One Cool Place
As dive store owners and managers, we often have more to take care of than just dive equipment. Whether we lease or own it, there is also a building we need to care for. This means we need light bulbs, electrical fixtures, hardware, tools, cleaning supplies and safety equipment.
Last year, while working as manager of a dive store in the Chicago suburbs, I found myself having to replace bulbs and starter ballast in several 30-year-old light fixtures. As a prior resident of a small town in north-central Florida, I would have tried my luck at the local Ace Hardware and, if that did not pan out, made the 25-mile trek to the closest Home Depot. Being as I was now in the Big City, I knew there had to be other options.
“Just call Grainger,” the owners told me. I was familiar with the name from the large, multi-volume catalogs that sat on a shelf at Dive Rite. Our nearest Grainger location in north Florida, however, was 90 miles away in Jacksonville — not exactly convenient.
In the Chicago suburbs, however, there were several Grainger locations nearby — one just ten minutes away. With one phone call, I had the supplies I needed ordered and awaiting pickup. (Was that easy, or what?) I later learned I could have located what I wanted and placed on order on line, at Grainger.com.
The coolest part of the experience was actually visiting our local Grainger store to pick up the order. For someone like me, who gets off on tools and industrial supplies, walking into Grainger was like being a little kid and walking into Toys ’R’ Us for the first time.
I have to admit, after my first visit, I went a little crazy. I started looking around the building for things that were in need of repair, in order to have an excuse to visit Grainger again.
One thing Grainger is a very good source for is track lighting. If you are thinking about adding tis to your store (always a good idea), Grainger’s website is an excellent place to start.
Whether it’s a regulator or a faulty commercial light fixture, it’s a rare dive store owner or manager who doesn’t enjoy fixing things.
If that describes you, you have to check Grainger out. Even if there is not one close by, you can still order on line.
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