HOME DEPOT IS ANOTHER s**t HOLE STORE

Obviously the person who wrote this scathing report should return to school to learn how to write in correct English.  This type of Ripoff Report only proves what an illiterate, uneducated person he/she really is.  These kinds of reports cannot ever be taken seriously.

I feel sorry for this individual.  His life must be terribly hollow and devoid of meaningful content.

HD is doing a grand job of servicing millions of jerks like this one!

H-D has a policy of customer first,which it tries to fulfill at it's utmost,unfortunately,is impossible to do with each customer.Like one of the employees reported earlier,10 customers standing in the aisle waiting for help its like an associate being the center on a football team without ,guards ,tackles,or the rest of your team supporting you.YOU stand in that aisle and take a look at their problems and solve them for them with a smile,whats wrong? You can't do it? Call a H-D associate they can.Most of our stores and associates run to help people,it's our nature and if not we don't need those associates,report them ,for every one associate there is 30 waiting for their position. Those associates are human they are Not to be browbeated,humiliated,or disrepected.they have home problems as well as you so work togaether you both want the same results,RESPECT,and understanding.walk in that store and see how your respect from the last time in will help you this time.life is too short.Home- Depot, it can help!catchie motto!!

I do not work inside of a HOME DEPOT store but I CAN relate to lack of customer service skills within ANY store.
You will be able to find at least one person who is not as talented as the next.
Key things to keep in mind:
1. WE ARE ALL HUMAN--NOT ROBOTS
2. IT TAKES ALOT OF GRIT AND GUMPTION TO SMILE AT ANYONE LET ALONE WANT TO ASSIST THEM WHO IS CUSSING LIKE A SAILOR!!
3. YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO BE ANGRY, OWN YOUR ATTITUDE BUT YOU DO NOT HAVE A RIGHT TO DISTURB THE PEACE AND OTHERS!!

I think a high school program should be nationwide to teach the younger generations customer service skills but in the meantime sir....
do you kiss your mother with that mouth????

Meet the store manager one day when you are not so high strung and talk to him/her about it...and do it with true concern and care in your voice/words. We do appreciate valuable (not potty mouth) feedback as we are making strides everyday to be the best in our business.
I've been out of my own boundaries a time or two and I have to remind myself that hey, a little honey goes a long way!!!!

The Irish do have a stigma about being "hot-tempered" but please boast about cussing in Irish, it's not very becoming. Don't give the Irish a bad name for your bad temper!!!

We are all in this economy together, so why can't we all take steps everyday and help one another??? If you don't like the service, just say hey, "I've noticed...." rather than @#%$&COW!!!

Here's to better days--

Dear Paul from Pasadena,

I agree. That kid should not be working in retail if he dislikes people as much as he appears to. However, do you think you're going to fix anything by complaining to faceless strangers on the internet? No. Stop your childish whining and standing idly by while you wait for others to fix your problems for you.

Do you have any idea how the economy works? You honestly expect a skilled tradesman to work for such lowly wages, dealing with degenerate customers day in and day out just because you expect The Home Depot's employees to know everything you don't?

Face it, any person with any marketable skill would not even consider working at THD when they could earn much more working on their own or under a successful contractor. The Home Depot hires these "unknowledgable" employees because they are the only people who apply for the jobs. Not, as you would have other believe, because they hate you and are hell-bent on giving you the worst help imaginable. The company is not like that. Quite the opposite, in fact; I can honestly say I have never worked at a retail store that was so intensely focused on Customer Care.

No, a 22 year old girl is not a retired contractor and she may not even know what a "trade" is, but the fact remains that, in the eyes of management, she was the best candidate who applied for the job.

If you know so much, why don't you work for The Home Depot?

Do you think store and H.R. managers think to themselves "This person knows too much, we can't possibly hire them! They'll actually be able to help people! That is simply unacceptable." Of course not.

Stop being such a narrow minded fool trying to argue something of which you are entirely ignorant.

I have worked for Home Depot for 11 yrs. I have put up with a-holes like the writer of the orig. post day in and day out for 11 yrs. At first I thought it was because of the area in which my store is. Alot of people with money who think the world revolves around them. I have been spit at, I have been threatened, I've been sworn at, I've been called a lying B&tch, I have been screamed at, and I have had someone try to jump over the counter and come at me and my co-workers..all because we were doing our job. I just want to say. I don't care how much money you make. I don't care how much you spend in my store, I don't care what kind of a day your having that is causing you to treat people like dirt. All I care about is going to work, doing my job, and having someone say "thank you for helping me".

I work at the Special Services desk. For some reason people think this is the magical know everything desk/ scream and complain desk. Neither which is true. We are there for people picking up their orders. We are short staffed because corporate office won't let our managers hire more people. Any given day(otherwise known as everyday) I am the only one covering 4 departments..sometimes 5. I am anwsering the mainline telephones, I am covering special services,I am covering the paint department, electrical and sometimes returns...Oh and did I mention none of those are my actual job? I work with vendors, when someone orders special sized items..I deal with cordinating the fuffilment of that order.

So please give us a break when you come in and we ask you to please wait a few minutes. We are over worked, over stressed, underpaid, and most of the time we don't even get our breaks. I am no way exusing rude behavior, but if we ask you to wait a few minutes for us to finish with another customer, please don't roll your eyes, don't do that heavy sigh/huffy child tantrum act. Don't throw your items on the floor like a baby(this happens all the time) . Just say ok, no problem, or if you cannot wait..your more than welcome to see if you can find one of the other overworked associates that are there at the time.

And please remember, we have to follow the rules. So if we tell you we cannot take something back. or we cannot do anything to get your order in faster, or we cannot get help for you any faster...it is because it is TRUE. Believe me, if i could get someone to help you faster and move on to the next task any faster, I would. I have 20 other things to do at any given moment, believe me.

Don't get me wrong. 80 percent of people are nice and I love helping them..But the other 20 percent..ruin it for everyone. When I first started 11 yrs ago. If anyone every called someone names like fat b***h, or f-ing cow..they would have been drug out by their ear( the person who spit at me, was met with this fate). Now our management team is too wrapped up in making their bonus's if we make sales plan, that they let us get yelled at and treated like dog s**t on a daily basis.

Please...next time your in a retail shop...please remember to treat the sales people nicely and with respect and chances are you will be treated with the same respect.

I do work for Home Depot and have for 4 years. I am not a manager or p.r. person. im a regular employee who loves his job and is commited to helping the customers who come in for advise. i also work in the plumbing department so at least 80% of the customers need actual how to help. i guess thats why plumbers get paid so much.
As a associate on the floor yes we, do get questions on how do i do this? and yes sometimes the answers are multiple step answers that can take a while to explain. Do i get other customers that have other how to questions, i am one person and i am committed to helping our customers but i can only help one at a time. so my responce to this person would be if i was helping you, how would you like it if i stopped helping you and went on to answer another customers questions?
Also we have added more hours to associates on the floor to help customers. we have also gone back to hiring master plumbers and electricians in the store to assist customers.
i can also tell you there is a survey you can take on the home depot web site and instructions to do so are on the bottom of every receipt. we go over all of the comments good and bad every monday morning. it tells us what we are doing good and what we can improve on. and our stores are graded on this info.
i am 1 associate and im here to help. and i care enough to answer you back. im sorry for your bad expierience, but just know we are striving to get better, and home depot does employ associates who do care.

This is mainly in response to the Big Shot Contractor that thinks every HD employee should be an expert. How many knowlegable employees have you hired lately? Anyone that knows anything has their own company and is your competitor. You take what you can get just like everyone else and then you train them.

Why do so many HD associates not know anything? Well, duh! They're new. Why are so many new? Because there is a huge turnover. Why the turnover? Because management stinks. They may be interested in the customers but employees are insects to be crushed. Management will do whatever is going to get them the biggest bonus. If you had better experience with some particular store then you got lucky and found a good manager with happy employees. You better get their name and follow that manager wherever they go and whoever they work for.

And as far as Lowes or Ace or any other store being so much better ... what a bunch of rot. Every corporation is concerned about $$$$. Period. The customer is first only as long as they show up with some money in their pocket.

Here is a little P.S. on training at HD but I'm sure Lowe's is the same since they watch other like hawks and steal any ideas that work from each other. Training consists of about 5 minutes of product knowledge and 55 minutes of 'here's how to sell them additional stuff' or push the credit card or sell them the ESP. See? I told you. $$$$$$. Period.

But then how many of you haven't been offered that J.C.Penney credit card application when you just want to pay and leave? Big business. It's all the same.

I shopped at HD all the time a few yeara ago. i never had a problem at all. The staff was friendly, helpful and knew what they were talking about.

This was when they only had one store in the area. Now, in a 15 mile radius of my house, there are 8 HD's. It's like when they expanded they lost touch with people.

I've seen similar things with Drug stores in this area. Zip code is 44109.

I usually shop at Lowes now.

I have worked for Lowe's in the past. I can tell you that we dealt with customers like this all the time. They come in, see a line of customers, or you busy working at a desk, and they demand attention, regardless of how busy you are. Sometimes they are rude if you don't drop everything to help them. I currently work as a vendor, and I get mistreated by customers all the time, because I can't help them. I try my best to help all customers that enter the departments I service, I go as far as paging or walking them to an associate, but that doesn't appease all these people.

Working retail is a stressful job. You have paperwork, sales numbers to meet, stocking, cleaning, and on top of it all--customers to deal with. Treating an employee like that is not at all acceptable--in fact it is down right ridiculous. If a customer EVER talked to me like that I would knock them down a peg or two. Think about if you got treated like that at your job. Would you stand for it??? Why should an employee of any retail chain stand for it???

Grow the f**k up and learn to treat people nicer. I can guarantee you, the customers that treat people badly get bad service. Why would you want to waste your time helping someone who is rude to you when you have customers who appreciate your help?

I have worked with Depot for 13 years. I apologize for the way that you were treated, although I do agree that swearing at a cashier who is not responsible for the problem was inappropriate.

I am writing this under my wife's account because I do not want my name listed in case Home Depot ever cared to read this.

When I started at Home Depot, I was hired because I had worked in lumber for years and placed in the LUMBER department. From there, I was required to take a class and learn each department. So, I am the guy who would be the "knowledgeable" employee you would want to talk to.

Unfortunatelly, I work the night shift, when the store is closed. I do this mostly because of the way Bob Nardelli has been running this company. Since his hiring as CEO, I have seen Home Depot being run slowly (and ever quickly) into the ground.

I personally know that skeleton crews are a policy implemented by the powers that be. Also, training is kept to a minimum and employees are not given enough knowleagde to do their job. Added to that, how can you hire an keep competent employees at $7.00. No one with experience that has trade skills would take a job at that rate when there are better paying jobs out there.

On top of all this, managers of the stores are given huge bonuses to keep the profit margin up and the costs down. If your store is not getting enough business to suit corporate, these managers will do everything to cut corners so even at the expense of employees and customers. I know this sounds like stupidity because without good employees and without customers you have no business, but it really all comes down to money. The big Honchos want the most they can get. The managers want their bonuses and perks and, by the time it trickles down there is nothing left.

Most lower employees are good people. They are doing their best to get by in an impossible situation. I would hope you would be more understanding of that as far as "cussing them out", etc. However, I have to tell you that I WORK there and I don't even shop at Home Depot.

I think that your best resource to get problems like this resolved it to go higher and higher. Start taking names at management level and you will get better results. Don't stop with the manager of a store, get the district manager, and so on. Give them names. I won't do any good to complain about so and so on the floor, but, if you start using management names and making complaints against them because THEY didn't solve the situation, you will get somewhere. I know they don't like that. I have seen managers give customers discounts, their item free, etc., when it is their name that is being threatened (or maybe used in a complaint is a better word).

Home Depot has become a "take the money and run" kind of company.....and one day, like any good scam artist Bob Nardelli is going to do just that.

Sorry this is so long, but I only have one more thing to say. The reason that I still work at Home Depot is that my wife is very sick and they do have excellent insurance (although it is getting harder and harder to afford). I can't leave here because I cannot afford to go to another company (and really where is there to go these days in a job market that is getting tighter and tighter) and wait until I qualify for insurance again, which might not even be adequate.

I hope this gives you some understanding of what happened to you. I can see you frustration, but know that this isn't your problem. All I can say, is hone you communication skills (swearing and yelling at people who have no say does nothing) and shop at Ace if their is one left in your area. They are more expensive and smaller, but you just might get the help you need. That's where I shop.

My fiancee & I have had numerous bad experiences w/ Home Depot in the Raleigh, NC area. Lowes we found to be a world of difference better. I'd highly suggest dealing with Ace Hardware (if it's something small) or Lowes instead. If enough people stop shopping at Home Depot then Home Depot will stop and listen.

I have no idea what Harold needed assistance with because he doesn't actually let us know. Anyway experience should tell us all to make sure there is a 'bar code' present on the merchandise (or tag) which we are buying because the cashier cannot ring up the sale unless there is a PRICE on the merchandise.

And yes, I have been in a similar situtation before and found it was just as easy for me to go back to the department and grab another product WITH A PRICE on it myself. Thus avoiding the misery of waiting for another associate to find the same product. I saved myself the aggravation that Harold went through (God helps those who help themselves). I hope in the future Harold looks for a price on the merchandise prior to getting on line to check out.

I live in New Jersey and have access to several Home Depot Stores. Although I had a bad experience with the installation of some carpeting several years ago - the carpet installer installed the carpet lines incorrectly across my linolium floor and ruined it. Making the transition lopsided. Home Depot compensated me for for the floor after they realized it was 'unfixable' (you can't fix linolium once there are nail holes in it).

On several occasions and several Home Depot stores I have been in, I actually had Sales Associates ASK ME if I needed assistance!!! And I live in a very densly populated area of NJ too!! Weekends are bad for these stores because thats when everyone is trying to catch up on 'homework' SO, EXPECT DELAYS!!

Home Depot should make sure there is enough associate's on the floor on these days -its just good management and good customer service.
About all the complainers who work at Home Depot - I don't deny retail is hard work and working with customers face to face is hard. Make no promises let the person who is interrupting you and another customer politely that you are with another customer, and you will be happy to accomodate them when you are through.

One last comment - did it ever occur to the home depot associates who complain, how much more value you give to yourself as an employee, by knowing more than what you are 'comefortable' with knowing??(your own dept). I don't deny either, the work ethic in the US is terrible anymore. A lot of Employees nowadays act as though the world (and their employers) owes them a living!!.

I ask too, what's up with Harold's English?

I feel for the original poster.To the guy that slammed people for not speaking english,wake up,that is a fact of life especially here in L.A. You work in customer service,remember?
Not one of the presumedly over worked and under paid HD employees that posted here wants to take personal responsibility for their inability to provide service.Stop blaming the customer,you work for us!

I am a contractor and have purchased material
at one of the busiest Home Depots in L.A. I understand the stores are understaffed,crowded etc.

but one time I was there and needed a tool kit that was up on a shelf.The "associate" was busy so I asked politely if I should climb the ladder and get it to which he rudely replied,"I don't give a sh@t

if you get hurt climbing up there but I will get in trouble so I'll get it!!" then as I was following him to the ladder he farted in my face.
I mean,who are you people? I would have gladly helped out this guy,but he acted offended that I
would do such a thing.Is this the customer service the employees keep jabbering about?

These posts are missing the point.We all agree on the lack of staff etc. but the real problem is that Home Depot hires uneducated, unknowledgeable employees who know next to NOTHING about the building trades.My friend's nephew got a job at the local HD and became a manager for the garden dept.

we were laughing because he knows NOTHING about plants etc. then they promoted him to store manager-what a joke.He had never worked at a trade.This is why when you ask a question (which I rarely do) I often get erroneous advice or directions.One time I asked the girl in the tool
dept. if they carried compasses,she told me to go to a sporting goods store!! I was then handed off to her supervisor who insisted I didn't know what I was talking about.By then I was having fun, and this went all the way to the manager who finally realized what I was talking about.

To say that you hire retired contractors, tradesmen is a falsehood.Is a 22 year old girl a retired contractor? Have they worked at a trade? Please reply I want to hear what BS
you will come up with.To the manager of the competitor store who hires young people who can sell rather than a skilled tradesman,this is precisely the problem at all the big box home centers.But to tell you the truth,I dread getting help from the know it all retired Norm Abrams because I know I will get a load of BS from him too.The solution?Don't go to Home Depot! more and more tradesmen I know are shopping at OSH. Even though their selection is smaller and they don't have a lot of lumber,I still go there.The aisles are clean and usually well stocked,no open packages etc.9 times out of 10,the MANAGER of the store helps me personally and he knows his stuff.

Then I just go to the local lumberyard for everything else thus avoiding Home Depot Hell Lowe's etc.(In L.A. we also have Contractor's Warehouse which rocks!)Also,there are no day laborers lined up at ANY of the OSH stores.In conclusion, if Home Depot has such a horrible working environment,find another career and stop taking out your misery and personal shortcomings on the customers who pay your salary.

Well, if more HUMANS were like Chet, my job w/be a LOT easier! And commenting on some of the latter responses: yes, us former contractors know a lot of stuff, even w/the technology continually changing, but HD does a real good job in keeping us up to date and trained w/the latest stuffs going on.

You know, one thing I've noticed in life in general, and at HD specifically, is that indeed, we will ALWAYS get that impatient person. At least one a shift. Taking life experiences into account, I can only make an educated guess, that a lot of these people had MAJOR beef's well before they entered our doors. Could have been an arguement w/their spouse or boss, could have been a minor traffic altercation, or it could have been a hundred other things. Sadly, what often happens, is that the first poor soul that this individual runs into next, ie, one of "us," he/she unloads all that frustration on. I've been called an A-hole, been told to go F-off by a 50-something yo woman, and have been generally sneered at more times than I care to remember. However, the ONE thing that often "saves" me, is that super-nice, very-understanding customer. Those people, who sound much like the good Chet, instantly restore my trust in people and what I'm doing in general. Makes my day a lot better, that's for sure, and for that, I thank all the Chet's out there.

Ryan - care to divulge your employer? Kind of intrigued. The dept-to-dept profit sharing thing makes much sense. We just did our bi-yearly "success sharing," and to put it mildly, it was nothing short of a joke. FT people barely got enough to fill their gas tanks; PTers . . . well, need I spell it out??

There is a big difference between a rip-off and a rude, jackass customer who demands instance service, and doesn't get it. The loser at the top needs to learn how to control his temper.

Did he ever bother to look at the other side of the coin? The store has hundreds of customers. Many ask for help. How can the store people possibly serve everyone at once? Why didn't the loser speak up and explain that he was ahead of other customers? Instead, he loses his patience and his temper. Not cool.

Here's a tip; if you see that the employees are working as fast as they can and doing as much as can be expected, be patient. There are several billion people in the world. Wait your turn. I don't care what store you go in, there will be others in there ahead of you.

If the employees were screwing around, I might be able to understand your frustration. But, it doesn't sound like that was the case.

It looks like one guy just decided he couldn't wait any longer, so he throws a temper tantrum. I suggest this guy go back to his baby bottle until he learns to grow up.

If you ever actually get ripped off, then be sure to report it here. But telling the readers how you have no patience and respond with a string of curse words to employees just makes you look like a jackass.

Ever wonder why you have no friends and people avoid you?

I have to say that I have been going to Home Depot for years. They have two stores near me and I am there at least 4 times each month.

I have NEVER, and I mean NEVER, encountered a bad HD employee. And, believe me, I need to interact with them everytime I go there. I am not handy, actually I'm a dunce when it comes to home repair, and I always ask questions, some being the dumbest that you will ever hear.

If the HD person I ask doesn't know the answer (which is unusual), they will get someone who does. If they see me staring at products, they ask if I need help.

Yes, stores can get busy and the HD people can get tied up with idiots like me, but their customer service keeps me going back.

1. I am a manager for a major midwest competitor of HD, but I can relate to the comments of their current and ex employees.

2. Be critical of company and store operations procedures if you like(its your right as a consumer and we are willing to hear you out), but level a personal hit on one of my people who is doing his or her job correctly I will kick you out of the store.

3. My people and myself are paid an hourly wage but are also heavily performance based with an aggressive bonus and sales incentive system. One person in a previous post complained about having to help 10 customers at one time. We are thrilled to have to help 10 customers at one time. What a great problem to have!!!, unless you are 100% hourly. I have high schoolers collecting more bonus money than HD dept. managers. Performance pay keeps their eyes up, develops multitasking, if they don't sell, they go home. But they get that chance before the hours get cut. Aggressive people who want to make money will embrace that chance. If somebody is not here for maximizing their personal wealth, I do not want them.

4. There is absolutely no doubt that big box home improvement is the major league of retailing. 75% of grocery and walmart/target type people would not stand a chance in this business. "Wheres the sugar?", how about "Can you tell me how to fix a structural problem based on my vague verbal description without actually seeing what I am describing?...NOW!!" In grocery I had 6 people in a dept selling 30K a week. In home improvement I have 7 people selling 100K a week. No room for slackers, you must have a team of elite retailers in this business.
5. Are experience contractors needed? Sure, if they can sell. I've hired both, and in most cases an inexperienced person who is aggressive and has positive attitude will overwhelmingly outsell and receive more positive customer comments than an experienced contractor not of the same mindset after only 3 months on the job. Attitude is what I hire.
6. If you are in this business for a self-esteem boost,...quit now. At the end of the day all that is left is the money, that is the only reason my team and myself are here. When your pay is dependant on individual department profits(not store or company profits), customers will receive better service in each dept. and the store as a whole which generates sales.(there are always p***k customers, but experienced retailers can deal with that.)
7. Its the System

I would like to defend the company I work for. I personally do not know of any failed contractors that work in my store. And yes the industry is growing pretty fast as is the population of this country. We deal with all sorts everyday, even the "harolds" of the world. But did you know Home Depot spends thousands of dollars on educating their employees.

With all the employees, and its in the hundreds of thousands, its hard to schedule everyone for training as soon as they are hired. Alot of it is either hands on or class taught material. But my complaint is this, customers come in and expect employees to know how to fix all their problems, pull there merchandise, you dont go to the grocery store and give the bag boy or cashier your grocery list and sit while they push your buggy around gathering your groceries.

You dont go to a fine restaraunt and demand the chef teach you how to prepare all of his/her greatest dishes. If you are trying to do something you are not qualified to do, call a professional. You cant learn how to build a home in a brief conversation with an associate at the depot. Personnaly, I wouldnt shop elsewhere. Every company has it's faults, but my heart bleeds orange.

Rest assure Depot is working on its faults, and trying to improve in every area of the business. Compare prices. Compare Services.
I always go home to depot.

Way to go, Tammy. I think if enough associates stressed to the consumers how pressured we are to provide 110% customer service with 90% of the store severely understaffed, then maybe people will begin to realize they shouldn't take it out on us. Here's a suggestion to every consumer:

When you are being helped, and you see that the person helping you is getting mobbed by other customers, ask for a manager. tell them how nice it was that associate "X" took the time to help you, they are obviously doing the work of 3 or 4 people.

Then ask for the corporate number and the store number you are at, call corporate and tell them how you got good service from associate "X" in a store that is obviously understaffed. Associate "X" should get a paid day off when they finally hire the number of people that there should be.

Tammy, you must work in kitchens?

Way to go, Tammy. I think if enough associates stressed to the consumers how pressured we are to provide 110% customer service with 90% of the store severely understaffed, then maybe people will begin to realize they shouldn't take it out on us. Here's a suggestion to every consumer:

When you are being helped, and you see that the person helping you is getting mobbed by other customers, ask for a manager. tell them how nice it was that associate "X" took the time to help you, they are obviously doing the work of 3 or 4 people.

Then ask for the corporate number and the store number you are at, call corporate and tell them how you got good service from associate "X" in a store that is obviously understaffed. Associate "X" should get a paid day off when they finally hire the number of people that there should be.

Tammy, you must work in kitchens?

WOW!!!! What an on-point response! I connected w/everything you mentioned in your comments . . . EVERYTHING! As can be expected, I have a few points in particular I'd like to comment upon:

* I guess the thing that hits me the most is about the customers - many many many, NEVER saying "thank you" for helping them with ANYTHING. But mainly, cause this is what I seem to do the most, is what I call, "directing traffic," or plainly speaking, giving directions to different depts. Like, as you said, holding someone's hand in finding a shovel. PEOPLE, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE TRY TO FIND THE SHOVEL YOURSELF!

I had someone I "knew" (from about twelve years ago) see me yesterday, think for some reason that because we once knew ea other, that I would somehow climb down the high ladder I was on (bringing down heavy boxes of stock), and hold her hand to find a sink errator (sp?). And NO, you won't find them in the paint isle! But 99% of these people are what we call "drive-bys," who fly by, not stopping one step, and ask where a most obvious item in the store can be found. A SIMPLE "THANK YOU" would be most appreciated, but rarely given.

* Another one is the orange apron thing; we get POUNDED & POUNCED upon with that apron on. Why? Mainly cause there aren't nearly enough associates on the floor at any given time. Partly cause of people simply not having the common sense to LOOK before they ASK for an item. But often, for instance, there won't be ONE PERSON working in the carpet dept, and hey, guess what?!? People want to buy carpets on Saturdays!! Customers w/not hesitate for "me" to come over and measure out a certain carpet and cut it for them.

Of course, I have NO idea how to do this, but worse yet, my dept. is stripped to the bone (associate-wise), and I have people pounding on me from my dept - let alone do I have time to go to the carpet dept and perform something I have no clue of how to perform.
Let me give you associates some advice that you may be unaware of: to get from one dept to another - or to even get around in your dept., I strongly suggest your taking that apron off, keep your eyes to the floor and stay at least three/four feet in front of the person you are helping. They can sense if you are helping someone even if you have the apron off. Though none of this helps once they see you explaining how item x works once you've found it for them.

Like J, I could go on and on (and on and on and on and on and on and on . . .), but time doesn't allow. Just allow me to wrap this up by also asking the customers to be much more patient towards the associates. As J said, most of the stuff they complain of, and rightfully so, is totally out of our hands. As for the breaks (not having the aprons on), I rarely ever get mine. There's no one to cover my dept allowing me to take a break!

There's so much to say, but I'm going to try and roll it into a short response.

I currently work for an extremely busy Home Depot in the country. Understaffed is not even the begining of the internal "out-of-my-control" issues that affect the level of service I can provide. There will be times that I am attempting to help 3 or 4 customers, all being as patient as they can. So I apologize if it's NOT my fault I'm the only associate in my department and customers 5 through 10 will just have to wait. First come first served everywhere else in life, why is Home Depot different?

Occasionally our job will take us from one end of the store to the other. That presents an open door for MANY problems:

1. Chances are to get from point a to point b, I will more than likely have to walk through departments in which I am not trained. do you really want a trained electrician picking out your bathroom sink? If I tell you I can't help you, it's probably because I really can't. I lack the knowledge and rather than lie, I'm being honest.

2. There is also a high probability that there is a customer somewhere that I am trying to get to, who has been waiting as long as, if not longer than you. It's not fair to them if I drop everything and help you. If you were the person waiting on a price check up front, would you like it if I just forget about you because someone else asked for help?

3. An orange apron is like a welcome mat for you customers to mob us. I deal with some of the rudest people who think nothing of interupting my customer I am helping because they want to be taken by the hand to find a shovel. I don't mind showing you, but wait your turn.

4. I am not being prejudiced here, but this is America. I speak English and English only. I am not required to know your language, be it German, Spanish, Armenian, or whatever. You have no right to yell at me because I am speaking the language of where I am from. No one forced you to come here. When you set foot on American soil to become a legal citizen of this great country, you agreed to a few terms. one of which is that English is the spoken language. And for you illegal citizens, go back home. you're stealing my tax dollars.

5. Just like where you work, we get breaks. If you saw me 20 minutes ago with my apron on, and now you don't... chances are I am on my break. it's not YOUR job to monitor my breaks, store management does that. So if I'm walking past you without asking if you nee3d help, and I have no apron on, maybe I'm finally getting to go home for the day, please don't stand in my way.

Ok, let's see, a couple last comments:

>1. If we carried your item a year ago, that does NOT mean we automatically carry it this year. perhaps it's discontinued, we changed distributors, or maybe the item didn't sell well. It's not my fault.

>2. Don't ask me for a discount. , number one, I can't authorize it. Number two, you intended on buying your item at it's normal price in the first place, or you wouldn't be in my store. so don't waste my time by asking for a discount. all that means is more discounts, less raises, lower pay and worse morale. Bad morale will lead to entirely bad customer service. quit looking at the "now" and get a more future outlook.

>3. Why is it all Home Depot customers are thankless? If you are helped by any employee who had to go out of their way, just show a true thanks and appreciation. Chances are we're stressed and we're overworked. We took the time, made the effort to assure you walk out with what you came for. How about a "thanks"?

>4. If you work in a store like mine, it can get up to 106 degrees outside. Look at the architecture, these places are impossible to keep cool in that heat, at least after your "terrible" hour of waiting, you get to go back in your air conditioned car, go grab a ice cold soda, get an ice cream. Don't mind us, we'll just sweat it out for 7 or 8 more hours. It's easy to get short nerves, you have no idea how unbearable the conditions are 8 hours a day, five days a week.

>5. If the item you need is on a top shelf, be patient. It takes an employee with a special liscense to get the item down. This is what's required to coordinate to get your item: liscensed associate, spotting associate, 4 aisle blocking banners (at least), and a machine (lift). Sorry, even if you were Jesus, we can't coordinate all that in 3 minutes. it will take a little to first find a liscensed person, find banners that aren't in use, block off the aisles, find a machine that's free and get it where you are waiting. While all the time, being mobbed for wearing the apron.

---------------------------------------------
I could go on and on and on.... You are probably asking why would anyone want to work there? I'll give you 4 reasons to prove that there is a purpose to going to work each day:

1. Some people have built incredible tenure with the comapny. they are making upwards of 17 to 25 dollars an hour just as an associate, they have great benefits, 401K, stock options, and clout. Why should they give that up?

2. The benefits alone. Good insurance, 401k, stock options, tuition assistance, not to mention all the little things.

3. Some of us actually enjoy interaction with customers. SANE customers! We can't he3lp but react to the situation you present to us.

4. I'm a student. I needed a job I could work full time AND would work around school, and occasionally give me a weekend free here and there. Home Depot was more than willing to accomodate that. And for that, I am thankful. Would you rather I collect welfare, leave unpaid medical bills because of no insurance so tax payers would have to pick up the tab? At least I'm contributing my tiny little share, which is more than I can say for some of this world.

**** Want to reply to me directly? ***
Contact me [Place your comments below and be sure to include your FULL contact information so Rip-off Report can contact you.]

I am an employee at Home Depot and I can relate to everything that has been said above. I understand how frustrating it can be as a CUSTOMER to not find any help when you are looking for it. Unfortunately, Home Depot is making it nearly impossible for customers to get help by cutting down the hours of every associate while leaving the departments extremely understaffed. Management at the store I work at keeps saying we are fully-staffed but that is simply bulls***...how can we can be "fully-staffed" when we have maybe 3 people total in any given department whose shifts overlap by maybe an hour. That means there is one associate per about every 3,5,10 customers! Tell me how that makes sense! All this does is 1-make the customers very frustrated, 2-cause the customers to take their frustration out on anyone with an orange apron, 3-stress out the associates, and 4-lead to a decrease in the quality of customer service. It's a vicious cycle! I understand why Home Depot customers are so frustrated because, believe me, I am too, but it's hard to help every customer completely and in a timely manner when you are the only one in your department for hours at a time!

Everyday I go into work I go in knowing I am going to be yelled at by at least 10 customers that day! One simple solution to getting better customer service is to say thank you be polite, as hard as it may be. I have noticed that politeness is an extinct notion these days. I rarely encounter a customer who says please or thank you, then again; I rarely hear fellow associates saying please or thank you either. You don't know how much saying or not saying thank you to a retail employee can make or break their day! I'm not suggesting that all the fault lies with rude customers, but it's just one part of the problem. I feel it's just as important for customers to understand where the employees are coming from as it is for employees to understand the customer's point of view. It's hard to be nice to someone who is yelling at you and personally insulting you! (*hint*hint* HAROLD and all other customers who feel it's okay to insult retail employees just because they work in retail!!)

In no way am I trying to justify the low customer-service quality of Home Depot, it's just that I feel customers should know what's going on at the stores they are shopping athave a little perspectivebefore they start taking their frustration out on an hourly associate. First of all, your complaint is going to the wrong person! If hourly associates were responsible for the hiring of the company there would be at least double the amount of employees on the floor!! If we could do something about it, believe me WE WOULD...do you think we enjoy being constantly yelled at by customers? Yeah, it's loads of fun! The point is, yelling at an hourly associate doesn't accomplish anything. Ask for the store manager's name. Speak to this person on the phone, but don't yell at thempeople tend to tune out when they are being yelled at. Speak to the manager in a calm manner and clearly state your concern. This approach is far more likely to get a response from the manager than an irate customer who can only use obscenities to describe their problems.

Nothing will change at Home Depot until the people who sit in their comfy chairs in air-conditioned offices in Atlanta are made fully aware of the fact that it's becoming the norm for customers to come into one of their stores expecting to not get any help. More customers should take their concerns to the topto Bob Nardelli in Atlanta. You can get Home Office's address by asking for it at your local Home Depot. Maybe then some changes will be put into place but until then, poor customer service will continue to be widespread in the company.

Thomas,

I was not trying to say that it is okay to be rude to someone that is working retail. What I meant to write was that "its one thing to be rude but to call them names and swear is unacceptable."

I'm sure you can understand what I mean. People deal with rude people every day because people (especially in MA) are rushing around and get frustrated easily. But to have someone personally insult you is another thing and I believe you should not be required to continue helping that customer any further once they start swearing at you, or calling you a fat b.

The world is full of rude jerks and that won't change anytime soon. And you wrote I should try being nice to people(which you have no idea that I am not nice). I am nice to people every single day and when i work in retail im nice to people that arent nice to me.

Colleen,
Where in the world did you ever get the idea that it is okay to be rude to someone just because they work in a retail environment? That makes absolutely no sense.

It is never okay to be intentionally rude to anyone. I am not saying that I have not been rude to people, everyone alive has at one time or another. But we usually feel that we had a good reason.

To just be rude for no reason other than where someone works seem pretty closed minded to me.

Try to be nice to all people first, and see what happens!

How dare you call a cashier a name like that? Don't think for one second that is okay to call someone working a fat b. It's okay to be rude to someone working retail, but to call them names and swear is unacceptable. Maybe you should think twice about your actions next time. Also, you may want to enter anger management therapy. Normal customers would be angry, but you were ridiculous. In addition, because you do not handle your anger appropriately you risk having high blood pressure and having a heart attack. The problem with the store is not the employees working there. It is the CEO, a man named Bob Nardelli. He is greedy, does not care about employees, want to keep the wages low (7/hr). The new philosophy is have as few people working as possible. One per department per day. With the employee turn over rate so high, it is no wonder there was noone available to help you. People quit because they are mistreated by supervisors, coworkers and customers like you. A mature reasonable person can understand that if they have a complaint they should not take it out on the poor employees. Shame on the author of the first post in this thread, shame on you.

P.S what is wrong with your English skills?

I responded some time ago w/my own $.02 worth re HD and service, etc. At that time, I was fairly new, but am a bit more seasoned now and have a few things to add. Although I'll reserve most of my opinions for now, I do want to make a couple of points to straighten the record.

First of all, the ONLY reason associates stare at the floor, look away, etc., is for one reason only - from my dept, anyway. It's to avoid a confrontation, or better yet, just plain old "contact" w/the customer. Isn't that screwed up?!?! YOU BET IT IS!! But let me tell ya, our store - our dept in particular, is SOOOO short staffed, that it's the ONLY way - THE ONLY WAY, we can get up and down an isle getting an order for another customer w/out being stopped ten times by other customers, thus, we'd NEVER get back to custumer no. 1. You MUST believe me!! Many times, we must actually take off our aprons just to get up the isle to p/u our order. It's sickening! And I mean that from the bottom of my heart!
I joined HD w/one major reason in mind - helping people. Of course I could use the extra money, but just for the record, I'm getting a pretty sizeable payment twice-monthly from an injury settlement; bottom line, it's not "just" for the money. I honestly LOVE helping folks out; helping them solve some simple issues w/their particular project, or helping them solve some very intricate and unusual problems they're having w/their project. But I CANNOT do that 90% of the time. Why? Cause I'm soooooooooooooo busy doing my other "cust. svc." job that is, I guess, the main part of my job. It shouldn't be! I can't tell you how many people get fed up and leave in disgust due to no service, or very curt and hurried service. Give me a minimum of time w/ea customer, and in return, I'll make sure I not only have that customer happy as heck when he/she leaves, but I will have sold them additional sundries (making the company money - not losing that money to another big box), and most importantly, I promise you, that customer w/remember that good service and return. Not only that, they'll eventually tell someone they know of the service they got (yet, however, that sword cuts both ways! Good OR BAD service!). But this cutting payroll to the bone thing is a death wish to HD. Something I really hate to see happen.

To the individual who noted that the management must be the problem, I'm not so sure I agree w/that, but maybe you're right. I just think that where they must START, is with hiring more people.
To the couple of folks who blamed things on inexperienced part-time associates . . . well, I guess I'd say that you're right, and wrong. I, myself am plenty experienced, and I take great pride in not only my fellow associates from my dept coming to me w/the hard-to-answer problems their faced with, but my "manager" as well. It's funny you said that, actually (part-timers inexperienced). I gave thought of working at HD some time ago when, while a contractor working for myself, I'd go in to shop while in my "work clothes." One person w/ALWAYS ask me a question and I was usually more than happy to help them. It didn't take long for someone else who was standing nearby to hear me, and literally begin lining up to ask their question. Of course, I couldn't see the trees through the forest back then - that the only reason they were asking me was cause NO ONE else was around. But I knew instantly that I'd love to do that - and get paid for it.

I get paid pretty well, I'd say, but in a heartbeat, I'd take a $2. cut in pay per hour to have one extra person on per shift. At my age, and I'm no spring chicken, I can say w/out hesitation, that this is one of the most fulfilling jobs I've had, but hands down, it is the MOST STRESSFUL. Night after night after night, I find myself working alone in a dept that does anywhere from $15k to $26k A DAY! It's a big thing, if we have more than two people a shift on the floor at any one given time. Ya gotta ask yourself, how crazy is that?

And I thought the motto was: "At the Home Depot, you can do it, WE CAN HELP." REALLY? We can help? I really wish I could. And for all those customers that I blew off by looking away, down at the floor or just choosing a diff. isle to walk down, I apologize from the bottom of my heart. It's simply NOT who I am! It's NOT what I came there for. Further, to the peron who blamed our looking at the floor and not making eye contact, pal, you got it ALL wrong. The majority of us would love to help. We don't look at the floor cause we're ignorant or stupid and can only be failed contractors! GET A LIFE and look at the bigger picture.

To the person who said that things went to sh*t when Nardelli took over, I too, hear that constantly from people who've been there long enough to have experienced the massive (and perhaps fatal) changeover. Good call!

And lastly, to the person who said it was a management problem, I kind of dispute that as well. Only in that, again, it boils down to simply not having the coverage on the floor we need. I can say w/out hesitation, that the mgmnt team at my store is, for the most part, very, very good. And pretty supportive too - as best as they can, that is. You seem to know more about the numbers game than do I, though I have heard the same reasons that you perported for the low coverage (that is, sales vs. man hours), but ya know one thing that would REALLY impress the hell out of me? It'd be to see an MOD roll up their sleeves when I'm drowning in a sea of people waiting to be helped, put on an apron, and jump behind the counter to help out. I mean, aren't we "trained to assist in every dept?" Instead of the daily "Hang in there!," why not jump in and help some!

But there is one thing I whole-heartedly agree w/you on, and that is for the customers to not take their frustrations out on the associates, but PLEASE GO TO MANAGEMENT ABOUT IT! Hey, that's exactly what I tell people to do! And I DO NOT tell them this w/any disrespect!! Far from it! I explain that I am - again, alone in the dept . . . again, and that I encourage them to tell someone in charge, that they could not get the service they wanted/should have gotten, cause I was alone in my dept. and couldn't give decent/any service.

The knots in my stomach are getting worse and worse ea time I learn I'm working by myself. The other night, it was all I could do to keep myself from just taking off my apron, and walking away from the sea of people STARING AT ME as I worked my a*s off trying to keep things moving along, but my excellent work ethic and only my excellent work ethic prevented me from doing that. No promises in the future, however. I just don't know how much longer I can physically or mentally take that kind of boiling-point pressure. I just ask the customers to please continue to (for the most part!) to be understanding in our plight. I can't tell you how much it means to me to have a customer tell me "Don't worry about it. I can see you're by yourself and doing the best you can." It's often the ONLY thing that keeps that apron on me.

HANG IN THERE ALL!

I have read each of the above complaints and rebuttals and the one thing that I know (being
a assistant manager of a big box) is this. In
every store both HD and Lowes it's all about the
management team that is in place. Both companies
have share holders to report to and wall street
to apease.

They are not going to write policies
that would bring about the downfall of there
business. To explain I'll say this each store
opperates on a payroll leverage budget that is
sales vs payroll. It is up to the managemnet team
(led by the store manager)to make the best possible use of every hour.

Far to often I have witnessed that depts.such as lawn and garden on
a chilly/rainy spring day will be extremely overstaffed. Meanwhile inside there are many customers in need of help. Now ask yourself if you worked in L&G would you leave your somewhat relaxed atmosphere to go indoors and help with the crowd? NO!,it's managements shortfall for not adjusting there people to the demand of the store.

As I read I noticed that these are all different stores that you folks were writing about. Some with pleasurable experiences and some not so.

The company wether it be HD or Lowes didn't change, but I bet the management staff did. Keep this in mind the next time that you want to vent on a cashier or sales assoc. Why do other stores (again HD or Lowes)not have the problems that you seem to always encounter from the one that you frequent. Answer: MANAGEMENT

Show me a store that keeps customers happy most of the time, with knowledgable staff and friendly assoc. and I'll show you 1 awsome store manager.

Instead of directing hostility to cashiers and sales assoc. take it to the top. You will
probably see what I'm talking about in just the short time that you get to speak with your STORE MANAGER.

I work for LOWES, please shop at HD. We really don't need a*sh*le customers like you. By the way had you verbally abused me like that I would have cold cocked your german/irish a*s on the spot!!!!!!! We may be in the service industry but we don't have to put up with customers like yourself. It sound like you are one of those non-english speaking "me first" customers that I run into day after day.

Don't take your childish anger out on the associates. Sure working at Lowes and HD sucks, but its not our fault that there is no coverage. If you want to be angry with someone write to the corporate offices or the didtrict managers, they control the number of employees and the workable hours. Complain that the majority, 75% or more of the associates are part-time and could careless about their store or the customer. The store manager's hands are tied he has a weekly payroll budget that he can not exceed for ANY reason, thats why there is no one to help you. Last year, on black friday (day after Thanksgiving) our store manager decided to have all associates work that day. Guess what we got complaints about being ask too much if they need help, go figure. By not shopping at that store things won't improve, as you see available payroll hours are tied directly to sales. If sales go down so does available payroll and in turn so does customer service. I've seen our store operate with 10 employees, 3 cashiers, 2 managers and 5 associates.

Home Depots down fall will be because of it's customer service. I worked for HD for 2 years before leaving for a better paying job. I really didn't want to leave because I really enjoyed my job helping the customers and passing on the knowledge I had in the department that I worked in.

When I started working at HD, Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank were still in charge and they really motivated you to do a great job for the customer. They were proud of their employees and there number 1 priority was taking care of the customer. We had plenty of store associates to cover the floor. You always found an orange apron whenever you turned the corner. And the stores were turning good profits.

Then Bernie and Arthur stepped down and hired Bob Nardellie to take over. Thats when the stores went down hill. In came the grafts that stated how many associates you needed on the floor per hour depending on the sales your department did during that time. (BULLS@#T). You cannot honestly tell me that you only need 2 associates on the sales floor on a Saturday afternoon in the Garden Department on a beautiful spring day..... Get real.... HD use to hire associates that actually knew something about the department they work in. But not anymore. I guess if they hired someone who actually knew what they were talking about they would have to pay them a decent wage, but that is not going to happen. You can forget about overtime. I have seen associates actually stop helping the customer because their shift was over and they had to clock out or they would get in trouble with management because now they had overtime. Many a time I would constantly get called into the managers office and be "counseled" because I had more than 40 hours. But my work ethic is to make sure my job is accomplished before I go home and beleive me they put alot on the associates to do besides helping customers.

I can understand your displeasure with the associates who walk with their head down avoiding eye contact with the customer, probably because management has them doing something else, but this is no excuse not to stop and help the customer.

I perfer HD over Lowes any day of the week. Fortunatly for me I can do alot of the home improvement projects myself so I really don't need an associates help when I go to HD,so they can help customers who are more in need of help than I am.

To those associates who really enjoy their job, I feel your pain because I've been there and done that keep up the good work.

Ex-employee

Ok, here's the deal as I see it at HD w/regards to the customer service issues listed above.

HD, in my opinion, DOES care about and train their employees very well. I've been w/the company for a few months now (guess i fall into that catagory of "failed contractors":), and honestly, I was shocked by the amount of time and training they devoted to ea employee. The orientation period was, for me, about two weeks (including several four-hour periods, and several eight-hour periods). Coming out of orientation, I, for one, was very pumped up on the company and doing the best possible job I could. Towards that end, no matter what happens, I, personally, will never, ever give anything less than the best I can - it's just a matter of pride for me, and I love helping people as I have a wealth of info to give. (That's why it pains me so much that I have to write this.)

HOWEVER, oh boy!, can I ever relate to some of the things listed above, such as, employees looking at the floor in order to not make eye contact, working skeleton crews, etc. I tell my friends/family about some of the "tactics" my fellow assoc. employ JUST TO TRY TO GET BY EA DAY, such as the "eyes to the floor" trick, waling up isles w/out our aprons on, choosing an isle to use that doesn't have any customers in it and more, because we are soooooo understaffed and slammed so hard by the sheer volume of business we do.

I guess I am considered middle-aged, and I have to tell you, that w/all the employment experience I have, I have never, ever worked a job that was soooooooooo stressful - simply because we are soooooo understaffed. Someone above noted that we may have to wait on "two or three" customers at a time. "Two or three?!" Let me tell you something, two or three at a time WOULD BE A PICNIC!! We are often left alone for an entire shift to fend for ourselves. The end result is an employee w/absolutely frazzeled nerves. I get knots in my stomach that are painful, due to the stress of having to CONSTANTLY wait usually TEN PEOPLE AT AT TIME. And just for the record, this is not uncommon. This is the NORM!

Are there "moments" when things settle down to where I'm only waiting on one or two cust. at a time? Sure! But it's not often. Are there times where I find myself w/no customers? Very, very very rare. Are there times where I have time to sit around and BS w/other associates? NO! But if there were those times, you wouldn't find me doing it anyway, I'm always in an isle stocking or cleaning up, b/c I love to work! And quite frankly, I LOVE what I do! I enjoy using my experience as a contractor to help people. I get a rise from people listening to me and thanking me for my advice when we're done.

But it is an extremely rare time that there is a moment of "rest." Truth is, since I've been there, I may have taken . . . four or five of the 15-min. breaks I'm allowed by law to take every four hours. I don't care about that, though! I can do w/out them - usually.

I started out, as mentioned above, very "high" on customer service - I still am. But to those customers who get crapped on all the time, I apologize. And actually, I do apologize, simply explaining "I'm sorry, but they scheduled me by myself, again."

What worries me - as I fully intend to stay w/HD (as long as my nerves can take it), is that someone w/come along and knock them off their block w/better customer service. It happens all the time. Remember Hechingers? This skel. crew thing effects so many aspects of the store. The place, for the most part, looks like a dump. Assoc. that do have time to clean and stock shelves, aren't supervised enough to do so. It just effects every-single facet of the store, and eventually, I'm afraid, people WILL go somewhere else.

When, in turn, better cust service would result in increased sales!! It would result in increased sales per "that visit" by the customer, plus it would increase the liklihood the customer would return to do business again. I cannot tell you how many people told me, when I told them I was working for HD, that they never shop there; never shop there on a weekend; how trashy the place always looks (shelves empty (when many times, the item is stocked above/out of reach, but not enough manpower to pull it down)), etc. And look, I'm not making this up!! These are actual quotes from people I know! Not disgruntled strangers - or friends who've listened to my worries, and simply agreed w/me!

I truly hope for HD's sake, that they wake up and realize that they must hire more help in some depts. I promise you - as I think I read above, someone will capitalize on everything HD does, EXCEPT, add good cust. svc., and before you know it, they'll be selling their stores to another "big box" company.

I don't want this! I don't wish this on them! I've just been around for a while, and I've seen it happen enough times to know it can - and probably will happen to HD if they don't wise up soon! I'm sure their Harvard-trained execs think they're saving bucks by cutting payroll, but I'm telling you, in the long-run, it will be their demise. NOTHING can replace good customer service.

I am a current associate of 7 years at Home Depot. I can honestly say that Home Depot is short staffed right now and the employees of the stores are well aware of it and feel it deeply day in and day out.

Hopefully that will be changing somewhat as we received a memo recently that indicated there would be an increase in staffing in all the stores for customer service purposes. As far as the differences between Lowes and Home Depot, at this point Lowes may have more employees on the floor but do they have the knowledge to help you once you get there?

Home Depot does hire retired contractors for their knowledge, they also send new assocites thru extensive training, just to be a flooring associte you go thru 5 straight weeks of training. So Home Depot does invest well in their associates and their training.

As far as the problem Harold had in the store, I feel really bad that associates walked right by him and didn't stop and help him. Those associates were wrong, they are trained the customer always comes first, you stop what you are doing and you always respond to each and every customer and sometimes that means juggling two or three customers at a time which gets difficult but can be done if you have understanding customers which usually isn't a problem. So for that Harold I apologise to you as a Home Depot associate!

In closing I have to say Harold, I commend the cashier that continued to serve you as you stood there and called her those awful, awful names that day bacause I can honestly say I for one could not have done it. So thankfully you did run into an exceptional associate that day.

The CEO of Home Depot has cut back on the employees per store, as well as the hours allowed per employee. That's why you can't get the service that you once could in Home Depots. Lowe's has always had mediocre service. I agree with some of the others on this subject. Home Depot and Lowe's are exactly the same.

I've worked for Lowe's and I now work for Home Depot, and let me tell you, Lowe's isn't any better at customer service then home depot, there both the same...what it all boil's down to is the bottom line! The reason you can't find any help...no one scheduled, because the companies are worried about the bottom line. No customer's, no hours to give employees. And further more, Lowe's pay's there employees low wages, etc. I'm not saying Home Depot is any better, their not. Again it all boil's down to the bottom line. As far as the service at home depot, I get worse at Wal-mart, now that's a store you can't ever find help in..lol!

I've worked for Lowe's and I now work for Home Depot, and let me tell you, Lowe's isn't any better at customer service then home depot, there both the same...what it all boil's down to is the bottom line! The reason you can't find any help...no one scheduled, because the companies are worried about the bottom line. No customer's, no hours to give employees. And further more, Lowe's pay's there employees low wages, etc. I'm not saying Home Depot is any better, their not. Again it all boil's down to the bottom line. As far as the service at home depot, I get worse at Wal-mart, now that's a store you can't ever find help in..lol!

I've worked for Lowe's and I now work for Home Depot, and let me tell you, Lowe's isn't any better at customer service then home depot, there both the same...what it all boil's down to is the bottom line! The reason you can't find any help...no one scheduled, because the companies are worried about the bottom line. No customer's, no hours to give employees. And further more, Lowe's pay's there employees low wages, etc. I'm not saying Home Depot is any better, their not. Again it all boil's down to the bottom line. As far as the service at home depot, I get worse at Wal-mart, now that's a store you can't ever find help in..lol!

I've worked for Lowe's and I now work for Home Depot, and let me tell you, Lowe's isn't any better at customer service then home depot, there both the same...what it all boil's down to is the bottom line! The reason you can't find any help...no one scheduled, because the companies are worried about the bottom line. No customer's, no hours to give employees. And further more, Lowe's pay's there employees low wages, etc. I'm not saying Home Depot is any better, their not. Again it all boil's down to the bottom line. As far as the service at home depot, I get worse at Wal-mart, now that's a store you can't ever find help in..lol!

The real problem with Home Depot (USA & Canada), is that they are opening too many stores in too short of a time. I work in the hardware industry myself and have heard a lot of horror stories. I was recently in a new store set up, and the NEW hardware manager was introduced as being with the company for 2 weeks, with no previous hardware experience. How much help with she be???? Go to Home Depot's website and see how many new stores are planned for just the next 3 months. It is defineately going to get worse before it get's better! I find you get better service from the local hardware store than anybody else. Retail pricing is very close, just wait for things to go on sale. Ever notice the flyers for Home Depot, Lowes do not show sale prices! Nothing is on sale, so don't be fooled!!!!!!!!!!

I don't work for Home Depot but you sound like such a wonderful customer.

I'm sure Home Depot would prefer you take your punny shelf business elsewhere next time and take your anger out on someone else. They don't need your business that bad.

Try being nice to someone next time, you might be suprised what you get !

I've had similar problems with Lowes. They have items in their ads that they don't (and never did) have in stock. They say they'll call you when an item is in, but they don't. Help is almost impossible to find. The store I've gone to has buttons where you can call for assistance. When you press one, it says "Customer needs help in hardware" or something like that. I've seen people pressing those, and hearing the announcements for a long time -- rarely do the people actually get help.

There are 2 HD stores in my area. One is helpful, one isn't. In my case, the Lowes isn't even as good as the "bad" HD.

I have also experience frustrations in dealing with Home Depot over the years. Local & Corporate management have always been friendly, apologetic, and helpful. Still it's better not ot have the problem in the first place than to have problems and need them corrected. Luckily Lowes built a store near where I kive and now I do most of my trading there. As a general rule the employees there are friendlier and more knowledgeable. If there is a Lowes in your area you may want to give them a try next time you are in the need of hardware or home-improvement supplies.

You have to understand that your experience at this particular Home Depot is similar to experiences of customers in almost all the Home Depots across the country. You are not alone.

Home Depot hires local contractors who were unsuccessful, for one reason or another, in their own businesses. So what do you expect from them? These people have very little to offer in terms of customer relations skills and simply don't care about helping customers.

I have written a letter to their corporate HQ about this matter, and although they responded to me, the situation at the store remains the same. Problems such as: employees walking right past you without asking if you need help, employees keeping their eyes to the floor in fear of making eye contact with you, groups of employees standing around chatting while customers are eagerly seeking help, employees telling you that they'll be with you in a minute and they never return to help you, items frequently out of stock, discontinued items being displayed as stocked items, hazardous placement of inventory (my daughter nearly had her eye poked out by some wire that was sticking out), etc.

If you want my suggestion, go to Lowes. My experience at Lowes is substantially different. Lowes has employees that are eager to help and the shelves are always well stocked and organized. Sure they might have a problem every once and a while but they are far superior to Home Depot in making sure that your shopping experience is an excellent one.

Home Depot won't learn until people stop patronizing them. My suggestion is: Boycott Home Depot!!