I adore Home Goods. Great merchandise, reasonable prices, (normally) cheerful and helpful employees.

My local pet store which is independently owned, Trader Joes where the checkers are always happy and friendly. Also good is the Lands End store in our local Sears.

Trader Joe's. They might not have the greatest selection, but the cheerful and helpful employees make it an enjoyable place to shop.

My local hometown grocery store....so pleasant to shop there, be met with a smile and know me by name...if they do not happen to have something we are wanting, they order it...we never have to wait in line...they call more checkers if there is someone waiting...and always carry my groceries to the car....and their prices are best around and can not beat their meat and produce!

Also, we are blessed with a local family owned "filling station" that is so very helpful. They come to my home and pick up my car, service it, and bring it back to me. They give full service to us "older" people, as well as be sure our tire pressure and oil levels are proper....and charge no more than Walmart does!

We are so blessed with our mom and pop businesses....and it it them who always supports our schools, hospital, and any charity that comes along. Feeling blessed to be living in our little town!

I love my local Walmart, clean and good prices and helpful people. I like the local pizza restaurant, run by one guy and he makes sandwiches, pizza, spaghetti. Everything is tasty and if you want a dinner to go you can call and he has it nicely packed and waiting when you arrive.

I like Ikea, I have to treasured older pieces of furniture but also have Ikea furniture. Their white slipcovers are inexpensive but look nice, and a lot of their stuff is just what I need and reasonably priced.

I like Kraft cheese. Always dependable and good. I like higher quality cheese sometimes but can't always afford to buy.

I really like Wildseed Farms, buy something just about every year and I'm always impressed with the wildflowers and cosmos.

I love Ollies Bargain Outlet. You never know what you will find on any given visit, but there is sure to be something you can't live without. Always a huge selection of books, especially childrens books, cook books, novels, and religious oriented books.

Also toys, puzzles, pet supplies, rugs/carpeting, car care products, bath and bedroom fashions, cookware. The best 'bargain outlet' I know of.

And the staff is always friendly and helpful.

We no longer have locally-owned supermarkets in town. Of the choices we do have, I choose the Food City over Walmart. I don't like Walmart's business practices, and although the pay is only slightly higher, Food City hires the disabled to do jobs which Walmart doesn't even entertain. I have a friend who has Downs. He has a job at Food City bagging groceries, helping people to their cars, and gathering shopping carts. Walmart has no such positions. This decision on the part of Food City is just one small step to assist our community's most vulnerable! I will reward such a business with my trades.

However rarely it happens, if a situation arises where I am given a choice to go to a fast food place, I go to Taco bell, select Subways, or Burger king. I may go to other places from time to time, but these places offer vegetarian menu items that are comparable to their regular menu options. More often (still rarely lol,) I visit the locally owned pizza place. They have excellent menu options and the value is fantastic!

There is a locally-owned tire place near me. They are knowledgeable, they are open to negotiation, they do free rotations and balancing for the life of the tire, and when they recognize you, they will do minor repairs for free or very cheap. Great business and good people.

Also, I cannot say enough good about the local Amish/Mennonite store in the next town! Wow! It one of the many Yoder's around the country. Great place.

On a similar note of the places here in Tennessee... there is a huge Kitchen supply supply store not too far away... Katom. I often refer them to anyone needing kitchen supplies.. They are fair and very helpful.

In fact, I refer all these places to anyone who mentions needing something. I'm sure I'm forgetting some, but there are many good good businesses among the undesirable ones.

I love TJ MAXX, Marshall's, HomeGoods, Target, Lowes. I like all my local grocery stores, except Walmart. Giant, Wegman's, Aldis. Wish we had a Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, but we have Wegmans' which is similar. Occasionally I get bargains at Ollies and Big Lots.

I like businesses where the employees are happy and helpful. I like my local BB&B because they are so helpful without being overbearing. I like the fact that they hire both male and female and a variety of ages from university-aged people up to middle-aged and older. They pass you and say hi or good afternoon.

I like my local grocery store Save-on-foods (local owned with a variety of locations) for the same reason. They're just friendly people and even though they may not be glad to see you they sure act like it and I reciprocate with a smile and a How are You. They're people, they deserve it.

I like our local businesses as you all get to know each other and so helpful certain places are and its wonderful having that caring. Some go up and above for you and that to me is very important. I love being greeted too and greet them back. I feel its important. I love going to our library as they know what I want like I wanted one day for library day and not all these bouncing around days when holds came in and never knowing when they are due back and spending too much on fines and so the older librarians still here do that for me and its nice and thoughtful and helpful. I don't like the big stores or malls except for certain things as they have no idea who you are or care either I find.

There is a clothing store I love and they have been so helpful, one time I went in there and needed new clothes as with all the losses and emotions I munched my way to another size up and this lady was alone and me and it was so great and she really helped me in more ways then ever. I felt like another person and never would have thought of some of those clothes she suggested and talked me into would I have looked at but happy she did. I walked out very happy.

I love our local Midas, they have helped me in so many ways and others too and they drive me back to condo and off they take my car to get it fixed and then good to phone me and pick me up and we got back and I pay the bill. I trust them completely and no fear of getting ripped off and that for me is good considering how many I have gone too that have and cost me a fortune at same time.

kathy

I love Les Schwab Tire. I'm not sure if they're only local to me (Seattle) or if they're nationwide. I love how they run out to greet me before I even get out of the car.

Sepia, my family in OR also loves Les Schwab as they are always very kind and helpful. When I went to fill my mom's car's tires with air a few years ago, I thought I'd need to prove the tires were bought at their store. But no, he told me to pull on in and it didn't matter where the tires were bought. No waiting either. What a pleasant experience! Wish we had one nearby.

Since I was furnishing a new space I bought quite a bit from Overstock this year. I consistently found them responsive and helpful, especially when I had to return a few items. I now check their site regularly.

Caribou Coffee Shops--much prefer their coffee to Starbucks although I hang out at both.Comfortable and well managed places.

Ace Hardware. We have several Aces in the area but one in particular is incredibly helpful to women or others who may have limited hardware knowledge or vocabulary. If I can help it I always go to Ace rather than Home Depot or Lowes.

I forgot IKEA. Also forgot the reasons why I like these stores. At TJs, Marshalls and HomeGoods, I like the merchandise and the prices. At Ikea, Target, and Lowes, I like that I'm usually always approached by an employee asking if they can help me find something. The local grocery stores are good about returns like the rotten watermelon I exchanged last night for a good one.

I LIKE this thread.

I am not sure that talking....putting all those negative thoughts of the 'other' thread is productive.

I did not know about the Les Schwab philosophy....Thank You so much for sharing it. We did use his business recently to replace hundreds of dollars worth of motorhome tires and were JUST very pleased with the transaction. But...and this is important... We expect to be treated nicely and fairly where ever we do business or have contact with others, and treat THEM accordingly. We expect to pay a fair market value, because it makes sense to have people who 'work' for us, to be valued as much as we want to be valued. It never fails to have positive outcomes.

Nanny, I think you hit just the right note on this. If you treat people as you would like to be treated, you usually come away happy. I think having a positive attitude about life in general goes a long way. I didn't know the Les Schwab philosophy either, but I sure wish all companies operated that way.

Wheel Works - have always gotten excellent, honest service , no up-selling etc. A lot like some of your descriptions of Les Schwab in service.

My local Airport Appliance - Knowledgeable staff and if they don't know something they are upfront about it and will take the steps to find out. When I bought a Vent-A-Hood from them and had problems with the manufacturer over the finished product they went to bat for me and made it right. They could have simply blown me off or passed the buck on to Vent-A-Hood to deal with me but they actually took it upon themselves to advocate for me and got me the final product made to my specs. What could have been a very frustrating experience turned out seamless. (with a little patience required)

The Dog Day Care I use. The owner treats dogs like dogs not like little human snowflakes. All dogs have to meet strict standards of social behavior with dogs and humans before joining his pack. My puppy loves all the employees and the dogs that go there. She gets to rough house and be a real dog. She goes in happy and comes out happy (and tired).

Amazon - Love being able to shop and price compare from home. What's not to like?

Houzz - I am so glad we are done with Ivillage. It's nice to have a more "adult" up to date website. We are finally in the 21st century. Yay!

Watchme, any chance you're in the Bay Area? It would be good to know of a responsible and happy dog-sitting place for dd, if she ever needs it.

Sephia, that is nice to know and I will pass it on to my sisters. Yes, if only more company leaders felt that way, it would be a better country.

I rate Kohl's as being a friendly return company. No complaints!

@ marie, interesting you find the nurses "so well trained." NCLEX is the national licensing examination for nurses, note the pass rates.

SJerin - http://www.pawinaround.com/

They will not take first time drop ins. You have to have an evaluation, this can be just a few minutes or an hour depending. Then they have you leave your dog for a short time (they did not charge for this) a few times. Then they want the dog to be the first arrival for a couple of times so they greet the other dogs in reverse. Also need all vet records on file. Like I said, very strict on admissions. But once your dog is accepted you can drop in as needed paying for a half day or full day. Up to five hours is a half day. They do boarding also but only for the dogs that are daycare clients.

There is a business in the next little town over from me that has been in business since 1922. They are a grocery store with a lunch counter, a hardware store, a gift shop and a feed store. Generations of the same family. I try to give them as much business as I can. I do buy feed and hay there, so I give them most of my business where that is concerned. Likewise, there is a farm that has "you pick 'em" strawberries, and sell all kinds of other produce, Their sausage is so good, I will never buy sausage from anywhere else. I like to help local small businesses as much as I can.

I enjoy our vet's place, Pets and Vets. We take the dogs there to be groomed and you never saw any dogs happier to go in and be taken care of. They are happy and never look back. They spend most of the day there till we pick them up. I also like our local big business, Red Gold. They do a lot for their employees and I like their tomato products.

Sue

It's always nice to support local businesses, because without the support of the community, they would fail. Many small hardware stores have packed it in because they just can't compete with the big box stores. Although we do go to the big box ones, we often go to a small hardware store near us , and more helpful people you never saw. They greet you at the store and steer you where you need to go.

Marilyn C the store you describe sounds just like Stanton's.

I love our nearby Ace Hardware. Very very friendly, accommodating and generous with expert advice. They are competing with a new Lowes, which offers pretty poor customer service. If Ace doesn't have it, THEN I go to Lowes.

I do most of my shopping online, but on occasions when I've had to return items to Macy's and Lands' End (at Sears), the people couldn't have been nicer. TJ Maxx and Marshall's are always good. I love Panera for lunch.

Walmart and Home Depot are probably my top go-to places. I like Lowe's too, but it's twice as far away as HD. Dollartree is good for some things. A recent find was "Ocean Snacks"--dried, seasoned seaweed from Korea. My family loves it, so I cleaned out the store.

Walmart stores must vary quite a bit by location. I'm happy to say ours hires the disabled as greeters and stock clerks, and perhaps other positions I'm not aware of.

The library is "where everybody knows your name," and certainly my name. It's a favorite haunt for sure.

I love our thrift stores: the small ones run for the benefit of the hospital and the animal shelter, and the big Salvation Army. Most of the time, everything I'm wearing comes from them. Tonight it's L.L. Bean cords, an Eddie Bauer fleece vest, and a turtleneck I can't identify because I don't want to get up and look in the mirror. :-)

The hardware store I mentioned above is Ace. They have great bargains occasionally. I don't count the library as a business , but I have gone to mine almost every Wednesday since 1971. It went from a small old schoolhouse with a later addition to a big Civil War barn which was beautifully done by a famous architect.

My favorite place for clothes is called the Community store. All profits stay in the area and much is donated to the Humane society. I have about five brands I shop for... GAP, Eddie Bauer, Lands End, which I have on now, Ralph Lauren, LLbean, J Crew. This store gets almost brand new looking stuff, maybe because it's located in an affluent area. I try to donate as much as I buy.

The employees at my local CVS are so friendly- apparently trained that way. They always greet me with "Hi" when I walk in, and when I check out the cashier always asks "Did you find everything you wanted?"

Lucille, it is Stanton's. ;) The other place is Froberg's Farm.

I love our local transit system. Not that you can frequent it, but if you come to Nashville, ride the train and/or bus! They are so nice and take good care of you. The train stays in contact with the bus (mine is the last one to the station daily) and if we are running late, they'll hold the train. My son's bus driver loves him to death and will look for him when she's stopping to make sure he doesn't get left behind. When my son first started riding the bus, he'd leave things on it. Once, it was my 20 year old flute I'd had growing up and to which I'd become highly attached (apparently. didn't know that until he lost it). They found it immediately and kept it for me until I came to get it. I was so happy I hugged it!

I'm not sure about why others posted to that thread nanny, but I found it productive. I am making sure no one else gives them business. Nothing wrong with that! And the thread is gone now. Hm. Wonder why?

That thread is gone probably because someone decided for everyone that it wasn't a "nice, sweet" post, and asked to have it removed. It would be nice to be able to have some nice, substantial posts in the KT, but not with the vitriol of the Hot Topics forum. Sometimes the KT gets a tad boring with the same things. I try to come up with something interesting / unusual to post about, just to break up the monotomy.

Yea, I figured that's why it was gone. It wasn't flowery and happy fuzzy, but why does it have to be?

;)

Exactly. Those were my sentiments when I wrote my comments. I recognize there are much older people here than me (56), so maybe my hope for more raucous postings here isn't realistic. We've had these kinds of conversations here before, and the people who prefer the "nice, sweet" posts come unglued and tell people like me to perhaps find another forum to post on. I hang around here hoping for the once-in-a-blue moon lively post.

Chick fila B/c of fresh flowers on table

Are my ears ringing? Lol...

Listen, I try to be a friendly person. I do my best to be amiable and polite... However, I am not one to accept garbage. I don't mind disagreements, they happen, but when someone comes at me with an immoral/unethical proposition, I'm going to call them on it, and I'm going to do it publicly. I will also, in most cases, defend myself.

If I am challenged, I will often accept that challenge. I do not consider an irrational argument, or an unreasonable non-sequitur to be a valid position. I will also call a person out on those types of responses.

I am not trying to start something here. I'm only bringing it up because I was involved in the raucous, and it is being discussed in a friendly manner. It is dropped now...so... time to move forward.

Thank you... now back to our regularly impromptu discussion.

I hear you!

sephia, some also come unglued when anyone expresses an opinion different from their own.

Exactly Snidely. If one doesn't agree with the masses, that person is pounced on. The "agree to disagree" standard isn't followed here. I wonder how much more interesting and active the KT would be if more people would just agree to disagree. I stick around because some things do catch my attention. Some of the regular posts, not so much. I don't care what you had for dinner so I "scroll on by,"

On a different thread someone wasn't exactly kind about something I said but I'm a big girl, I'm not going to complain instead I just scroll on by. I'm not giving them what they want.

I was at our local library this morning and noted the friendly hi that I got and get every time I go in there. Everything is on computer now so I don't talk to them nearly as much. When I do make a comment on something as I pass the entrance desk (the weather, the traffic, their display cases, whatever) the library staff are so eager to have a quick conversation. I wonder, now that everything is on computer, whether or not they get lonely and feel a bit of the loss of that community connection. Anyway, not a business but a great community service.

I also love my local Ace Hardware! Apparently the chain has adopted helpful practices all over the US :-)

My recent go to place is Dollar Tree. They just got in drawer organizers, lots of sizes and colors. Some are 4/$1, a 10"x12" bigger one is a $1! I purchased 18! :0)

I see someone likes Ikea. I've been there once, but LOVE my leather Ikea club chairs, vessel sink & halogen track lights!

Ace is a favorite when they have sales or coupons. I purchased several hanging bird feeders there, honey, a wheelbarrow w/ a brake. :0)

We've bought all our appliances from Abt for over fifty years. They've even helped me select appliances for Maui that I could only get from Lowes.

ACE Hardware is always more expensive than Home Depot, but they have more knowledgeable people on the floor.

I used to like TJ Maxx more than I do now. I'm guessing that there is just less 'overstock' available to be picked up from high end clothing stores. Either those stores got a better handle on their markets or they opened their own discount outlets. (Nordstroms, Saks, etc.) Now, too much of what I see at Maxx is made *for* the 'discount' market.

We shop Costco for some meat and groceries, as well as household goods, electronics, high grade gasoline, and even tires. (Never a wait to have tires checked.) Employees unfailingly pleasant and efficient.