re: A lot of brick & mortar stores deserve to fail

I try and suport my local busineses as much as possible but they piss me off when they DOUBLE there prices on items and just close up whenever the heck they feel like. I needed some bags of sand a few weeks ago on a saturday and i went by my local hardware store expecting them to be open like always and they were CLOSED! I went back on monday and asked the guy why they closed without warning and he said he just felt like sleeping in that day! I was flabergasted when he told me that but i decided to try and buy some sand from him anyway and he was charging DOUBLE what my local walmart was charging! For SAND! I just couldnt beleive the awdacity they have to just randomly close and then charge dumb prices. Needless to say i walked out of there with my head held high and bought from walmart!

You're telling me a store with tons of location and staff has higher prices than a place with a warehouse or two and minimal staff? Amazing.

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My wife's highlander wouldn't start last week, and I figured it was the battery due to it throwing headlight malfunction lights the day prior (common known thing). I brought the battery to the O'Reilly's around the corner to have the battery tested since they offer free testing. Big mistake.

The girl at the counter brought the tester out and was having trouble figuring out which battery terminal to put the test leads on. I let her know the positive goes to the postive,and the negative to the negative. She seriously asked me, "Yeah, but how do I know which one is the positive?" After I let her know that the terminals are labeled with a + and -, she hooked it up. All she could tell me was the battery was below 12 volts. No shite, that's why it would't start the vehicle. I asked her if she could tell me if the battery is good or bad, if it had a bad cell, etc., and she said she didn't know how to work the tester like that.

I purchased a battery and went on my way. The battery was the issue and no problems now. From now on, I'll make a drive and go somewhere worth a crap. If you are going to offer crappy service, at least have good prices which they don't. I paid for convenience.

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That's what you get when you want to pay people $12/hr. and treat them like shite.
Odds are she will not be there in 3 months and the whole cycle starts over.

I can understand a bit of a markup because they have to maintain a storefront.

They are twice as much because you can get them right then and there instead of ordering online and waiting several days.

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You're telling me a store with tons of location and staff has higher prices than..

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Of course we expect a mark-up in store.

That said, there's plenty of examples of brick & mortar chains being competitive.

I'm talking about places that jack the price up by 40% + for an inferior product.

I'll simply take my business elsewhere. Shopping local be damned.

I usually by parts like that from orielly, just to have a log of warranty, dates bought, etc. Makes it easy. And if the part is defective, I can exchange within an hr and get vehicle going.


But on larger items, ill by from a couple of online spots that EARN my business.

Example..daughters mercedes needed an alternator. Bought a Bosch online that has a 3 year FULL PARTS, LABOR, AND MECHANIC warranty, including roadside assistance including towing.
If that part fails, I spend 0.

A children’s book author can easily get rich.