Although I thought the previous location near the intersection of Pontius and Olympic Blvd. was…read moremore convenient and easier to find, but the current location is not ideal. Although hidden behind several businesses along Pico Blvd. and wedged between a back road (south Wellesley Ave.) and the Santa Monica freeway, House of Hardwood endures and am glad that they remain in the same community.
House of Hardwood is a fine place to get quality lumber with one-on-one service that is lacking at big-box businesses. The sales people are not only helpful, but knowledgeable too, they know wood.
I initially went to the scrap bin looking for a large slab of maple, but could not find a suitable slab, so I asked a salesman for some help. Out of the available options, it was suggested that I opt for cherry.
Because they sell lumber by board/linear feet, I had to buy more lumber than I needed, but this is where some improvement in the options and service, is suggested.
Option 1)
To buy the minimum length of lumber to get the project done, but if a customer only needs 9.25 feet of lumber, they would need to pay for 10 feet, but have the employee cut 9.25 feet of the required lumber, so the customer gets what they need, even though they paid for more; this prevents waste.
This option may be illegal, because the business would be providing the customer with less product (lumber) than they paid for, but the customer should be able to sign a waiver indicating that they are willingly accepting less product than they paid for.
Option 2)
To buy the minimum length of lumber to get the project done, but to initially cut 10 feet of lumber, then make a second cut to remove nine inches and give both pieces of lumber to the customer (what should have happened in my case).
Option 3)
To buy the minimum length of lumber to get the project done, but to initially cut 10 feet of lumber, then make a second cut to remove nine inches and offer to buy the excess lumber from the customer to re-sell in the scrap bin.
When I paid for the lumber with cash, the salesman offered to accept the actual price of the lumber without (or including) sales tax, which in Los Angeles is 9.75%, amounting to a significant and much appreciated savings (I would pay in cash whenever I could, perhaps for purchases under $500)!
Overall, I am pleased with the product and service, but the dialog (and options) between customers and salespeople needs to improve.