I can’t do it! I’m not that strong…
 

I went to Lowe’s today to pick up a backpack blower. There was none down low but there was several up high, but a ladder was needed.

I find one of the helpers with a red vest and tell him what I need. He grabs one of the rollaway ladders and goes up. He starts to move a box and says I can’t do it. I’m not that strong.🙄

He comes down the ladder and says he needs to get a lift to bring it down. He finds somebody else and they come look at what’s going on. The new guy says go up the ladder and grab it. We looked at each other and snickered because Mr. I’m not that strong said he didn’t feel comfortable doing it.

If he didn’t get it on the second try, I was going to climb up the shelving and get it myself.

Lucky for me, he figured out how to bring one down.

Edit: he came down the stairs as though walking down a set of stairs. I said always walk down the ladder facing it.

Long story short, are kids this wimpy? And I say kid, but he wasn’t.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1656375872.jpg

That's why you don't work in a lowes (and you've got a 930):D

To his credit, he knew his limitations. I bet he felt like a bit of a wuss and will try to step it up in due time. (I mean... at least he showed up for work in this day and age...)

From that angle, it looks like a box on top of a box, but probably an illusion from the angle.

For the record, you should have bought a STIHL from ACE hardware!!!
(It could have simply blown that blower down to you)

I'd say that he had a vagina, but it would be insulting to a bunch of women I know, and the few here on the board as well as Angela (RIP).

I bought a turbo heater this winter . It was up on the second shelf . I asked two associates for help and both declined, and said it was not their department, and they had to get someone trained on a fork truck. I asked the second guy to just give me a hand, and we will have it down in 3 seconds . He was clearly a bigger guy than I was , He said he did not want to hurt his back .
. I sat there amazed at how soft people are now a days. Im not a big guy , but lift and drag, and push heavy stuff around all day every day . A turbo heater weighs less than a Cayenne wheel and tire combo .
I waited till the second schlub turned the corner, then I stood up on the first shelf and pulled the damn thing down myself .
Those dudes would not make it a minute in the auto business .

The blue boxes were the blowers. I don’t know what was in the white box. either way, he could’ve moved the white box or do as he did and pick up the blue and white box together. Then move the white box off and bring the blue box down.

Edit: it’s a Husqvarna blower. Unfortunately, I needed it quick and had to buy from the big box store.

I told the guy to leave the ladder and I would grab it myself. He said oh no no no. We can’t do that and pushed it down the aisle and around the corner somewhere.

I’ve done it multiple times when nobody’s looking.

You should have gotten a woman to help and then called the other two back over to watch.

Lots of folks out there that are crappy workers. I've had folks brag to me about not working. I don't get it. But then that's why most of us are where we are and they are where they are. My son was a schmuck when he was younger, but eventually "got it" and has been bustin' his arse for many years now (Phew! Thank goodness!)

"he could’ve moved the white box or do as he did and pick up the blue and white box together"

Again... this is why you get to own nice things. Ours is a lesson in patience......:D:D:D

I struggle with this very muchly....;)

"Help, my wrist has gone limp. I can't lift it."

Anyone would think this is England.

Happened to chat a bit with a lowes manager. Said worst part of his job is that he had to fire someone for standing in the way of thieves wheeling a cart of gear out of the store...

I bet they have serious words in their training to not mess themselves up being all manly, workers comp, etc. At lowes scale it pays to hire people that have the self esteem to refuse to do stuff if they're not sure.

Profit on that blower pales in comparison to the price of an injury.

Lets not be too judgemental. The worker may have back issues or a balance issue. Lowes isn't the best place to be if that is the case but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to pay the bills. I'll give him credit for not sitting at home collecting a gomment check or living in mom and dads basement.

When I bought my kitchen sink (some may remember my thread) a month or so ago, at my local HD, I couldn't find any of the specific model I wanted on the two shelves that were accessible.

The website said they had 3 or 4 in stock.

I asked a guy working in that department for help. He looked it up and confirmed it was supposed to be in stock. He and I were looking at the very top of the pallet rack trying to locate one.

While that was going on.....I noticed a girl/young lady working down in the lumber department using an electric lift. I waved to her and after a couple exchanges she came over with her lift and came down with what I was looking for. Just like that.

As guys, we kid around about the fairer sex but make no mistake there are warrior females out there and at the same time heaps of girly men.

Especially in these box stores!!! :)

First thing you learn in construction is how to lift and carry something balanced on your shoulder. Hurts a bit at first but it seems like you eventually develop a "callous" and next thing you know sandbags, 12 foot 2x6's, cases of water, they all just transport much easier.

Guy looks like he spends too much time "game-ing" and not enough time "constructing".

Let's not even start about changing a flat tire

What do you mean RIP? I think she posted yesterday.

A couple of years ago I was at a Home Depot picking up multiple bags of marble chips and portland cement for a seawall repair. I had everything loaded onto one of those flatbed carts and had my vehicle parked near the entrance to the garden center gates so I could quickly load the rocks and cement into my vehicle a little quicker. After checking out, the female cashier followed me and helped me load the bags of rock into my vehicle and told me that guys are surprised at how strong she is!!!
She was a rather attractive young lady, redhead, very friendly and chatty, and her name was Porsha!!!

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At H.D. yesterday I was buying some 60 lb. bags of premixed cement. The bottom of the rack was already empty, so I had to get them from the upper rack. I had loaded 15 bags onto my dolly, when a young chunky guy & his wife came along. Shortly after, two H.D. guys came by & asked me to move my dolly so they could put three bags of cement onto the young guy's cart. I told them they could wait while I loaged three bags of sand from next to the cement. I did ask for and got a guy to help load everything into the back of my van. The dolly was a bit hard to push, since it had 1,050 lb. of cement & sand on it.

IMO Our young people haven't been tested.

Years ago I briefly worked as an upholsterer in a furniture factory. I was fresh out of the Army and super fit. I asked a young guy to help me move a couch and we had to lift it over our heads to clear the other pieces I was working on.... He tried but he just couldn't lift his end. This was a basic two seater couch upholstered in wool fabric so it wasn't heavy but it was somewhat awkward. His biggest problem was his lack of skill. You could see he had never done anything like that before.

Yep. I laugh at so many of the young guys. So soft and weak. They need a summer or two on a ranch/farm (although it is getting where a lot of that is automated now too).

I can still do heavy manual labor all day and am no spring chicken. Yep, I am sore and tired at night when I do, but it soon goes away the next day when you do it again. I recently did a couple of months of that and felt 10 years younger afterwards (the first few days were challenging).

I'd bought a whole load of 2 metre X 1 metre sheets of glass and asked a friend to help me move them. I had the proper glass hand suction clamps. After one or two he said he had a sore back and left :( Over the next few weeks he complained about his sore back to make me feel in debt to him or something. Then he asked me how I got them moved. I said "I'm stronger than the two of us put together, I moved them myself LOL" That shut him up.

The trick is don't stop... My mother is 84 and she's slowing down but I'm always encouraging her to get out of the house. If I didn't nag her I'm sure she'd spend most of the day laying on the couch.

It’s true. There are a lot of weak, unskilled, dumb, and unmotivated people.

A group of DIY Porsche folks can probably kick most of their azzes.

Well lets see. The Husqvarna 570BTS 66-cc 2-cycle weighs 24.5 pounds fully assembled. The Husqvarna 150BT 51-cc 2-cycle weighs 22.5 pounds fully assembled. Add a 3-4 pounds for box, packing etc.



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1656396058.jpg

Fixed your typo for you :D

Laneco - Angela Sep 2021.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/1102514-we-lost-amazing-woman-yesterday.html

It's up to us as Men to teach younger men how to do stuff. (And women if they want to learn Manly stuff)

One summer between college I worked with a roofer. This was a very physical job, to say nothing of the heat component. But those guys were the opposite of this Lowes fellow. The owner once told me he’d give me $100 if I could carry 3 bundles of shingles up the ladder to the roof. A bundle was 80lbs and we did those all day, but I hadn't seen anyone even try 2 at a time. So I threw one over my shoulder and had another guy add the second one, and made it up OK, but I knew 3 was going to be a real thing. After a breather I had them load me up with 3 (so 240lbs)… I took maybe three rungs and was like no way; the ladder was bowing and my legs were shot and I just realized “this is nuts” and I bailed. The owner Joey just laughed and said he knew the $100 was safe.

As I said, a far cry from what Rocket experienced. Lol

I was at one of the big box stores and looking at the outdoor lighting fixtures. An "associate" was talking to some lady and just telling her everything wrong. It was some simple plumbing part for a toilet. I doubt the employee had ever done more than flush a toilet after use. Had I still been single, I would have offered to help her more, but I was and still am very happily married.

Shoot, I think the heaviest ladder cert these days is 375#, so that would have left only 135# for you. I'm sure that with an appropriately sturdy ladder, you could have done it, maybe after a bit of strengthening and practice with 2 packs. I assume the ladders have a margin built in, but I wouldn't want to test the margin, especially when carrying 240# up a ladder.

My wife likes to ask folks at stores technical questions, whether the store is a HD/Lowes or a random goods store. We'll be at a store that sells imported home goods, and she'll ask employees "what kind of wood is this made of?"

The days of getting good advice at HD and Lowes are mostly long gone. I never ask any more.

I will say this ...I have trouble carrying one of those on my back for more than half an hour without taking a break.

Sort of similar story to GSXRKN.

I am 18. Get a summer job at Reynolds Aluminum in the cast house. It is 120F inside due to all the molten aluminum. So, pretty hot. Just a nasty environment all around.

A total douche bag had the nickname of "Piece of Cake" as that was his response to virtually every question. He took a 16# sledge hammer, extended his arm and moved the hammer from vertical to touching his nose back to vertical. No possible way I could do that...until I had been swinging the sledge for hours on end all summer long.

The Aluminum Mill Workout made me pretty ripped for a while.

Had the pleasure of working with a fellow who did some mentoring of me when I was much younger.

We discussed work ethic philosophies on a regular basis.

One of his mantras, which I have never forgotten: "Stay in motion."

So damn true......

All you folks hating because one of those guys didn't just "yank it down like a man" should really take a minute and consider this...

I assure you, Lowes has an extensive Back Safety and Lifting policy.

At my job ( not Lowes, btw ), we are not to lift anything over 35 lbs alone. We have strict guidelines and tools to assist when needed.

And we take annual courses that reiterate that quite thoroughly.

If someone bypasses the guidelines and gets injured, it'd be a tough road to get their insurance or Workman Comp to cover it.

Back in 2004, I did just that. Ruptured L5-S1 and after many emails, discussions and other one-way conversations, it was covered.

But one thing is certain, I WILL not bypass the process again. I don't care who has to wait for my help to arrive.

And re the way he descended the ladder, that's the way it's done onboard seagoing ships.

My first job after HS was at a feed mill. Almost all the bags of ingredients were hundred pounders.

You learn quickly how to use your own weight to your advantage.
I never hurt my back with those weights....but I did a few times when extending my arms with small weights.

I was never over 150 lbs.myself.

I wouldn’t expect everybody to be a hulk that can pick up hundreds of pounds but working in a home improvement department store, I would think 25 pounds would be OK for a healthy young person. From his demeanor and talking, it seem like the heaviest thing he picked up was a game controller.


A couple years ago I went to Lowe’s to pick up about 50 or more 16 inch stepping stones (1500 lbs). After loading up the cart, I could barely move it to the register and to the truck, which I parked up close. Then I had to lift each one into the back of my truck. I pinched my one of my fingers and gave myself a huge blood blister. Used a piece of paper towel and some painters tape to make a bandage.

I was 60 at the time and try to keep active, picking up stuff all day long on construction sites. Several times I have worn out people half my age.

Ah ha, a very sensitive girl aren't you LOL

I feel like I've had seen job reqs that specified "able to lift 50#" But I'm not sure that they could say that at HD/Lowes since they hire old folks, young folks, women, men, etc...

You are just too easy ;)

Let me guess. I'll put my armature phycologist's hat on and think about the very strange you. Umm, something unspeakable happened to you as a little boy at boarding school and you never really quite got over it?