re: Home Depot Going Downhill

I went to HD Tuesday to get some garden stuff for the wife. The garden register was closed because they didn’t have enough cashiers, had to check out in the regular section..

I know as a man we are supposed to be able to not need any help at the hardware store, but I have an anecdote.

The reason I will pay a little more to shop at the local hardware store is the people. It was be much cheaper and easier to just load up at HD or Lowe's sometimes, but I like to try to support the local businesses when possible. When I had an emergency plumbing situation one evening, the employees at the local hardware store worked with me and brainstormed for some quick fixes so that I wouldn't flood my house until I could do a major repair.

On the same note, the local hardware store didn't have the exact fitting that I needed so I went to Home Depot to grab it. The employee at HD was so unqualified to be working there that I had to try to dismiss her nicely because she was zero help. She kept trying to sell me some other product that not only was way more expensive, but would not even solve my problem. I also wondered why the model of having knowledgable employees went out the window with these stores. They don't need to be journeymen, but at least have some communication and basic knowledge of the department in which they are working.

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I didn’t need help with anything. Those were simply observations.

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Just curious what were they gossiping about?

Other than lumber, mixing paint, or driving a forklift all I ever HD workers doing is standing around waiting from someone to ask them something.

What’s next cripples in the ladder section

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In the age of YouTube and Google, anyone who needs a home Depot employee to teach them how to do something is just old.

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Disagree. I've done several projects lately and I'm good at research. Read and watched all I could yet twice a simple conversation with someone fairly knowledgeable really helped solidify a plan of action.

Other times, if you can find someone, it can save time instead of having to research something.

Strangely, I went to Lowes today in Longview to buy a water heater (hot water heater) and was stunned by the parking lot. It was like it was December at a mall. Inside, the workers were just about as diverse as you could imagine. The little old man in plumbing who asked if I needed help had to have been 78 and the little girl who checked me out couldn't have been 20.

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they didn’t have enough cashiers

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Cashier? My HD has about 10 self checkout stations and 1 cashier down at the contractor checkout which usually has a line waiting.

Only time you should need help at HD is finding out what aisle something obscure is. Never ask for their advice on building products. They aren’t project consultants

Home Depot’s online ordering and pickup lockers are the shite. Order online and pay, wait an hour for a text saying it is ready and in a locker. Walk into the lobby and type oin the code that was texted to you earlier and you are done. No waiting in lines at customer service or the checkout counter, just in and out in 2 minutes.

HD is for wanna be baws who want to think they know stuff.