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Worst Big Box Advice Ever - Share your experiences here

post #1 of 28
8/18/07 at 6:20pm
Thread Starter 
After what happened to me today, I thought this would be a fun thread. Share your bogus/unsafe/idiotic advice you've received from your local big box retailer.

Here's mine:

So I am making preparations to wall mount my plasma. I tend to like to do things by the book. So I am off to the Orange Box to get some romex, a receptacle, etc. when I roll the dice and ask for help:

Me: I'm going to wall mount a TV. Do you have any receptacles that have built in surge protection or hospital grade outlets?

Guy w/ Orange Vest: No there is no such thing. What you need to do is drill a hole in the wall and run the power cord through the wall, and then plug it into a surge suppressor on the other side.

Me: I dont think that's the right way to do it:

Guy w/ Orange Vest: This is what I do for a living. I am a home theater installer and I do that all the time.

Me: (very puzzled at this point) Arent there some kits you can buy with a male receptacle that you can run to a standard outlet up high, and then plug a cord from the male receptacle to the surge supressor?

Guy w/ Orange Vest: Sure - if you got $150. The only problem you may have is that the cord that comes with the TV may be too short. Just get a good quality extension cord, wrap some electrical tape around both ends to make sure it doesnt come loose, and run it through the wall.

Me: (with an incredulous look on my face) Thanks.

I really feel sorry for people that listen to such advice. I'd love to hear your war stories...

-Gerry
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post #2 of 28
8/18/07 at 8:08pm
Big Box Store - Advice? Oxymoron!
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post #3 of 28
8/18/07 at 8:54pm
The best advice I had was a women in an orange apron said in response to my complaint that there wasn't a straight 2x4 stud in the pile: "yea, I know what you mean I don't buy MY lumber here"
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post #4 of 28
8/18/07 at 8:59pm
I can't remember any. It's been so long since I have even bothered getting completely incompetent advice from a salesman at any store. I usually go online, get all my information, and ignore everyone at the store. I love HD where you are in a certain department looking for something and you run into an employee standing there. You ask where something is and you get the "This isn't my department" speech, "I'll have to find the guy who works here." This turns into a chain reaction of 15 people pointing at one another as to who really is in charge of that section.
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post #5 of 28
8/18/07 at 9:03pm
Oh wait I do remember the one last year where I was picking out paint for my HTR. I order black paint and ask the guy in the orange vest (poor HD sure gets picked on a lot, lol), how many gallons I should order. I tell him the room size and tell him that the black is going to be painted over a current off white color. He says well one coat should completely cover it so you should be fine with a gallon or two.
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post #6 of 28
8/18/07 at 9:07pm
Speaking of paint...

In my old place (Townhome in Ashburn,VA) we painted the bedroom a very dark, very sexy red. I went down to the new HD, and asked for tinted primer. What should have been a 5 minute experience was lengthen by the fact I had to explain to 3 employees what tinted primer was, and how to do it with their machines...
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post #7 of 28
8/18/07 at 9:08pm
No comment, its home cinema politics.
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post #8 of 28
8/19/07 at 9:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tachyon View Post

Speaking of paint...

In my old place (Townhome in Ashburn,VA) .

That HD was good when they first opened.... then went way down hill from there. (I'm also formally from a townhome in Ashburn)
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post #9 of 28
8/19/07 at 9:37am
Any advice that includes "Bose" or "Monster".
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post #10 of 28
8/19/07 at 11:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by CPanther95 View Post

Any advice that includes "Bose".

No highs no lows it must be Bose.
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post #11 of 28
8/19/07 at 3:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dnddwilson View Post

That HD was good when they first opened.... then went way down hill from there. (I'm also formally from a townhome in Ashburn)

Yeah, I think they had a setup crew from another HD that was great...then I guess they left. It was better than going down to RT 7
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post #12 of 28
8/19/07 at 4:55pm
You found someone to help you in aBig Box Store!?!?!?

Never underestimate yourself. You probably know more than you think.

The stores used to be staffed with tradesmen. That was their ability to overcome the market and put places like Hechingers and such out of business. Well, now.....
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post #13 of 28
8/19/07 at 4:55pm
You found someone to help you in aBig Box Store!?!?!?

Never underestimate yourself. You probably know more than you think.

The stores used to be staffed with tradesmen. That was their ability to overcome the market and put places like Hechingers and such out of business. Well, now.....
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post #14 of 28
8/19/07 at 4:55pm
You found someone to help you in aBig Box Store!?!?!?

Never underestimate yourself. You probably know more than you think.

The stores used to be staffed with tradesmen. That was their ability to overcome the market and put places like Hechingers and such out of business. Well, now.....
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post #15 of 28
8/19/07 at 10:00pm
Hi,

How about trying to convince the salesman at Magnolia/BB that HDDVD is, in fact, encoded in 1080P and not 720P? No no no, he says. Only Blue Ray is 1080P and that is why it is far superior to HDDVD. So I walk him over to the HDDVD setup they have playing in the Magnolia showroom and have him take a look at the back of the HDDVD case for the movie they have playing. Low and behold it says 1080P!!

He calls one of the other salespeople over and excitedly explains that HDDVD is 1080P just like Blue Ray. So then I ask how long they have been telling people that HDDVD is only 720P.....

J
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post #16 of 28
8/19/07 at 11:22pm
I overheard a Costco employee assuring a prospective 50' Panasonic plasma buyer that is was perfectly OK to put it on it's back on the floor of her pickup truck. He even stated that Panasonic thought this was fine - despite the markings on the box.
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post #17 of 28
8/20/07 at 6:55am
I was looking at the stack of Sony bluray and Toshiba HdDVD players at my local Costco store and was approched by a young dude (didn't know they started putting salesman in the electronics section) with employee badge. He asked if I needed any help. I said just looking and that I think I'm going to sit it out until at least the 3rd generation players are out.

Pointing to the sony 301s he said that he heard that the next generation was going to be made in china so that it might make sense to grab a japanese unit now.
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post #18 of 28
3/22/12 at 12:47am
I have to bring this back to life. I have an installer (old school guy) which did the exact same thing. He put the hdtv power cord into the wall and thing using a small extension cord tape it together with electric tape. When I saw it , I said no.. you have to either get the powerbridge kit or install another outlet.
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post #19 of 28
3/22/12 at 5:35am
I know this is old, but I can't help playing.

I went to the Big Orange store looking for fluorescent lights for my garage. I thought I knew what I wanted, but I asked the guy in the aisle anyway, because I wanted to make sure. I asked whether I needed lights with electronic or magnetic ballasts since they were going to be in an unheated space. He said I needed electronic ballasts. Correct answer, A+.

However, he went on to say that I needed electronic ballasts because MAGNETS don't work when they freeze. So the magnetic ballasts wouldn't work when it got cold out. I think the look of shock on my face must have tipped him off. He didn't offer anymore advice after that.
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post #20 of 28
3/22/12 at 7:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by atrix415 View Post

I have to bring this back to life. I have an installer (old school guy) which did the exact same thing. He put the hdtv power cord into the wall and thing using a small extension cord tape it together with electric tape. When I saw it , I said no.. you have to either get the powerbridge kit or install another outlet.

lol wow, just... wow. Mike Holmes would have a field day tearing into houses with installations like that. "Take it all down!"
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post #21 of 28
3/22/12 at 9:16am
I think I'd make a fortune selling CL2-rated 6 ft extension cords. I could package them with a couple LV rings, 2 single gang pass-through scoops, and charge $40 for it.

Though I'm sure there is some wording in the NEC (written by electricians) that nixes that idea.
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post #22 of 28
3/22/12 at 9:40am
I have two favorites.

When I asked the man in the orange apron where the electrical box extenders were he asked why I needed them. I said because I have two layers of drywall for a soundproof home theater. His response, "why not just use fiberglass insulation.

Second is when I asked how many square feet a quart of paint will cover. Woman in the orange apron said "well how big is the room?" I told her 8' x 5'. Her response was that a quart of paint will have no problem covering 40 square feet. I tried to tell her that those dimensions were for the floor and that there were four walls so the part that the paint has to cover is way more than that. She then proceeded to argue with me and say no, it's based on the room square footage so I'll be fine. Needless to say I bought a gallon.
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post #23 of 28
3/22/12 at 10:00am
Rule of thumb is 400 sf of wall coverage per gallon of paint. So for 2 coats you need a gallon per 200 sf of wall space. 8' x 5' room with 8' ceilings should have right at 208 sf of wall space, not accounting for doors and windows. Was that gallon enough for you?
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post #24 of 28
3/22/12 at 11:25am
Yup it was enough. It's a bathroom in the basement so the ceilings were only 7 feet. The quart would have certainly not been enough though.
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post #25 of 28
3/22/12 at 1:10pm
I think this belongs here, even though it wasn't me who took the picture.

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post #26 of 28
3/23/12 at 6:46am
Here is my experience... Last summer i was looking for a television and went to the local BB store... After viewing tvs i went to the magnolia and the guy there demoed me a Sharp PJ (Dont know the model no. Ryt now but its price was around 5K).. I asked him about the specs and he says "its HD, and it is cost economical coz with most consumer projectors u need to change bulb within 2000 hours but this one has a lamp life of 30000 hours" Yup no typo.. 30K hours he said.... Had a nice loook at him, smiled and left.....
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post #27 of 28
3/23/12 at 6:47am
you sure it wasn't an LED or laser-based unit with an actual 30K hour life?
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post #28 of 28
3/23/12 at 11:58am
M sure it wasn't coz when i checked the specs, it said lamp life: 2000 hours.... I think those guys don't even read the product documentation....
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