I'm often frustrated with the selection and the quality of help at big box hardware and builder's supply places. When I can, I go to an old fashioned hardware and supply place that I know. It's great - the old timers there give the appearance of just hanging around, but they can be really helpful and they know their stuff. Also, the store stocks (semi-obsolete) things that you just won't easily find at a big box store. The problem is that this temple of hardware is about a 3 hour drive away from my house so it is not at all practical to really use. Finally, for a DIYer like myself it just makes me peevish to walk away from a conversation with a nitwit at one of of those big stores who tries to hide his nitwittishness by acting scornful and contemptuous. In the past, I've wasted more than one conversation with one of these guys before figuring out that the person who really doesn't know what he's talking about is the guy who is supposed to be helping me.

So, does anybody have any preferences for one big box place over another? If you aren't lucky enough to have a real store in your town, have you found a way to steer some of your business away from the big boxes? Do you have a "test" for identifying a good hardware guy?