Wizard of Draws wrote:

If clients only wanted bare bones, there would be no market for mom &
pop hardware stores, Home Depot and Lowes would be all that we need. But
smart mom and pop hardware stores _do_ thrive in the neighborhoods of
many of the big boxes, by providing the level of service that HD/Lowes
is unable to.

Are you kidding? At least around here Home Depot and Lowe's hires
plumbers for the plumbing department and electricians for the electrical
and lighting departments, etc. Go to the Mom and Pop shops like Ace and
Hardware Hank and if you don't get the owner you'll get some high school
kid and you'll be lucky if he knows where the plumbing aisle is. If I
know what I want I'll go to Ace, because it's closer. And I'll pay more
by the way. If I need help I'll stick with Lowe's and HD.