Anne in Montague

thinking ahead to spring and getting the garden ready... at the dollar tree in greenfield, I picked up gardening gloves-$1, a metal trowel-$1, hand rake -$1, bag of potting soil-$1, 10 packs of assorted annual and perennials seeds-$1, garden stepping stone-$1, wind chimes for the garden-$1, and 3 decorative pots -$1/piece. ten dollars down and I'm all set for spring! highest quality supplies? no. but not the worst either. surely worth more than $1! At the same store, my neighbor picked up everything she needed to redecorate her daughter's bedroom for $20!

our dishwasher malfunctioned and we called the manufacturer to have someone fix it-since it was still covered under warranty. they refered us to appliance man. a person from appliance man called us the same day and asked the nature of the problem and said they thought it sounded like the heating element. they said someone would come on wednesday between 1:00 and 3:00. the guy showed up right at 1! how great! he checked it over, determined that it was indeed the heating element and was gone in less than 15 min. and said he'd order the part. Unfortunately it took all the rest of that week and the following week before the part came in. so i was pretty sick of hand washing by then... anyway, the guy came back (again in the early part of the expected time window) and speedily replaced the heating element -less than 30 min. - and made sure everything was in working order before leaving. no problems with dishwasher since.

my husband acquired an old clock from a flea market and when polishing it up, found an interesting marking on the inside that we thought might indicate it was much more valuable than what we paid for it. We brought it over to Valley Antiques to have someone there appraise it. Unfortunately, we were mistaken about the mark and it's value, but the man who looked at it for us was extremely helpful. He was able to give us a great deal of information about the maker, the mark and why we were misled by it. I was grateful that he had taken the time to explain this to us instead of simply scoffing at our amateur mistake. It was a very positive interaction. The place itself is chock full of interesting and beautiful items and worth a visit just to browse.

It's a sweet little place right on Route 116 in Sunderland. It just drew me in because it was so cute, on the side of the road--I stoped in and ended up buying all of the herb plants I needed for my garden that year. The staff was very, very friendly and helpful--it had a nmice atmosphere. The plants were great!

We were looking for red cedar mulch and couldn't find it anywhere else in our price range. Amherst Farmer's Supply was having a sale, so we were able to get a fairly large quantity of it for a reasonable price. They loaded it into our car for us, and offered good, friendly service. The store is well-kept and is very neat.

Manny's is a small store, and so we were helped immediately when we went in. In a short amount of time we were able to find just the right washer for us, and it was a good deal--we paid less than we were expecting to, and got more use out of the washer than we anticipated. Very helpful and quick service.

We actually had a building project we weren't sure how to complete, and one of the guys there at Rugg sat down with us and drew on a piece of paper the steps he needed to go through to complete the decking project we were working on. And then he helped us find all the different materials we needed to complete the project as well, and saved us a lot of time. We would recommend them to anyone who needed advice on how to complete home projects.

For my mother's 50th birthday we knew that she really wanted birch trees for her yard. We found some really beautiful, healthy, and inexpensive ones at Wanczyk. The service was amazing--very friendly, very helpful. It was a pleasant shopping experience.

We wanted some unique items for our home and knew that Faces was a good place for the unusual and fun. We were not disappointed--we found some funky floor lamps to dress up our home. Service was great and we got a good deal.

We needed a large piece of plexiglass cut for an odd-sized frame. They custom made one for us at this store. They only charged us for the price of the plexiglass, and not for all the work they did. I would recommend them for any custom projects that you are working on.

We choose to get our starter plants at Greenfield Farmers Coop because they seem to be the healthiest, grow well, and produce the best fruits and vegetables. The service is great and the people know a great deal about gardening and give great advice about how to choose specific varieties for the area we live in, fertilizing, etc.

We had a brand new house and needed all new cabinets and contertops for our kitchen. We went to Leader. Someone there helped us pick out the brand and color and style that we wanted for our kitchen. They came and installed them for us in our home. They worked quickly and neatly. Leader double checked everything to make sure it was what we wanted before they left. We've been happy with the cabinets and countertops ever since.

My husband and I needed a bed for our new apartment. We didn't have a lot of money, and knew that Bob's Discount Furniture had good deals. We were able to buy a mattress and box spring cheaply and found that the mattress and box spring that we bought were indeed cheap--and didn't last very long. I think we got a year out of it, max.

We had been looking for the exact kind of pavillion we had wanted for six years and finally found the one we wanted at BJs at an affordable price. Perfect for having large outdoor parties and adjustable. Service was wonderful--they had two very strong guys come and help us load it into our already packed vehicle and help strap it on with ropes to make sure it was secure.

Because the office is so small, and it's in a small town and a small business, we found the agents there to be knowledgable and they always take the time to explain things in great details--they're never in a hurry, I never feel rushed. They have very convenient hours of operation and are in a beautiful location.

We were shopping around for somoeone to supply us with home heating oil when we moved into our new house, and Surner had the most reasonable rates. But the best thing about them is how reliable they are in terms of delivering oil right when we need it, and not making us wait. We've even had them deliver the same day we've requested them to come, without charging extra.

We were window shopping, not intending to buy anything, but were sucked into The Cedar Chest by all the luxurious items in the window. We went home with some throw pillows for our sofa that were of very high quality, and we still have them 3 years later. The service was unremarkable--neither good nor bad, although they packaged everything nicely for us to take the pillows home.

We waited until the last minute to ent a moving van for our move and were able to get a medium-sized moving van in one day through Uhaul. We didn't have to wait. It was affordable and extremely convenient to pick up and drop off. The office didn't have to be open. Speedy service and very efficient.

The store is set up in such a way that you want to shop there even if you don't have anything on your list to buy and don't need anything. It has a great atmosphere, and the people there are very helpful. We were able to buy some specialty items there, such as the pepper grinder, and a specific type of cheese grater we were looking for--a more gourmet food preparation item that we were not able to find in the more mainstream, "big box" stores.

Everything really is at Michael's--everything I've ever needed for improving the look of our house. Christmas decorations, craft projects--I was looking for a specific type of wire for strining glass beads and I found one of the staff that was there and she showed me where the selection was. She then talked with me about which wire would work best for my project--very knowledgable and helpful.

We needed to buy dooknobs for our new house and we found what we wanted at Rocky's Ace Hardware. It took us a long time to decide what we wanted because there were so many to choose from. The staff was helpful and asked us repeatedly if we needed any help. Checkout was fast as well.

We had to dig thirty-two holes for fence posts around our yard, and were having incredibly difficult time because of the rocks. Someone recommended we rent an auger, and barely even knowing what one was, we called Taylor Rental to see if they had one. Low and behild, they did. We were able to rent it immediately, and they gave us an extra day without charging us. They taught us how to use it as well.

Cowls was the only place where we could find the high quality paint we needed for outdoor use. It was a little expensive, but worth it. They were the only store that carried what we needed in the area. Someone came and spent a good 20 minutes with me, helping me figure out exactly which paint I needed to do the job right. Very patient staff.

We wanted to purchase some fish and all the accompanying equipment. The staff at Dave's helped us find the heartiest fish that would live the longest, which was what we wanted. They helped us locate the proper type of bowl and food and filtration system that we needed. We liked that they have a Dave's Club Card that saved us money when we shopped there.

I needed to find this particular kind of fabric and I called the Textile Company on the phone to ask if they had this and if they could have it waiting for my husband when he arrived to get it. They had it packaged and precut and ready for him to pick up. The shopping experience took three minutes and great service.

I needed to buy fabric to make quilts for three different beds. And wanted a good selection and low prices, which I found at Jo-Ann Fabric. They have an extensive discount section, with hundreds of fabrics to choose from. I always find it takes a little while to check out there, but I'm willing to wait because the deals are so good.

We checked severeal different place and found that Hadley Garden Center was by far the cheapest for buying humus in bulk. Someone came and helped us load all of the packages into our vehicle, which was extremely helpful.

We needed to replace our futon and we went to Fly by Night. We were helped immediately to find one in our price range and that was of good quality. The entire shopping experience took 15 minutes. The clerk was very knwoledgeable and helpful and found what we needed immediately. Also, we saved $100 by buying 2 twins instead of a king--same surface area, less money. Loading at the warehouse was extremely simple, and they loaded it into the car for us--we didn't have to do anything.