> My dad is a retired contractor, and has several times suggested that I call the manufacturer of a home improvement product when dealing with a difficult or nonstandard installation. Coming from the phone-numberless land of Google et al, the idea that a manufacturer would have competent, highly technical help available to consumers always sounded totally insane to me, but it's worked for him!

This is why some of the better ones survive.

The ones that come to mind off hand are the premium paint suppliers (like Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore). The first time I quit IT, I bought and extensively restored a 110 year old house for a few years. Mixing and matching coatings is not a trivial undertaking. Not trivial to plan, and certainly not trivial to un-do if something doesn't play nice with something else.

What was trivial was getting a regional VP (or better) from Sherwin Williams to register and post on historic restoration forums, and answer phone calls and emails.

These companies may be the last bastion of premium service for a premium product at a premium price on a large scale (as in there's a store in most towns).

Don't let the big box stores be the last store in your town, imo....