Not looking good for Weber at my Lowe’s store


 
Yes, it is sad that the classic hardware store of years ago is fading away. I think Ace tries to keep a little of that feel, but its success at that varies from location to location. I lived for 7 years in Asheville, NC. There was a place that tried very hard to keep the old-time hardware look and feel, stocking some less common stuff the big box stores ignored. It was cute and everyone SAID they loved it. But they took their wallets to Lowes and Home Depot. The store closed before we moved away.

I think the story applies to a lot of things that people say they miss from the past. The internet, big box home improvement chains, Walmart, etc. have forever erased some of those old favorites permanently, and we mostly just go along with it.
 
Yep, 40 years ago, places like ACE were in every small town. Then came the big box stores crowding many of them out. Now even the big box stores are under siege as we enter another era in retailing. That is online shopping. Sure, HD and Lowes will always be needed to sell the 2x4's and bags of cement and flats of shingles, but bathroom faucets, crescent wrenches, microwaves, and many of the other items are just as easily ordered online and dropped on your front door step.
 
Just got back from Lowes they are setup for grilling season everything moved inside the store with the summer furniture stuff. They had 6 or 7 Webers on display including the new E-435 which is a beast of a grill huge however the price tag was $1,499. One thing I did not like about it was the door on the left side that stores the utensils when you went to open it the sheet metal was not smooth not enough to cut you I don't think but it would give me pause to open and close it all the time for the utensils.

No Weber pellets bear mtn and pit boss, no Smokefires think we all knew that. They had a 3 burner Charbroil commercial model which was $599 I think maybe less looked decent but like the E-435 the grates were coated cast iron that is not going to work down here have had them years ago nothing but trouble.

What was really interesting is and I don't remember seeing one last year was a Weber Traveler had not seen one in the flesh very nice looking but it was on clearance for $279 had that sticker on it so I assume they won't be carrying that either.

For you pellet heads for 1k they had this which boasted it would go to 650 with an improved auger design or whatever again no nothing about these things. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Oklahoma-Joe-s-OKJ-Rider-900-Pellet-Grill/5005332517

I need to get to HD this week and will report back but my guess is they are good to go also.
 
We have a local, or once was, depends on how you look at it,hardware store called McLendons hardware. One about 3 miles away and another about 15 miles. Absolutely great service and a very knowledgeable staff. Till they sold out to a Japanese company. Still 1000% better than the Home Depot that I drive past to get there.
 
Anyone go to a True Value?

We had one but closed up two? years ago. Still have Ace's scattered around Chicagoland but less than there used to be. I'll gladly go to the small stores if I know they'll have what I'm looking for, but i I'm not sure I'd rather hit a HD, etc. since they'll have the bigger selection.

Nice to see that Ace has kept up - you can order online for delivery/ship to store, etc.
 
Here it’s more a function of time and population density. We have mom and pops up to Big Box. So you have something within 2 miles or 10 minutes that covers 99% of your needs. The smaller stores are in neighborhoods with lots of apartments and small businesses.

The interesting thing is no competition survives within a mile of a Home Depot or Lowes
 
We have one old fashioned hardware store in town. A cool old place with lots of nooks and crannies, and strange and interesting stuff. With regard to items they stock that are at Lowes or Home Depot, one pays a bit more at the local place, but that's a tax I'm happy to pay to support them staying in business. So I look there first.

I love most of all their fastener department. Isles and isles of every kind of fastener imaginable plus cotter pins, brackets, angle irons, etc. I love also that I can find almost any fuse and buy just one. They've got a great rental department. Rather than have a chain saw in the garage, almost never used and impossible to start once every three years, can rent one that's ready to go for a day or three.
 
Roy-Parallax said:
We have one old fashioned hardware store in town. A cool old place with lots of nooks and crannies, and strange and interesting stuff. With regard to items they stock that are at Lowes or Home Depot, one pays a bit more at the local place, but that's a tax I'm happy to pay to support them staying in business. So I look there first.

I love most of all their fastener department. Isles and isles of every kind of fastener imaginable plus cotter pins, brackets, angle irons, etc. I love also that I can find almost any fuse and buy just one. They've got a great rental department. Rather than have a chain saw in the garage, almost never used and impossible to start once every three years, can rent one that's ready to go for a day or three.
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I too am happy to pay that tax. I have actually had Home Depot employees turn and walk away from me after I made eye contact with them and walking towards them. Won’t put up with that kind of customer service.
 
ChuckH said:
I too am happy to pay that tax. I have actually had Home Depot employees turn and walk away from me after I made eye contact with them and walking towards them. Won’t put up with that kind of customer service.
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Great point. Occasionally, I find someone knowledgeable and helpful at the big boxes but generally speaking, I'm lucky if I can find a flunky who knows zero. The real hardware store has real hardware guys.

Now getting everyone to wear their masks over their noses can be a challenge in those places. Both customers and workers.
 
Roy-Parallax said:
Great point. Occasionally, I find someone knowledgeable and helpful at the big boxes but generally speaking, I'm lucky if I can find a flunky who knows zero. The real hardware store has real hardware guys.

Now getting everyone to wear their masks over their noses can be a challenge in those places. Both customers and workers.
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Be patient everyone. Take a few moments with the Home Depot guys/gals and provide them their on-the-job training.

I'm not completely kidding. Knowledge sharing can work in various directions. I recently taught a Home Depot gal that some gas ranges have electric ovens. She kept asking me "Gas or electric?" When I brought my special order concrete paint buckets to the counter to be shaken, I took a few minutes to explain to the guys there what it was, how it came out, and how to use it.
 
Scott Smith said:
Be patient everyone. Take a few moments with the Home Depot guys/gals and provide them their on-the-job training.

I'm not completely kidding. Knowledge sharing can work in various directions. I recently taught a Home Depot gal that some gas ranges have electric ovens. She kept asking me "Gas or electric?" When I brought my special order concrete paint buckets to the counter to be shaken, I took a few minutes to explain to the guys there what it was, how it came out, and how to use it.
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I understand what you are saying, and agree with you up to a point. But when an employee blatantly avoids interacting with you , and assisting you there is no amount of OJT that is going to help.
 
A lot of hardware store are hit and miss. The True Values around me have been pretty useless. There are a few scattered Ace's, but the best one closed. It used to carry absolutely every little part that you could not find other places. In the past, an HD near me used to employ active and retired tradesmen and they were often a lot of help. Lately, it is hard to find anyone on the floor just to ask directions. I do like Lowes for their delivery, pickup, assembly services. We do have one local hardware store that has managed to survive for 50 years through service and knowledge. They are a welcome dinosaur.
 
Those Bear Mountain pellets work great, but they go on sale at Tractor Supply occasionally for $8 a bag. Only bad thing about them is the bags are super weak and tear very easily, usually when you are putting them into your truck.
For political reasons, I no longer shop at Lowes, unless it's an insane clearance sale that is benefitting me and costing them money.
 
Home Depot here is in grill mode. Mix of Weber. Traeger, and Charbroil mainly.

Weber was probably the smallest footprint for grills, though they still have a lot of accessories.
 
We have Lowes/HD/Ace and a True Value (which I've never been in) in my area.
The Ace is best but has the worst hours (10-7 M-Sa) so I tend to go to HD later in the evening to avoid the rush.

Regarding Weber, very sad what has happened to that company. I look on my back patio, at my Summit Grilling center, still use my green Crate and Barrel Performer, old school black kettle, WSMs, and the original Genesis 3000. They are good products and hope they last a long time.

Then I look at my Red head 2018 kettle, made in China, and I just sold another Genesis II-6 that was also made in China. They were both flimsy, thin metal, and have soured my love for Weber.

Having a very difficult time giving them any money for products now. Will look for a new Made-in-USA brand, that might be more expensive, but better quality, exactly what Weber used to be.
 
Wes, welcome to the site.
Yah, a lot of members on this site feel much the same as you. Many of us have taken to rehabbing the older grills to give them another 25 years of great grilling service. You might want to consider doing that yourself if you find yourself needing another grill in your stable.
 
Wes D. said:
We have Lowes/HD/Ace and a True Value (which I've never been in) in my area.
The Ace is best but has the worst hours (10-7 M-Sa) so I tend to go to HD later in the evening to avoid the rush.

Regarding Weber, very sad what has happened to that company. I look on my back patio, at my Summit Grilling center, still use my green Crate and Barrel Performer, old school black kettle, WSMs, and the original Genesis 3000. They are good products and hope they last a long time.

Then I look at my Red head 2018 kettle, made in China, and I just sold another Genesis II-6 that was also made in China. They were both flimsy, thin metal, and have soured my love for Weber.

Having a very difficult time giving them any money for products now. Will look for a new Made-in-USA brand, that might be more expensive, but better quality, exactly what Weber used to be.
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No they aren’t. Short of putting calipers to them (which I have...) I can’t say there’s any difference between old and new.

I keep seeing the same regurgitated BS on here regarding the new ones being “thin” and “flimsy” and it’s simply not so. I guess guys feel the need to keep the narrative alive and be in the cool kids club or something...🤷🏻‍♂️

I just felt my 2021 kettle and compared to my ‘69/‘70 kettle. The lid is near identical thickness and weight, and the only noticeable difference in the bowl is one having one larger air vent where the other has three smaller ones, and the new feels just as solid and robust as the old.

Made up narratives are dangerous and should be avoided at all costs. And I’m not picking on you in particular, just quoting.
 
Interesting that a grilling forum can't even agree on what constitutes an identical part vs. a thinner part.

One possible explanation:

I apologize in advance if you are Chinese or take offense, but this is based on my experience working at a USA-based plant that paid us American wages to re-machine made-in-China parts (not grills - amusement park rides) that didn't always meet the specs.

Companies move operations overseas to cut costs. To realize any cost savings, however, this has to be done skillfully, because the Chinese are crafty in all kinds of ways and will do their best to get over on you if you are merely checking quality in a different language from many time zones away. I'm not saying this happened to Weber, but the Chinese could make proper parts when they know they are being checked and inferior parts when they know they aren't.
 
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