
 
We use to be able to walk back and start filling our own orders. Not anymore. To much missing inventory from the supply house. They now have security cameras at all the doors.

Last purchase of 2" IMC was $30.50. Back in May.

We avoid HD etc. Takes more time to walk thru the store than what it takes to get material for a small house at any of the local suppliers. Seems like it anyway.
 
mdshunk said:
Bummer for you. The three that I frequent the most jump pretty quick when someone jerks the door open. Just the way it should be. At one in particular, I'll head for the shelves right off the bat to get the things that I know where they're kept, and a counter guy will intercept me mid-aisle and I'll rattle off to him the things that I don't know where they're at for him to get. We both meet at the counter at roughly the same time, and I get rung up. I don't know if that's how it's supposed to work, but I gave myself permission to work it that way. When I hit the door, I automatically assume everyone in that store is now working for me, and I order them around. Some people might call that being an ass, but I call it getting results.
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LOL. That's funny!
 
s.sparkomatic.r09 said:
Does anybody use the NETPRICER function on McCormick systems? How bout those lost leaders?
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I used Net Pricer on another program and at the time ,It didn't it work out for me. I do not know if It was them being new at what the did, Or the program I was using, but the overall experience for me at the time was not good.
Now it could be better.
 
One of my biggest pet peeves in the retail environment is music being piped throughout a store. Don't get me wrong, I love music, but I don't at all appreciate knowing that companies are making me listen to stuff their consultants told them would make me more likely to spend money I wasn't planning to spend. They spend large sums of money trying to manipulate you without your being aware of it, and that bloody music is one of their biggest manipulations.

I don't get assaulted by someone else's music when I walk into any of my local supply houses, hardware stores, or lumber yards. In fact, I don't get assaulted by any music at all. Service and local ownership aside, that is (to me) a good enough reason to shop those places instead of a mega-retailer.
 
ceknight said:
. . . I don't at all appreciate knowing that companies are making me listen to stuff their consultants told them would make me more likely to spend money I wasn't planning to spend. They spend large sums of money trying to manipulate you without your being aware of it, and that bloody music is one of their biggest manipulations.
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So you're aware of it. You should now be immune to it.
 
ceknight said:
They spend large sums of money trying to manipulate you without your being aware of it, and that bloody music is one of their biggest manipulations.
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Are you seriously that weak, Chris? I'm not buying it. :-?
 
LarryFine said:
Or Zamfir on the pan flute playing Stairway to Heaven? :grin:
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I haven't heard that yet. ;) But they seem to play the same 10 or so songs that were popular when I was in high school....12 years ago.
 
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