McLendon

[Haruo]

I have more experience with Home Depot than with Lowe's, so I can't really say which is better, but I prefer our "local" chain, McLendon Hardware. (Local in quotes because it was bought a year or two back by someone in Tennessee.) After the buyout their employee took a deep nosedive, but it seems to have recovered to where they're somewhat better than HD.

I'm not a fan of boycotts based on other people's personal opinions or spending habits. Though I was raised to boycott nonunion lettuce.

[Rvaughn]

Local hardware, lumber yards, banks, grocers, and so on are gradually becoming things of past here. Our credit union might be mostly considered local. It has branches in 6 or 8 towns within a 40 mile radius of where I live. I guess it just gets harder and harder for single entities to compete.

I'm not a boycotter of this sort either -- i.e., will not shop at so-an-so because the owner supported such-and-such. There are various locations I don't go back to because their service is horrendous, prices are exorbitant, etc., but that's a different matter related to what they do as a business.