Possible Stupid Question

[Jesse R Strawbridge]

Is BORG an actual store or just a generic reference to the Big Box Home Centers?

Jess.S

[RonB]

I think it took life, in woodworking and home improvement, as a reference to Home Depot -- "Big Orange Retail Giant". But it generically refers to Lowes and others. BORG has been used to refer to any giant company including Microsoft.

[Jesse R Strawbridge]

Thank you. It appeared that way from the context but I wasn't sure. I knew about the use for Microsoft derived from ST:TNG didn't think they were selling oak planks (yet).

Jess.S

[CW]

Cute acronym but is has nothing to do with the origin of borg. It was first used, comparing the large home centers, with the borg from Star Trek. The borg were a race of half living being, half machine who assimilated all they came in contact with.

[charlie b]

You forgot " - leaving behind vacant buildings once occupied by mom and pop hardware stores, plumbing stores, electrical and lighting stores, paint stores and lumber yards - all of which were staffed with folks who knew the local area, the developers who built the houses, an most important - what parts were in them that'd need repair or replacement, or in the case of the local lumber yard guy - would get you what you wanted/needed or provide options if he didn't have the specific wood you wanted/needed.".

But aren't things the Borg sells MUCH cheaper than mom and pop store prices?

Well, if you only look at the amount on the sales receipt the answer is Yes!. But if you account for the time you waste waiting "an associate" to tell - or better yet - show you were the item you're looking for is in this vast warehouse - things start to balance out a little. And if you want some advice or suggestions on what you probably need and how to install it - well forget the BORG.

Case in point - a personal experience.

Tub/shower hot water valve leaks and there's a Drip Drip Drip sound that keeps you awake. You shut off the water, remove the stem, replace the gasket that shuts off the flow of water, put things back together and turn the water back on. Problem solved. Until a week later. Drip Drip Drip.

You repeat the "shut off the water, remove the valve" process but examine the new gasket more closely. It looks ok. You stick your finger into the hole and feel that the surface the gasket is supposed to seal against feels a little rough. So you go and get a flashlight, shine it into the hole and have a look. The brass "seat" is pitted and has some small chunks missing.

Now it looks like the part in the wall is going to have to be replaced. You can either open up the tiled wall it's behind OR open up the other side of the wall to do the replacement And then your going to have to either heat the valve piece to release the sweat solder joints or cut off the copper pipes it's connected to.

Then there's the price of the new parts - which you can get at the local BORG for "only" a hundred bucks, give or take a ten spot. AND the fun and games of installing new parts to existing plumbing. You look in the Yellow Pages and call a few plumbers. The "estimates" you're given elevate your blood pressure and kicks up your stomach acid production level by a facto of five. Your vacation plans are quickly becoming merely wishful thinking.

BUT - if you had the local mom and pop plumbing store, you'd be told that you a) didn't need to replace the entire part in the wall b) could borrow a tool to get the replacable brass seat in your faucet out so you could bring it back and he/she would help you find a new one to replace it and c) wouldn't spend more that $5 for the new part.

So which way sounds "less expensive"?

Try taking a circuit breaker that's crapped out to the BORG and try and find a replacement. "Oh, we don't carry that kind of breaker - that's a Square D or out of an old XYZ breaker box. Nothing we have - or are willing to special order - will fit your breaker box. BUT - we can sell you a brand new - custom deluxe, super whipzam box AND breakers for "only" .... (by then you've stopped listening).

"Well do you know of anyone else in the area who might carry, or can special order, one of this specific breaker?" - you ask knowing what the anwer will be.

rant mode off

charlie b

[CW]

[Upscale]

Agreed. Got them to order me a padded elongated toilet seat. Cost of toilet seat $27.00. Cost of special ordering. $25.00. Didn't matter that they place orders regularly from this place. The extra paperwork costs money.

[lwasserm]

Originally was proposed as an acronym, Big Orange Retail Giant... Orange implying home Depot, now often used generically for any of the large home centers, primarily HD and Lowes.

BTW, there are no stupid questions... BUT there sure are a lot of stupid answers! :)

[RonB]

Yeah. Kinda like Home Depot, Lowes, Microsoft, etc.

RonB

[Steve B]

It's a reference to any entity that thinks of all parts as only numbers or robots.

Like calling a number and not being able to speak to a human when a human can solve your problem in ten seconds or put you onto someone who can.

Steve

[Puckdropper]

"RonB" wrote in news:Fr3Pg.140948$LF4.63761@dukeread05:

and JP Morgan Chase

Puckdropper

[Puckdropper]

charlie b wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I was 6" short on 12 ga wire a few months ago. I went down to the local hardware store (I think I drove there but most the time I ride my bike the 8 blocks.) and picked up the wire I needed. $.12 a foot.

The BORG is 14 miles away, and probably doesn't sell wire by the foot just in expensive spools. Cost of gas: ~$2.50. Who knows about the wire?

Puckdropper

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN]

It's a generic reference. It refers to the Star Trek series of stories about the Borg, a communal organism that floated through space and assimilated everything in its path. "Resistance is futile."

Now it refers to Lowes, Home Depot, etc... any big home improvement chain store.

[Leon]

Snip

Have you actually looked at the amount of the sales receipt compared to the hardware receipt? In Houston, the Borgs are almost a dime a dozen. I can buy almost anything they sell cheaper at the local hardware store. I noticed that about 3 years ago.

You migh want to do some price checking.

[Leon]

Or most any company with a "toll free" number. When was the last time you dialed a toll free number and a human answered the phone. :~)

[Leon]

The term is even in the dictionary,

Borg A type of cyborg in Star Trek that devours everything in its path. Companies that dominate their field are called Borgs, and Borging is the verb. See cyborg.

[Jesse R Strawbridge]

I googled it before I asked and didn't find a definition, except in reference to Microsoft. Of course, I could have missed it in the 20+ pages of matches. To add to the confusion there is a company named "Borg" hyphen something which is the parent company one or more lumber yard chains.

As a fan of ST:TNG, I knew what Borg was in that reference. Not the first time fictional terms (esp. science fiction) have entered common usage. SWMBO comes to mind.

Jess.S

[Richard Clements]

Home Depot, depending on the wire, sells wire by the foot. the main Reason I shop at borgs as much as I do id I get gift cards and there NOT always cheaper there are somethings you just don't by at the borg like hardwood (or anything other then denominational lumber, or plywood) there nice an s4s but they want so much more for it that it's not worth it I have a building supply chain here called Franklin that's nice, there hours suck 9-5 M-F 10-3 Saturday, no charge to special order, you do have to buy the whole board and it's random width, random length, but there prices are competitive and you can pick out what you want.

[jo4hn]

As others have said, it refers to most any big box store. You can add modifiers to make it clear which borg you are referring to:

blue borg - Lowes orange borg - HD wall borg - Wall-Mart etc.

mahalo, jo4hn

[Locutus]

I find the term offensive, for obvious reasons....