Reaching the back right actionway corner of the store, we find the hardware department, home to an oversized (but still understaffed) paint counter. This corner of the store includes a bit of a bumpout, which looks like an addition from the inside but not from the outside. Perhaps this is former stockroom space which was converted in the Northwest remodel. (It's crazy to think of Fred Meyer wanting more salesfloor space these days, when they seem to be all about downsizing... ☹️)
It just seems odd to buy paint from a store owned by Kroger, but I suppose some people must buy their paint from here. Then again, I reckon not too many people buy paint from here given that one must phone the customer service desk to get any assistance and most people buying paint do need assistance with mixing colors and so forth. Then again, I don't think the situation is much different at, say, a Walmart, but I've never purchased paint from there.
ReplyDeleteWe did buy paint at Kmart many, many years ago. This was 25-30 years ago. We were painting a bookcase so we didn't need any sort of fancy paint. Kmart's Dutch Boy paint (I suppose Fred Meyer sells the same brand) was good enough for the job, lol. Actually that bookcase is still in use and still has that Kmart paint on it so it held up well enough. Anyway, nobody worked permanently in the paint department at Kmart so we had to find someone to mix the paint. This was Kmart in the early days of their malaise so there weren't a ton of people working at the time. Eventually, the store manager had to come and do it in his dress shirt and tie. He knew what he was doing, obviously, but it was a bit strange to see the store manager mixing paint!