# Idiots at Big Box Stores - the Bar Has Been Raised! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 17, 2015, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381 "2015-07-17T01:59:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381/41 "2015-07-18T01:26:25Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Son: It’s an animated dog from a claymation cartoon. > Daughter: No. > > My son was chuckling and knew that wasn’t the answer I was looking for. He had never heard of a grommet, but guess what? Both him and his sister no know. And will probably know forever now. See how that works OP? Grommet? Is that like a widget or a thingamabob or something? I actually feel like I should know what it is (and I’ll look it up after this post), but I couldn’t tell you if my life depended on it. I think it’s something small…maybe like a washer? Made of rubber? I know I’m going to kick myself when I look it up. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381/42 "2015-07-18T01:31:57Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > “Oh, they’re the old kind, you know, with a wire filament that glows.” Is that really so difficult? It is when the next question is “what’s a filament”? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381/43 "2015-07-18T01:37:51Z")
Remember folks: lower minimum wage means lower shits given about one’s job! ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381/44 "2015-07-18T01:44:33Z")
Way to stick it to the working poor. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381/45 "2015-07-18T01:50:56Z")
This person was well over 20, probably closer to 30. The word “incandescent” is on the label of “light bulbs”. Sometimes, the word “lamp” will also occur. There is no excuse for that person injecting herself into my life, especially when she had absolutely no knowledge of the product line involved. Yeah, I remember when HD had people who knew not only the product, but how and (more importantly) when to use them. Since her last words were “get someone from Electrical”, I wonder what department she worked. It must have been cleaning products, as they were on the facing aisle. This may come as a shock, but I do not go to retail businesses beause I want to teach Junior High topics to their employees. The employees should know their business at least as well as an 18 year old. I went into a small hardware store and bought an automatic center punch (yes, a real store). There were two folks behind the counter. The older knew what it was and how it worked. Bless his heart, the kid asked. The older one asked “You’re just going to open it (the blister pack), right?”. I agreed and he demonstrated the tool to the younger. That was fine. Had I been looking at the display and the younger had asked if he could help, and I said “automatic center punch” and he showed me the standard (hammer-operated) center punches, there would have been a problem. If you offer to help, be sure you know as much about the product line as a high school student. As it was, she simply wasted more time than I was willing to spend shopping for flood bulbs - I will simply re-used the ones in the current fixture and worry about replacement if/when they die. Yes, I keep light bulbs on hand. Radical concept, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381/46 "2015-07-18T01:57:02Z")
I’m 52 and own a boat load of tools. I have no idea what an automatic centre punch is. Well, I do now because I just Googled it. I own at least a couple of hammer-operated centre punches. I guess I’m an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381/47 "2015-07-18T02:00:17Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > … > This is why I patronize True Value: knowledgeable people with an intimate acquaintance with what they stock. We don’t have a HD, but we do have a Lowes. When I am looking for something specific, I go to the customer service desk first. The droid there doesn’t have a clue, but they are trained to find someone who has one. For example, last week I went there needing some bailing wire. Desk Droid had no idea what it was or why someone would want one, but she found someone who knew where it was quicker than I could. ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381/48 "2015-07-18T02:01:59Z")
> [@Nefario](#): > > … > And they usually back down when I bring my calipers. 🙂 Dial, digital, or (my favorite) vernier? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381/49 "2015-07-18T02:10:44Z")
The primary job requirements for HD & the like is the willingness to work for almost no money and take massive abuse from customers. 100% of what they know about their store’s contents or how to use that stuff is learned by osmosis from customers. America wants cheapest prices above all and also wants expert store clerks. Somehow those things are not consistent with high stock prices for the investors and large bonuses for the CEOs. Guess which one comes out last in that tussle over priorities. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381/50 "2015-07-18T02:11:15Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > I was not rude until she demanded attention. > > It opened with a timid “Can I help you”? All you had to do is say, “No, thank you.” How hard would that be? Instead you got angry because the store employee had the gall to _offer assistance_. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381/51 "2015-07-18T03:14:01Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > We don’t have a HD, but we do have a Lowes. When I am looking for something specific, I go to the customer service desk first. The droid there doesn’t have a clue, but they are trained to find someone who has one. > > For example, last week I went there needing some bailing wire. Desk Droid had no idea what it was or why someone would want one, but she found someone who knew where it was quicker than I could. I’ve related here before about an encounter at Sears, where the saleswoman had absolutely no idea what Velcro was. None. Not even a vague notion, even when I described what is it and where you see it (watch bands, shoes, clothing, wallets) and what sound it makes when you take it apart. I’ll admit to finally losing my patience and a bit of my temper with her. My wife pulled me away before I started frothing at the mouth. Now THAT was either a fucking idiot, or she had lived in a cave all her life; but I suspect that even caves have Velcro in them. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381/52 "2015-07-18T03:54:29Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I asked the kid working at Lowe’s where the razor scrapers were. He showed me. I said thanks, and he said something like “Would you mind telling me what those are used for?” So, I did. This was probably the kid’s first job, and he wanted to learn it. Good for him. Once when I was working adoptions, a friend’s wheelchair was starting to come apart because the bolts were coming off. I went to the HD in the same strip mall, found a worker and asked where the lock tight was. He had no clue, but called someone and we found it in the pain department. He asked what I was going to use it for, so I explained how it worked. He thought that it would be great for his car, so I explained the difference between the red and blue. This really only took a few minutes of my time, and I was able to help someone learn. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381/53 "2015-07-18T03:59:12Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It sounds like this was quite the traumatic experience for you. Have you thought about attending a support group? How many support groups does it take to change a light bulb trauma? The OP needs to get over herself. What a ridiculous snit fit to throw over an employee trying to help out. It’s attitudes like that that are why we can’t have nice things. I have a friend who works at a big box store and regularly posts helpful advice on Facebook, stuff like, “Please remember that the restrooms are not provided as a place for you to shave your pubic hair” and “Customers, please be advised that if you need to wring out your wet socks, the middle of the paint aisle is not the appropriate location” and “Please bathe at home; our shopping cart cleaning wipes are not a substitute for a bath.” I have a lot more sympathy for workers dealing with customers than for customers whining about workers. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381/54 "2015-07-18T04:00:13Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > I went to the HD in the same strip mall, found a worker and asked where the lock tight was. He had no clue, but called someone and we found it in the pain department. Is it like a thumb screw or something? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381/55 "2015-07-18T04:22:59Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Is it like a thumb screw or something? Glue, applied to bolt threads, with different ft/lb values. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381/56 "2015-07-18T04:27:10Z")
Sorry, the auto correction kept messing with me…[Loctite](http://www.loctite.com/index2.php?cc=us). Don’t use the red stuff on thumb screws unless you really hate your victim. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381/57 "2015-07-18T04:27:34Z")
Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381/58 "2015-07-18T04:35:46Z")
PAINT department!!! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381/59 "2015-07-18T05:13:07Z")
At least the person spoke English. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381/60 "2015-07-18T05:20:38Z")
Gotta love HD - Loctite in the paint department. Maybe it’s an admission that their paint won’t stick worth a damn. For those not familiar - its sole purpose is use on machine threads - as in “machine screws”, which are a lot like bolts - extra point for those who know the difference between a bolt and a machine screw! So naturally, it would be in a department with absolutely no relation to machine threads. But yeah - it is the duty of all right-thinking American to teach other people’s employees their jobs. And to gladly tolerate those who demand your attention while they demonstrated their incompetence. Right. Gottit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiots-at-big-box-stores-the-bar-has-been-raised/725381.md?page=4)