[Cincinatus' Wife]

I have talked to our local stores about this. Now I'm going to hand this editiorial to my local store managers and tell them Lowes must be loving this.

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[wingster]

I gotta stop using this store.

As an expert in customer service, you are truly correct. HD is going down the tubes in spades and in the way of Hechingers.

One word: LOWE'S

[longtermmemmory]

It is very true, the employees actually direct people to the self check out. It is a royal pain because the scanners' glass surface is scratched up, there is only one person there to help and they are usually running between the sections dealing with defective machines.

Lowes has not installed these machines, yet. (better stock performer too.)

The problem is they count each individual self checkout as a single open register, they should be considerd 1/2 or 1/4 of an open station.

Customers should get a 1% -5% discount for doint the job of home depot staff.

[discostu]

This is why I went back to Ace. I only go to Home Depot (or it's blue twin Lowes) in cases of dire emergency. The stores suck, the employees suck, the selection is suprisingly thin given the size of the building, forget Home Depot go someplace that's nice.

[Havoc]

I tried a self-checkout several months ago just out of curiosity. It didn't save any time. It was a pain in the behind. And I shop where I do because of the people - the help - not the price. I can get dvds at Walmart cheaper than at Best Buy. But at Best Buy, they actually bother to assist and are quite pleasant about it. I want a body there that is being paid something to do a job. I don't begrudge anyone the right to make a profit; but, replacing people with machines is just wrong. There are people out there who need work. What is that machine contributing to society? Nothing.

[isthisnickcool]

Hi,

Remember this "HOME DEPOT HELL" thread?

During the thread I cut a bunch of comments and sent them to Kenneth G. Langone. I told him I had the same problems with my store locally.

Kenneth G. Lagone just called me on the phone. Upset about reading the thread. He said that their research says that the self-checkouts have been well received.

He is, to say the least, a hoot! A very passionate man. He said if he "gets a complaint he calls the person himself". I just found out that's true. The man is hell on wheels. It was like talking to Donald Trump. He had statistical data about how well the Home Depot self-checkout technology has been received, etc.

I was kinda shocked he called me. He was a co-founder of Home Depot. He said to try the store again and if I had problems call him.

I freeped a billionaire:)

[katana]

We stopped shopping at Home Depot as soon as we had the chance to try out a new Loews that opened up nearby. The lack of service and plain ignorant staff at HD was a constant frustration. Loews has better or very similar pricing, good selection, and MUCH better customer service. I still purchase smaller hardware needs at the local ACE store, but for bigger ticket home improvement items we've found Loews to be the better choice among the big box stores.

[Redcloak]

A word of advice: Never wear an orange shirt to Home Depot. You will have other customers asking you where to find this or that. I made this mistake once. The embarrassing thing was that I was able to answer all of their questions.

[Smartass]

I use Home Depot all the time. Their new self checkout
sucks. Machines simply can't answer questions. No doubt
the new generation self checkout will take questions and
have answers outsourced from Timbuktu.

[Barnacle]

OK, Here's what I'd like to see improved at HD.

One Saturday, I was walking the length of the store on a very congested middle isle. Ahead of me, was a fork truck driver, who was not content to let the constant beeping motion alarm announce his presence, he also laid on the horn as if everyone was suppose to leap out of his way. By the time I got to the other side, I was ready to throttle him. When I mentioned this to someone behind the service counter, I got nothing but cluelessness.

Secondly, don't make me press a button just so that I can check out in the language of the United States of America!

[John Lenin]

I think the self checkouts are great but you should try to only use them for easy to scan items and items that don't sell by the foot or pound because than you have to wait for the help person to ok the measurements. I like the self checkouts in the grocery store even better.

[Bob J]

I love Home Depot, if you want a piece of them you gotta go through me...heheh.

[MinuteGal]

I decided to quit Home Depot. Both of their stores in my area don't have enough help any more and I got sick of walking, walking, looking for an orange apron. These guys do masterful job of disappearing to god knows where when you need one of them.

It's the biggest time of the year in the Home Depot Garden section. Not enough help there either, in the past two months. In fact I couldn't find a clerk there at all the last two times I was there. I had to ask to speak to the store manager to get some help to appear outside.

So, as I said, I quit Home Depot. My next trip was to Lowes, a longer distance away. Guess what! Not enough clerks there either.

I think I'll eat some worms.

Leni

[O.C. - Old Cracker]

There are four Home Depots in my town and all are dirty and cluttered. I had to visit one today because Lowe's didn't have the 0.95" line for my weed eater in bulk. Lowe's appears to be better run and cleaner. The same is true when comparing Costco to Sam's. I dropped my Sam's membership because the Sam's near my house makes you wait in long lines and their selection is inferior.

[Peeved in Winchester]

Home Depot SUCKS! I'm so mad right now I could spit nails (NOT bought from Home Depot, I might add)! Last year I bought a Toro weedeater with the blade attachment for cutting brush and lost a part to it. I went to HD asking if they had a kit to fix it. They didn't sell the part. I got on the net looking for Toro replacement parts and they don't sell directly to the consumer. You have to go through one of their distributors. I finally find a distributor in my area, take the weedeater to their shop and they call Toro, because the model number doesn't appear in their computer for parts. After about six different phone calls by them on my behalf, we find that Toro didn't even manufacture the product. It was made for HOME DEPOT by another company and THERE ARE NO REPLACEMENT PARTS AVAILABLE AT ALL! So, I go to HD and ask for the manager, tell him my story, tell him they should put a sign above the Toro trimmers, "WARNING: THIS PRODUCT IS NOT MADE BY TORO AND THERE ARE NO REPLACEMENT PARTS AVAILABLE." I wanted my money back. They said no. I wanted them to rectify the situation . . . they said they couldn't. I told them that if I didn't receive satisfaction from them (HD) they would hear next from my attorney, at which point both the Assistant Manager and guy from the lawn and garden department said, "That's it. Conversation over." and walked away from me. Is THIS any way to treat a good paying customer? Over the last three years, I've probably spent close to $4,000.00 at that particular store. I am more incensed than ever and will probably go to great lengths to warn consumers about both Toro AND Home Depot. How can a company, in all good conscience, sell a product they KNOW the product name didn't manufacture and that no replacement parts are available???? ARRRRRRRRGH! Thanks for letting me rant. :)

[Hotdog]

Simple solution...fill your carts up...go to check out...if nobody is available to take your money...or the lines are too long...leave your cart and walk out to your car and go across the street to the competitor!

[Tribune7]

I gotta stop using this store.

OK, so stop using the store. Actually, I've been using my local Ace Hardware more & more. I swear it has a better selection for many items and, amazingly, better prices.

For the record, I like the Home Depot self- checkouts.

[Spirochete]

I hate Home Depot because their forklift operators take a 15-minute break with the forklift beeping.

Once, I just left my merchandise at the checkout and walked out because of the nonstop beeping.

[ex-delivery coordinator]

The Home Depot Home Office has been a nightmare to reach. I have been trying to get someone in payroll to pick up the phone for exactly one week now. My last paycheck was short one day of pay. The last day I worked, I had a mispunch. The manager that terminated out of the system me knew this and did nothing to correct it. I have been informed by HR that I have to call home office and get it fixed because I have already been taken out of the system. Each day I call around diffent times, and each day, I am on hold well over 30minutes and still no pick up. I cannot afford to run up my phone bill any longer. What can I do to get my money?

[N. Theknow]

Self check-out stations.

The DMV of commerce.

[walshcinn]

I am writing this email because I am furious with Home Depot and I thought everyone in my email address book should know why.

The week of 7/29 I attempted to order an arch window blind for my new home. Sound easy enough? Read on. The woman at the store told me I needed a template even though I knew the measurements. I said "ok, I will go to the front of the store and measure 47 1/2 by 24 on a piece of newspaper and bring it back to you" She said she would not accept it because she would know I did not go home to make it. (I am not kidding) I talked to the store manager. He went to talk to her and came back to tell me I was welcome to GO HOME and make a template and bring it back in (again, not kidding). I talked to another store manager the next day and I brought in a template that I used a ruler on a piece of newspaper and measured 47 1/2 across by 24. I was told it would take 10 days to come in. A MONTH LATER I called the store. They told me that the company lost the template! Why didn't they call and tell me? (Because Home Depot does NOT CARE) We made another template using the same method as before. We were called 2 weeks later to be told (I swear to God I am not making this up) that the company returned the template because it was not cut out. Now, 2 months after I fought and got the stupid thing ordered, I am being told my order is ON HOLD. The measurement on the template does not match what I verbally told them. The VERY RUDE employee who called said "All I need from you is to know which is right. She proceeded to get irate and hang up on me. I called the manager. When I told her that I will no longer make purchases from Home Depot, she said "OK" and hung up. Why? Because Home Depot does not care. I still do not have my stupid arch blind!

We probably have a thousand dollars or more on our Home Depot credit card. We bought $400.00 dollars worth of blinds during this time we were trying to get the arch. NEVER AGAIN.

I also did a search on the internet and found web sites devoted to Home Depot Customer Service horror stories.

Please. if practical, do not buy anything from Home Depot. If for no other reason you could end up in Home Depot Customer Service hell just like me.

Please pass this message on......................

P.S. After I originally sent this email, Home Depot called and said they would not order my arch until I brought in ANOTHER template. I swear, how incompetent can one store be?