Lee Valley is a specialty hardware/woodworking/gardening store. It is also a place that takes a lot of my money. In a world where the retail industry operates on razor-thin margins, and cheap takes priority over good, Lee Valley is an oasis of quality products not made in China that actually work.
The other thing I love about Lee Valley is the staff. Most of the people who work there are older retired men who I suspect work there for the employee discount. When you go the store, you get a small clipboard with an order form, write down what you want, take a number (literally), and one of the staff goes in the back and collects your order.
Today I stopped by the Lee Valley to pick up an order I had placed online. Thursdays and Fridays they're open from 9 to 9, so I was surprised to see the parking lot empty. Walking up to the front door, I couldn't see anyone inside. But the door opened and at the counter in the back were three older men in Lee Valley polo shirts with a variety of screwdrivers laid out on the counter.
One of the men went back to get my order while the other two continued their discussion on which flathead screw driver was better for tightening and loosening plane blade screws.
What a fantastic job.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Monday, December 26, 2011
Boxing Day is horseshit
For the record, there is no such thing as a "deal" or "sale" on boxing day. The store either has only a few of the sale item you want in stock, or it's a brand they don't normally carry because selling products year-round with a 85% return rate isn't a good business model. The staff hate it, there aren't any real deals, and you spend hours shoulder to shoulder with a pack of fucking imbeciles who would trample each other for a $4 waffle maker. It's a sales gimmick that demeans every one involved.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
The Shops at Don Mills
When I was growing up, every Friday evening my Mom and I would go to the Don Mills Centre in Toronto at Lawrence Ave. East and Don Mills Road. Back then it was a single level indoor mall of a medium size. In the 1980's it was a busy place, loaded with long gone stores from before the onslaught of Wal-Mart drove them out of business. House of Knives, W.H. Smith, BiWay, Dominion Toyland, places that were undercut simply because they couldn't order the volume to compete with the Big box stores.
Like many malls of its type, the chain store shuttered one after another until the whole mall was a waste land of cheap knock-off rapper wear and independent Persian rug dealers.
Eventually, the whole thing was torn down. What is in its place now are the Shops at Don Mills, an "upmarket" outdoor mall full of high-end boutiques. One of the anchors for the place when it opened was a large 2-story McNally Robinson bookstore, which closed a year later as part of a bankruptcy restructuring.
Now, Shops at Don Mills runs at about a 30% vacancy rate. People still shop there, but I'm always struck by how few staple stores and services the place has. A 1200 square-foot Calvin Klein underwear store? There are a few good restaurants, most noteworthy being Linda's, which used to be
Located over and run by Salad King at Gould and Yonge. If you went to Ryerson, nothing more needs to be said regarding Salad King's great Thai food at good prices.
Basically, it's a place built for the wealthy of the Post Road to go and spend their disposable income. This is the death of retailing. Now if you want any kind of assistance on a purchase, you better be ready to do it on your own. Online reviews are either written by marketers for the manufacturer or by simpletons who can't spell. The only thing less helpful is the staff in most big box stores.
Like many malls of its type, the chain store shuttered one after another until the whole mall was a waste land of cheap knock-off rapper wear and independent Persian rug dealers.
Eventually, the whole thing was torn down. What is in its place now are the Shops at Don Mills, an "upmarket" outdoor mall full of high-end boutiques. One of the anchors for the place when it opened was a large 2-story McNally Robinson bookstore, which closed a year later as part of a bankruptcy restructuring.
Now, Shops at Don Mills runs at about a 30% vacancy rate. People still shop there, but I'm always struck by how few staple stores and services the place has. A 1200 square-foot Calvin Klein underwear store? There are a few good restaurants, most noteworthy being Linda's, which used to be
Located over and run by Salad King at Gould and Yonge. If you went to Ryerson, nothing more needs to be said regarding Salad King's great Thai food at good prices.
Basically, it's a place built for the wealthy of the Post Road to go and spend their disposable income. This is the death of retailing. Now if you want any kind of assistance on a purchase, you better be ready to do it on your own. Online reviews are either written by marketers for the manufacturer or by simpletons who can't spell. The only thing less helpful is the staff in most big box stores.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Blacks Photography
If you are from Toronto Canada, you know Black's photography. They began life as a camera and film supplier and photo lab in malls and plazas across the country. In spite of the fact that no one casually shoots pictures on film anymore, Kodak is bankrupt, and most people don't even bother with physical photo albums anymore, I don't think they've closed a single location.
I don't know why this is the case, but when I was in my local Black's today to get a passport photo taken, the place was full of huge fucking fat people. I mean massive, morbidly obese, take two Rob Ford's and tape 'em together type fat people.
Mind you, none of them were buying anything, or waiting for prints. They seemed to just be hanging out and talking to the two women working there. Is this the case in all Black's locations? Is it the only place where people with self-inflicted type 2 diabetes feel comfortable? Someone explain.
I don't know why this is the case, but when I was in my local Black's today to get a passport photo taken, the place was full of huge fucking fat people. I mean massive, morbidly obese, take two Rob Ford's and tape 'em together type fat people.
Mind you, none of them were buying anything, or waiting for prints. They seemed to just be hanging out and talking to the two women working there. Is this the case in all Black's locations? Is it the only place where people with self-inflicted type 2 diabetes feel comfortable? Someone explain.
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