Paul’s Hardware Blog

I think maybe the bargain hunting went too far this year. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/29/business/29walmart.html?_r=1

Share on Facebook

Every year Ace Hardware promotes a big day after Thanksgiving sale. We call it the DATS.  This year is no different.  I enjoy these events.  It is great to see all of the customers.  It’s exciting to see long lines at the registers.  And I am always happy when we have items that are a really good deal and are able to provide a service to our customers.  Sometimes though, I wonder if we aren’t making a big mistake.

This year there are around 45 items in the sale.  We had to order these things back in the mid summer. What we order then is it.  We usually can’t get anymore.   It is always such a gamble.  Predicting six months in advance what the hot items are going to be is a guess at best.  I am not sure it is even an educated guess.  I wish that we could order enough of each item so that no matter what the demand is we would never run out.  That just isn’t possible.  One year we had a portable DVD player in the sale.  What should we do?  Would people come to a hardware store for electronics?  We decided to gamble.  We ordered around a hundred I think.  They were gone by noon.  The gamble paid off.  You see, on sale items we rarely make anything.  Maybe pennies.  So if I order 100 items that cost around $100 I have invested $10,000.  Now not all of the things on sale cost that much but it is easy to see that we could risk a serious amount of money.  The next year we had MP3 players in the sale.  I thought that since the DVD players had done well the MP3s would too.  WRONG.  We had dozens left over.  That was a big loser. I think we ended up losing around $5000 on them.  We just can’t do that on 45 items. In a small business like ours it doesn’t take many missteps to be fatal.

The Ace Hardware customer service department says that the vast number of customer complaints they get are about out of stock sale items.  We are at heart retailers who want more than anything to have the products the customers want.  It pains us to be out of something.  We just can’t afford  the risk to have huge quantities of everything. So on Friday when you brave the crowds realize that we are as frustrated as you with out of stocks.  If we run out of things we will do our best to get more if possible and we sincerely regret it when we can’t. 

This doesn’t apply just to us.  It is a problem for the big stores too.  I just hate to do anything that disappoints our customers and I am afraid that it is inevitable that is what happens during these sales.  I also have nightmare remembrances of a fight at one of the local discount stores over a television that was on sale.  So far we haven’t had that problem.    It is a good thing that some people are able to get really good deals so maybe the good outweighs the bad.

Rebates

I can honestly say that I hate rebates.  I have had more rebate complaints at our store than all other issues combined. 

The thing to keep in mind with rebates is that they are funded by the vendors.  The more rebates redeemed the higher their costs.  Companies are hired to handle and verify all of the rebate submissions to make sure that the rules are followed.  And believe me, people try to cheat.  A few years ago we had a rebate deal that was limited to one per household.   I had a family (mother father and two children under five) all in line with one of the item.  It was sort of funny looking.  Obviously, when these rebate forms were submitted the computer saw the same address and rejected all but one of them.  Rightly so.  The problem is that sometimes the innocent are punished too.  We have an assisted living center near our store.  The residents are really good customers.  They have a van that will bring them to shop from time to time and they buy items with rebates.  Guess what.  They all share the same mailing address.  All but one of their rebate forms will be rejected in error.  This is just wrong. 

When you get ready to send in your rebate forms be really careful follow the instructions exactly.  Make sure you conform to the date ranges for submission and send all items requested.  If you have to send the original receipt make a copy for your records. 

If you have a problem let the store know.  I don’t have any way of knowing whose rebate forms are rejected if the customer doesn’t tell me.  I know that I want to know if you have a problem and I bet most other stores do to.  My greatest rebate fear is that one of our customers will be denied wrongly and we won’t have to chance to rectify the problem.

Happy Shopping Friday!

Share on Facebook

I have come to the conclusion that I hate squirrels.  I haven’t always felt that way.  I used to think of them as cute little animals scurrying around in a benevolent search for the perfect acorn.  Maybe it was from watching Chip & Dale (yes I realize Chip n Dale were really chipmunks) cartoons as a child.  I don’t know, but I had no pre-conceived Squirrel bias. 

Now I know better.  I have come to recognize them as the chattering, beady eyed little bastards they really are.  It all started a few months ago with a bird feeder.

We started selling Coles gourmet bird seed in the store.  So I thought hmm, maybe I should give this bird feeding thing a try.  After all, to be a knowledgeable salesperson I should at least try the product.  Here the trouble begins.  You see I have this neighbor who likes to feed the squirrels.  They have corn cobs, peanuts and even pecans scattered all over the yard.  A veritable squirrel buffet.  We have a pretty healthy squirrel population on my street.  I have another neighbor that has 20 cats. You would think there would be some squirrel population decline.

 One particular squirrel, for some unknown reason,  ignores all of the goodies next door.  He focused on my Bird Feeder.   So I have been in a BATTLE for several weeks now.  I tried metal feeders, squirrel proof feeders and every other thing I could think of.  Finally a solution.  Coles makes a bird seed called Hot Meats to fight the problem.  It seems that birds don’t taste Capsaicin, the compound in peppers that makes them hot.  Squirrels do and don’t like it.  This bird seed is HOT.  I know that because I got the brilliant idea of tasting it.  Bad mistake.    

 I thought that I had won.  I filled the feeder.  All went well.  The birds seemed as happy as usual.  And the squirrel stayed away.  He didn’t really leave.  Just sort of skirted around and chattered defiantly.  I took pleasure in my victory.  It was short lived.

One night I came home late and decided to grill a steak.  I went out to heat up the grill, reached down to turn on the propane tank and was blasted with a cloud of propane gas.  I was a little baffled, that hadn’t ever happened before.  I bent down to look at the tank and realized he had gotten me back.

Share on Facebook

One of the most common questions we are asked  is, “my water heater is leaking. How do I fix it.” The question is more complicated than it sounds. I am inspired to write this post today because, guess what, my water heater is leaking. I didn’t really expect that my first entry would be so entertaining (boring) but it is a really common problem. So, here goes.

There are usually 4 things that cause a water heater to leak.

1. A failed tank. This one is pretty easy to spot since there is usually a flood coming out of the bottom of the water heater. There isn’t any good fix other than replacing the water heater.

2. A bad temperature and pressure release valve. The temperature and pressure release valve is a really important thing. If, for some reason the water heater malfunctions and the water gets too hot and boils there could be a really serious explosion. (see video below) Don’t EVER plug, cap or block in any way, a T&P valve. It will release water if the pressure in the tank goes above a certain amount (usually 150 psi) or the temperature goes above a specified number (usually 210 F).  Sometimes these valves fail and release water when the temperature and pressure are normal.  In that case you just replace the T&P valve.

 2. A bad Pressure Reducing Valve. PRV  The pressure reducing valve controls the amount of pressure in the plumbing system of your house.  It is usually located in a basement or crawl space where the main water line enters the house.  They can also be outside the house in a box in the ground. The pressure in the water main is usually higher than the 50-70psi that is recommended for home equipment and appliances.  If the PRV fails, the pressure in the house will rise.  If it gets high enough the T&P valve on the water heater will leak, toilet valves will fail and faucets will drip.  The question is how do you know if the dripping  is the PRV or the T&P?  (I’ve always thought it is funny how plumbers use initials for things. Its almost like another language)  You have to test the water pressure in the house.

To test the pressure I used a recording pressure valve with a fitting for a garden hose.  I attached it to the drain on the water heater.  You need to use a valve that records the highest pressure reached since it really goes up during the night.  I took this picture in the mid morning.  The pressure was a little above 50psi.  During the night though it had reached 150psi.  I had a mini flood.  Since the pressure went substantially above 50psi I knew that the problem was my pressure reducing valve.  I was in a hurry and didn’t want to drag out a torch and solder (I have copper pipes) so I used Sharkbite fittings.   They have to be one of the best inventions in years.  You just slide them on the pipe and they seal.  It took me 12 minutes to finish the job. 

4.  Thermal Expansion.  When water is heated it expands.  In the old days it wasn’t really a problem.  The water back flowed into the water supply (municipal or tank).  This can be dangerous so most localities passed regulations requiring back flow preventers.  The water has to go somewhere.  The answer is a thermal expansion tank.  It uses an air cushion and diaphragm to absorb excess pressure.  Sometimes these tanks fail.  There is an air valve (like a car tire) on the bottom of the tank.  If when you release a little air you get water you know that the tank is defective.

So now, thankfully, I have dry basement again.

This post is for informational purposes only.  I am not a plumber.  You should not attempt any repairs yourself without checking your local codes and regulations.

Share on Facebook