Woodcraft Store

[TEF]

I don't get it. It would appear that many of the responder to this thread have some vested interest in Woodcraft. There seems to be all kinds of justifications put forth as to why this store fails to have what Gerald wants to purchase. Some are even critical of the guy for not calling ahead. As I understand it, Woodcraft is a specialty store for the woodworking community. Therefore, to say that stocking a dovetail jig is something extraordinary seems to be an odd defense. While I like some stores in the chain (especially the one in Manchester, CT and not the one in Pittsburgh, PA), it does not seem to be a discount operation. However, one theoretically can buy something immediately and walk out the door with it. By contrast, Amazon and other websites offers many of the same items (often for much less), but one has to wait for an item to be shipped. If a store offers neither inventory nor cheap prices, what marketing niche is it supposed to fill and why would one continue to shop there?

"Doug Miller" wrote in message news:QwZ4e.21617$ [e-mail]...

"Gerald" wrote:

[Unquestionably Confused]

on 4/6/2005 6:19 PM TEF said the following:

[snip] Vested interest? You a troll?

Reminds me of a story about the guy who walks into a store and asks for a sabre saw and is told they don't carry any. Then he asks for a cordless drill battery and they DON'T have that either. He starts getting testy about this and the guy behind the counter asks "You Polish or what?"

Naturally this really torques the customer up a notch who demands "What the hell does that have to do with it? All I want is a sabre saw and damn drill battery. And, yes, I AM Polish as if it's any of your business."

"Thought so," said the clerk, "This is a butcher shop!"

The OP's bitch might have more meaning if he HAD called in and was told they had one, he'd reserved it, and when he got there it was sold out from under him. Or, alternatively, he'd specifically asked for the PC dovetail jig, had been told "Yep, it's here" and upon arrival many miles later learned they never did have one in stock but were all too ready to move him up to a Leigh or Incra.

I don't care WHAT their business plan looks like. No one store can be all things to all people nor can they stock (or keep in stock) every single item their target customer base is likely to want.

The fact that Woodcraft, or Rockler's, or Sear's for crapsake, doesn't have a certain item in stock tells me less about them than does the fact that somebody is getting their shorts in a knot because they want something so bad but can't order it or call before driving far enough to get them pissed off because it's not sitting on a shelf with their name on it. That, when you think about it, speaks volumes. Much like the poster the other day who was ranting about Shop Fox not having a distributor less than 30 minutes from his doorstep.

Whomever wrote that "you can't please everybody" certainly had a passing acquaintance with some of these folks.

[Bruce Barnett]

I have no vested interest, but 1) The store near me claims to have 80% of what is in their catalog 2) 80% of the catalog cannot be purchased in any other local store.

[Ken]

I too am an employee, it is as Mike says, but no one hears about the 200 satisfied customers that come thru the doors daily. We , as employees do not like to send a customer away empty handed, but it does happen.

Ken in Indy

[Ken]

Try talking to someone at Amazon or for that matter any online order house about a set up problem or what am I doing wrong. You'll get a recording. Most employees at Woodcraft are woodworkers, and work there for discounts. They don't profess to keep everything in stock that they have in their catalogs, but they come real close.

As for the Porter Cable dovetail jigs. He probably for got to say that is was the brand new jig, just out, and that all sources were limited to quantities. We ordered 12 and got 7 who's fault is that ? We finally got every body satisfied and went on to the next hot item. Calling ahead is good. Each store has a set reorder point, if some one comes in and buys everything that the store has, it is reordered on the next Tuesday. If someone thinks ahead and calls us for a certain quantity of one certain hinge we will make sure that we order extra to cover their needs leaving the store inventory intact. Don't stop shoping in a store because you are not realistic , before long you'll be doing all of your shopping somewhere esle and that list will soon get really short.

Ken in Indy

[Duane Bozarth]

It is a pita, granted, for places to not restock...there's a farm supply here that is terrible about it--unfortunately, town's small enough there's little alternative, but the manager just doesn't keep up w/ stuff that aren't supplier-stocked.

[John DeBoo]

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN]

Yep, that'd be me. Just a couple of weeks ago I was extolling the glories of Geetech 8" jointers from Leneave's as I'd just bought one from them. OTOH, I did buy my Rikon 18" bandsaw from Woodcraft. My drill press and table saw came from Home Depot (Ridgid). I have a RAS from Sears. 2 Porter Cable routers: one from Woodcraft and one from Home Depot. I got a Milwaukee hammer drill from Amazon. A Bosch jigsaw from Home Depot.... you get the idea.

I get around and call it as I see it. My view is that Woodcraft has a lot to offer, at least in my area. But a vested interest? Not even close. I'm a registered nurse by trade and play with tools as a hobby.

[JoeTaxpayer]

I was in the market for the Delta Unisaw some time ago and, given its size, and my lack of a truck, wanted it delivered. There was a woodworker's warehouse (now defunct) about 8 miles up the road. I asked about delivery, offering to pay, and wait. The manager had no interest in selling it to me. The Woodcraft store manager warned me of a 10% off coupon in the flier coming in another week, saving me $160, and only accepted $50 to drive

1-1/2 hrs round trip and spent an hour helping me unbox and set it up. For service like that, I don't think I'd look to save the last dollar on a purchase.

Somehow, the attitude in Woodcraft always seemed more pleasant than the other places. JOE

[DJ Delorie]

Ok, then, I was a satistied customer today! Of course, I just picked up some hose clamps and a 5" to 4" adapter that just HAPPENED to show up in the store yesterday - new product from Delta and all, and just what I needed! What I went *in* for was a 4" splice to try to build such an adapter, since our Woodcraft doesn't normally carry stuff for

5" hose.

Our Woodcraft carries heavy iron too. I got a Delta X5 planer a month or so ago, and they had five in the back, so no shortage there.

But you can always buy clamps if nothing else ;-)

[alexy]

I agree with you fully, but don't see that what you are saying disagrees with Doug. Certainly if the main thing one looks to Woodcraft for is PC dovetail jigs, from this thread, it seems like that is not the place to go. But Doug's point, as I understand it, is a valid objection to the hyperbole that they don't stock anything, so by extension should never be shopped at--they certainly do stock items, and it is fun to shop there on occasion. If I have a particular need, I will probably call before driving the 10 miles, but maybe not--I may just drive over planning to browse if they don't have what I want.

If I want lowest price, I probably will go to Amazon. If I need it NOW, I will let my fingers do the walking to Highland Hardware, Rockler, and Woodcraft.

[TEF]

infrequently.

[Dave Mundt]

Greetings and Salutations....

On Wed, 06 Apr 2005 20:25:07 -0500, Duane Bozarth wrote:

First off, I have no financial interest in the Woodcraft in Knoxville...although I am a member of a woodturning group that meets there regularly, and, have had some pleasant chats with Dave Harding (the owner). Now...I can understand the OP's frustration, as I am always annoyed when the specific thing I want is not available in the store where I expect it to be...and, I would agree that it is perhaps not unreasonable to expect the store to have a PC Dovetail Jig. Actually...now that I think of it, I recall seeing one there on the shelves towards the back of the store on a fairly regular basis. However, to say "don't stock anything" is, perhaps overstatement brought on by frustration. The fact of the matter is that the store is a small one, and, while it is located in the "high rent" end of town, Knoxville is still a fairly economically depressed area...which means that money is tight all over. In spite of that, Dave carries QUITE a wide range of products from the catalog, as the small store IS quite packed with stuff. There are a lot of turning and carving tools, there are router bits of all sorts, there is quite a selection of specialty hardware, etc, as well as finishing supplies, workbenches, and both handplanes and power tools ranging from small routers up to big cabinet saws and lathes. The folks that work there are all quite friendly, and DO want to make sure that customers can find what they need. I would suggest, though, that the best thing to do (and something I would have done after the first disappointment), would, indeed, be to call ahead and find out if a given item is in stock. If they have it, they will be happy to put it aside for you. If they don't have it...they can tell you when they WILL have it... Actually, the biggest frustration I have with the place is that Dave is real limited in the discounts he can give... so ti can be WAY too pricy for a tool addict such as myself to go in there. If it weren't for the "unloved stuff" shelves where I have found a few good deals, I would be even poorer than I am now! Regards Dave Mundt

[TWS]

The Woodcraft store in Raleigh has been great for me. It is well stocked and, on the rare occasion that there is something out of stock, they've gone out of their way to come up with an equivalent (usually better) item for the same price as the original. A case in point is a wetstone sharpening set I was looking for. They didn't have the set but put together a set of stones and holder that exceeded the original set's quality for exactly the same price.

Of course, these are franchises so the store quality will depend on the owner/manager. In the Raleigh store we couldn't ask for a better manager than Tom Ferone.

Usual disclaimers apply... TWS

[Ken]

5" hose is not a common hose size. I'm not sure where I would even look , for that matter even why I would look.

KK

[Ken]

Dave, There some people that you simply cannot please, and will find fault with everything , there life probably reflects this, then there are those, the majority, that call ahead or come back if the distance is not far. We have a couple at our store that , when they come in , you hate to wait on them. Many of our customers are like family , and all are treated that way.

[alexy]

One possible reason it that for your size dust collector/length of run, 5" pipe is the ideal size, and you want to run some hose where a rigid connection is inconvenient. BTDT.

[Hax Planks]

Woodcraft prices aren't that bad. If not Woodcraft or Rockler, where can you really go? Local stores, if there are any, are likely to be even pricier and big box stores don't stock high quality woodworking tools and supplies. I'll admit Minwax finishes and Stanley hand tools are are OK for some things, but where else do you go to get dye stains, Waterlox, a marking gauge, a scraper burnisher, or a good water stone? If you can find Deft brush on lacquer at a box store, it might be $1 cheaper than Woodcraft. Big deal. I'm glad we have Rockler and Woodcraft.

[brian_j_roth]

In the past they will order the item and ship it to your door for free. You just pay the local sales tax.

[DJ Delorie]

Grizzly has a bunch of 5" stuff, but I was impatient.

The Delta X5 planer has a 5" port on it.