A Salute To Things Orchard Supply Hardware Does Right

     As noted in the South San Francisco Patch, Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH) field for bankruptcy on Monday, June 17th. Lowe’s has agreed to purchase the assets of Orchard Supply, and reportedly will keep some Orchard Supply Stores open under the Orchard Supply name.  At least for now the South San Francisco OSH will remain open.

     I am genuinely sorry to see OSH go under.  I have been a customer of the OSH Store in South San Francisco for many years.  I feel they have always gotten a lot of things right about how to do business with the public.  I haven’t always felt the same way about my experiences with the other local paint and hardware businesses.  That being the case, I would like to offer this unsolicited advice to Lowe’s about what OSH does right:

     They put the customer first.  During all the years I have been a customer at OSH the staff has always made me feel welcomed.  Quite often there has been someone in proximity to the door to greet customers coming in and asking if they need help finding something.  I have never experienced such graciousness at any other local hardware store I have been in.  The staff will direct me to the items I am looking for with a smile on their faces.  Virtually every time the sales associate will personally walk me over to where the item is and ask if I have any other questions before they take their leave.

     I have never had someone at OSH look at me like I am stupid or not worthy of respect because I do not understand- let’s say- plumbing supplies.  Every time I have needed help with something outside my area of competence I have always respectfully gotten that help.  Usually an empathetic statement or two about how challenging home repairs can be will be thrown in.  This is so artfully done that I feel, at least for awhile, that the sale associate and I are in the thick of this gnarly problem together.

     You can always find someone to help you at OSH.  I have been in cavernous home repair and building supply businesses where it is possible to walk every isle of the store looking for a sales clerk to help you without finding one.  There are clerks at the registers to take your money, but no one you can find to give you advice if you need it.  I have always been able to easily find someone to help me at OSH.  A few times they needed to finish helping someone else first, but when they came to help me they really seemed interested in my needs and as if helping me was important to them.

     It is a right size store.  Some people like big warehouse style businesses.  I do not.  It is uncomfortable for me to be in a warehouse with supplies stacked and towering above my head.  It feels much more friendly and right sized to me if I can personally reach everything that is on the shelves and there are not plastic wrapped crates looming above my head.  For the relatively modest home repair and gardening tasks I take on the OSH in South San Francisco is right sized for me.  Big enough to have anything I might need, but not a warehouse I can go on a major hiking expedition through without finding what I am looking for.

     The Garden Shop has fresh, healthy plants- and great gardening advice.  The plants OSH offers offer gardeners a diverse bounty of healthy fruits, vegetables, flowers and trees.  I have always found the staff in this department to be knowledgeable about gardening.   Very importantly, they understand the gardening challenges of growing plants in South San Francisco, and can and will discuss with customers which plants are most likely to grow well in our foggy weather, and how to best care for them.  I have went other places locally to look at their plants, and have counted myself lucky to find a sales associate checking people out, let alone being willing and able to address local gardening concerns.

     And out the door!  At check-out I have always found the prices fair and the staff willing to help- even as I am going out the door.  The sales associates at the registers are always friendly and ask me if I found everything I need.  They comment about how pretty the flowers I am buying are, or comment on what kind of project I going to be working on- such as “Putting in some planters today, heh?  It’s a good day for it, and I bet they will look great!”  Then, having made me feel better about my purchases than perhaps I did before check-out, they ask me if I would like help out to my car and invite me to come back again soon.

     Conclusion.  Because the staff routinely have such good attitudes at South San Francisco OSH, the customers seem to be in a pretty good mood too.  It feels like an upbeat place to come and visit.  It is easy, if stretching it a bit, to imagine that one is part of the family at OSH.  I have never felt that way at the other local hardware and garden shops.

     So, Lowe’s:  Please don’t try to make OSH South San Francisco become more like your store.  I am hoping that you will take a look at all the things they do right and make Lowe’s perhaps bit more like OSH.