Remember when you could just walk into a shop and ask for a 3/4 plate?

Last week I needed a specific 1 inch thick piece of carbon steel for a patch job in Omaha. The guy at the counter just pointed to a computer and told me to fill out a digital form, said it would be a week. Three years ago, at the old yard in South Chicago, you'd walk back with the yard foreman, he'd eyeball the stock pile, and you'd have it cut and loaded in an hour. Now everything is a purchase order number and a wait. Does anyone else miss just being able to talk to someone who knows the stock?

3 comments

3 Comments

wendy1313d ago

Honestly that digital system sounds way better to me lol. At least now you get a real promise on when it'll be ready, instead of just hoping the guy in the yard is having a good day. I'd rather wait a week than waste a whole afternoon chasing a maybe.

markh853d ago

Yeah, I just started asking for the yard foreman by name. Sometimes you can skip the front desk if you know who actually knows the stock. Got my last piece of plate that way.

karen3613d ago

Skipping the front desk just annoys everyone. They're there to manage the flow for a reason, and going around them can mess up their system. It might work once but it's not a good long-term plan.