Remodelling Joys and Woes
I've been working on remodelling my bathroom for quite some time now. Seeings as I'm on research now, I thought this would be a great time to get the project done once and for all. I had long ago despaired of being able to do it all myself, so I got a contractor to give me an estimate. We agreed on the number of greenies to be exchanged, and I felt relieved. Finally the thing was going to get done.
It was not to be. He then called me and asked me to let him know when I had the fixtures. No problem I thought. I'll just take a little trip down to Home Depot and pick out what I wanted. I snuck away from work for the afternoon today and paid a visit to the Home Depot store. I didn't like the floor models/prefab stuff they had available, and wanted to speak with a sales associate about getting something with a few minor changes. The person to talk to was Tammy. She plunked about 10 catalogues in my lap, handed me a business card, and headed for the hills. I hadn't intended to spend quite that much time pondering bathroom vanities. I had envisioned telling her what I wanted, spending about five minutes ordering it, and then I would do the leaving.
I lugged my catalogues ought to the car, and thought maybe I ought to write Warren Buffet to tell him that he might want to rethink his Home Depot investment. Since the Lowe's store was just around the corner, I decided to give them a chance to do better. Their floor models were more what I had in mind. However, they didn't really stock any of them, and you had to order them in. I informed a sales associate that I would like to proceed with doing that. He hemmed and hawed and finally told me that he really didn't know what that involved. I really needed to talk to "Brian," he said. Unfortunately "Brian" wasn't their that day, and would be available between 12-9 the following day. However, I was there today, and didn't feel like coming back the following day to see Brian. Besides, he would probably just shove a bunch of catalogues in my arms and usher me out the door.
I stewed on the matter all the way home, probably raising my systolic blood pressure a good 20 points or so. The afternoon had been wasted. Instead of writing the article for publication in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons that my program director has been eagerly awaiting, I had spent the afternoon being foiled by friendly bumbling sales people. Then it dawned on me. Neither Home Depot nor Lowe's had what I wanted in stock. That meant that they had to get it shipped from somewhere. Why couldn't I just skip them and get it shipped to me from somewhere rather then having it shipped to them and then to me? So here I sit in the local coffee shop accessing the internet via their wonderful wireless connection.
The nice thing is that there is a wonderful array of vanities available via the internet. There are things that look fabulous but could really only be afforded by someone like Bill Gates. There are things that look tacked together out of lumber scavenged from shipping pallets, but that even the poorest college kid could afford. Then there are all those things somewhere in between. Can you say goodbye Home Depot and Lowes? Good riddance in my mind.
It was not to be. He then called me and asked me to let him know when I had the fixtures. No problem I thought. I'll just take a little trip down to Home Depot and pick out what I wanted. I snuck away from work for the afternoon today and paid a visit to the Home Depot store. I didn't like the floor models/prefab stuff they had available, and wanted to speak with a sales associate about getting something with a few minor changes. The person to talk to was Tammy. She plunked about 10 catalogues in my lap, handed me a business card, and headed for the hills. I hadn't intended to spend quite that much time pondering bathroom vanities. I had envisioned telling her what I wanted, spending about five minutes ordering it, and then I would do the leaving.
I lugged my catalogues ought to the car, and thought maybe I ought to write Warren Buffet to tell him that he might want to rethink his Home Depot investment. Since the Lowe's store was just around the corner, I decided to give them a chance to do better. Their floor models were more what I had in mind. However, they didn't really stock any of them, and you had to order them in. I informed a sales associate that I would like to proceed with doing that. He hemmed and hawed and finally told me that he really didn't know what that involved. I really needed to talk to "Brian," he said. Unfortunately "Brian" wasn't their that day, and would be available between 12-9 the following day. However, I was there today, and didn't feel like coming back the following day to see Brian. Besides, he would probably just shove a bunch of catalogues in my arms and usher me out the door.
I stewed on the matter all the way home, probably raising my systolic blood pressure a good 20 points or so. The afternoon had been wasted. Instead of writing the article for publication in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons that my program director has been eagerly awaiting, I had spent the afternoon being foiled by friendly bumbling sales people. Then it dawned on me. Neither Home Depot nor Lowe's had what I wanted in stock. That meant that they had to get it shipped from somewhere. Why couldn't I just skip them and get it shipped to me from somewhere rather then having it shipped to them and then to me? So here I sit in the local coffee shop accessing the internet via their wonderful wireless connection.
The nice thing is that there is a wonderful array of vanities available via the internet. There are things that look fabulous but could really only be afforded by someone like Bill Gates. There are things that look tacked together out of lumber scavenged from shipping pallets, but that even the poorest college kid could afford. Then there are all those things somewhere in between. Can you say goodbye Home Depot and Lowes? Good riddance in my mind.
posted by The Mad Hatter at 3:43 PM
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