May 26, 2015

How many of you like shopping at the big box hardware stores, such as Home Depot or Lowe’s? I know I don’t. Bill used to make most of the shopping trips to Home Depot, sometimes going back two or three times on the same day because he forgot something or bought the wrong thing. But after Bill’s death, these shopping adventures fell to me.  I never can find what I am looking for, and I wander the long aisles pushing my cart, or a heavy trolley if I am looking for fence boards and posts to repair the latest mishap to my fences. I never can find anyone to help me. On my last trip to Home Depot before my knee surgery, when I was in extreme pain, I wanted to lie down on the floor and kick and scream. The adult Me had better sense and went to the Customer Service desk for help.

Today was my first trip to a big box hardware store since my surgery, and last night I decided to put the Internet to work for me. I went online and ordered three items at my local Lowe’s for store pickup: four pressure treated fence boards, nine bags of mulch, and a bottle of wood siding mold cleaner. I also planned to buy pots of vegetables and perennials when I was at the store, but I had a vision of rolling up in my old pick-up truck, showing a copy of my online order, and having my items loaded without getting out of the truck. A telephone message directing me to Register 3 for a receipt dispelled that vision.

My first mistake was parking the truck as far from Register 3 as it was humanly possible to do. Granted, it was relatively close to the plant section of the store (Register 24.) My second mistake was not wearing a sun hat. The day had turned hot and the sky clear, and it took me some time to find the plants I wanted under the glaring sun. Even inside the store it was quite warm, and I had remembered that I needed nails for the fence repair. After wandering a bit, I found someone to help me, a plus. I could have ordered the nails online, saving me time and trouble, but who remembers everything?

At the far end of the store I found Register 3, with a big banner over the aisle: Online Orders. The young clerk only needed my phone number to trace my order. One of my items, the wood siding mold cleaner, was at the register, but I was told to bring my truck around and by the time I returned, the lumber part of my order would be waiting for me. So I trudged outside to the opposite end of the parking lot to my truck. By this time, both knees were hurting. Sure enough, when I parked the truck in the pick-up zone and went inside, the four fence boards were waiting for me: 2×4 by 8 feet just as the order stated, but I had ordered the wrong size.  My concept of inches is fuzzy, to be sure, but I know what my fence boards look like. 

By this time sweat was pouring down my forehead and I again was contemplating lying on the floor, but the nice clerk credited the return of the boards. The lumber aisle was opposite Register 3, and after despairing for a few minutes, just wanting to go home, I looked for the right size lumber, sans cart.

I found the right boards (1×6 by 8 feet), and two store staff saw me and came to help. One of them loaded the boards on a cart, pushed the cart to the register, and loaded the boards in my truck.

Then receipt in hand, I drove to the far side of the store (Register 24 side) and into a loading area where two helpful staff loaded the nine bags of mulch. All in all, the online shopping was a better strategy than roaming the aisles, but next time I must remember to measure lumber and preorder as many items as I can.

But I hope fervently that the next time is a long time away.