I Hate Home Depot

[Honolulu_Blue]

I do. I really hate Home Depot. While I am no huge fan of Lowe's either, I will gladly give them my business before going to Home Depot.

"Why do you hate Home Depot, H_B?" You ask. Good question. Here's why.

1. I admit. I am not handy around the house. I have no such skills. It runs in the family. My father, brother, and I are really not skilled in the ways of household repairs and projects. Any such projects typically do not go well and simply degenerate into a flurry of curse words and sometimes violence upon the offending inanimate objects. The thought of home repairs fills me with apprehension and annoyance.

This is the first reason I hate going to Home Depot. Nine times out of ten heading to Home Depot is just Step 1 in some series of chores. It's the "shopping" and "spending money" part of the chore. You don't go to Home Depot to buy a cool new video game or computer game or some interesting book. No, what you buy at Home Depot will only beget more boring, irritating chores. Shopping is irritating enough as it is without generating subsequent work.

If I buy shelving units at Home Depot, I know I will be spending the next few hours of my life in the basement assembling said shelving units and then moving shit around to put on them. If I buy a shovel at Home Depot, I know I will be spending the next few hours digging holes or up-rooting bushes or something like that.

H_B does not enjoy these tasks/chores.

2. The second reason I hate Home Depot is that returning home from there (after a painfully unsucessful attempt to buy a gas grill with a gift certificate we got as a wedding present) our car was shot. (See, http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/...ighlight=Depot for details.) I know Home Depot isn't directly to blame for this, but it's all related. I know it is.

3. The third reason I hate Home Depot is two fold. A few months later Lady H_B and I returned to Home Depot, once again looking to acuire a gas grill with our gift certificate. (Note: We had moved by this point and never again returned to the Home Depot near to the place our car was shot).

We looked around for grills and found one we were happy with. All over the store there were signs, dozens of them, proclaiming "Free Grill Assembly: Everyday!" Because of my previously mentioned lack of handiness skills, I figured getting the grill assembled would be a nice thing. It would save me some time and sanity all in one.

It was a Saturday afternoon, the place was hopping, but we found a friendly sales guy and asked if we could purchase a grill and have it assembled. It turns out that "Everyday" actually means just "Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays." No assembly available on any other day. I pointed this out to the people and they just sort of shrugged it off.

So, we ask if we could buy the grill, leave it at the store, have them assemble it and then come back Monday night to pick it up. Nope. That wont do. If we buy something at the store, we have to take it home with us that very moment.

Fine. We decide on another grill that has already been built. Not exactly a floor model, so it's in good shape. The only drawback is that it's just a bit too wide to fit in the Subaru with the side shelf. So we ask one of the managers if they could get someone to unscrew the sideshelf for us real quick and we'd be good to go. He said that they were "too busy" and couldn't spare anyone on the floor. I was standing there, ready to pay $500 for a grill and he couldn't ask one employee to spend 10-15 minutes to unscrew a shelf? Unbeleivable. I even asked if I could borrow a screwdriver and do it myself. Nope. No can do. We ended up taking our money to Sears and buying a grill there.

Thus, for all the beforementioned reasons, I hate Home Depot.

I am also incredibly bored and feel like doing anything other than working on this pathetically boring brief in response to a brief that has yet to (and will likely will) be written.

[Butter]

I hate them too, but can I have your gift card? I have some laminate flooring to buy.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

1. I admit. I am not handy around the house. I have no such skills. It runs in the family. My father, brother, and I are really not skilled in the ways of household repairs and projects. Any such projects typically do not go well and simply degenerate into a flurry of curse words and sometimes violence upon the offending inanimate objects. The thought of home repairs fills me with apprehension and annoyance.

The exact reason that I got a job a the HD. You have no idea how fast you will learn and feel better about it. Of course, you wouldn't want to be one of the few people that I gave bad advice to either.

Luckily, that is in the past, but it certainly made me more confident about suck things.

[st.cronin]

I sense a golden scribe.

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

2. The second reason I hate Home Depot is that returning home from there (after a painfully unsucessful attempt to buy a gas grill with a gift certificate we got as a wedding present) our car was shot.

I don't really have anything to add to this thread, and I know this is completely inappropriate, but I can't help laughing when I read the above statement. It just seems so absurd that I can't help it. I am, of course, glad that nobody was hurt in the incident, but in the abstract it is kind of funny.

[Vince]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Luckily, that is in the past, but it certainly made me more confident about suck things.

Unfortunate typo.

[dbd1963]

I bought a battery there just the other day. The box was in horrible shape, but all I cared about was the battery, and it was still wrapped in its plastic bag. It was one of those emergency batteries that would start your car and also has an air pump for a flat tire. I got it home, and it wasn't just the box -- the battery had been backed over and the metal and plastic outer shell was crushed.

Batteries have poisonous gases in them, you know. I never even plugged it in to see if it would work. I brought it back to the store and explained that I'd like to replace it. All that was left was one that didn't have a box. They told me to take the crushed one back and put it on the shelf (!) and just take the other one and go. Problem was, the other one had a cracked plastic shell too. So I wound up leaving with my money back. They put both batteries back on the shelf. They did not ever seem concerned to help me with my needs, all they cared about was getting those batteries back on the shelf. I pointed out that no one would ever buy the one battery, and shouldn't, because it was probably dangerous. The stood staring at me like I was speaking a foreign language. Then I asked if they knew where I could get a suitable replacement. Nobody knew, and they looked as if I'd asked for them to pay me $1000 to hop on one leg.

I hate Home Depot too.

[Noble_Platypus]

You can do it, we can help!!

well, maybe we will help ,maybe not.......so maybe you cant do it afterall.

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by dbd1963

I bought a battery there just the other day. The box was in horrible shape, but all I cared about was the battery, and it was still wrapped in its plastic bag. It was one of those emergency batteries that would start your car and also has an air pump for a flat tire. I got it home, and it wasn't just the box -- the battery had been backed over and the metal and plastic outer shell was crushed.

Batteries have poisonous gases in them, you know. I never even plugged it in to see if it would work. I brought it back to the store and explained that I'd like to replace it. All that was left was one that didn't have a box. They told me to take the crushed one back and put it on the shelf (!) and just take the other one and go. Problem was, the other one had a cracked plastic shell too. So I wound up leaving with my money back. They put both batteries back on the shelf. They did not ever seem concerned to help me with my needs, all they cared about was getting those batteries back on the shelf. I pointed out that no one would ever buy the one battery, and shouldn't, because it was probably dangerous. The stood staring at me like I was speaking a foreign language. Then I asked if they knew where I could get a suitable replacement. Nobody knew, and they looked as if I'd asked for them to pay me $1000 to hop on one leg.

I hate Home Depot too.

How is the Wal-Mart and Target in your area? Are these problems really HD problems, or problems with the available work force for those stores?

[scooper]

I had a similar grill situation at Lowes. The Mrs. and I bought a grill that was already assembled. We actually wanted on still in the box for easy transport. No can do. They are all out.

"No problem. Can we simply have the shelves taken off the side for transport?"

"Uh. Let me get a guy from that department."

We wait and wait and wait. The grill were sitting in a vestibule at the exit of the store. They were chained together so to buy one, the grill guy had to come up anyway.

Finally, the grill guy came up and ulocked a grill for us. We asked about the shelves. He said we were welcome to take them off if we wanted. We asked to borrow a screw driver. He said he would go find one. He was gone for 20 minutes. This is a #$&ing home improvement store. Is it hard to find a screwdriver?

Finally, we got tired of waiting. We had already paid, so while I got the car, my wife went into the tool department and "borrowed" a couple screwdrivers. She just walked past the registers and out the door with them to disassemble the grill. After we got it taken apart, we just left the screwdrivers sitting on top of another grill and left.

Not really a big deal, but a stupid, frustrating situation.

[spleen1015]

Dude, you can't put a grill together?

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Vince

Unfortunate typo.

lol

[st.cronin]

Btw, gas grills are really easy to put together. I put mine together in the dark, and there are 5 year olds more handy than me.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

Dude, you can't put a grill together?

I can and ended up doing so. Sears delievered the grill, but didn't assemble it. It's more a time saving thing. I work pretty long hours and prefer to spend my limited free time doing things I enjoy. I figured that if someone was going to do it for me for free, why not?

[dbd1963]

Originally Posted by BrianD

How is the Wal-Mart and Target in your area? Are these problems really HD problems, or problems with the available work force for those stores?

This is the suburbs of Northern VA. You can get whatever workforce you want here. WalMart here, at least the one in Kingstowne, is so crowded I can't even go there. The last time I was there, a few years ago, it was a complete madhouse. Crap everywhere. Just not my scene.

The local Targets are all in very good shape. I haven't needed much customer service there, but what I have needed was handled professionally.

We've got a local Best Buy with terrible service, but a local CompUSA and Circuit City that are pretty good. And the nearby Costco is a treat to shop at.

All these stores have a varied work force. Some of them are well managed, others are not. I don't think it's any kind of work-force issue.

[dbd1963]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I can and ended up doing so. Sears delievered the grill, but didn't assemble it. It's more a time saving thing. I work pretty long hours and prefer to spend my limited free time doing things I enjoy. I figured that if someone was going to do it for me for free, why not?

They advertised that they would! Whether we can do it ourselves shouldn't even come into it. (I know you know that H_B).

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by dbd1963

They advertised that they would! Whether we can do it ourselves shouldn't even come into it. (I know you know that H_B).

Exactly. Well said.

[Franklinnoble]

I've gone from being a home improvement idiot to actually getting pretty handy around the house. Owning your own home and being a total cheapskate will do that for you.

I like Home Depot. The prices are cheap and the selection is pretty good. Haven't had much in the way of service problems there, but it is, after all, a "do it yourself" store. I don't go there expecting much help, and I trust myself assembling a gas grill much more than I'd trust someone else.

[dbd1963]

For some reason I can't get this thread to stop emailing me so here I am again..

The store is not a "manage it yourself" store. It's a store that caters to folks who want to "do it themselves" at home.

[Mustang]

I can never find what the hell I'm looking for in Home Depot so, I just go to Menards...

[Radii]

Originally Posted by dbd1963

For some reason I can't get this thread to stop emailing me so here I am again..

Near the top right of the thread is a link for "Thread Tools." click it, and you should see an option to "Unsubscribe from this thread"... click it and you should be set.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Franklinnoble

I've gone from being a home improvement idiot to actually getting pretty handy around the house. Owning your own home and being a total cheapskate will do that for you.

I like Home Depot. The prices are cheap and the selection is pretty good. Haven't had much in the way of service problems there, but it is, after all, a "do it yourself" store. I don't go there expecting much help, and I trust myself assembling a gas grill much more than I'd trust someone else.

I agree. I was the same way as a renter. As a home owner, I was amazed at how much I learned about home improvements. Sadly, my homeownership days are coming to a close as I have to sell my house before I ship out for a 3-year tour in Germany.

As for Home Depot and Lowe's, I really can't tell them apart. They have their good points and their bad points.

For instance, I replaced all the bedroom carpet in the house I'm selling and found it was cheaper to buy more expensive carpet from a small business than it was to buy cheaper carpet with free padding and a 20% discount from Lowe's. Why? Labor charges. So I had a small business handle my carpeting needs.

[dbd1963]

Originally Posted by Radii

Near the top right of the thread is a link for "Thread Tools." click it, and you should see an option to "Unsubscribe from this thread"... click it and you should be set.

Thanks for your help.

[Rizon]

I hate Home Depot because the employees at the ones I go to know nothing about home repair. They sure know a hell of a lot about "I don't know." If I have a question or need help I go to one of the smaller Ace Hardwares, where for only a few cents more I can actually get someone with a brain.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by Rizon

I hate Home Depot because the employees at the ones I go to know nothing about home repair. They sure know a hell of a lot about "I don't know." If I have a question or need help I go to one of the smaller Ace Hardwares, where for only a few cents more I can actually get someone with a brain.

This is the reason I hate Home Depot.

[Franklinnoble]

Originally Posted by Rizon

I hate Home Depot because the employees at the ones I go to know nothing about home repair. They sure know a hell of a lot about "I don't know." If I have a question or need help I go to one of the smaller Ace Hardwares, where for only a few cents more I can actually get someone with a brain.

Again, I'm not going there for help. I can read an article on the internet or buy a book (or, shudder, READ THE MANUAL) to figure out how to install an appliance, paint my house, whatever.

I go to Home Depot (and Lowe's) for price and selection. All I need the guy there to do is ring me up when I've found what I want.

The wise old men that work the Ace Hardware are charming and helpful, but I'm the sort of person that wants to be left alone in a hardware store. The only time I shop at the smaller store is when I just need something small, and they're closer to my house.

[illinifan999]

I hate all home improvement stores, as well as all landscape nursery's. I wish bad things upon those places.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I can and ended up doing so. Sears delievered the grill, but didn't assemble it. It's more a time saving thing. I work pretty long hours and prefer to spend my limited free time doing things I enjoy. I figured that if someone was going to do it for me for free, why not?

This is the wise choice. Sears is far superior for these kinds of purchases.

Obviously you can't buy wood and stuff, but for appliances, mowers, etc. Sears is the way to go.

[Franklinnoble]

The advantage of buying at Sears is that while you pay a little more, the warranty is superior. That's one area they seem to dominate, and it's definately worth it on appliances and such, like wade said.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Franklinnoble

The advantage of buying at Sears is that while you pay a little more, the warranty is superior. That's one area they seem to dominate, and it's definately worth it on appliances and such, like wade said.

And the customer service is FAR superior. Yes, they're pushy since they work off of commission, but they're also attentive, informed, and willing to go the extra mile because they work off of commission.

I bought my Lawn Tractor there, despite it costing more, because I went to Home Depot and searched for literally 30 minutes for someone that knew anything about the tractors, went to the front desk, they paged someone, 15 minutes later he showed up as their "expert" and still knew nothing... I went to Lowe's and it wasn't much better.... I go to Sears, and the second I walk into the door the guy is there ready to help me.

Again, I know they're commission based and can pressure sometimes, but on a big purchase like that, I want some service damnit.

[Double A]

I'm wagering the Home Depot manager chuckled to himself as he spun his St. Louis Blues cap around while H_B stormed out.

[Craptacular]

Long live Menards!!!!

OK, so it isn't a panacea either, but it's much better than the Depot.