I've never been a fan of mom and pop stores.  In my limited experience, they've always been small and run-down, with few to no options.  So when big stores like Walmart or Home Depot come into town, I'm not at all disappointed.  The big guys offer better quality products and a better selection at lower prices.  Plus, they're usually clean and well-run. 

My opinion changed a little yesterday.  I was trying to install ceiling tiles in a room in my house by gluing them to the existing drywall.  That's how they were installed before the major leaking/cracked pipe fiasco.  But wood glue wasn't doing the job (how was I supposed to know?), so I went to the local hardware store instead of the 3-miles-and-30-minutes-farther Home Depot.  I went in and talked to an employee who recommended a few different high-strength glues.  Then another employee came over and recommended using staples, eliminating the need for glue altogether.  All I needed to do was staple the lip of the tile, not the center (again, how was I supposed to know?).  So instead of buying some chemically harsh adhesives and completing an unnecessarily messy job, I bought some staples and quickly finished [some of] an easy job. 

It was such a pleasant experience walking into a little store and talking to someone who immediately knew the solution to my problem.  Nobody tried to get me to buy anything more expensive.  Nobody gave me a credit card offer.  Nobody checked my bag as I walked out of the store.  Nobody asked me if I wanted to buy insurance for my staples.  It was a simple in-and-out operation, and that little stored gained themselves a repeat customer.