Another BORG employee story - Where's the Logic?

[Mark Patoka]

I know we diss on the logic-challenged BORG employees regularly but I had my own experience last night. I went to my orange BORG and picked up some 3/8" x 4" lag bolts, the same number of 3/8" washers all placed on one of the bolts along with the same number of 3/8" nuts, all threaded on one of the bolts to keep them together.

When I get to the checkout, the 20? year old checker has no problems ringing up the bolts and washers because they have the 3-letter code stamped on them. The nuts don't but I told him what the code was knowing it wasn't on there. He says he has to verify them with what I said, I have no problem there with store policy, and takes one of the nuts off the bolt. He tries to search for that nut on his register but the pictures that come up don't look like mine (all zinc coated and mine is shiny). He pulls out his nice laminated sheet with all the pictures of nuts and washers and tries to match the nut up to the correct size. He says "You sure this isn't a 5/16" because the outline of the 3/8" nut is bigger than this one?".

I'm like, yes, you just took the nut off of the 3/8" bolt so it is a 3/8" nut. We did this exchange twice, he didn't want to believe me but then he finally entered in the 3-letter code I had told him and sure enough, it rang up as 3/8" nuts. He just looked at the register and said, "Huh?, I guess you were right".

I just smiled and shook my head as I walked out.

[Julie Moriarty]

When I was building my house, HD wasn't in the area yet and I was going to Builder's Square to get things. There was this one girl at the register who became my favorite cashier. Prices were on sticky tags as this was before codes and scanners. If something wasn't tagged she'd say, "Hmmm... No price tag. Must be free." and throw it in the bag. :)

[Don Orr]

I went into a local chain store the other day for a single bolt-nut-washer. Told the cashier what size they were and she said don't need it as she dropped them on a scale together and punched the weight into the computer and said 95 cents please. That's a new one on me. I worked in a hardware/lumber yard and weighed nails and screws but not nuts & bolts.

[Brian Elfert]

Tractor Supply and Mill's Fleet Farm both sell nuts and bolts by the pound. Other chains too I am sure.

[Dave Richards]

Tractor Supply and Mill's Fleet Farm both sell nuts and bolts by the pound. Other chains too I am sure.

Yep. Easier to inventory that way. Which reminds me of a camera store i worked at as a manager years ago. The owner and the head manager would do inventory by smoking cigars in the parking lot while they came up with a number. :D

[Wade Lippman]

About 20 years ago at a grocery store I bought 10 of something that was 12 for $2.50. She divided $2.50 by 10 and charged me $0.25. I tried to explain it to her, but she just got angry, so I paid $0.25.

I suppose I should be amazed that she could divide $2.50 by 10 properly.

[Jim Koepke]

My father gave me a large Parker vise with holes for 5/8" bolts. None of the Borgs or anyone else local carries that size. Looking on line it wasn't much more to buy packages of 10 for the bolts, washers and acorn nuts I wanted.

Now that I have a few extras I have wanted to put one together and go to one of the Borgs and tell one of the in store help that all I could find was one of these and I need two more. Then just have fun watching them run around trying to find it for me.

Being retired is fun, but I still haven't found the time to be a headache.

jtk

[John A langley]

Jim I love it

[Judson Green]

Jez, you guys got to remember that folks working at the BORG's are working a retail job (other than what's being sold its not any different than any other retailer) not to mention the pay, hours and benifits are lousy.

[Dan Mages]

The fun of buying small hardware parts at the BORG. I needed cotter pins to help hold something together. I asked the guy in hardware where he kept the pins. He stared into oblivion as he had no idea what I was talking about. I tried to explain it and then blurted out "Its the thing you pull out a grenade that keeps it from going boom!" He still had no idea what I needed. Logic!

[Glenn Clabo]

Hhhmmmm....I wonder if there is anyone in this world that can answer every possible question asked about their particular profession. I spent 38 years in mine...and almost every day I learned something.

[Dan Mages]

Good point Glenn. However, when you work in a particular department at a store, you should learn what you are selling.

[Jim Koepke]

Good point Glenn. However, when you work in a particular department at a store, you should learn what you are selling.

Some of the people working at the Borgs are not there long enough to learn their department. Some not even long enough to learn half an aisle.

What drives me nuts is when looking for packages of screws they are not in any order in the local Borgs. One would think all the brass #8 would be together or at least all the screws of the same length could be in a row. No, they are usually kind of random on the shelf. One guy told me it was because they come randomly in the box when they are shipped to be displayed.

jtk

[Steve Kinnaird]

I worked part time for HD for 2 years.
They have an extensive video training program for each department.
But it can't teach common sense. And if common sense was common, more people would have it :)

And as for the pay scale, I know it was 10 yrs ago, but I was offered $10.50 to be the department head for paint.
So, yes, they along with many others out there and vastly under paid.

[Robert McGowen]

I went to my orange BORG and picked up some 3/8" x 4" lag bolts, the same number of 3/8" washers all placed on one of the bolts along with the same number of 3/8" nuts, all threaded on one of the bolts to keep them together.


I did not know that you could put a nut on a lag bolt and I don't even work at a BORG. :)

[Jon Shank]

Yeah, the borgs generally are lousy that way. Just to give a pleasant counterpoint to your HD experience. I was installing a motor isolation mount on a customers machine today and because of the addition of the isolation plate the mounting bolts weren't long enough. There is (really handily, I gotta say) A Fastenal shop literally a hundred feet down the road. Walked in with bolt in hand, found the HD equivalent drawer unit in the front of the store and started to look. Fastenal dude heard the bell and came up. What can I help you with? M6 bolt, too short, need the same thing 5 or 6 mm longer, wait check my metric to English dictionary, quarter inch, whatever, just a little longer. It's an aluminum extrusion, the 2 threads catching aren't gonna work. Hmmmm, turns and walks towards the front of the store muttering under his breath, tri=lobe, axial design....... Caught that. You were right it's M6, we don't have this bolt head design in stock but we can have it at 8 tomorrow. Not tomorrow morning, we will have it at 8am tomorrow. It doesn't have to be that exact design, normal bolt and a washer works. Oh, yeah, ok. Here, here, need nuts? No, no you said it's going into an extrusion. Freakin fastener rain man. That whole exchange was like 2 minutes. Boom 12 bucks, company card, take it easy man. You too. Gotta love a specialist.

Jon

[Chuck Wintle]

I know we diss on the logic-challenged BORG employees regularly but I had my own experience last night. I went to my orange BORG and picked up some 3/8" x 4" lag bolts, the same number of 3/8" washers all placed on one of the bolts along with the same number of 3/8" nuts, all threaded on one of the bolts to keep them together.

When I get to the checkout, the 20? year old checker has no problems ringing up the bolts and washers because they have the 3-letter code stamped on them. The nuts don't but I told him what the code was knowing it wasn't on there. He says he has to verify them with what I said, I have no problem there with store policy, and takes one of the nuts off the bolt. He tries to search for that nut on his register but the pictures that come up don't look like mine (all zinc coated and mine is shiny). He pulls out his nice laminated sheet with all the pictures of nuts and washers and tries to match the nut up to the correct size. He says "You sure this isn't a 5/16" because the outline of the 3/8" nut is bigger than this one?".

I'm like, yes, you just took the nut off of the 3/8" bolt so it is a 3/8" nut. We did this exchange twice, he didn't want to believe me but then he finally entered in the 3-letter code I had told him and sure enough, it rang up as 3/8" nuts. He just looked at the register and said, "Huh?, I guess you were right".

I just smiled and shook my head as I walked out.

I cab believe it. In these days of cell phones, video games and the myriad other distractions todays youth face it is little wonder that actual thinking is difficult. I once had a similar situation, was looking for metric threaded screws and the clerk had no idea what these were. But with the low pay and depersonalized settings its little wonder there is no motivation to learn such practical things. add to that the elimination of shop classes in most schools and.....

[Jerome Stanek]

Does Home Depot use Planograms for their stock so all stores are the same.

[Mark Blatter]

Good point Glenn. However, when you work in a particular department at a store, you should learn what you are selling.


I agree but when I really want to find the right thing or something special, I don't go to a Borg, I go to my local Ace Hardware store. They carry 10 times the selection of hardware and most of the employees know the stuff up, down inside and out. Yes, I will pay more, but part of that cost is paying to get help from someone that knows the store and for the larger selection.

There have been many threads about why things have gotten so bad at the Borgs, and similar places, but we are partly to blame, myself included. I don't want to pay $4 for a good quality 2 x 4, I want to pay $1.85 so I go to a Borg store, instead of a high quality lumberyard......though I am not sure many of those exist any more.

And no, I don't own, operate, am employed or have any relationship (other than buying their stuff) with Ace.

[Steve Kinnaird]

Does Home Depot use Planograms for their stock so all stores are the same.

Yes, but there are so many different isle layouts. But each isle is basically the same planogram.

[Scott Shepherd]

I did not know that you could put a nut on a lag bolt and I don't even work at a BORG. :)

Now that's funny, calling out the people because Home Depot employees didn't know something, and doing it wrong :D

The Home Depot employee is probably on the Home Depot forum saying "This guy came in today and had 3/8-16 bolts and kept calling them lag screws, can you believe it?" :)

[Robert McGowen]

Now that's funny, calling out the people because Home Depot employees didn't know something, and doing it wrong :D

The Home Depot employee is probably on the Home Depot forum saying "This guy came in today and had 3/8-16 bolts and kept calling them lag screws, can you believe it?" :)

Finally. I thought it was just me. :)

[Jerry Bruette]

Finally. I thought it was just me. :)

No it wasn't just you, I let it go cause I was being nice.

[Greg R Bradley]

I wonder how long the HD employee waited to find a customer that thought you could thread a nut onto a lag bolt?

[Mike Lassiter]

along the lines of the last comments - we learn to call things by what we heard them called as we grew up or because exposed to them. Different parts of the country call the same tools by different names. Examples from my mechanic background: a universal joint for sockets being called a "wiggle tail", breaker bar called a "pull handle", chain load binders called "boomers" and I have had many times trying to get parts for semi trucks that I was standing with the parts man looking on the computer screen for transmission parts that some engineer gave a name to that was very technical that nobody else used but the manufacturer it seemed.
And some times we got told wrong and go thru life not knowing any better. I can see where someone with little mechanical or DIY knowledge would think a long bolt would be a lag bolt, and can also see the person knowing better not wanting to get into a discussion with someone else about calling it by the wrong name.

Scott made a good point.

[Jim Koepke]

we learn to call things by what we heard them called as we grew up or because exposed to them.

This is one reason I am reluctant to give advise on electrical problems. For some folks any electrical problem is a "short" no matter what the actual problem may be.

Trying to explain to someone that a open connection is not a short is a waste of time. The best thing they can do to avoid damage or personal injury is to hire someone who knows what they are doing.

jtk

[Rich Riddle]

I took up a few six inch lags for purchase and the cashier asked if I was sure they were really six inches long. I said, "positive." She responded, "well I didn't realize six inches was that long. I thought it was shorter than that." A bit later I started wondering about her frame of reference but never did ask upon return visits.

[K. L. McReynolds]

I had a one man remodel company for several years(retirement project) I literally used all of 8 BORG's in the KC area(Five orange ones and three blue ones).

My now local store(since we moved) has a lot of long time employees, mainly because of the manager(who just got promoted, dang it). Since I was in stores 3-10 times a week, I got to know where stuff was better than some employees. Several times I overheard a customer ask an apron where something was and got an answer of "Gee, I don't know. Let me ask Joe." Apron would leave, I'd tell them and the apron would wonder where they went, if they came back.

Best way to find stuff. Look it up on line, write down the SKU. Ask the Contractor desk to look that(those up) and where to find them.

[Mel Fulks]

That's funny, Rich. She sounds like an easy convert to metric.