Saturday, December 01, 2007

3M Sticks it to Me

Frustration!

Today I had reserved time to decorate the house for the holidays. Because Steve won't let me hammer nails into the woodwork, I used those little white or clear plastic hooks that 3M manufacturers. Each year I buy the replacement sticky part -- the two-sided tape attachment that sticks one side to the plastic hook and the other to the wall or woodwork.

So today I had to run uptown to get some of the replacements. I went to four stores, Rite-Aid, Big Lots, K-Mart and Lowes and the situation was the same at each store. There are no replacement sticky parts available. I finally gave in a bought the supply of tape AND hooks that I don't need. Since at all stores, these were offered for sale from a special "Command 3M Display," I have to assume that 3M has decided not to offer replacements. Or the four stores have decided to only offer the combinations of hooks and tape because they will make more money.

Either way, I am mad for two reasons. I had to buy something I don't need to get a part that I do need. That will only add to our mounting garbage situation. It also means I have to shell out more money than I need to.

Does anyone have a comment on this stupid marketing offering?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Debby,

I share your frustration. Not only with that but with the amount of over packaging companies do. Supposedly some of this is to avoid theft. My husband and I were at Costco yesterday. There were bins and bins of small boxes re-packaged in large clamshell plastic ... the ones you have to fight with to open. What a waste!

I'm not sure if Al Gore is right about global warming or not. But I am sure that we should be better stewards of our environment because it's the right thing to do.

Mary