Otis I have had a similar experience at the Woodcraft store here in Columbus Ohio. Their approach seems to be that they are available to assist if you ask for it but they don't approach the shoppers. And honestly sometimes that is a good thing because when I go to browse I don't want to be bothered. But there is no interaction other than that. By comparison, we also have a Wood Werks store which is a family owned business and the staff there are extremely cordial and helpful. They always have time to chat if you want and they have a wealth of experience and are quite willing to share their knowledge. They are woodworkers while the staff at the Woodcraft store are, for the most part, employees. There is a difference.

 

Lowe?s Unveils Lo Bot, The Bilingual Robot That Is Eager To Please « CBS San Francisco

Will they soon be automated?

 

Hey Otis , is this the same Roswell where that UFO crashed? Does your mother inlaw remember the crash?

 

I'm thinking that Otis was in Roswell, Georgia--near Atlanta. The UFO crash was in Roswell, New Mexico--a few thousand miles west. A place I want to visit for sure!! Actually, would not mind a few days in the Atlanta area to visit some friends who have moved down there.

earl

 

I got a pack of rare-earth magnets from HF, some time back, and they were cheap, cheap, cheap. Inexpensive cheap, and they are good.

 

It's funny you should mention that. I went by a Woodcraft yesterday to pick up a 10 inch band saw to replace my old 9 inch toy. I walked in and no one greeted me, not a word. The employees were barely talking with each other. I almost had to wake them up to buy the thing, and then they didn't have a new one in stock, and I wound up buying the display model. And they didn't have any half inch blades for it either. At least the guy carried it out and put it into the car for me.

I looked over a few other items, but no help whatsoever was offered. I'll just do phone orders from now on with Woodcraft. After a 2 hour drive to get to their nearest store, I was disappointed. Management needs to get on the stick. My experience with Rockler (in Ontario, Calif.) is so much better, even though their selection is a little thinner than Woodcraft, but the employees are terrific.

 

I have had great luck at the Woodcraft store in Austin Texas even though I don't spend a lot of money there. The guys are friendly and helpful. I have been in there many times with the same experience over the last couple of years.

 

Otis.... You should have visited Peachtree Woodworking on Jimmy Carter Blvd...
Great guys, and a much larger, and better stocked store than WoodCraft or Rockler...

The boys at WoodCraft and Rockler seemed aloof, and indifferent...
I was looking for a table saw, but came away empty handed.... Walking around those two stores, I was shocked at the prices.... I won't return....

PeachTree, on the other hand, is like a woodworkers toy store....
Powermatic, SawStop, Jet, ShopFox, etc, were all on display.... Everything you need for dust collecting, and etc etc etc....
I bought a Jet drum sander, and at my wife's insistence, a SawStop PCS...
I live in Athens, and they delivered the saw free.... Backed the truck up to the shop door, unloaded it, and took most of the cardboard away....
They also took my old Craftsman saw, and put it on display for me to sell...
They don't charge anything for that service .... Great way to sell a used machine...

They, also, sell on Amazon .....

 

Otis, I concur what Kurt said about Peachtree. Also worth mentioning is Highland Woodworking in downtown Atlanta. Can't think of the address , but very personable and knowledgeable folks. Helpful in every way. Each trip I make to Atlanta, I try to make the best of it and visit there. Everyone that I came in contact with are woodworkers of some sort and have varied backgrounds on many subjects. If there was a question that I asked and they didn't know the answer to, they found someone who did. Great store.

 

I shop at Woodcraft/Tulsa, OK. They offer to help and then let me browse - checking on me occasionally. I like they store and employees. They are pricey. Great selection.

 

I shop at the WC store in Chattanooga and have had great customer service. To be fair, I didn't take time to read all the posts but I would call or email the WC corporate office and state your case. Not to brag but I worked at our local Lowe's store several years ago and was complemented several times by the co-managers for my customer service in electrical and later, appliances. The income of the employees depended directly on the customer spending time and $$$$ at the Lowe's store.
OTOH, I won't step into HD because of their refusal to honor a Ryobi warranty. Had to drive 20 miles to get service.

 

I'm fortunate to have a Woodcraft and a Rockler store close to the house. They are within a couple of miles of each other, so, a visit to one, usually entails a visit to the other.

The Woodcraft store has, for the most part, some very knowledgeable employees who are not pushy and always are available to help. They all ask if you need assistance without hovering, and there seems to be a good mix of specialty experience. Have a question about finish..."...let me get ______ he's the expert and will get you what you need, hang on, I'll go get him".

Woodcraft seems to have the better selection and variety of tools and supplies. However, they are definitely more expensive. Sometimes, ridiculously expensive!

Conversely, Rockler employees will greet you when you walk in, but rarely ask if you need any help finding something. They all seem to be "counter bound". I find, that, the store doesn't have much in the way of variety, but their prices are slightly better than Woodcraft.

I suspect that the differences in the stores (even in different locations throughout the country) is a reflection of the stores' management and nothing more. As for prices...I still shop on-line for the most part. I can usually find better prices, and right to the door delivery. I am rarely in mode of "I need it NOW"! I can afford to wait for something to get shipped. Generally, I plan ahead and make the order worthwhile ordering, getting what I need for planned projects. However, there are still those times when you just have to lay your hands on something to decide if it is what you really need/want. That's where the stores come in handy.

 

John; re the Ryobi warranty thing, are you sure that Ryobi didn't insist on your dealing directly with Ryobi? It seems that so many manufacturers have gone to that service model..."DO NOT RETURN THIS PRODUCT TO YOUR RETAILER".
If that's the case the HD people should have explained that to you.
Personally, I hate it! If the damn thing is defective, I do not want to get involved in a long drawn out process to get satisfaction.

 

Sometimes that involves shipping the defective item and that can get pricey here and some other countries. At that point the tool might not have been worth it to start with. If the store you bought it from took it back they could wait for the company rep to show up and hand it to him with no shipping involved.

Otis when I had government class in high school the teacher told me something that I've always thought was one of the most valuable things I ever learned. He was discussing labor unions and made it clear that he generally didn't like them. While they serve some valuable functions like looking after employee's health and safety they also protect some people who are lazy and don't want to work. The teacher said "You'll never need a union to protect your job if you go to work everyday and make your employer money. If you are making him money he can't afford to get rid of you". We see far too many people these days who go to work just to get a paycheck and think that by showing up that's good enough.

 

Chuck, you are exactly right! I have a simple business model and it is no secret - I incentivize everything!

Sales, production, office workers, etc. are all on an incentive plan. Nobody in my group has the time to fart-around!

I also insist in coworker cooperation! Yes, there are always going to be personality clashes, but I have people that are in-place to give me the straight scoop.

"When the cat's away, the mice will play" doesn't last long at my companies. It can bring-down the attitudes of everyone in the business.

My partner used to hire people to work on all businesses, but that DID NOT WORK! He would see them and say what are you doing? "I am working on something for Otis" they would reply. I could ask the same person what they were doing and they would say, "I am working on something for Joe" would be their reply. I figured-out this was going-on with one particular employee and cornered him up with Joe aside me and said, "Okay you two - what is going on?"
Then was when the "lizard jumped out of the woodpile" and was cornered...and fired. Joe and I have a mutual unwritten law that we only fire who we have hired - if he hires them, he fires them and if I hire them, I fire them. The big difference is that Joe STILL DOESN'T make his people accountable for what they do, I do - with incentives!

Otis Guillebeau from Auburn, Georgia

 

Steve... I will visit Highland the first chance I can.... Thanx for the tip .....

 

Highland Woodworking in Atlanta is located at 1045 N. Highland Ave., NE
Atlanta, Ga 30306. I just happened to have their catalog in front of me.

 

Have a client in Marietta, next time I visit, I'll check out Peachtree. I have ordered from them in the past and they were good on delivery.

 

To reply to the statements about HD and Ryobi. The batteries were covered by a warranty: 90 days for commercial use and one year for personal use. I read the manual before I left the house. The MOD pulled some sort of card and said the battery was only warranted for 90 days. I told here exactly what the manual said. She stated that I seemed very unhappy. I told her yes and told here I would not be back and would tell others about their service. I found a warranty place in Ooltewah which is about 20 miles away. I showed the receipt with the date. No questions asked. Filled out a form and a few days later, I picked up the battery. Another battery before that, I had to take it to Chattanooga as the HD there had a rental center. What that has to do with warranty repairs, I have no clue.
I have written off HD. If that is the only place I can get something, I'll do without.