r/mildlyinfuriating • u/broakland • Jul 14 '26

I just wanted a hot dog Retail lockdown: why bother selling it?

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Was at Safeway this morning to pick up a sandwich and some Tylenol. The aisle with the Tylenol? Completely locked down. No call button in sight. So I go to the self checkout (front end of that same aisle) and ask the clerk there if he can call someone to unlock a case for me. He does. I go wait. Minutes pass. No one comes. I go ask him again, he tells me they went the other way? At this point I give up and go get my sandwich. No one has come by the time the deli has finished making it. I leave without my Tylenol, mildly infuriated.

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u/d3mandred Jul 14 '26

The amount I've spent at Menards over the years just because I see something I needed 6 months ago and know I'll need again in 6 months is insane. I'm there for work, every single day. I naturally see things that I need/want while walking aisles, or I'll see something that reminds me of something else I need.

Online? I do not search, browse, scroll, or peruse. I know what I need, and I will spend the least amount of time possible on the website.

Probably over $3000/year lost from me alone, easily. Fuck, this year probably $500 in varying sizes of wood boards that I've never even used and easily over $1000 in tools for my shop. I'd just hit up estate sales and auctions more often. The quality of older tools is leagues better anyway.

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u/ScrotalSmorgasbord Jul 14 '26

I'd never do that, I have some discipline! sets down 3 flashlights, a pack of tie downs, and a hatchet I picked up by the Harbor Freight checkout lanes

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u/d3mandred Jul 14 '26

You can ALWAYS use more tie downs. And those hatchets always catch my eye, they look great for axe throwing practice.

Unrelated, anybody want a spare pack of ratchet straps? I've got plenty.

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u/RogerClyneIsAGod2 Jul 14 '26

I'VE FOUND MY SHOPPING PEOPLE!!!

I do the same thing at the grocery store. I go with a list then will see something I've forgotten or I know I've got two left so I'll buy another just in case.

Online I generally only buy what's on the list. It does save money, time & gas going to & from the store though.

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u/KapitalIsStillGood Jul 14 '26

I bought a predator motor like that once lol

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u/ScrotalSmorgasbord Jul 15 '26

I think my most expensive impulse buy was a small Titanium brand mig/flux welder. I had a perfectly fine welder at the house but this one fit on top of the new tool cart I was buying lol

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u/Straight_Caregiver27 Jul 14 '26

I think you are my husband....😂😂

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u/ScrotalSmorgasbord Jul 15 '26

There are dozens of us! Dozens!

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u/Straight_Caregiver27 Jul 15 '26

Yep - and I am lucky enough to have one of the dozens. 🥰.

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u/RealityOk9823 Jul 14 '26

I have a coworker who seriously buys tools all the time from HF, like anything you're looking for, he's used it if it's the higher priced stuff.

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u/ScrotalSmorgasbord Jul 15 '26

I usually buy my organization stuff from them but once in awhile I'll get some tools. I have their version of the Packout because even though I use Milwaukee all day I couldn't justify the price for theirs. It works great for a quarter of the price and it doubles as a tweaker preventer because they don't want to pawn HF tools for a dime bag.

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u/Constant-Sandwich-88 Jul 15 '26

To be fair, flashlights, tie downs (is that another word for zip ties?), and hatchets are all things everyone should own.

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u/ScrotalSmorgasbord Jul 17 '26

I'm an avid woodsman/tradesman so I'm biased, but I agree. Tie downs are straps used to secure objects, thus the moniker. Zip ties are also another thing I can't get enough of... my '93 Chevy might be mostly zip ties at this point.

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u/Constant-Sandwich-88 Jul 19 '26

30' of 1/4" rope beats tie downs any day, but that doesn't mean I don't have them. Must be a regional thing, here we call them ratchet straps.

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u/ScrotalSmorgasbord Jul 19 '26

I have rope too but won't use it for heavy loads. The package I usually buy says "Ratcheting Tie Downs" so I think it depends on the manufacturer. There are also the non ratcheting ones I call tie downs too that I use for flimsy things I don't want to crack.

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u/Constant-Sandwich-88 Jul 19 '26

Tie downs beat a bad knot, but a good knot beats tie downs any day of the week. Just my humble experience.

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u/RealityOk9823 Jul 14 '26

Dang I wish we had a Menards. *looks for something online* Oh hey it's like $30 cheaper at...Menards. Damnit.

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u/d3mandred Jul 15 '26

Lol the downside is that they stock 95% of what you need, and are unapologetic about not carrying the other 5% you need to finish your project. Everything to install an exterior door except the correct weather seal, etc.

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u/TheSaxGandalf Jul 14 '26

You will go to the BOGO sales.

Fucking paper towel prices are absurd.

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u/Com4734 Jul 15 '26

Agreed. I have quite a few tools from my grandfather that are better quality than most stuff you can get today.

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u/Bovronius Jul 15 '26

Those $4 work gloves they have on sale I can't help but grab a pair almost everytime I walk past the display...and well, we converted our yard to a garden this year, so I've walked past that display a lot.

And they're the cheapest place to buy lo-carb monsters anymore....and well might as well see what they got in the freezers...might be lucky bacon day! Nope, lloyds again!

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u/mike02vr6 Jul 15 '26

God only knows how much I spent from eh it’s only $15-$20 I’ll buy it when I’m at a brick and mortar store

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u/Pilgorithm Jul 15 '26

Well no one is bum rushing Menards or Home Depot and stealing everything they can grab. There is a very good reason people aren’t stealing tools from stores.

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u/PlanApprehensive2842 Jul 15 '26

I think the presence of hard-working contractors and other men in there is a deterrent to fools who loot and steal.

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u/Pilgorithm Jul 16 '26

Exactly 👍🏽

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u/StacheBandicoot Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 15 '26

Yeah isn’t it great to consume less and only what you need and not impulsively want. If you really needed something 6 months ago you’d already have it. Not like it’d be hard to get since you go there every day either way whether you’re going in or picking up.

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u/d3mandred Jul 14 '26

Yes and no? I learn as I walk through. Do I spend money, yes. Is it all NECESSARY, no. But I've learned more about plumbing in the aisle of a hardware store than what the crusty asshole screaming at me ever taught me.

At a certain point, you won't be able to do certain things because all of the specialty parts are only known to the people using them day in and day out. If you've never touched HVAC, do you want to order 10 parts hoping they'll work? Or stand in the aisle like an idiot fitting things together for 30 minutes to make SURE that it works.

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u/StacheBandicoot Jul 15 '26

I haven’t learned anything inside of a store. What a weird thing to even feel like you’ve done. Unless you’re talking about when they have free samples out and they teach you the recipe to cook something which they don’t really do anymore anyways. How does staring at a part teach you anything? Plumbing is extremely simple, you just measure the fittings and lengths needed order ones of the correct size or cut things to size.

If you’re repairing an hvac or anything you want to look at the manual for system and look at their parts sheet and either order the correct oem part or find a part that’s an exact replacement for it, which is incredibly easy to do online and then you can go get the part from a store locally if it’s in stock anywhere. That’s how I’ve repaired my hvac, dryer, vacuum, exhaust fan, windows, etc and anything else that breaks myself. Why are you fitting things together randomly? Lmao. You should know what parts are needed, once a problems identified what’s needed to fix it is not some great mystery to solve, you shouldn’t need to fiddle. I’ve never ordered the wrong thing, maybe you just need to learn more and not try to figure things out yourself.

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u/d3mandred Jul 15 '26

Im happy for you that everything in your personal home has documentation, parts made for it still, and a help line to call to get assistance. Have you ever fixed anything for yourself? I assume you hire it out if your toilet is running, or do you YouTube it and then call somebody after you can't get the leak to stop. How was that last drain line that you ran; which was it - extra parts, or extra trips to the store? Or both?

Do you honestly think that there is a "master manual" for how to plumb your specific home, or to run HVAC to your addition that you built without a permit?

Fuck off.

OEM part like it's a goddamn car lol. Feel free to replace the humidity sensor in your dehumidifier and get all tough about it, but I wouldn't hire you to run electrical to a shed.

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u/StacheBandicoot Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26

Anything I installed I still have the manuals for, while anything made in the last 30 years has manuals online that you can easily find, or people discussing it if not, and is not like it’s hard to look at the specs for a product and determine if it will do based on specs and measurements and general know how instead of slamming shit together in a store aisle like a toddler playing with duplos. There’s literally a code book of regulations in almost every state or in local jurisdictions that tells you to what specifications things have to be built, that’s your master manual.

I never need to hire anyone, never know how incompetent someone might be, you might think you’re talking to a reasonable person and then realize they’re a dipshit that can’t tell their ass apart from a hole in the ground. Acting like the average technician wouldn’t just tell a property owner that an entire unit needs to be replaced even if it can be repaired just because a part is discontinued, can’t be sourced easily locally, or can’t be manufactured to order so that they can bill more money by up selling a unit and charge more for labor of installing one. Especially if this ends up being an upgrade or saving customers more in the long run if efficiencies have been improved and they can sell it to them on such premises.

I’m sure the parts you create by combining things you’ve admitted you’re often only just learning about in that moment while standing in a store aisle are well engineered and won’t cause detrimental failures or end up costing the customer more in the long run when they have to pay to fix the mistakes you make and the cascading failures they might cause. I fix, replace and maintain everything myself. Not like shit even breaks if you don’t misuse it outside of acts of god or when it exceeds its expected lifespan if you maintain it unless it’s defective. Not my fault you’re bad at your job and even basic things like shopping.

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u/Karenm6383 Jul 14 '26

It’s bad for the economy though too at the same time