Funny/sad Story About Tandy Leather...

[Bob Blea]

That by itself is a sign of hope for Tandy.

[Ferg]

I have defended Tandy many times. The business situation in the US and other parts of the world tend to define a lot of how a company, corporate or otherwise, does business. Tandy has had to buy from China, Mexico, and Lord knows where else to stay in business. Their tools aren't much any more but what they have gives and has given thousands of young and old the opportunity to delve into a craft that almost every person can learn to do. That cannot be said for Painting, computer programing among many.

I began my leather crafting 62 years ago. Tandy was in it's Heyday. Leather was high quality, tools were probably made in the US, and we had Al and Ann Stohlman among a few others. Al wasn't the best their is/was but he knew how to illustrate and write tutorials so anyone could understand them. In later life Ann became the best designer and leather crafts lady. I probably own most of the books Tandy has carried over the years. I hate attending school to learn how to do things. I devour books as though they were GOURMET Ice Cream. Frankly, I am glad those old books are still available as well as new ones I have.

You need to spend much of your life in business that is highly competitive to fully understand some of the predicament Tandy finds itself in today. I spent a large part of my life building houses. The last, almost 40 years, have been in manufacturing children's wooden furniture and toys. You haven't lived until you fight for your business life in either of those.

BTW: Last summer I visited the Cincinnati Tandy and bought some of the best leather I have ever used.

And that is my .02

ferg

[kiwican]

Well done Pogue44 for taking the time to spend with your Kid, the world needs more Dads like you!

As for Tandy, well if it wasn't for their videos i would never have tracked down a Tandy store an got myself a starter kit and embarked on, what has been for me a very much life altering experience. Yup the people in that Tandy store were sales people and not gifted leather workers like some of the people here and since that day I have found a few other places that equal or are less than what they charge and the staffed with folks whom I call leather gods due to their knowledge and willingness to share knowledge but i do owe Tandy for putting me on the path

[TinkerTailor]

I totally agree with everything you've said. Prices have gone way up while quality has gone way down. It's sad, but Tandy has turned into a corporation. No longer are they the same small town type of store where everyone is friends and it's all about the customer's happiness with their shopping experience and the products they buy. I used to work in manufacturing and I can rarely get any of the shops I worked for or did business with to buy from Tandy. They can find the same hardware or Fiebing's products or similar tools at much cheaper prices from other places. I work for Tandy and even I don't use their products that often. If you want to see how much the quality has gone down, just compare a Craftool stamp from 30 years ago to a new one. That's why people pay so much for the vintage Craftools. And I don't even mean the discontinued ones. People will pay twice as much for a used vintage Craftool even though they can get the same stamp brand new from Tandy.

The only thing I will say though, is even though some of the tools have gone down in quality, there is a lifetime warranty on all tools. If they break from normal wear and tear or are defective in any way, you can just bring it or send it to your local Tandy and they will replace it for free. And also, Tanddy does sell solid brass double cap rivets. They are item numbers 1379-11, 1381-11, and 1383-11. They also come in solid brass nickel plated.

I find it interesting that this conversation happened on the day your CEO "resigned"...........The first time i see a tandy employee agree with a negative sentiment about tandy, and it is the same day the boss quits....

[jrny4wrd]

The craziest thing is if you send a message via email, itl just go right to the store.

[Reegesc]

It's interesting how the original post generated so many comments. But then again it's ethics + money and that's sure to garner interest. I popped in this thread thinking it was going to be humorous story. As it turns out I have something to add here that I'm going to share because I so rarely have the opportunity to present my theory on over/undercharging. It take a different approach than most people. But before I explain my theory, let me preface my practice by saying I only apply this to the faceless, corporate big box stores and not at the owner/operator one man locksmith shop. Just a couple days ago my friendly neighborhood convenience store owner accidentally gave me change back on a $20 when it should have been on a $10. That was returned on the spot without even thinking about it. Then there's the other stores....

It's only happened a handful of times, but if I'm checking out and I notice I have been undercharged, I don't point it out -- I take the "savings". Now, is that unethical? Hardly. These things happen on a normal distribution. The amount and number of times you are overcharged are balanced by an equivalent amount of overcharges that you don't notice and never find out about. The way I see it, I'm just keeping the overall over/under charge in balance over a lifetime of shopping.

-- Debate Challengers Welcomed --

Edited February 16, 2016 by cseeger

[Ferg]

You are welcome to your opinion.

I don't see any difference in your two scenarios.

If I get undercharged, I don't care where, I make sure I pay the correct amount. Overcharged? Of course I am going to pursue that also.

I do not wish to get into a corporate "yay-nay" here. Why do so many folks have the idea that corporate is so wrong all the time? I admit, some times the big boys can get carried away. Do any of you realize how much is pilfered from big box stores? We visit Lowe's often, many times for small amount of plumbing fittings or screws, etc. This particular company is double bagging small product to slow down actual theft. People will take screws out of an electrical cover package and actually hang the pilfered bag back on the kiosk or shelf. The stealth in retail is unbelievable. Of course there are those that think nothing of it, "Oh they are making millions, they don't need that." I observed a gentleman, I use that loosely, sorting through smoke alarms one day. He actually opened a number of them taking one or two items from each until he had a complete product, stuffed them into his pockets and walked out. No alarm at the door since he didn't have the box. He was there for 20 minutes. I wanted to walk up and give him a big kick in the rear.

Shopping carts left in the parking lot that may be ten feet from a corral, disabled folks are excused. I have watched while folks load their car, push the cart over to the vehicle next to them, pull out and if the wind is blowing or the pavement slopes, BANG ! into someone else's property.

You are not owed anything you didn't work for or pay for, PERIOD!

ferg

Edited February 16, 2016 by 50 years leather

[Reegesc]

Not dissing corporate at all. I have an MBA, plenty of conservative academic economics training, and 25 years in Fortune 500 corporate finance. I'm pro big bidness. Also not saying anyone has been malicious or at fault. These are just accidents that happen. I'm simply applying a statistical model to a common behavior and concluding that there is no ethical misconduct in accepting a windfall just as there is no ethical misconduct by foregoing overcharges --- overcharges you don't know about, and I can assure you we all have a lot more of those than we know. The reason I made a distinction between a big corporation and a mom and pop shop is simply because I elect not to include them in the "correction pool" because I'm a softy and they would be more directly and disproportionately affected. I would and have extended that people I've hired to perform house repairs and what not -- carpenters, electricians, laborers. Corporations aren't suffering from my "correction" practice. Quite the opposite. Overcharges are pure profit.

-- More challengers please --

Edited February 16, 2016 by cseeger

[TinkerTailor]

Not dissing corporate at all. I have an MBA, plenty of conservative academic economics training, and 25 years in Fortune 500 corporate finance. I'm pro big bidness. Also not saying anyone has been malicious or at fault. These are just accidents that happen. I'm simply applying a statistical model to a common behavior and concluding that there is no ethical misconduct in accepting a windfall just as there is no ethical misconduct by foregoing overcharges --- overcharges you don't know about, and I can assure you we all have a lot more of those than we know. The reason I made a distinction between a big corporation and a mom and pop shop is simply because I elect not to include them in the "correction pool" because I'm a softy and they would be more directly and disproportionately affected. I would and have extended that people I've hired to perform house repairs and what not -- carpenters, electricians, laborers. Corporations aren't suffering from my "correction" practice. Quite the opposite. Overcharges are pure profit.

-- More challengers please --

I think a differentiation needs to be made between cash counting/overcharging/undercharging and flat out theft. Theft of product hurts everyone. Mistakes at the till probably do balance out in the long run. The cost, if there is one, is small compared to the cost to pursue the money, both in man hours and reputation points.

Plus, with mistakes at the till, there is a whole grey area over what exactly, legal contract wise, a sale represents and what responsibilities each party has after the sale. Everywhere you go, filling your pockets and walking out is illegal.

Here in Canada we have got rid of the penny and they round all cash transactions to the nearest $.05. Digital transactions do not round, they are exact still. Soooo, If i save the pennies I pay cash, however if it rounds up, I pay with a card. It is petty, I know but i also know i am ahead in the rounding game........If only bythe price of a coffee at starbucks....

[Reegesc]

I think a differentiation needs to be made between cash counting/overcharging/undercharging and flat out theft. Theft of product hurts everyone. Mistakes at the till probably do balance out in the long run. The cost, if there is one, is small compared to the cost to pursue the money, both in man hours and reputation points.

Plus, with mistakes at the till, there is a whole grey area over what exactly, legal contract wise, a sale represents and what responsibilities each party has after the sale. Everywhere you go, filling your pockets and walking out is illegal.

Here in Canada we have got rid of the penny and they round all cash transactions to the nearest $.05. Digital transactions do not round, they are exact still. Soooo, If i save the pennies I pay cash, however if it rounds up, I pay with a card. It is petty, I know but i also know i am ahead in the rounding game........If only bythe price of a coffee at starbucks....

Yes, of course. I'm referring to accidental overages, underages. Theft is...well THEFT. Not much to discuss on that topic. Well, I guess you could explore what constitutes theft, but I got stuff to do. Maybe later.