If you think HD is tough to deal with as a customer, be glad you're not one of their suppliers.
I'm a truck driver who has to deliver the suppliers freight to the HD's in the Chicago metro area and I'll tell ya, they are the worst. If my appt. for the 1 or 2 skids of freight is at 1400, They will only take it at 1400.
Not 1 before 2. Not 1 after 2. But, 2. (Sorry I regress from my Python memories)
Receiving areas are the dirtiest, cluttered, and unsafe I've ever seen. Employees are bitter. The place is like Fort Knox because of all the theft out the back door. Drivers are seldom allowed on the dock to verify the unloading procedure, but instead are confined to a 8x8 cage with a cut out to pass the paperwork through. Reminds me of a jail meal slot.
Now Menard's and Lowe's are pleasant to deliver to. I wonder why?