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.
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