So I've decided to attempt another robot build. My first attempt at what is called a beambot was a failure. I found the instructions confusing and must have either mixed it up, or fried something because not matter how many times I re-wire the little bot, it just don't work.
But I've got a new project in the works... It's called a mousebot. Similar to a beambot in several ways, but a little more bulky. So I found that I needed some wire (22 gauge single strand, and 22 gauge braided). It used to be that I'd head over to my local RadioShack, but they pretty much only sell cellphones, crappy radios, and crappy tv's. Where can one go to get wire? So I thought I'd head to Home Depot. On my way, I realized I was going to pass a Lowes. I thought, I might as well stop in to see if they have it, because I had looked a while ago at HomeDepot and nothing jumped at me that they would have this specific wire.
I went to the information desk...
Can I help you?
Sure... I'm getting ready to work on a small electronics project and I need some wire - 22 gauge to be specific.
Blank stare. You want wire?
Yes, but not like to wire a house, it's small wire like for soldering.
(She looks over to her supervisor, who apparently heard me)
Well, if we have it, it should be in with all the other wire (I assumed he meant the housing wire). I think it's in Aisle 18, I'll have them page someone because it's on big rolls, and they'll need to cut it for you.
(I was going to re-iterate that I wanted this for a small project, but I figured this was the best I was going to get. I wondered to myself, don't you guy's have computers that you can type in "22 gauge wire" and see what comes up?)
So I head off to Aisle 18. I get there and guess what... It's all wood. Ok, I start back tracking.
Finally I find it in Aisle 14. I look at all the various wire and I don't see anything close to what I need. I start to think, maybe I should just wing it, and get some speaker wire, or something. But no... I want 22 guage wire. So I see two Lowes employees standing by a computer talking about some forms they had. After a few minutes, the guy looks up at me standing there and says "can I help you?"
I ask if there is anyone around who can help me with the wire. (The original information desk never paged him). So the woman gets on the phone and pages Drew - Call extension xxxx. So I wait.... and wait... and then I start wandering around the aisle. Finally after about 10 minutes, I say, this is ridiculous. I go back to the desk where they were still talking about the forms.
Excuse me, is there a RadioShack near here?
Yes, there's one just a few stores down. (She seemed to be so happy to have given me an answer that she knew).
I say thank you and start to walk away.
It hits the woman... Drew never called or showed up.
She asks me, Did Drew ever show up?
I turned and said... nope, and proceeded to walk away.
And guess what... RadioShack had it! I probably paid 3x the amount I could have gotten it for online, but I got it and I'm happy.
Shame on you Lowes. You lost this customer, and next time I'll go either straight to RadioShack, or HomeDepot (or the internet).
On a totally unrelated note... I found this post online yesterday about some sort of miracle cure for a sore throat! (I'm not a doctor! Consult with a real doctor if you're looking for medical advice). This home remedy said to gargle with warm water with a teaspoon of Cayanne Pepper (Salt optional). I'll have to try it as this guy had phenomenal results.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
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2 comments:
the remedy works.... yes, shame on Lowe's.... don't they know that it costs twice as much to gain a whole new customer than to keep a steady stream of dedicated patrons?
too bad too sad. lol
i think you guys are lazy. when you mentioned the computer system, we can not just type in anything and it will tell us where it is, it would only give the price. Have you ever stoped to wonder perhaps the customer service ass. was new? so she got an aisle wrong? have you ever stopped and looked around to see how many products we sell, it is impossible to know where every thing is and what everything does. i think the customer service ass. was correct in sending you to the wire aile. and when the wire ass. was never paged, i call people on their portable phones all the time, to tell them they have a customer coming, perhaps that is why you never heard them page. and maybe they only had one ass. who knew about wire, is it not possible that while you were waiting for 10 min, maybe they were with another cusomer who had asked a question earlier. why not be a little more paitent? id like to see you try and work at lowes for one week and see how many mistakes you make. try to stop blameing everything on the world around you. you obviously had an idea of what you wanted, why not do something for your self instead of having people do everything for you?
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