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November 26, 2006
An exercise in frustration
What is it about male sales clerks, particularly in departments like plumbing, that makes them think that a woman, because of her sex, cannot possibly know what she's talking about?
While Dad was cutting moulding yesterday at Home Depot, I wandered off in search of plumbers' grease, as the newest canister in our filtration system has a bit of a leak (due to the O-ring not quite sealing). We've encountered this problem with each of the others that we've installed, and have discovered that a wee bit of plumbers' grease, applied to the O-ring, seals the canisters without problem. Unfortunately, the plumbers' grease that I know is somewhere in the house lives in a small, blue plastic container about 3/8” thick and the size of a loonie. It's currently missing in action, likely to be found by the dog at some later date.
After searching up and down the relevant plumbing aisles, I came up empty-handed. There were sales clerks around, but they were either busy with customers or completely ignoring me. When I finally did get a clerk to make eye contact, I quickly asked him where they kept their plumbers' grease. Now, had he been paying attention, he would have known that I had already spent five minutes wandering up and down the aisles, obviously looking for something. Rather than showing me where it was, he indicated that I could obviously find it half-way down the previous aisle, in small white tubs with red writing.
No plumbers' grease to be found there. What he'd described was the brand of plumbers' putty that Home Depot carries. When I went back to ask, again, he suggested looking at the other products in that particular location, as one of them would surely suit my needs—still, he didn't volunteer to walk over to the next aisle with me to ensure that I actually got what I needed. Now, I didn't ask him for epoxy putty, plumbers' putty, any of the various plumbing cements, teflon tape, or pipe joint compound. What I specifically wanted and needed was plumbers' grease, which they didn't have. There's a big difference, especially because we need to be able to retain access to the filtration canister so that we can change the filter.
This was a completely unnecessary exercise in frustration, and one that is becoming increasingly common in the plumbing department of our Home Depot. If it weren't for the fact that they have the largest selection of stock in the city, I'd likely stop shopping there. It's pretty obvious that volume, and not customer service, is their priority. I just find it rather amusing that they're trying to attract more female customers with new programs and seminars designed specifically for women, when their sales clerks seem to think that communicating with women or, heaven forbid, actually helping us find what we're looking for, is so obviously beneath them.
Posted by plainstext at 09:28 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 04, 2006
Kitchen progress
The kitchen is fast approaching fully functional status. We got the Formica installed on the countertops yesterday, which meant that I got shooed out of the house for most of the afternoon due to the contact cement fumes (not so good for me or baby). Things are looking good! Next up are the upper cabinets, the plumbing, and the rest of the wiring.
Then it's all the fiddly little bits. But, they're definitely worth it. For example, Dad spent two days shimming the strapping on the ceiling (before we drywalled) in an effort to make the ceiling flat (even after we'd installed the new beam and jacked the ceiling up a good 2", it was still out by between 1/2" and 3" in places). You can't even tell, now, that the 2"x6" floor joists (originally over an almost 22' span--insanity!) had sunk, bringing the ceiling with them, and creating a very funky (and not-so-attractive) dished look to the ceiling.
We haven't changed the footprint of the kitchen, at least not overly much. We've just extended the cabinets along both longer walls, adding a pantry on the east wall and another 8-1/2' of countertop (plus sink--coming soon) underneath the large window on the west wall.
We're going to have so many cabinets and so much cupboard space that I'm not sure we're going to know what to do with it all. We'll actually be able to put all of the kitchen stuff in the kitchen, for the very first time! Plus, by removing the old bathroom, we've gained a good-sized eating area off the kitchen, with room for the buffet and hutch. We'll actually be able to eat in the kitchen, and not be in severe danger of becoming human sardines.
In other news, Dad's gone home for a week because we're taking inventory at our store. That gives me a week with no major work on the main floor (aside from the furnace guys, who should be done on Monday), so I should be able to get a few things cleaned up (and get the stuff living in boxes in the dining room packed into its proper home(s) in the new cabinets).
Posted by plainstext at 05:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack