MAYDAY Hardware on Washington

jamielevin · January 2006

I like to support local business, who amongst us doesn't? But I won't be shopping at Mayday hardware any longer. Forget the 300% markup. Forget the incredibly rude staff. Forget the lack of stock.

I recently purchased a piece of plexi-glass from Mayday. I should have inspected the item closer (but I was in a rush and I didn't). They sold me a damaged piece and then charged me for cutting it (after two different clerks said that this service is free). When I saw the damage (cracks, scratches, etc) upon returning home I decided to return the unit. Mayday refused. In making minor renovations to my apt. I have dumped a good amount of money in Mayday but no longer.

Caveat Emptor

dailyheights · January 2006

Buying anything at Mayday is a painful (yet amusing and memorable) experience.

smokin joe · January 2006

that's a shame. i would feel the same way. i have to ask though--did you deal with the owner?

i've been using them a long time and while i've found some of the people who work there of be of questionable value, i've always found the owner (or the guy i assumed is the owner) to be not only responsive, but extremely helpful. i can't tell you the number of times i've bought something there and then gotten free instructions from him on exactly how to do the job i was trying to do. there's no other hardware store i know of that has that kind of expertise and provides that kind of service. for that reason, i'm happy to pay a bit more.

emily · January 2006

My favorite hardware store was in my old neighborhood in Manhattan. The guys there would suggest that I bring the broken things to the store so they could fix them for me.

That's even better than free instructions!

easternpkwyq · January 2006

I too am all for supporting local businesses, but Mayday is awful. I moved into the neighborhood 6 years ago, and my mom and I went in there practically first thing to pick up some supplies. The owner (whose name I used to know but now have a psychological block and can't remember it) was extremely helpful and nice and even recommended Tom's for lunch (which, in the end, made the trip worth it). I thought he was so nice. Until I went back a few days later without my mom. He was downright sleazy. Called me "hon" and "sweetie" and stared and all kinds of discomforting things that he pointedly did NOT do when my mom was around. Yuck! He also treated the young black man working for him like absolute crap and tried to make me complicit (I am white) by rolling his eyes, etc. I have a friend who grew up in the neighborhood and used to work there as a teenager and tells me that he is as sleazy as I think and he left his wife years ago for a much younger woman he'd been cheating on her with. Not that that should determine where you buy your screws, but it just shows the strength of his character...

liftandcut · January 2006

Mayday sucks balls. I live across the street and avoid that place at all costs. The owner is a condescending, sniveling prick. He's a cheap bastard, and when he crashed his car on Wash ave. last year I had one of the biggest laughs I can remember. I can't believe that the dude with the locks that works there takes that bad treatment from the owner, but he's often a jerk too so screw them both. Boycott Mayday!

vanilla · January 2006

i have never had a problem with MAYDAY and have exchanged 2 things, one was something that was the wrong size (my bad) & something was just f-d (their problem). i also live across the street but it's the 300% mark-up that i can't stand... plus they never have QUITE what i need, just almost. after working in queens for years and years, i now call everyone i don't know sweetie and sweetheart, so if a friendly neighbor calls you this... sorry, i can't help it!

mr. tips · January 2006

They are expensive and they dont have much but what I hate most about that place...

they open at 9a? wtf?

Its a sad, sad day when the liqour store is open before the hardware store.

alafairnadia · January 2006

Mr. Tips wrote: They are expensive and they dont have much but what I hate most about that place...

they open at 9a? wtf?

Its a sad, sad day when the liqour store is open before the hardware store.

you say sad, I say happy. let's just enjoy our differences.

(um. which liquor store is open before 9 a.m.? this is critical)

liftandcut · January 2006

Yeah, that 9 a.m. crap blows. And it's true, they really have a lot of nothing there. Vanilla, you live across the street too? I've probablay seen you a gazillion times.

vanilla · January 2006

liftandcut wrote: Yeah, that 9 a.m. crap blows. And it's true, they really have a lot of nothing there. Vanilla, you live across the street too? I've probablay seen you a gazillion times.

:shock:

liftandcut · January 2006

I'm a REGULAR!

alafairnadia · January 2006

wait, just how many people live on the "across from mayday/ripple" side of the street? I'm getting concerned.

liftandcut · January 2006

I live above Cafe Shane. Since 2002.

alafairnadia · January 2006

liftandcut wrote: I live above Cafe Shane. Since 2002.

er, great location. I'm above the party store/barber shop.

liftandcut · January 2006

Well maybe we'll bump into each other on of these days.

jayce · January 2006

liftandcut wrote: And it's true, they really have a lot of nothing there.

They were the ONLY store in the city (Manhattan included) that I found the one thing I had been looking for for YEARS...

you try finding an extension cord that has an "on/off" switch that you can put atop a surface for a hard to reach set of cords.

but in general, I would agree, their selection is kind of limited.

liftandcut · January 2006

The thing is, that cord you found was probably sitting in that place for ten years. Not taking anything away from the dopeness of that find though. It's always good to find stuff like that at hardware stores. I usually just drive to Lowes or go to Pintchick.

vanilla · January 2006

i am also above cafe shane, this is frightening. perhaps we already know each other?

liftandcut · January 2006

Well I'm the guy who always has his skateboard with him. If we've met then you already know my name. Jon.

alafairnadia · January 2006

liftandcut wrote: Well I'm the guy who always has his skateboard with him. If we've met then you already know my name. Jon.

amusingly, there's a board regular who rides a longboard. I know it's not you, but hah for skateboards!

liftandcut · January 2006

Boo to long boards! No really, for city skating they suck, but for tooling around in a lot they're dope.

mr. tips · January 2006

alafairnadia wrote: [quote=Mr. Tips]They are expensive and they dont have much but what I hate most about that place...

they open at 9a? wtf?

Its a sad, sad day when the liqour store is open before the hardware store.

you say sad, I say happy. let's just enjoy our differences.

(um. which liquor store is open before 9 a.m.? this is critical)

The one btwn Park & sterling...they're practically open 24hrs.

liftandcut · January 2006

Yes, it is open good hours, but again, limited selection. I guess it takes a big effort to run a good hardware store.

mr. tips · January 2006

liftandcut wrote: Yes, it is open good hours, but again, limited selection. I guess it takes a big effort to run a good hardware store.

wait...I was talking about the liquor store. Mayday is naver open. unless yer talkin aboot a diff harware store?

liftandcut · January 2006

Oh, my bad. Yeah that liquor store is always open. Thought you were talking about a dif hardware store.

alafairnadia · January 2006

that would be grand plaza. we're good friends. but I think they open at noon. *cough*

pete_c · January 2006

Mayday sucks balls, but are they really any more expensive than, say, Pintchik?

It's (almost) enough to drive you to Lowe's, if you had a car and could drive.

mr. tips · January 2006

alafairnadia wrote: that would be grand plaza. we're good friends. but I think they open at noon. *cough*

Noon? No way! When I walk by there at 8 - it always looks like they're just opening...but since Ive never tried to buy booze before noon there I really dunno fer sure - yer probably more on top of it

jamielevin · January 2006

Smokin' Joe wrote: that's a shame. i would feel the same way. i have to ask though--did you deal with the owner?

Yeah, I assume that the guy I dealt with was the owner. He kept saying that he was offering a Solomonic solution (i.e., he would only charge me half for a replacement--but would not offer me a refund in any way).

This guy is a jerk and a real puts for quoting the O.T. improperly. In the end Solomon didn't split the baby, the rightful mother got a FULL REFUND!

easternpkwyq · January 2006

vanilla wrote: after working in queens for years and years, i now call everyone i don't know sweetie and sweetheart, so if a friendly neighbor calls you this... sorry, i can't help it!

There's a real difference between doing this in a sweet and friendly way and doing it in a lascivious way - the fact that he didn't do it in front of my mom is the first indicator that he's not just being friendly. His tone and the way he looked at me were others. I'm definitely no PC prude, but he honestly made me uncomfortable.

MAYDAY Hardware on Washington

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