Discount Builders Supply

08/11/08

Conveniently located and I like the fact that there are people there to help me.

by jpimentel

Discount Builders is conveniently located and I like the fact that there are people there to help me if I have a question. They have a wide selection of building materials and their hours are far superior from local hardware stores near my neighborhood.

If I go in the middle of the day, parking is a little bit congested, but this is the only place I've found to sell a $40 pedestal sink, which is an excellent deal for my rental units.

07/30/08

DBS and my 15 years of experience with them.

by Oftenlucid

I am a contractor (hence the spelling) and use many hardware store. I have found everyone at DBS, from the General Manager, who I know on a first name basis, to the stock clerks, to be very, very helpful. Most of the employees know their area, electrical, plumbing, paint, doors and windows, kitchens, very well and have given me nothing but good advice. They also know when to say "I don't know, maybe "X" could help you", or send me to a larger specialty contractor supply. I also manage a building and buy refrigerators from DBS. One of my refrigerators went bad and I called DBS to ask about repair. They had a replacement refrigerator on a truck and in front of my building within two hours. The sad part is I forgot we bought the refrigerator from Best Buy and sheepishly told them that. Besides some well deserved ribbing, there were no hard feelings. Now, when I tried to get Best Buy to make good on repairing the refrigerator I spent at least 6 hours on the phone being bounced back from department to department and then they said it was the manufacturers fault. Long story short, after 6 repair attempts and a lot of finger pointing the refrigerator still sits in my basement broken. We ended up buying one from DBS. This is an old established business and is run by people who care about the hardware trade. They have a large selection for most home repair needs and kick *ss on Home Depot or most other hardware stores for customer support and you can actually find someone to talk with who knows what they are talking about. Plus, once you get to know them, they are really great people.

• Pros:  Customer service, Selection, Locally owned company, Good employees, Parking.
• Cons: Could give discounts on charge accounts, Phil's hair.

07/12/08

Another viewpoint

by Fruktoes

I'm a DBS employee. I've got a few things to say about the "Humanity" post.

Without even trying, I can think of eleven employees who've had extended or recurring health-related leaves from this company, and had their jobs waiting for them when they got back. Some of these people have had multiple cases of long-term absences. I've found the company to be very involved and concerned with the health and safety of their employees. When someone does come back from pregnancy, illness, or operations, DBS makes sure they ramp back up slowly and don't over-extend themselves. I've seen it over and over.

The guy posting this "Humanity" rant was popular, skilled, outgoing, and a hard worker. He made big contributions. He made a place for himself at DBS. He had a steady job with overtime, health insurance, retirement benefits, paid holidays, paid vacation, and plenty of free autonomy within the company.

He also came here with past issues related to . . . well, I won't go into details. He claimed to have worked through these issues. Unfortunately, these problems started manifesting again. Other people had to make up for his shortfalls. The issues of his life started bleeding into his work life. It created problems.

Look, I'd be the first person to expose "The Man" if "The Man" deserved to be whistle-blown. Discount Builders Supply is not "The Man." It's a bunch of hard working people who do their best to take good care of their customers. I see it goin' on over there every day. We can't always provide everything that everyone needs, but we do our best.

I know "Humanity" is all uptight about his situation, but people have a way of contributing to their own problems. I wish things had worked out with him, and I hope he does well in his next endeavor. But view this "Humanity" rant with a healthy dose of skepticism.

• Pros: Parking, but needs more. Dedicated employees, Benefits, Customer service, stock
• Cons: Parking can get crowded, staff may get stretched thin during rushes