Home Depot's lack of service & selection

[Dkevdog]

I feel like I must vent a little here, I'm likely to step on a few toes in the process. Oh well.



Having been invloved in a building maintainance and my own remodeling company for a number of years, I have a pretty good Idea about so called home improvement chains. When the term is brought up, 99% of you immediately bring the ol' Home Depot to mind. I know I do. And why shouldn't you? After all they are everywhere, they spend big money in advertising so you know they have to be good, and according to their spokesman "Wilson" (from Home Improvement) they have "everything" you could ever need.



BS !!!!



For those of us spending the money , and between my professionals accounts I spend about $20K to $30k a year there, the Home Depot is most of the time a miserable experience at best. I would say that it is an isolated experience, but I know one too many contractors who feel the same way.



Poorly stocked stores-floor persons who know nothing about the trade for which they sell the hardware for, (that is of course assuming you could find someone), and miserable customer service. So why do I shop there??? Because at least in this part of the country they dominate the industry. At one time they did everything they could to earn your business away from the mom and pop hardware and the smaller chains that they've bankrupt. Now that they have no competition... ... . Well why bother to provide it?? Where else are your customers going to go?? I introduced a lady to the world of wood and molding this weekend by taking her to a local molding house I work with. They stock nearyl 400 types and styles of molding. Until whe went, she thought Home Depot was it. There are too many people who take whatever Home Depot markets and advertises as the only choice. The quality of a great deal of their product line is lousy. Their prices are great, but I often gladly pay more elsewhere to get treated like the professional that I am, and to get advice from people who know what they're doing.



I am using the alternatives to acquire my supplies, but Home Depot is by far the largest and easiest to find. So I guess I'll continue to make those "quick" runs for materials there. But I don't have to like it. Oh yeah- make sure you save every single receipt from every purchase- you'll need it to make a return or you won't be making that return. My favorite thing to do is to return a few items and give them a box full of receipts. "Do you have your receipt?" My reply is "Yep, right here in the box somewhere, can't tell which one..... can you??" I usually have dozens of receipts a week (from multiple people including me) to keep track of so I figure if they need a receipt that badly then they can figure it out.



FREE YOURSELF FROM THE MONOPOLY!!!! SHOP ELSEWHERE!!!



It's our only chance!



Ok I feel better. Flame on!!



Kev

 

[Deezul1]

They are way better here than that, still could improve for sure but a lot better than their competition. I also have my own business and take back lotsa stuff reciept or not, no problem. Would be nice to have more help, thats my biggest complaint.

 

[Dkevdog]

Deezul 1- They have adopted a new customer returns policy, it is nationwide. Within 30 days of purchase, receipt = refund. No receipt, no refund. Simple as that. It's a new policy, within the last couple of weeks.



Kev

 

[DarrellB]

I agree totaly with the Depot not being worth a $h1t, only time I will go there is if I need something on the weekend or late a night,early in the morning. The one by were I live is open 24hours a day the only good thing about it. I much rather shop at the small hardware store in town, nice older guys there that know what they are talking about and if they don't have it they can get it. My 2cents



Big D

 

[Big White Beast]

They're everywhere!!!

You just can't beat that. I wouldn't do my larger puchases there but it sure is convenient when you just need a few things to finish a job. Most of em here have contractors desks and checkouts.



The store here has some decent workers during the day. Ex-contractors and such. Some really know what they're doing. The rest are worthless. I have been there so many times I know where stuff is better than they do, that is untill they move it again. Sorry to say you can't beat their prices.



Nothing better than going to the wholesalers though. Usualy get donuts in the morning and really knowledgable (sp. ) people. Unfortunatly I am a small contractor and have to watch the money. On certain items H. D. cannot be beat. Heck, they seem to give it away.



Fore warned is fore armed. Know what you want, go in and get it, and get out. Asking questions of their employees most times is like trying to teach a pig to fly.



Just my 2¢,



Garrett

 

[catoiler]

Home depot up here got a can of whop a$$ opened on them when lowes opened up. their prices are much cheeper and they have better quality products and more choices and better service took about 2/3rds of their customers away from them lol

 

[Batman]

Lowes is starting to spring up over here in New England. Customer service at Home Chepo does $uck... . BIG TIME. I can't wait till Lowes hurts'um good.

I'm glad its not just me that thinks this about Depot.

my 2 pennies

 

[bigkid59]

Well, guys, this has been going on for several years in all types of businesses. Now that the Walmarts, Kmarts, Home Depots, etc. have captured almost all of the retail sales business from the smaller locally owned stores they can treat the consumer any way they want to.



Every time you are leaving one of these stores telling yourself that you will not be back there is someone else leaving a competitor's store thinking the same thing. It has gotten to the point that you are lucky to have at least two choices of store to chose from. The management of these large chains know this, and they use this to their advantage. They do not care if you are going across the street next time because the store across the street is losing one of their customers to them to replace you. They have so much business that it does not matter to them.



Years ago things were different in that each customer mattered because each store had people who had some level of authority who were in contact with the customers. As was mentioned above it is hard to get any help in some stores, let alone any help from someone who knows anything about the products. In the past there was a good chance that the person selling you some product was the owner of the store. Now you are lucky if you find anyone at all, let alone someone who cares. They are there to get their hours in and then leave.



As an attorney friend once told me "It's all about money". As long as these large chains are making money don't expect a lot to change. And the bad thing is that they will continue making money now that all the real competition has been eliminated.



Well, I did my venting for the morning. Now I need to go shopping.

 

[Ramboy]

The local lumber/hardware stores here have prices as good or better than Home Depot in San Antonio. We have a new Lowes going in but they will have to have great prices and personalized customer service to take any customers away from the locals.

 

[Okie-Go]

I like Lowe's. I think it is wifey's favorite store. We have one about 2 miles from the house. We had a lumber yard go out of buisness not to long after Lowe's opened also.

 

[TMc]

Lowes and Home Depot make all their money on the unknowing homeowner do it yourselfer. These are the people who buy the lumber there because they checked the price difference compared to the local lumber yard and it was 10 cents cheaper, but they have no clue how much nails,screws, bolts, hvac, electrical etc cost , and believe me here in CT all these little things are more expensive in the two bully stores than the local contractor stores, sometimes by as much as 300%... ... ... ... ... (especially hvac parts)



Example - homeowner puts small deck on house, sees that the pressure treated decking is 15 cents a linear foot cheaper than at the local lumberyard, so he heads to homedepot and gets his lumber little does he know that its grade #2 and the local lumberyard was selling premiuim grade which is above grade#1. Well while he's there he figures he might as well get the joist hangers and the lag bolts and nails and sonatube there as well these are the things where the homedepot comes out ahead.

Don't even get me going on the quality of thier wood and the kilndry and pressure treated process, the stuff is crap

 

[stg2500]

I definately agree with all that is said here.



Has anyone ever seen 3"4 oak plywood warp. If you buy it at the Depot you certainly will. That is why any lumber i buy is from the local lumber yard.

 

[Batman]

STG2500

That's because Home Cheapo board is made for canoes

George

 

[pcorssmit]

We had an Eagle hardware by my house that was bought out by bLowes a while ago. The place sucks now, they got rid of a ton of stuff that a hardware store should have and replaced it with stuff that belongs at bed, bath, and beyond.



The store has also taken away most of the business from the Hugh M Woods (Payless Cashways) a block away. Used to be all the contractors would go to Woods, now they stay away since they don't have any stock most of the time.



Don't even get my started on Home Depot. They're even worse than bLowes. I wasn't too sad to see Home Base go under, either.



Pete

 

[Fireman]

Bigkid nailed it !

You guys got it right and it looks like there is no stopping the superstore juggernaut. The only thing I like about these stores is finding all of the odd little things I need under one roof when I'm working on one of my off-the -wall projects. It's definitly not the place for contractors. The worst thing they do is make everyone think they can do anything, and save money. Wrong on all counts. I would hate to see most of the diy projects their coustomers do, at about the same cost as they could have had it done right. One other thing I hate those idiots at Lowes chasing me all over the store asking "can I helpyou" There is no hope for me, so leave me alone.



Fireman

 

[DieselDoghouse]

Home Despot

Thanks for the sanity check - Thought maybe HD had singled out MA for persecution (although the new store in Plymouth, MA has nicer people). Will soon have 1 word for home improvement here too - be a nice change. I get tired of '42,000 items' and not one piece of common hardware, just a bunch of annoyed disgruntled staff to ask, yet the local Mom & Pop store - 60 'mom' can find it and even knows what you want when its oddball hardware!!

 

[Fireman]

Mom and Pop Hardware Store

Mom: May I help you?

Customer: Yes, I need a ******* file.

Mom: I'll thank you to not talk like that in my presence!

Pop: Explains to ma that ******* is a type of file and diffuses the situation.



One week later... .



Mom: May I help you?

New customer: Yes'm I needs ah file.

Mom: (armed with newfound knowlege and ready to use it)

Would you like a ******* file?

New customer: No'm I needs one of them little round SOBs.



Fireman

 

[rob10858]

if you want service and price, go to 84 lumber. if you want selection with no service, go to the bigger chain stores. i worked for 84 for 6 years and lowes for 5 years. the associates at 84 are better trained, work harder, and know more about their product that any major bldng mat chain. when i went to the biggest lowes contractor yard in atlanta, from an 84 store in sc, i was amazed that the best contractor salesmen there could hardly do a material takeoff from a blueprint. the computers were the only thing they knew. if you want a washer-dryer combination, go to home depot, lowes, etc. if you want blding materials, go to 84. as far as quality of lumber, plywood, windows , etc its all graded by the same associations, and it is up to the customer to decide whether he wants to pay more for a higher grade , or take a chance with what the yard offers. lumber in general has been worse and worse because of the growing and cutting practices, and with the tarriff on canadian lumber, its only gonna get worse.