Subject: Re: Tool salesmen

From: Charles Lamont <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 1995 23:46:34 GMT

Its the good ones I remember.  The clueless are so commonplace.

Until the proprietor retired a few years ago, there was a really 
excellent old-fashioned ironmongers near us.  Board floors, counter 
service, with a huge roll of thick glossy brown paper at one end,
wooden drawers to the high ceiling behind the counter. It was not 
large, but they had everything, and if they hadn't they would order it 
for you.

C: (with low expectation, not knowing the place well yet)
               "I would like an eye bolt, please."

Assistant: (f) "Yes sir.  We have four inch, six inch or eight.
                Would you like plain steel, black japanned, 
                galvanised, stainless or aluminium-bronze?"

 --
 Charles

---

From: [email-masked]
Date: 11 Aug 1995 08:40:32 -0400

[email-masked] (Alan Frisbie) wrote:

>
>In article 
><[email-masked]>, 
>[email-masked] (Steve Rayner) writes:
>

>
>It turned out that she was a laid-off aerospace 
>engineer who  had taken the job just to keep food on 
>the table.   We had a  wonderful conversation about my 
>project.   I was carrying  Kurt Schreckling's turbine 
>book (in German) and showed it to  her.   She could 
>read German, and clearly would have loved to  spend the 
>rest of the day reading and discussing it.
>
>Unfortunately, clerks like this are few and far 
>between.
>
>--  Alan E. Frisbie               
>[email-masked]  --  Flying Disk Systems, Inc.
>--  4759 Round Top Drive          (213) 256-2575 
>(voice)  --  Los Angeles, CA 90065         (213) 
>258-3585 (FAX)  

Is it so unfortunate that there are not more laid off aerospace 
engineers working as clerks at hardware stores to keep food on 
the table? I am glad to hear you got good service - but 
realocating aerospace engineering talent in this manner is as 
much a sad commentary on the business as poorly informed 
clerks.

Just a thought - mine, for what it's worth.
Bill Nadeau [email-masked]