OT: Treatment of Women In Hardware Stores (Yes, this is a Rant)

[catw]

I go back to a time when a female couldn't get waited on at all unless it was in a dress shop. When I wanted to buy a car I was told to go home and bring back my "hubby". I never had one of those so I figured they just didn't want to sell cars and I went to a place where they did want to sell me a car. Nowadays I don't think bad service is gender based. I love to wander in hardware stores and I've never had a problem in Lowes or in the local Menard's which is inexplicably next door to Lowes. Home Depot is another matter. They advertise themselves as a home improvement store but in fact they cater to the trades. The nice thing about Menard's is they try as much as possible to focus on American made products and frequently advertise sales showcasing things made nearby. The big box stores need a lot of employees and not all of them can be experienced. You can train a young person manners and store procedures but you can't give them the knowledge the old guys and gals have.

 

[offgridhermit]

OK folks. After reading a few pages of this thread, I couldn't pass up a moment or 2 to add my 2 cents worth. I have been cruising the aisles of home improvement stores as a female adult for ALMOST 40 years! When I was younger, I couldn't get waited on unless I had my husband with me, or sent my daughter to fetch an employee. Now that I'm pushing 60, when I'm cruising the aisles at my local Lowe's, there's always someone offering help, even when I don't need it. On several of my last visits, I had an employee pulling down 2 x 4's that I couldn't reach. He patiently checked all of them to be sure I didn't get any splits, twists or warps. An other visit, I spied a "sticker" laying on a pile of lumber. I asked the employee if those were free. "Yes they are." "Got any more?" He grabbed an other cart, went out back and came back with a good sized load for me. Then he went out and helped load it all into the truck. He even went the extra mile to weed out the PT stuff for me. Now, when I ask for suggestions, I occasionally get a lame brain response, but the older I get, the more help is offered to me. Perhaps it's the Cub Scout helping the little old lady across the street syndrome!

That pile of stickers has provided us with a bit of fire wood. And I did the horizontal framing for the cattle panel annex of the hoop coop. And there is plenty left over to make an other chicken tractor and portable gates for the chicken run and garden.

Well Gee! So my age might be the reason I got such excellent service at Home Depot on Christmas Eve? (BTW, I'm 65 next month). I went into their store with my list, my gloves and tape measure. I had to have my wood cut as I was driving a Subaru and not a truck. They even had to cut it twice when I found a 4'x4' piece wouldn't fit in the little Outback. My wood was all cut for me at no charge. It was put on my cart and they loaded it into my car. They have even cut scrap discounted wood for me. With what I purchased on Christmas Eve, I am building a little raised chicken hutch. This is what it looks like so far.