Gloat! - Open Box Shed Kit

[DerbyDad03]

I didn't need anything as big or as costly as the shed kits at the borgs so I drew up some plans for an 8 x 6 x 6 lean-to style shed to store a few items in my backyard

I hooked up the trailer, headed off to HD and $250 later I had all the

2x4's, plywood and T1-11 that I needed for the shed. Just as I pulled in the driveway I go "D*mn... forgot the stuff my wife needs for her project."

So I drop the trailer and head back to HD. This time I go in a different door and notice a big hand-written sign that says "Open Box Shed Kits On Sale. Inquire At Customer Service."

"What the heck. I'll see what they got." I end up meeting the nicest HD manager ever. She walked me over to 4 open box kits, one of which was an 8 x 8 x 8 Regent II, the one I would have bought if I wanted to spend the bucks.

Regularly $499, she marked it down 50% to $249 - the same amount I paid for the wood for my little lean-to! We went back inside, she rang me put, put a Sold sign on the kit and told me to see her when I came back with my trailer.

I go home, get the trailer, return all my wood and go looking for Shannon. When I find her, she says "Let me get a fork-truck. Where are you parked?" So now I've got a manager driving the fork truck and helping me load the kit in my trailer - a kit I'm sure they didn't make much money, if any, on. I look the kit over real quick and notice that there are no instructions. Shannon goes back inside, looks them up on the web and prints out the 36 page manual saying "If there's anything else missing, find me during the days or tell any other manager that Shannon said to give you what you need.

I've bad mouthed the borgs in the past, but this time I gotta Shannon her props!

[aemeijers]

Don't tell us, send an email to corporate. Customer appreciation letters look real good in a personnel file.

-- aem sends...

[Caesar Romano]

On Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:05:40 -0400, aemeijers wrote Re Re: Gloat! - Open Box Shed Kit:

Ditto on that.

[N8N]

I guess she's not interested in transferring to DC-land? there's a couple HDs around here that need people like her.

nate

[DerbyDad03]

Way ahead of you. I started wrting the letter before I posted.

[George]

That person is just a point off the curve and will quickly get burned out while looking for a real job. A relative got thrown under the bus when a company she worked for closed. She is a bright conscientious person. She took a "manager" position at home cheepo. She got paid a whopping $10/hour because the "manager" position is on the high end. For that she needed to deal with the range of problems that occur all day plus on certain days show up at 5 AM by herself to open the store and on certain days close the store by herself late at night. She did her best just like the person who was described and quickly left when she found a real job.

[KC]

I was one of 125 new employees hired when a Lowes store first opened. I lasted 6 months. After 5 years there are only 2 of the original 125 hirees left in the store. They went thru 7 store managers in those 5 years. Nationally Lowes has a 80% employee turnover rate.

KC

[KLS]

[cut]

Agree with AEM, plus which HD does she work at? I want to shop there (Victor, Penfield, Henrietta, Webster, which?) next time.

[Red Green]

DerbyDad03 wrote in news:36d42c36-5a40-4d23-b7dc- [e-mail]:

You...have been assimilated! :-)

[DerbyDad03]

You know, to some extent that's true.

As I looked over the plans, I found an "upgrade" I want to make and need a couple of more studs.

I will be driving past a Lowes on the way home, and going to HD will be slightly out of my way, but I'm gonna stop at HD for the studs to give them my business. I'm not swearing off Lowes, but at least as far as this shed project goes, I'll buy my materials where Shannon works.

[Red Green]

DerbyDad03 wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Hell I'm more guilty than you. Way more guilty.

Anyway, I fell in love with Seven of Nine over a decade ago and started gluing power tools to my head.

[DerbyDad03]

Just an update...

As I spend some quality evenings with this shed, I'm even happier that I got it for 50% off, but not for the reason you might expect.

Per the plans, their idea of a stud wall is a top plate and three studs toenailed into the floor frame. No bottom plate, and no studs in the corners. The back wall doesn't even have studs, just a cross- frame. See page 10 of these instructions...

I bought some extra studs to build regular stud walls just to make myself feel better. So instead of actually erecting the shed last night, I spent the few hours of daylight available cutting studs to build *real* walls. The cost of the studs, while relatively minor, is cutting into my 50% discount.

To some extent, I guess I could accuse HD of false advertising. I looked at the display shed in their parking lot and noticed that they added a 4 x 8 sheet of particle board across the back-wall cross frame...something I didn't know was a "extra" until I compared it to the plans. Not only did this addition hide the simple cross frame "wall", I'm sure it adds a lot of stiffness to the structure.