Needed to buy about 120′ of 4 1/4″ primed pine crown today. Went to my local Home Cheapo, all they had was about 100′ of scraps. Asked the guy at the desk if he had more, he said no but the computer shows the other location about 12 minutes away had 500′. Went there and all they had was scraps, computer was wrong. To avoid driving around, I called a third that would be 25 minutes away, all they have is scraps.
Lowes doesn’t carry this standard crown in the 4 1/4″ width ( I have to use this style to match the rest of the house).
Looks like I have to either drive farther or buy bare wood and spend the time to paint it.
How can you be out of a staple at three different locations. Aaaahhhhh!!! My frustration level with HD is rising
Replies
is Moser still in business ? they used to be THE lumber yard out your way
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, wer ist jetzt der Idiot ?
I miss Moser, they were the place to go before Home Depot. Probably closed about 10-15 years ago. Hands on approach, local owners, decent selection.
It seems funny to me that I have a problem with HD the same time they're getting bad press.
Addendum to my first post...
Called the fourth HD and went through the computerized menu and picked the Lumber and Building Materials department. A guy on the floor answered, I asked for the crown and he said I had to talk to millwork. His phone also couldn't connect me, I would have to call back. I actually called back, went through the menu again, Millwork wasn't an option. Finally got Customer Service, they gave me to Millwork where the guy helped me and told me they had a "sh!t load of the stuff" - direct quote.
Aahhh
“The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume
that's too bad abot Moser..damn that whole downtown area seems to have gone to heck.
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., wer ist jetzt der Idiot ?
Moser Lumber closed mainly because dad died (1998) leaving a multi-million dollar empire and the family wanted to concentrate on building tract homes (albiet upscale) in Naperville and surrounding Illinois communities. The lumber business was pretty small potatoes to them in comparison to the big bucks to be had building endless, homogenous suburban sprawl.
FWIW, I live in a 20 year-old house originally built by a Moser company (MACOM). Very nasty bones. Every new project leads to 3 fix-its.
Have to agree the old style of independent lumber/hardware store is missed.
I remember the feeding frenzy that was the mid eighties out there, in fact the last home I worked on was a small bungalow south of 75th and Book Rd. at the south end of a very new golf course IIRC and the sprawl was just gearing in '84the last time I was out there was '05 for a lighting job at an Ethan Allen store on 59....I couldn't get away from that rat race fast enough.
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., wer ist jetzt der Idiot ?
It seems funny to me that I have a problem with HD the same time they're getting bad press.
I'm noticing an opposite reaction. I had pretty much sworn off of "Agent Orange" but had to go to one in East Palo Alto, CA last week. (that's NOT one of your better neighborhoods - lol) I was absolutely floored by the courtesy and helpfulness of those folks!!
I was searching for something and one of the guys actually came up and asked if I was having trouble finding something. When I told him what I was looking for, he said he didn't know if they had it, but knew who to ask. We found that guy and he showed us where it was. Then................(for your own safety, read the rest while seated and ask the women and kids to leave the room).....................they even loaded the cart for me!!!
I almost had heart failure!! I'm too damned old for those kind of surprises!! Jeez, I may even find a reason to go back!!! I don't know if they had caught something, but I sure hope it's contagious!!!- lol
I do have to add that there was a guy by the front door when I walked, kind of like Wal-Mart. I bet the press is hitting them hard right now. “The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume
I like when they come up to you" Hello sir, can I help you"
" yes you sure can, go over there"
" why, what over there"
"Not me." then do a 180 and walk away
That's the best laugh I have had in a while. Can I use that one?
I had that same type of experience this past week at HD. The nearest to me are 82, 86 and 112 miles away.
I have avoided going to any HD for over 2 years now so I was prepared to "take" their attitude on something I wanted that only they had (Ridgid MSUV stands from other thread).
They were helpful, courteous, kind, generous, friendly, knowledgeable, organized. Oops, sorry, isn't that something to do with the Scouts?
It almost took my breath away. Nice to be surprised like that.
When I lived in the San Jose area in the 70's East Palo Alto was locally known as Little Nairobi and you wouldn't want to break down there. Sorry to hear it hasn't changed....The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...
Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home.
...aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
Beachbum -
Actually, East Palo Alto is getting better. That HD store is in a new area just east of 101 and Embarcadero with a humongeous Ikea store and several other new businesses.
When I was engineering fiber optic conduit systems a few years ago, I did a couple of routes in East Palo Alto and didn't have any problems - other than having to explain to people that I couldn't help them with their telephone problems and I had nothing to do with the sorry condition of the streets. - lol
A couple of years ago, a law firm built a fancy new office building at the northwest corner of 101 and Embarcadero. They printed their stationary with a Palo Alto address and were really embarrassed when they found out that they were actually in East Palo Alto. They claimed that they didn't know that, but nobody believes them. - lol
I don't care how ugly or how contagious you are - that wws funny
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
So, was his description accurate?
So, was his description accurate?
Very, the bin was full of 16 footers, just like I needed. Got extactly what I needed. “The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume
You think thats bad? Last year I went to a Dunkin Donuts on Mothers Day.........
They ran out of donuts!
The word donuts is on the sign! You think they might want to keep some around.
Panera Bread Company ran out of bread on Mothers Day for me at 10:00 in the morning.“The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume
Panera Bread Company ran out of bread on Mothers Day for me at 10:00 in the morning.
I went to burger king and they ran out of BEEF! Got a chicken sandwich, what's up with that?
What would Clara say?
.."where's the beef?"...The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...
Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home.
...aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
If I lived in an area that was that inaccessible to items like trim I'd have bought my router/table set up a lot sooner.
Luckily I have fifty gazillion supply houses within 15 minutes of me but I stil luse my router table a whole lot.
Good excuse for you to build or buy one now : )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFexyK8J1Iw
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Reason all they had was scrap trim is because all those contractors bring back their little 1 foot pieces of leftover trim for a refund.
be tight enough to squeak.
every court needs a jester
all those contractors bring back their little 1 foot pieces of leftover trim for a refund
And, there's no good ICS (inventory control system) code for returns (and there's a manager bonus/incentive for inventory cost control, too, allegedly).
The trim stocking schema ICS uses might as well be alchemy--makes electrical parts see almost logical. There's no "additional space" to store quantities over "bin full" like with other products. It all goes in the same bin, fit or not. Near as I can tell, the manager, the PFK "in charge" of the 'department' and the ICS get to use fuzzy numbers to make the spreadsheets & bean counters happy. All will insist that the number they quote is 100% accurate, too.
Me, I'd have a triple bin in the department--short, medium, otherk, all with the same SKU number. Every return, every cut-down, whatever goes in that bin, no matter what. ICS would then be told that restock = 0; no = bin-full, and quantity on hand = 0. Set the SKU to, oh, $2.50 the LF to cut down on the skin-flints busting trim so it goes in the damaged bin. Call it even.
But, that's far too logical to work. The national Buyer would bollox it all up anyway, chaging from English to metric dimensions then changing mills in mid run, so that no two sticks in a given profile would ever match anyway, but "saving" 0.01¢ per stick for the Corporate Buyer's bonus . . . Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
I like Lowes policy of just calling it waste and wholesaling it all to get it out of the store.
be hating clutter
every court needs a jester
I've got 3 Home Depots, 2 Lowes, and 1 Menards all less than 20 minutes away. If I spread that radius to 30 minutes, it goes up to a total of 12 different boxes to choose from.
Unfortunately, there ain't many millwork dealers close by, probaby too much competition. I've got one about a half hour away but they don't carry the primed-pine that i want. Another place closes at 4:00 during the week and aren't open on Saturdays. (I know, my lack of preperation doesn't make an emergency for others)
I just don't get how you run out of the basics. “The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume
I think we must shop at the same set of stores in Illinois.
When you consider that the average HD or other big box might get delivered 500' of a single style of trim to throw in the bin at one time, it doesn't take much to deplete the stock.
I discussed this once with an HD manager, and he claimed they don't control inventories directly, but rely on their wacky computer to trigger orders. Having been bitten by the same "they've got lots at XYZ location" bug, I now always make people walk the aisle at the remote store while I wait on the phone rather than trust the computer. (ditto for just about any other store for that matter)
The last time I went through this for some last minute light fixtures at HD, a poor kid spent 30 minutes tracking down a whole pallet of stock that had been stored about 3 aisles away from the correct department. He got a nice workout climbing up and down the ladder just to make sure my crappy $30 fixture was there.
Uncommon service in a HD.
Edited 3/10/2007 1:21 am ET by Thaumaturge
"Having been bitten by the same "they've got lots at XYZ location" bug, I now always make people walk the aisle at the remote store while I wait on the phone rather than trust the computer. "Auto parts recyclers, and even dealers parts departments are really bad about that.But if you ask them to go check, they just lay the phone down, take care of another customer, then come back and say, yeah, the part is there.You get there, and of course, they don't have the part.That's when you just want to go postal. You have just wasted the time it takes to drive all the way out to their place. And now there isn't ebough time to get to the other place, where they might actually have the part...
Sometimes all it's about is just a good bowl of soup.
..and a sammich
Why don't you just call in your order a couple days ahead of time?
Why don't you just call in your order a couple days ahead of time?
Last minute.
If I had the time to order the fixture in that case, I would probably not have gone to HD. This is what the big boxes are really best for anyway - see a reasonable selection, pick something up quick.
If there are houses in the area then they have trim. Builders of these houses didn't buy that trim from HD or Lowes, they bought it from a supplier. Find these suppliers the next time you need any trim, doors, fasteners etc. and you will be eternally grateful.Go to a new sub being built and ask them where they buy their trim.I have been one piece short of crown on a job before and had it delivered to me, same day, for a $10 delivery charge. And the crown still ended up being cheaper priced than the stuff at HD.
Since starting this thread, I've done some investigating about other locations to get materials near me. I found an Edward Hines (not sure if they'er national or not). Their site shows that they have everything I need, or at least can get it. I'm going to start going there for my wood needs.
I guess I have to get used to shopping at their hours and not mine. They're only open from 7-4 on weekdays. This will be tough for me to work with but I could look into delivery.
You get used to the convenience of HD, I guess I should be happy with what they have to offer and it shouldn't surprise me anymore. “The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume
Right - it's all about expectations. I've been disappointed by a BB store being out of what I need, gotten so many wrong answers form clerks, etc, etc, it is pretty much what I expect.
Regarding the clerks, I constantly remind myself that their's is not a very well paying job so therefore they aren't going to be the most experienced people. I reserve my questions to "where is the ______ located in the store?" but often times I find that I know the stores better as a whole than the employees. Try asking someone in the hardware department where the hardware cloth is... :-) I'd also say I'm shocked when I run across a employee that seems to know as much about say lumber or hardware as I do. Generally an employee would be very familiar with what his carried in his/her department though. The other day though I wanted some trim-head screws and got the "what planet are you from" look... :-)
I just wish they would organize all the blows (for example) the same so I could go in any store and know where stuff is. I think Wal-Mart does that, and some grocery store chains too.
I'm thinking that in the case of your original problem - 4 1/4" crown - it isn't as much of a mainstream item so they aren't too vigilant about making sure it is in stock. Now if you wanted 3 5/8" I think it may have gone better. Over the years I've noticed that both the orange and blue big box has stopped carrying a number of things that I would say I'd use infrequently, but liked having available. Also these big boxes generally don't carry the high end stuff - I'm guessing the reason being is that their target market share is DIY types, and these folks don't normally go for the Sub-Zero fridges and the 7" speed base. After all the main reason they are DIYing it is more often than not to save money... Also I've noticed that although they do carry an incredible wide variety of of items they don't carry a wide variety of certain individual items - like maybe floor sheathing - they might have two: 3/4" plywood and some OSB product that likely may not be the brand I prefer. My yard probably has 5 different floor sheathings, but likewise doesn't carry fridges. Again I'm thinking that the DIYer might be much more likely to use a wide variety of floor covering, where-as they wouldn't actually be needing floor sheathing as often.
I went to blowes one day looking for something that they did not have. "excuse me , do you have......"
"No sir, we dont carry that"
"Can you tell me where another hardware store is"
"SIR, WE ARE NOT A HARDWARE STORE"
" Then what the........am I doing here then"
Walmart does not arrange all their stores the same layuout.
In traveling around the country, I learned that my wife wants to stop at WM first thing in a new town to worship at Sam's Altar and make donations.I have seen at least a dozen different layouts for their merchandise.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
OK - I must be wrong. Someone had told me that, and I had noticed the ones in my area were the same basic layout. I haven't done the national Wal-Mart shopping trip though :-).
Hines is okay. They're mainly in northern Illinois with a couple locations in IN and WI. I've sourced cedar siding and other raw lumber from them. The nice part is that they will let you pick your own materials in their yard if you like.
On the other hand, my brother used to work in their corporate office and reports they are a bunch of penny-pinching so and so's. Probably the nature of their low-margin business.
I miss using his discount. :-(
"ou get used to the convenience of HD"I never considered it convenient having to go pick it up when I can have it delivered.I never considered it convenient finding that they had only 70% of what I need to do a jobI never considered it convenient getting something back home and openning the box to discover that something is missing or broken.I never considered it convenient climbing a ladder to instal a light on remore switch bought from them, only to have it fail a week later due to cheap partsI never considered it convenient returning an item that did not work only to be told that they do not accept returns of that kind of item...untill I throw rant in the customer service aisleI never considered it convenient to take them a tool for service and having them tell me that it was all done - only to discover that they had lost it by time I got there....Three times! same toolI do however now find it highly entertaining to read these threads now that I no longer do business with them.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
"Good excuse for you to build or buy one now : )"
Surely, you jest! An excuse? Since when?
You buy tools because they are.......................there.
PS: Thanks for the wax tip....The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...
Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home.
...aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
I went to HD last week late one night; desperately needed some M8x1.25 nuts, ran in, found them, ran to the counter and FORGOT MY WALLET (the nice one I got on sale from Duluth Trading with my gift cert. from Shep).
Cashier, Tiffany, said, "Oh, that's okay - you come in here a lot - I'll buy them for you"
Took out the couple bucks from her pocket, and did it.
And the coffee was fresh and hot.
At 8:45 on a weeknight.
Forrest - lookin' for Tiffany with $2.30 in my pocket
That's great service, but they're really not supposed to do that. Basically, she bought something herself at her own register. When cashiers buy something, they're supposed to go through another cashier. The reason for this is that the store doesn't want cashiers "mixing" their own money with the store's money. For example, they're not even supposed to take a money out of the own pocket and make change for themselves. And they're'e all on camera so they could possibly get in trouble for doing it.
Granted, this is nit-picking, but I just wanted to point it out in case someone out there falls a penny short and the cashier doesn't want to make it up.
I know this because I know a Home Depot cashier quite well. Oy vey, the stories I hear!
Do you think she actually put her own money in or did she just not collect the cash for the sale?
In the perfect world, employees should be able to do this on the company's nickle without any ramifications.
Personally, I wouldn't touch my own money, but if I had a customer that has spent thousands, I wouldn't be picky about $2.30 and I would hope my boss would agree.
Yes, I understand this is a fine line to tread.
Check out a book called "Fish" all about this concept.
http://www.amazon.com/
I think I just hijacked my own thread :)“The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume
She actually did get her purse from under the counter and took out a couple of singles, and some change from her pocket.
Forrest
Wanna talk about not carrying stock material? Try to find a 2X4 good enough to use in a beaver damn at Homo Dept. Last weekend I went into my job site to collect a bunch of 2x4's that had come in as giant pallets and crates for some equipment delivered for the building. Out of say 75 boards I found 25 worth taking home and these would still have to be cut up to be usable. (the rest would end up in the dumpster Mon. morning, man that stuff kills me but there's no choice. That's a whole different issue I've tried to give that kind of stuff away, recycle, or even reuse, but a 30yrd can is still most effective) I than needed only 3 2x4's for a different project but these I wanted to be strait and clear grained so I figured I'd cough up the $ even though I just picked up 25 boards free off the job but those are just to have on hand in the shop. So I went to the big orange junk store and after 20min. and half a full bunk I gave up and went home to use the free stuff that turned out to be straighter even after laying around (not stacked) the site for a couple of weeks than what I could buy off the shelf.
I'm considering going into the lumber business just collecting the scrap off my job sites and still charging more for better lumber than the HD, any takers?
On the other hand, several years ago, I was adding on to a house in Arlington, VA. Needed a thick wax ring. Late at night.
Was going to run to the HD a mile away; then realized I could stack two; didn't go.
8:30 on a Thursday night (see where I'm going with this?). Installed the toilet.
That night, saw my usual parking area at HD, under the deck, on CNN.
Beltway sniper. 8:40 that night.
Forrest - Lucky boy
I'm in Baltimore and remember that well.
I was scary. Walking in & out of home depot or
filling the truck, always looking over your shoulder.
Mclaren
I am always amused by the consistent rants about the big box houses.
Let's not forget, they came to being by providing a service and products that the local supplier couldn't provide. They were open seven days a week, they carried a huge line of products compared to the little local guys, they were open late at night, they provided, in many instances, one stop shopping (remember the days of stopping at the lumber yard, then the electrical supply house, then the plumbing supply house, the cabinet store, etc...), they offered very competitve pricing, and they didn't make the little guy feel like an idiot when he walked in and asked for something he really didn't know much about.
Now a days, people expect them to be EVERYTHING. I take them for what they are. They are a good source of products at very competitive pricing. They are locally convenient. They will not have everything, all the time. In general, the people who work the aisles don't know much about anything. I don't rely on them at all. The guys at the contractor service desk are very helpful and knowledgeable, but they don't know everything. They offer great sales (i.e., once a month Contractor Appreciation Day with unlimited 10% off everything you buy). They will often be out of stuff (even though their computer tells them they have 1200 units in the aisle....happens to me all the time). I think they are crazy to offer the return policy that they do, but I have used it in the past and it has worked for me.
If you expect them to be everything, all the time, you will be dissapointed, because they are not. If you don't expect much out of them, then what you do get will be a pleasant surpirse. It's like everything in life, it's just a matter of how you look at it.
Brian.....Bayview Renovation
Hear hear!
Forrest - completely agree
The local Ace Hardware store closed its doors the first of the month; less than a year after Home Depot opened nearby. The small plumbing department at Ace had a larger selection. Granted they only carried one to three of each item instead of 100. But they had EVERYTHING I ever needed. Their Moen faucets were $10.00 more expensive, but were equipped with brass innards, not plastic.
"Gosh, Mr. Lamb, this chipper/shredder won't fit in your car. How about if I drop it off at your place on my way home tonight? I'm taking a mower to one of your neighbors and I'll just bring this puppy along. Will you be home to help me get it out of MY truck?" And this fellow was embarrassed to accept anything. His truck, his time. I will miss my little Ace.
Lucky for me 84 Lumber and Carter Lumber are nearby along with a couple local hardwood mills.
The big boxes are always full of what I don't want and out of what I need.
Your results may vary, mine are pretty much constant...
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/HomeDepotCEOWeLetYouDown.aspx?GT1=9145
CEO of HD speakouts!! He can talk the talk ,hope he can walk the walk“The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume
Oh that's just classic. The CEO of HD responds to an article on the MSN board. He's rightly concerned with what the (stock) market thinks given HD's performance.
Can't blame him. It pays to manage up, and his BOD and the shareholders are his bosses.
I suggest he hit this board or the JLC, PLBG, etc. boards if he really cares what the trade thinks.
I suggest we start CC'ing HD posts to the email they suggested.
[email protected]
sent this to their email addy.....
taking bets....
giving odds.....
I say I never hear from them....
Hello people..
RE: this link..
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/HomeDepotCEOWeLetYouDown.aspx?GT1=9145
If Mr Blake is really sorry as he says he should visit several professional forums such as JLC and Taunton's Breaktime...
Tell him to brig his Zantack...
He will find that we try our damnedest to spend our money elsewhere and at the same time discourage shopping at HD...,
Over time you have replaced better with less in materials and people for the almighty bottom line..
You have made shopping at your own business an unpleasant experience.. Enough so that I dread going to a HD....
Product I know and it's still "buyer beware" buying from you...
Customer Service from some time back sucked and as I understand from people that I know it has gotten worse..
Special Order just never happens... Something is always wrong about / with the order and follow up is non-existent..
Corrective action is just words or some of your infamous "smoke and mirrors"....
Did I mention trying to check out???
What a joke...
I use to spend money at your stores... A lot of it...
No more..
Got tired of being treated like a bottom feeder...
Dealing with with really stupid help...
Store managers that... well they were store managers..
I just gave up on ya... and I'm not beyond warning others of what they are up against and taking them to vendors that treat them well and fairly....
The straw that broke the proverbial camel's back was you cost me money, time, overhead and customer relations....
Helped a man by the name of Dave out... (I will link you to him on request)
Dave: HELP!!!
Me: okay
Me: where did all this material come from?
Dave: HD.
Me: I don't do HD or their products. I haven't the time, energy or money to waste. I'm gone..
Dave: Wait, what do you suggest?
Me: Take it all back and we'll use my suppliers etc.... (several thousand dollars in returns as in many)
We did just that and Dave was introduced to my suppliers... as a note I didn't make margin when Dave did his own shopping...
When we were done Dave saved money, had higher quality products and his regression came to a halt by not following the advice of your aisle monkeys...
Dave received value for his money.. not hype...
On the final day of the job Dave thanked me profusely for what I'd done and then he said something that made a lot of sense...
to Quote Dave... "Shopping at Home Depot is like sabotaging your own job"
You people have got to clean up you act and quit crapping on us the customer base...
I won't be back till you do or at least show some promise...
Take this to heart... It is well and fine by me if you run yourselves out of business...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I bet you DO hear from them...they're "really" stupid if you don't get a response.
Whats REALLYYYYYYYYYYY weird is I was JUST gonna send you an Email. Weird!
So I'm tiling the bathroom today and the door bell rings...its my mail man with three boxes. Three DEWALT boxes. I'm like....HUH?????
Remember I told you a DW rep contacted me about my bad review of them?
I complained all over town about my DW jig saw? When I spoke to him we got into their battery life and he was telling me he did get some complaints and wanted to send me two to test?
I also just happen to mention my DW boombox/charger went to hell that week coincidentally.
So in the mail was their best jig saw and boombox/charger and two DW 18V batteries they make!!! I do have to admit I was SHOCKED!!! I told the rep that it pisseddd me off all the good stories I heard about Bosch service yada yada yada and with thousands of dollars worth of DW tools in my shop I couldn't't get any help with a stupid two dollar pin in my JS. He said I musta gotten a bum rep and he took down the number of the letters I had from his rep which I just happened to keep.
So.........nowadaze with all the competition out there you better stay on top of things or you'll end up like Crapsman or worse. Its hard o make a comeback...not impossible but ....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFexyK8J1Iw
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
you have a rare experience here or what???Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
you have a rare experience here or what???<<<
Sure seems like it but I ain't complaining!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFexyK8J1Iw
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
so many DW owners including myself were rode hard and put away wet....
geeeze.....
count yur blessings...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
the amazing thing was that guy "just happened" to see my bad review.
As you know...When I contacted them direct originally I got nada.
Who knows...watch and see what happens. I don't have high expectations but I've seen weirder things happen.
I also just complained to HD now that I'm on a roll...lol.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFexyK8J1Iw
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
so what did you say????
to HD that is...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Basically complained about the service.
One thing that really irks me that I just thought of is the five hundred check out registers and only 2-3 cashiers and long lines...hmmmmm
Why do they have so many check out registers????? And so few cashiers?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFexyK8J1Iw
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
cashiers cost money...
having cashierd would be providing service...
since when is HD noted for service???
and why the dysfunctional self check outs...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Cash registers cost money too and they have an aweful lot of em'. I've always figured its just an expensive barricade...lol.
Ya know what Marty...6 of one 1/2 of the other...Before HD the yards were gauging me/us then came HD and the yards became humbled.I "have" noticed over the years how sales people, waiters and waitresses...service people for the most part are overly polite now...thing is...who the helll expects to get professional answers from someone working at HD or the like? I mean you can ask...sometimes you get a good answer...mostly not but if anyone "counts" on them their nuts to begin with then so.....
Your B'days in March too right? 56?
edit: was asking cause I was thinkin' fer some reason we were almost exactly the same age???http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFexyK8J1Iwhttp://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Edited 3/14/2007 12:48 am ET by andybuildz
but so many HO's treat the word from HD as gospel and use it as a gun to yur head...
but the guy at HD said.... yadda..........
cash registers are a 100% tax credit..
check my profile fer yur answers..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Edited 3/14/2007 12:57 am by IMERC
It'll be interesting to see if they respond or read this thread or others constantly appearing here.One of my worst HD experiences came after I had already formed a negative opionion of them. I think my customer must have owned some of their stock at that time in their growth period.He told me he wanted me to buy the kitchen at HD. I grimaced but because it was on his nigkle, I traveled the hour and a half to get there and sat down with their "designer". I had already designed the kitchen so this should have taken no more than 45minutes to plug in.But because HD carries such a limited selection there were constant adjustments for things like "No sir - they don't make a 27" Wall cabinet. You will have to use a 24 and a 5" filler instead of the 2" filler"
Whay should I make the kitchen look that ugly?I sat through three hours of this watcching my watch and wondering what the $ total might save, if anything.It came to 4:00PM and we were within ten minutes of wrapping this thin up when she announced that she had to leave.
WHAT?! Leave me sitting with nothing while you leave?!!!!"Sorry sir, but our hours are limited because the management will not pay overtime even in a situation like this."So just spend ten minutes to finish up and then come in ten minutes late tomorrow...Nope - management won't allow that sort of thing.So she introduces me to her manager who will be taking over to finish up...once he finishes with another customer ahead of me - even though they came into the store an hour later than me....( Now when I first started I told her my requirements in picking out which line of cabs to work with, which included that they have ply boxes - not beaver board. She directed me to a couple of choices and I picked the better one.)So when the manager took over and we sat down together for him to finalize, I walked him through what we had done so far...
"I'm sorry sir, but this line of cabs does not copme in ply boxes..."You know that I'm now ready to strangle somebody...I just remembered that the customer wanted me to do this at all cost...Time it was all done, a botched up design and layout was going to cost slightly less for cabs (if they could possibly get the ones I ordered which is going against the odds with them) but far more than my other supplier for the countertop.So we placed the order with my regular yard which never screws me up.The story is one I repeat to any customer who suggests sending me to HD or asking if they can buy their stuff there. It always convinces them that anything other than a lightbulb should never be purchased there.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I have some inside information....
don't buy light bulbs there either...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"don't buy light bulbs there either..."
I can second this one. I recently returned some light bulbs (wrong style, back within 30 minutes) and the returns person held each one up to the light in an effort to see if they were used.
Me: What are you doing? I just bought those 1/2 an hour ago.
HD: Checking them. We get a lot of used, burned out light bulbs returned.
Me: So why should I buy light bulbs here then?
HD: Uh, I don't know.
Me: Right.
I got a package of clear globe bulbs from Lowes.4 of the 5 the filiments where broken. Not burned out, but broken. Had to be some kind of manufacturing defect.Lowes took them back without any problem..
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
That's good of Lowes, but of course the manufacturer will issue a credit. I wonder if Lowes strongarms their vendors like Walmart and insists on a credit regardless of return conditions? (Walmart reportedly gets credits from vendors even when returning merchandise from competitors)
I stopped buying my bulbs at HD not only because of the experience with the returns clerk, but also because I experienced more than one "DOA" bulb after purchase there. I wrote it off to bad luck the first time, but after that, even a $.50 bulb loss starts to irk you. Bad handling of merchandise like bulbs can also cause unseen breakage prior to hitting the shelves.
As always, it may not be HD's fault if people are returning used bulbs. The solution seems to be to have people check the returns. Of course without giving them a hot socket to use at the desk, it's kind of pointless.
Out of fairness, I'd try another HD store location, but why bother when Lowes and Menards are literally within sight of the HD?
You know---this all sounds like the story of Builders Square. They had a bunch of outlets in the Chicago area (and elsewhere). When they first opened, they had good stock and people that knew what they were selling.
Then, they started selling things like four BX-to-box couplings in a bubble pack, and the prices were higher than my local hardware store. And prior to that, the people who knew anything had already left.
Unless HD revises its ways, it will lose business to the better-run competition. And, if you have stock in HD, I think you should look at it really closely.
Of course Builder's Square was owned by Kmart... and look at what's happened to them.
FYI, Builder's Square was reborn last year as a web site http://www.builderssquare.com
Know anybody who's bought anything from them?
Funny thing when I open the Builders Square site that my virus protection pops up announcing that the site is dangerous and trying to install spyware. Hmmm.....
...spyware
Well, I tend to disable ActiveX controls when I browse to new sites so no alarms going off here. Looking at the source for their home page, it looks as though they are running fairly routine ASP code as well as some scripts for Google Analytics.
While I am no authority, I doubt there's any spyware there after a 2 minute analysis. Of course, anything's possible. So don't take my word for it.
mine did too...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Tell the truth - I said that way for effect.I know you are right. Wife was in a while back and got me a case of bulbs for on the job. We've ebeen lucky tho get a day or two out of each one.but gosh they were cheap!;)
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
BTW....
----- Original Message -----
From: IMERC
To: [email protected]
Sent: 3/13/2007 18:56:03
Subject: I believe your new CEO is smoke and mirroring us as have all the others...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I just looked at the posting count - 5,450 and counting - almost all of them negative. I've had some bad experiences at HD, but nothing like some of the posters on MSM.
I haven't been in one in almost 2 years. It will take a lot more than an "I'm sorry" posting from the new CEO to get me back. I've got a great lumberyard and a Lowes close by. 3 HD's whithin the same area that I refuse to be in at all costs.
you have a direct link to that MSN/HD rant...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
anyone seen this?
Home Depot Hears Criticshttp://www.ajc.com/business/content/printedition/2007/03/14/bizdepot0314a.html
or this one?HD Apologizes & Promises to do Betterhttp://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/HomeDepotCEOWeLetYouDown.aspx
I don't have much faith that there will be any changes. Once corporate attitude takes a direction it's next to impossible to change the course, even if it's from the top such as this suggests. The employees are on the same course and it's harder to get them to change back now.
"Now a days, people expect them to be EVERYTHING"That is the way they advertise themselves.Also - I would differ with your presentation of how they came to be big - they did offer a large location and long open hours which is a necessity when catering to DIYs..But they offer the impression and facade of having a lot of selection in stock when in reality the selection they stock is extremely limited.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
looks like a start...
Thanks for emailing us at [email protected]. We are in receipt of your email and our Taskforce is in the process of reviewing it.
For customers who want to be personally contacted and have provided a telephone number, we will be calling you over the next few days. We want to discuss your feedback and talk to you about things we are working on to address any potential concerns.
If you would like a call back, but did not include a phone number, we will be more than happy to call you – just email us back and put your phone number in the email subject line so we can expedite that call.
Again – thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak with you.
CEO Taskforce
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
yeh...they sent me that too...Will be interesting to see how they follow up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFexyK8J1Iw
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
""In response, Blake said the company is recruiting skilled tradespeople""
OK, which of you guys are steppin' up for this? Putting your careers on hold so you can help the great unwashed? Fess up, I wanna' shake your hand. :0)
That is SOME PR crapola. What skilled tradespeople are going to actively seek employment with them? Does he honestly think that anyone will really believe that?
Are there any BTers out there that participate from outside North America? If so, how does HD operate in your areas and what do people think of them where you are?...The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...
Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home.
...aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
"Gojira!" SamT
Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either. [Einstein] Tks, BossHogg.
WOW, a whole task force. They're bringing in reinforcements to deal with this crew.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
should I link them to the HD threads here???
that'd really give them something to do...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Imerc,
I don't know what Piffen thinks of thta Idea but I think it ia funny as he%% and worth the shot!
thinking about...
I guess I should try the search function...
think I should include the threads about the class action suits, installers, stings, rants and is there anything else I should include???Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Why not?
The worst they could do would be to delete it.......or place you on their "not allowed in" list....The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...
Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home.
...aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
or hit list....Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
What is amusing is that I see so many more contractors buying their trim supplies from these places than the DIYers. So, do you blame the home improvement stores for not stocking enough to handle these contractors (since they shop there and not lumber supply houses), or the contractors?
Both should probably take the blame - the contractors for not planning ahead enough to order from the lumber yard and the big boxes for thinking they can keep up with the local lumber yards.“The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume