The myth of local service

As many of you, we've had a construction project going on at our camp this summer. We've tried to shop locally as much as possible.. Price differences and even limited product selection are the lesser part of the problem. Mostly, it's been about service.
We've shopped for appliances and building fixtures at two owner-operated stores and in one of a two-store business.
When the delivery guys brought the appliances three weeks ago, they were apologetic that the mounting kit for our washer-dryer wasn't on the truck. The store would call us on Monday, they told us, to let us know when we could pick up the part.
Did I mention that that was three weeks ago?
Sandra had stopped by the store one recent Wednesday and discovered it dark and locked. She wondered if they'd gone out of business. When we talked that evening, I remembered that they were closed on Wednesdays.
"How did you know that?" she asked. "There weren't any signs with store hours or anything."
The owner had mentioned it during one of our previous purchases.

On Saturday, in spite of outward appearances, the store was open. We brought the receipt and repeated what the delivery crew had told us. The owner and the sales clerk were puzzled. The receipt didn't show a mounting kit. We repeated what the delivery guys has said, that they didn't have the kit, but that the store would call us.
"They don't know anything," said the owner. "They just do deliveries."
The owner told us that they didn't have the part.
"We need it so that the carpenters can finish the work around the washer and dryer," we said.
"What he meant," said the clerk, "is that we don't have it in the store, that we'd have to order it."
Uh, ok.
The owner and clerk went to check a floor model to confirm something. While we were waiting, we noticed that the Open sign was hanging on a bulletin board.

 

Thinking that they might have forgotten to hang the sign, Sandra took the sign from the bulletin board and hung it on the hook on the door, showing that the store was open.
"We don't hang that sign on the door," said the owner.
Sandra mentioned that she'd come to the store on a previous Wednesday and there was no sign.
"We're closed on Wednesday," said the owner.
They did have the part on a floor model, but they couldn't give us that one because then they wouldn't have one.
The part would be in on Tuesday (because of the holiday), after lunch. That wouldn't be good enough, though, because Sandra could only be there mornings. Wednesday? Wait, no, they're closed on Wednesday, remember?
The clerk was helpful. She gave us the parts catalog that contained the schematics, gently elbowing the owner off toward something else. The builder could use the schematics to get the final dimensions.
We know the owner at one of  the fixture store. Sandra went to the store and asked for the owner. He wasn't in and they weren't sure when he'd be in. Sandra left a note, asking for a phone call follow-up. The sales guy talked to Sandra for a few minutes. While they were reviewing items in a catalog, the sales guy went over to another customer and didn't return. Sandra left. We're still waiting for the phone call.
At the other fixtures store, we've learned that one of the sales people, Meaghan, is marvelous. The other does a good job of  making us ask for Meaghan. After an unpleasant go-round on a purchase that we learned, at the end of the sale, would take at least four weeks to deliver, we cancelled the order.
When we go to Home Depot, we have a pretty good idea of what we'll get. We find people who have been trained in the basics of customer service. Most  are knowledgeable or are willing to get help on something they don't know. Yes, there are people who are cranky or bored or just not cut out for the work. They don't usually last long. They aren't the only ones in the store. They won't argue with you. They won't walk away when you're ready to spend money.