visit to the local lws

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So I goto the local LWS today and walkin and tell the guy at the counter that I'm needing a CO2 regulator. He says he's never heard of using CO2 for mig and proceeds to bring me the argon mix regulator, so I tell him it's wrong one and will freeze up. This guy proceeds to ask me if I'm sure I'm using CO2? I walk out the front doors stopped and looked around, I came back in and told him I had to make sure I didn't stop at autozone and now he's really puzzled. Finally someone in the back office overhears the conversation and tells him the item number for the correct regulator. He comes back with the correct regulator and still says he's never heard of using CO2 for mig, I tell him you learn something new everyday. Anyone else sometimes think you pulled into the local autozone at the LWS?
Reply:There's a reason he's working at a counter and not welding.  A friend of mine told a LWS he had a gasless wirefeeder and needed the correct wire.  They gave him an extremely expensive roll of Lincoln L-56 SuperArc, a solid wire for MIG welding, when of course, he needed a self-shielded FC wire.If you go to an LWS and speak to anyone less than 30 years old, you better already know exactly what the heck you need.Ironically, you don't use CO2 for literal "MIG" welding, as it isn't inert, which is why the more correct term is GMAW, so we don't have to say MAG welding, which almost caught on, but of course he didn't know that and was just an ignoramous.
Reply:The more I learn, the more I am disappointed by the people around me...   JLP.
Reply:Originally Posted by hytekredneck I walk out the front doors stopped and looked around, I came back in and told him I had to make sure I didn't stop at autozone and now he's really puzzled.
Reply:Yep, I walked into an Airgas store a few weeks ago and asked for some fine cut accessories for a hypertherm plasma cutter. The guy told me they sold all the consumables that were made for the plasma cutters and they did not make any fine cut ones. I told him really you can buy them on their web site, he told me maybe I had better go to their website to buy them! I did received them in about 2-days! I felt like the guy in Airgas should have at least looked to see if he could get them but his airigance (sp) wasn't good!  Some of those guys need to have a little schooling on how to deal with customers. It might have been a different story if the store would have been loaded with customers and the salesman would have been busy but this was not the case. I was the only customer in the store.
Reply:They are just collecting the hourly paycheck.  Now if they were on part commission I bet they would have found it.I am surprised how many people just do not want to help customers anymore..  It sas what has become of the retail stores.  I get better phone support when I am looking to order online that I do in an actual store now days...Build a Barstool Racer at BarFlyRacers.com!
Reply:I use C02 as my shielding gas on my MIG. I learned about it from a profesional machinist and welder friend of mine. He likes the economy and penetration it gives and now so do I, after using it for several years.  I have two Smiths Flowmeters. One is rated for Argon/Helium/C02 and I use that on my TIG with the glass set for Argon. The outer glass rotates. The other one is a slightly different model marked for Argon and C02. I use that on the MIG. It has a fixed glass or plastic tube that has two scales. I've yet to freeze that up using C02. It will get condensation on it but it continues to work. Don't be surprised if that counter man isn't working at the local Mickey D's next time you go there for a snack. Ha.
Reply:Originally Posted by hytekredneckSo I goto the local LWS today and walkin and tell the guy at the counter that I'm needing a CO2 regulator. He says he's never heard of using CO2 for mig and proceeds to bring me the argon mix regulator, so I tell him it's wrong one and will freeze up. This guy proceeds to ask me if I'm sure I'm using CO2? I walk out the front doors stopped and looked around, I came back in and told him I had to make sure I didn't stop at autozone and now he's really puzzled. Finally someone in the back office overhears the conversation and tells him the item number for the correct regulator. He comes back with the correct regulator and still says he's never heard of using CO2 for mig, I tell him you learn something new everyday. Anyone else sometimes think you pulled into the local autozone at the LWS?
Reply:Originally Posted by gnewbyYep, I walked into an Airgas store a few weeks ago and asked for some fine cut accessories for a hypertherm plasma cutter. The guy told me they sold all the consumables that were made for the plasma cutters and they did not make any fine cut ones. I told him really you can buy them on their web site, he told me maybe I had better go to their website to buy them! I did received them in about 2-days! I felt like the guy in Airgas should have at least looked to see if he could get them but his airigance (sp) wasn't good!  Some of those guys need to have a little schooling on how to deal with customers. It might have been a different story if the store would have been loaded with customers and the salesman would have been busy but this was not the case. I was the only customer in the store.
Reply:Originally Posted by MAC702There's a reason he's working at a counter and not welding.  A friend of mine told a LWS he had a gasless wirefeeder and needed the correct wire.  They gave him an extremely expensive roll of Lincoln L-56 SuperArc, a solid wire for MIG welding, when of course, he needed a self-shielded FC wire.If you go to an LWS and speak to anyone less than 30 years old, you better already know exactly what the heck you need.Ironically, you don't use CO2 for literal "MIG" welding, as it isn't inert, which is why the more correct term is GMAW, so we don't have to say MAG welding, which almost caught on, but of course he didn't know that and was just an ignoramous.
Reply:Another thing I notice is that more and more they send drivers and young kids to order stuff from the welding supply shop. The counter guy has to go by what they say to the letter. Because you know they do not know what they are looking for. So when the boss hears the counter guy trying to save the fellow a world of grief, he says just give him what he is asking for. Or just give him one of those. You are a welder, and that is something else but the counter people have their little world and rules. So they may keep it very technical. Some of our HVAC and Plumbing houses are the same way. Because of this driver pickup thing. What ever the guy asks for that is what he gets. Sometimes it is funny. But usually it really messes up the company. Both of them. Because they have to restock. And then you know that neither one knew what they were doing. But you can hear the resentment. They yell about the counter guy, and say things like "He should have known that if I ordered a replacement for a 110 air handler, that I would want a 110 volt air handler". And to be honest that is not really the case but it makes the boss look less out of control. Ha-ha. Usually we only order 220 volt air handlers so our guy might have said give us a 220 volt air handler. Which he denies to the death. He would normally get in trouble if he came back with a 110 volt air handler. But the weld shop is the same way. The drivers come back with the darnedest stuff. Even qualified people order the wrong stuff, for me all the time. They just do not do it everyday. And the counter guy is just trying to sift through what he knows, and what he thinks you know, and what his and your boss probably would want done. I have a whole set of double checks to make sure that I get the right stuff. I give extra information that insures I am getting what I want. I make sure who ever takes down the information takes it down with the right symbols. Sometimes they give me a hard time. And act like it is no big deal. So then when it comes back wrong I ride them for weeks or years. Mostly in good fun. The welding counter guys are a dying breed be nice to them.        Sincerely,             William McCormick
Reply:...He says he's never heard of using CO2 for mig and proceeds to bring me the argon mix regulator, so I tell him it's wrong one and will freeze up. This guy proceeds to ask me if I'm sure I'm using CO2? ....still says he's never heard of using CO2 for mig,...
Reply:Originally Posted by William McCormick Jr...The welding counter guys are a dying breed be nice to them.
Reply:I can't complain about my LWS. The guy at the counter isn't the smartest. however he knows when to ask for help. He gets me what I need.I recently have been having trouble with a welder I bought there. Called them up and they went out of their way to help me get it fixed. Event though it was warranty work that they had to have me send somewhere else.IMO good customer service brings me back to a store, not the price.Patriot Performance AutoLincoln Power Mig 255CLincoln AC-225 StickVictor Journeyman O/AQuincy QT-5 Compressor
Reply:deletedLast edited by sunline; 03-30-2008 at 11:25 AM.Airco 300 squarewaveMig welding center...Powcon sm300/LN 25Powcon sm200/PD lHypertherm PM 1100Miller AEAD 200LE W/LN25 FCand now another sm200 pd l combo.
Reply:Originally Posted by MAC702William,As I mentioned already when I brought up the MIG v. MAG thing, if this guy had ANY CLUE, he would have known what the guy needed, which (and here's the point that goes with what you were saying) was exactly what the guy asked for.If anything, he should ignore what the guy said he was going to use it for and just go get the CO2 regulator that was requested of him or tell his boss that someone wants one but he doesn't know if they have any.
Reply:My LWS is great.  The counter people are all retired welders, some are too old to get off the chair anymore, but they know EXACTLY what you're looking for sometimes even when you don't!
Reply:Originally Posted by gnm109There seems to be an extreme lack of product knowledge among counter people and also attendants at places like Lowe's and H.D. Probably it has to do with the fact that there's a lot of turnover. Also how many companies are willng to train people anymore. They don't pay enough to keep them and don't see the value of training people to work in a career position.As to MIG versus MAG...sure I've heard the term MAG but no one I know uses it. They always refer to their MIG machine, regardless of the fact that they have been using C25 or pure CO2. Once a term enters the vernacular, people don't analyze beyond that point. They just use the term to communicate.