Save Big Money (and get pissed off)

Yesterday in a fit of git-er-done, I went to Menards. I hate that place. Like Walmart, I knew I hated it when I went it. But there were some things I wanted NOW since I had started a project.

Had I been patient, I could have had boards custom cut at the nearby small town lumber yard, picked up paint at the hardware store in the same small town, and gotten other incidentals there that went with my project.

But I was in a big toot (I have a small window of time to complete the project AND clear a path for Captain Crab when he returns from where ever in hell he is) so I drove to Big Town, through frigging road construction, clear to the other side of town where the behemoth Menards resides.

I headed towards the paint looking for cheap-cheap-it-doesn't-matter-paint and the first thing I took notice of was SHOELACES!! Because everyone looking for lumber, paint and hardware needs shoelaces!!

I passed many items that, had I thought about it, I could have used at home. But I eschewed them all because I went there for paint, boards and some hardware.

After I completed filling my list I ended up in line behind a guy I know. He told me I did NOT want to be behind him in line because he was paying with a credit card and for some reason, credit transactions were painfully slow.

We chatted some about the store in the big town that Menards put out of business. It had a contractors area (where my friend would have gone) where things were expedited. It also did not have bird seed, picture frames, dog beds, coffee, soup, shoelaces, bleach, books or DVDs.

In spite of having more than six items (the limit), I went to the express lane. I'd forgotten how the check out process is so very, very whacked. You put your stuff on the conveyor, run to the other end, swipe your card, put in your numbers, bag your stuff, pull your receipt, pack your crap in a cart and haul it out. Now that's service!! I don't know that I would have been able to pay with cash or write a check.

I cannot express how much I despise Menards and regretted giving them money.