HOME DEPOT HELL

National Review Online - The Corner ^ | April 20, 2004 | John Derbyshire

[Cincinatus' Wife]

This darn place is going to the dogs. As if the aisle-closing business wasn't bad enough, I have now encountered a new annoyance.

The Home Depot has introduced self-check-out stations. Fair enough, and a convenience, if you have just small items & no complications. However, there are now situations -- I just encountered my second -- where Home Depot employees apparently feel that the self-check-out business relieves them of the need to man check-out stations altogether. If for some reason you can't check yourself out, there may be no regular check-out stations manned. (Personned, whatever.)

I gotta stop using this store.

[pt17]

Yeah and I looked at the orange flapper thing that my plummer put in and then looked at the ones in Wally World, boy what a piece of crap

You have dapper orange crapper flappers?

Seriously, I've found there's a lot of pure junk at our local HO DEPOT. Can't say if I've ever been to Lowes and have never stepped foot into China Mart.

[oceanperch]

LOL

[SamAdams76]

I actually prefer the self-checkout and I've never had a problem with them. Over the weekend, I bought a Weber grill and a bunch of lawn seed and weed killer bags. Had no problem self-checking them out. A helpful employee scanned the Weber grill for me so that I did not have to try lifting that monstrosity onto the scanner.

Overall, I am very satisfied with Home Depot. Everything is easy to find (once you learn the layout of the store) and they almost always have what you want in stock. I buy all my major appliances there because they are sure to have plenty of replacement parts for years to come. For example, I tuned up my lawn mower recently and had no problem getting the right spark plug and air filter, etc., even though I bought the grill about 7 years ago!

The employees there are always pleasant. Maybe not as friendly as Wal-Mart but then again, the Home Depot people have it much tougher because customers are more demanding and have many more questions to ask about a specific product than at Wal-Mart.

I should also mention that during the winter, I bought a sump pump that was defective. I used the sump pump for nearly two weeks before the defect became apparent (the motor burned out). When I brought it to Home Depot for exchange, I figured they would give me a hard time about it being that I used it for two weeks and they might even accuse me of running it dry. But no questions asked. They gave me a brand new pump right away.

[JimRed]

I don't know why, but in our area the HD standard of service seems much higher. When I've asked for help and the individual didn't know the answer they have helped me to find the right employee to ask.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Have a safe trip.

[Aquinasfan]

Home Depot has some flaws, but I never want to go back to the neighborhood hardware store (twice as expensive, limited selection) and lumber yard (who won't look at you unless you're buying enough lumber to build a house).

I love getting little shrubs for $3.33 -12.00 instead of $35 a whack at nurseries. I couldn't have landscaped my yard without HD. I also love the one-stop shopping.

[Quilla]

...go to your local, mom-and-pop hardware store. If there are any left in your locale.

As often as possible, we shop at our local hardware store - the oldest still in operation in our state and run by decendents of the original owners, the Porters. It was opened in 1889 and they have maintained the interior and exterior. Inside, the ceiling height is 20 feet plus, the ceiling is squares of pressed tin and the side walls are reached by tall, rolling ladders. They have everything you can think of from cast iron skillets, large wash tubs, to huge spools of grass rope. When my teenaged children know I'm going to Porter's, they insist on joining me to revel in the experience.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Lowe's is not in your market?

It's a lot further to go. The county I live in, Montgomery County, MD, is filled with citizens (at least the noisy ones) who don't want the discount stores. So you have to drive longer to go to Sams, Lowes, etc.

[PGalt]

bump

[Cincinatus' Wife]

A helpful employee scanned the Weber grill for me so that I did not have to try lifting that monstrosity onto the scanner.

You're lucky you got good service. But in essence you were using a manned check out line.

Don't get me wrong, I'm upset because I have spent many hours and thousands of dollars at HD and I hate to see it going to the dogs.

[Pikamax]

Derbyshire is a whiny baby, the self checkouts at the home depot stores around my area work just fine, only to be clogged up by idiot customers who can't figure out how to scan an item.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I undertand that they will be allowing customers to run various departments soon and even will be giving us keys to the doors so we can open up the store in the morning! It's called "eventual zero employees" plan.

Great post!

[varina davis]

I love Oregon's gas stations. State law forbids anyone to pump their own gas. Hate pumping gas. Wish Florida legislators would take note. Oregon contends it's safer to have attendants do it -- and I expect it creates and maintains more jobs, too. Love it! Must be a real boon to the elderly and others who have problems with it. Now, if stations would just check your oil, too.....

[Cincinatus' Wife]

....only to be clogged up by idiot customers who can't figure out how to scan an item.

And so it is bothering all the customers. That's the point. What next? A test to see if they should be allowed to shop? Or, hey here's an idea, have 2 manned checkouts and then have the 4 or so self-checkouts. If the self-checkouts move faster, more people will opt out of the manned ones, if not, management needs to fix this or they're going to feel it in their pocketbook.

[BlazingArizona]

I felt the same untill I started using the self check out for small purchases. Its faster by a mile than waitng in line unless you have to pay with a check.

Self-checkout is a great idea until your purchases include include any of the many bulk items at Home Despot. YOU have to wait for one of those nonexistent employees to wander over and tag your stuff.

[BlazingArizona]

The prices really are unbeatable. A little while back I bought a simple plastic wall-mounted hose rack for the back yard. $3.99. Saw the same item in my local village hardware store for $13.99.

BUT - at the Home Despot, the aisle with your hose rack will be closed.

[SamAdams76]

In my experience, the "local" hardware stores are just plain awful. Very poorly stocked and what is there is overpriced. The hours just aren't customer friendly. For example, the "mom-and-pop" hardware store near my house is only open from 7AM to 4PM during the week. I guess they figure their customers don't have day jobs. One time, I had an emergency with my basement flooding. I rushed to this store to get a sump pump and they were out of stock! Which was probably a good thing because the Home Depot carried the same model sump pump for about $50 less. And they had tons of them in stock.

Another thing I notice about the "mom-and-pops" is the surliness of the employees. Many of the employees are relatives of the owner and they just aren't used to working hard. They are usually reading a newspaper on the counter and get that bothered expression on their faces when you deign to walk in and disturb their comic strip reading. You get a lot of shrugs of the shoulders and "Ain't got that's" out of them.

It's a wonder that they even stay in business.

[MissAmericanPie]

The service industry generally stinks in the USofA. I'll keep shopping HD because I admire the way they told the Fed to stick it and buy their light bulbs elsewhere rather than cowtow to their outrageous and unrealistic minority employment demands.

Given the employee turn over rate of these major chains, keeping a racial balance in employees, at all times, is just not feasible or realistic and has nothing to do with the Feds imagined racism.

Home Depot was the first and only major store to back the Fed down on their unrealistic demands.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I like it too. I may have to continue my addiction to gardening at Lowes.

[Tijeras_Slim]

I'm fortunate to have a mom and pop hardware store nearby that is actually pretty good. Of course they don't have the overall selection of HD, but they do have some specialty items for my rural location that HD doesn't. You just have to know what they have. The staff remembers who you are and are friendly. They even had a store dog that everyone liked. When it died it got a obit in the local paper.