HOME GENTEM MERGHANT

Bill Fishman & Atflliates 11650 lberia Place San Diego, Ca.92128

I f' VOU have never had the opporr tunity to shop at a Home Depot, you must try it. Don't settle for the copiers. the Home Clubs, Builders Squares, Grossmans, Builder's Emporiums or any of the other imitators. The others may have cookie cut the physical appearance of the originator of the building material warehouse, the stencil letter location signing, the computerized merchandising signing, the brand names painted on the interior wall, the steel racking almost to the ceiling, the mousetrapping store layout, the membership cards, the flexie catalogs, the long store hours, the lumber carts, the service desk, the aproned employees and, of course. the merchandise mix and shelf pricing, but they miss the boat by a mile and a quarter when it comes to attitude.

I've purchaSe a variety of merchandise at home centers and lumberyards. At different times over a six-week period, I found myself buying closet organizers, circuit breakers, lawn watering supplies, furniture legs, door stops, picture hooks, drapery hardware, a staple gun, hummingbird feeders, light bulbs and a few other odds and ends for a total just short of six hundred dollars.

I also found myself talking to friends, neighbors, employees and contractors about where they shop. The consensus was pretty unanimous. Home Depot won hands down, and it wasn't for price alone.

Our local Ace Hardware store won the vote as the first stop, if you could get to the store before their early closing, the item needed was small, inexpensive and/or you could tolerate asking the advice of an uncaring clerk whose facial expression telegraphed that he hoped you would go away. Except for promotional items, we expected to pay full

"manufacturers recommended price" or more for our purchases.

The Builder's Emporium in Escondido, Ca., is one of the most physically pleasant places to shop for a variety of home needs. Much more competitive than the local hardware store, but not nearly as sharply priced as the Home Club, approximately two miles away. The selection of heavy-duty building materials is also limited by comparison. (They do not inventory 100 amp circuit breakers.) Help is visible and fairly knowledgeable.

Dixieline Lumber is undoubtedly a great place to shop for professionals, who require large orders of lumber but their selection of other materials and household needs is also limited. Help is usually available behind a counter only and customers are asked to "take a number."

Item for item, Home Club appears to have sharpest prices based upon my shopping experience and unofficial survey. My contractors tell me that the Home Club pricing was below their costs at their supply houses. Shopping Home Club, however, is a drag. Employees avoid customers. If an employee does inadvertently make eye contact with an answer-seeking customer, they refer the customer to an aisle number or informa-

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FRED CARUSO executive secretary conference and convention to be held Thursday and Friday, Nov. 5 and 6.

The program will be held at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, Co. "Outlook for the Future: How to Get There" is the theme.