> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mark J. Andy
> Sears folks now are pretty clueless. Every now and then it seems like
> they hire an older retired guy or something who has actually used tools
> before, but unfortunately it seems to be rare.
Reminds me of something funny that happened earlier this year. I was in
need of a torque wrench. I had always borrowed them in the past, but I
decided to buy my own, and went to Sears.
As I wandered the aisles, I could not find them (at least in logical places,
like with the socket and wrench sets) There were two or three employees
working the department that I could see, but they were all helping out at
the cash registers - it was pretty busy. I'm a patient person, so I got in
line to ask.
After just a moment in line, a female employee asked if I needed anything -
I probably looked odd standing in line with empty hands. She wasn't wearing
the usual hardware clothing, so I probably just hadn't noticed her working
before. She didn't know where they were, or even what they were, so she
asked one of the men at the register - they didn't know either. She was
determined to help me find them, though, and helped me search.
In trying to figure out where they might be, she was asking me what a
"torque wrench" was, what you use it for, and how you use it, and brought
out a catalog to look them up and see what they look like. She actually
seemed curious about a new tool she didn't know about before. A for effort.
Anyway, we finally found them. (I don't remember specifically where they
were, but it did not make any logical sense to me in with circular saw
blades or something) She then told me that she was the store manager (OK, I
can understand being in hardware and not knowing about a wrench now), and
said that she was really impressed with my (basic) knowledge. She pretty
much offered me a job on the spot!
The irony is that I had just finished a year-long frustrating job search,
finally was working as an engineer again. I practically had more luck
buying wrenches than I did dressing up and going to interviews!
Um, Autocross content... I bought the torque wrench to work on my Supra,
and sometimes, when it actually runs, I autocross it. :) It wasn't running
at the time, and it isn't running now. :(
- Michael McAvoy
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