Quail Plaza

Plans have been submitted for a 15,300 square foot Norick's True Value Hardware in Quail Plaza on the northeast corner of Hefner and N. May.

True Value is a retail cooperative whereby the members participate in joint advertising but otherwise it's a pretty loose affiliation.

The new store will take a big chunk of space directly north of Dollar Tree in a center that has otherwise stayed well leased.

Quail Plaza is owned by Morris Enterprises, the same group that owns Northpark Mall.


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/quailplaza2.jpg



http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/truevalue1.jpg



http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/truevalue2.jpg

If you would have told me 20 years ago that Laser Quest would still be open today I would have lost a lot of money.

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Originally Posted by worthy cook

If you would have told me 20 years ago that Laser Quest would still be open today I would have lost a lot of money.

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They do a pretty good business with kids' parties. They also have it down to a pretty good science, getting those parties in and out to really stack them up back to back.

signage is already up for this location and they're doing interior work by the looks of things. Saw it the other day on my way to old school bagel. Wonder how much this will compete with the True Value on Britton just east of Penn

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Originally Posted by Johnb911

signage is already up for this location and they're doing interior work by the looks of things. Saw it the other day on my way to old school bagel. Wonder how much this will compete with the True Value on Britton just east of Penn

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The one on Britton is Ace Hardware, and that's my usual go-to for quick pick ups since I live in The Village. I'm looking forward to having a True Value even closer to my house, though. Any indication of when they'll be ready to open?

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Originally Posted by barrettd

The one on Britton is Ace Hardware, and that's my usual go-to for quick pick ups since I live in The Village. I'm looking forward to having a True Value even closer to my house, though. Any indication of when they'll be ready to open?

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oh duh. my bad

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Originally Posted by Johnb911

oh duh. my bad

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I actually thought they were the same company until very recently. Very similar branding.

I still love old-school hardware stores because when you really need help with a project or need one small part, those places are really the place to go.

Rather than wandering the big box stores trying to find a worker there who does all they can to keep their heads down and avoid contact. Then when you finally pin someone down, they make it obvious you are pulling them away from something else they would prefer to be doing.

In California, we had OSH (Orchard Hardware) and unless I was doing a huge project that required a ton of building materials, OSH was my place. They had a whole squad of mainly older dudes who were awesome.

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Originally Posted by Pete

Rather than wandering the big box stores trying to find a worker there who does all they can to keep their heads down and avoid contact. They when you finally pin someone down, they make it obvious you are pulling them away from something else they would prefer to be doing.

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I've noticed that when I know exactly what I need and where to go every employee in the store will ask if they can help me. When I actually need some help they are nowhere to be found.

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Originally Posted by OK BBQ Eater Anonymous

I've noticed that when I know exactly what I need and where to go every employee in the store will ask if they can help me. When I actually need some help they are nowhere to be found.

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I live very near the Lowes at 39th & May and go in there at least a couple of times a month. I'm sure I've been in there close to 50 times.

I bet I've been offered help 2 or 3 of those 50 visits. And Lowes is usually better about this than Home Depot.

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Originally Posted by Pete

I live very near the Lowes at 39th & May and go in there at least a couple of times a month. I'm sure I've been in there close to 50 times.

I bet I've been offered help 2 or 3 of those 50 visits. And Lowes is usually better about this than Home Depot.

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It's rare but I actually had a girl in power tools spend almost 30 minutes looking for a grinder their POS said they had 2 of in stock at the Lowe's in Ardmore a few weeks ago. I was impressed because I'm used to getting a grunt and a finger point in some general direction.

^^^^^^^^
It's so foreign to me, because I worked in the first generation of these types of stores - I was on the opening crew of the Builder's Square at NW 36th and May in '86 - and customer service was HEAVILY stressed by management. People with experience in the trades were compensated much better than someone walking in off of the street, and we were all over people when they came in.

By the way prior to that I also worked at the old-school Payless Cashways in Edmond, and after I left Builder's Square I worked for Big L briefly before going to work for commercial/builder-focused lumber and then hardware/fixture companies. Other than the configuration of the stores being different (warehouse vs traditional lumberyard), there was pretty much no difference between the customer service approach at Payless, Big L and Builder's Square. All of those places stressed it and lived by it. So when I go to a place like Home Depot or Lowe's these days and give it any thought, it is weird that customer service is so difficult to find when you look for it. The death of customer service has really hit that industry hard. Fortunately I already know where everything in those places is, know what it is used for, and know how to use it, so I pretty much never need help. :)

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Originally Posted by Pete

I still love old-school hardware stores because when you really need help with a project or need one small part, those places are really the place to go.

Rather than wandering the big box stores trying to find a worker there who does all they can to keep their heads down and avoid contact. Then when you finally pin someone down, they make it obvious you are pulling them away from something else they would prefer to be doing.

In California, we had OSH (Orchard Hardware) and unless I was doing a huge project that required a ton of building materials, OSH was my place. They had a whole squad of mainly older dudes who were awesome.

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They just opened an OSH in East Hollywood. Beautiful store. There is another one close to 3rd and La Brea I used to pass but never went in. I’ll need to check them out.

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Originally Posted by OK BBQ Eater Anonymous

It's rare but I actually had a girl in power tools spend almost 30 minutes looking for a grinder their POS said they had 2 of in stock at the Lowe's in Ardmore a few weeks ago. I was impressed because I'm used to getting a grunt and a finger point in some general direction.

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I had the same kind of experience at the Ace on Britton. I found a tool cabinet on sale on their website, which said the store had a few left. I went to the store and couldn't find it anywhere. A young man asked if I needed help and he ended up in the back for about ten minutes. He brought out the wrong cabinet at first, and went back to look for another ten minutes or so. Finally brought out the right cabinet and cheefrully asked if he could help with anything else. The staff is great at that store. I'm just looking forward to having another store even closer to me. I like having options!

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Originally Posted by Pete

I still love old-school hardware stores because when you really need help with a project or need one small part, those places are really the place to go.

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Originally Posted by barrettd

I had the same kind of experience at the Ace on Britton. I found a tool cabinet on sale on their website, which said the store had a few left. I went to the store and couldn't find it anywhere. A young man asked if I needed help and he ended up in the back for about ten minutes. He brought out the wrong cabinet at first, and went back to look for another ten minutes or so. Finally brought out the right cabinet and cheefrully asked if he could help with anything else. The staff is great at that store. I'm just looking forward to having another store even closer to me. I like having options!

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Seconded. The Ace on Britton has always been above and beyond when I've needed to go in and actually talk to someone about a problem. I wouldn't say I'm the handiest person on the block, but I still try to do what I can when it comes to home repairs/improvements. I appreciate that I've never been made to feel stupid when I go there with questions. People are patient and helpful.

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Originally Posted by Pete

I live very near the Lowes at 39th & May and go in there at least a couple of times a month. I'm sure I've been in there close to 50 times.

I bet I've been offered help 2 or 3 of those 50 visits. And Lowes is usually better about this than Home Depot.

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Weird, I live near there and went there and Home Depot on 59th/May quite often while we were moving in, and almost everybody at both stores was very helpful with what I needed. Albeit sometimes I had to walk a few aisles down to find somebody, but when I did, they helped me out and knew where things were (gave me free-of-charge a small amount of wire to convert my dryer from a 3-prong to a 2-prong plug one time).

Yes I would agree that the 39th and May Lowe’s is probably the easiest of the home centers in which to find assistance. I’ll still take the product/trades knowledge at a place like Ace over theirs, however. Related: I miss the downtown Fastenal.

One thing I really like about that Lowes is that you can look something up on-line, then their website gives you the aisle and bin #.

Other stores have something similar but for the most part, the Lowe's info is pretty accurate.

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Originally Posted by Pete

One thing I really like about that Lowes is that you can look something up on-line, then their website gives you the aisle and bin #.

Other stores have something similar but for the most part, the Lowe's info is pretty accurate.

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Yep... Used that function at the Ardmore store when I couldn't find anyone that knew where the square metal tubing was. Very handy!

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Originally Posted by Pete

One thing I really like about that Lowes is that you can look something up on-line, then their website gives you the aisle and bin #.

Other stores have something similar but for the most part, the Lowe's info is pretty accurate.

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Yes, and that will never happen at Ace, I don't think. Their shelves/prices/tags are a hot mess.

Drove by this weekend and they've got a small flyer up promoting their grand opening festivities on March 23-24. Looked in the window and they've got a good selection of pellet grills right up front. Looking forward to visiting this store.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/truevalue042218.jpg

It's a great store, in my opinion. I went opening weekend, and former OKC mayor Ron Norick helped me pick out some plumbing repair supplies. The staff is very friendly, and they stock a good variety of merchandise. As much as I'd like to keep my tax dollars in The Village, this is my new favorite hardware store. Maybe Ace will be inspired to freshen things up a bit.