Home › Forums › West Seattle Rants & Raves › RAVE – True Value Hardware
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June 6, 2012 at 1:08 pm #603501
jhynesrockmtnMemberI was at True Value last night looking for a Jig to fit my hand drill to drill more precise holes. John in the tool section tells me they don’t carry it anymore, Mclendon’s should have it. Thinks a bit more, then says, hey, I have one and only live a mile from here. Want to borrow it? Huh? Wow, sure, thanks. I’ll come over in an hour or so. I arrive, he invites me in to his house, I meet his roomate (both WSU grads like myself :-)and he gets the tool and shows me how to use it. I felt like I was in a 1950’s TV show at the small town hardware store. I love this place!!!
June 6, 2012 at 1:50 pm #760210
shihtzuParticipantThat is awesome! I love browsing that place. And buying of course. I recently took on a little project and they were the only store in WS that had all of my ingredients.
June 6, 2012 at 4:51 pm #760211
ghar72ParticipantThank you for telling this story. Just lovely! I rarely shop there b/c I live in Highland Park, but will make the effort to get over there for our home project needs. Goes above and beyond the “thank you” issue in another thread!
June 6, 2012 at 8:13 pm #760212
miwsParticipantMy own True Value story, from some 20-ish years ago:
The little house I owned, had a ’60’s vintage Delta wall mount faucet…..
One day, it sprung a leak in one of the copper water supply tubes that’s hidden under the cover.
I took it up to T.V., and actually don’t recall if my first thought was to replace it with a new one, or seek repair advice. I think I may have been hoping for a simple, relatively inexpensive J.B Weld type repair.
Wall mount single handle faucets were way out of my budget, and being spoiled by having the single handle, I really didn’t want to go to a basic two handle.
Back then, another “John” worked in the Plumbing Dept, possibly/probably the Plumbing Lead.
He was the typical gruff, older guy, that probably wouldn’t be hired to work at a big box store nowadays, because he wasn’t all bubbly and perky, but he definitely knew his stuff.
A fair compromise, IMHO.
I told him of my situation, and he told me I’d need to solder it.
I explained that I didn’t have a soldering iron, and even if I bought one, I wouldn’t trust my ability to properly solder it.
Just about then, another employee, Lillian walks up and says “Hi” to me.
John sez; “You know this guy, Lil?”
Lillian sez; “Yes, I’ve known him since he was this tall.” (Holding her hand a few feet above the floor—-Lillian had worked at the IGA Store, on the NW corner of California & Charlestown, in the ’60’s when my Mom and I used to go there.)
John sez: “He a good guy?”
Lil sez: “Yes” (Liar liar,pants on fire!)
John sez (to me); “Wait here” and disappears with my faucet, into the back room.
Comes out a couple minutes later, freshly soldered faucet in hand, and gives it back to me.
I ask him; “How much?“
He sez; “Nuthin’. If Lil sez your a good guy, you must be alright.“
Mike
June 7, 2012 at 1:07 am #760213
celeste17ParticipantMight have been Big John the owner. I knew him in the 70’s when my Dad would take me into the store and visit. Big John would play Santa sometimes at Christmas.
June 7, 2012 at 2:02 am #760214
JayDeeParticipantMy story is when I had Qwest come out once, they severed the zip ties between their phone service and the Comcast cable. The cable line was low enough to touch at the sidewalk, so I had to tension it again. I went to Home Despot, no luck and no people to help me find whatever it was called. So I went to True Value and explained I needed a cable-tension-thingy to take up the slack and one of their old timers pointed it out right away in one of the aisles. It may have cost $1 more than Home Despot, but I found it there (thanks to the staff) and that is what mattered.
June 7, 2012 at 2:59 am #760215
miwsParticipantCeleste, I remember him being a more slender guy, probably in his 60’s at the time, wearing black plastic framed glasses.
Mike
June 7, 2012 at 3:51 am #760216
celeste17ParticipantMike that sounds like Big John. He was skinny and I think they called him big John because he was the owner. His son owns it now his name is Bruce.
June 7, 2012 at 1:45 pm #760217
miwsParticipantWell, that makes it even cooler, that he was gruff, and the owner!
Kinda like ol’ “Pops” McLendon!
They could get away with not being all sugary sweet and smiley! ;-)
Mike
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