Anybody Heard Anything About Home Depot Getting Out Of The Installation Business?????

parts

Best news today. They even install insulation around here but only take the cake work. I can't figure out who does their insulation install around here and I know practically evrybody

beerisgoodfood

Depot installs is a joke.

Basically a family member that is tied in with corporate gets the "official" provider status. That person hires 2 phone people and buys 2 computers and makes 35% ON TOP of HD's 35% and the sub that does the work gets raped.

It could work but there is too much greed and idiocy in the whole process as it stands.

Tom Struble

should be illeagal for a supplier to install imo

Stone Mountain

I was a Home Depot "service provider" this past summer. Just for fences though, not decks. Horrible expereince. I bowed out, but they are keeping my $1000 security for 1 year.
Never again.

__________________
Residential Deck Specialist: Vist our Website
www.fenceanddeck.ca

GregS

Tell us about how it became horrible.

LightYourNight

ya what went wrong?? did they not pay squat?

__________________
John Paul Cambruzzi
Landscape Lighting Specialist, LLC
www.LightYourNight.com

HomerJ

...not immediately anyway. EXPO service providers are being terminated due to the closing of that division, but the orange boxes will continue business as usual for now.

I was one of the 7000 people that was let go from HD on Monday. I was a District Services Manager.

Essentially, it was my responsibility to help recruite, hire, and manage the Service Providers for an assigned territory. They reduced the headcount of my former team by 1/2 during this recent layoff. They will continue to install everything from kitchens to roofing to water heaters as long as it's profitable. Right now, most of those programs are profitable. Unfortunately for them, they're struggling to find customers just like the rest of the industry.

From the inside, I've seen both good and bad relationships with the contractors who've been authorized service providers. Contrary to what was posted earlier in the thread, it's not quite as incestous as many would believe. There has been a movement in the last 5 years towards larger regional and national companies to provide services. The powers that be feel that it makes the process easy to manage. That makes it a little tougher to become a provider for HD unless you come in as a sub of one of the big guys. In that scenario, there's always a question of whether there's enough money to go around.

I could write a book on the subject, but I won't bore you all with it here.

Mike Finley

Well, it seems it might be only here in Denver they are getting out of at least the bath remodeling business or it's just this local comapny that contracts to them has lost the contract. One or the other. A customer of mine I talked to on Friday said she had Home Depot out to look at her bathroom a few months ago and she got a call from somebody telling her they wouldnt' be able to work on the project since they were closing down.

dan-o

Sorry to hear about your misfortune.
I'm sure many here would appreciate hearing how the HD installer really works, if you're willing to share.

HomerJ

Mike,

You are correct about the bath remodeling business.

Home Depot bought a company out of KC a few years ago called Jubilee bath. They eventually came to be known as HDHS bath. The same company also installed granite ctops for some markets.

HDHS bath is closing down along with EXPO, so that business is going away.

However, most HD kitchen installers can and still do bath installs. It's just not a big part of their business and the process is a little different.

Basically, HDHS designed, sold, furnished and installed for Home Depot. Going forward, customers will be able to select product in their local store and have a HD service provider install it. Similiar to the way kitchens are sold and installed.

beerisgoodfood

Real life Home Depot installer experience 3 years ago...


Got sucked into a craigslist ad for door installers and talked on the phone.

To me, it sounded like a goldmine. Being fed work by multiple Home Depot stores in our area etc.

My partner and I both had liability so we didn't have to deal with comp and everything was cool. Had to pass a background check etc and we were off to the races...

What we experienced was complete fools that pretended to be "service representatives" and complete tools at Home Depot selling people things they don't understand themselves.

It was a nightmare.

Then we started having all these big jobs not show up on our paycheck.

We said WTF and they said they had to hold money till next year but don't worry about it.. That's just the way they do it...

Well we were praised by all the Home Depot expediters as the best they have seen in years. Then the money started NOT coming in..

It added up and the middleman company refused to give us proper billing records to even record what we WERE paid for..

We figured they owed us over 6 grand and then in February they send a notice that our services are no longer needed .

We started in Feb. the year before so that was one year to the date essentially.

The letter stated all funds will be held for ONE YEAR do to any liability etc.

Once the year ended we expected a check but NOPE. Instead every link or phone number to that company was gone. They took it and ran and ****ed many more installers than us.

As a kicker we worked the day before Xmas eve installing 2 3rd story sliders and all the interior doors all night so it would be ready for Xmas eve.

Never saw a dime.

Mike Finley

Thanks Homer.

It sounds like a step in the right direction for our industry!

HomerJ

Not to worry about the misfortune. I'll miss the steady paycheck, but this didn't catch me completely unprepared. I'm in the process of setting up my own GC company now. Tough time to start a business, but there aren't many companies looking to hire a non-college grad for the kinda cash I was pulling in. With a ton of hard work, and a little luck, I might just be better off in the long run anyway.

As for the HD process, there's no big secret to it really. There are literally thousands of independent companies that apply to become service providers for HD. But, for the most part, if you're a small firm, you'd be hard pressed to get into HD right now unless there's a serious hole to fill. As I said previously, the direction of the company has been to use larger regional or national installation companies to manage those businesses. This makes it easier for HD to drive prices down and allows them to manage fewer out sourced service providers.

However, you could find work as a sub for one of those larger firms if you wanted it. The question is whether you want it. I suspect many of you would not find the rates favorable.

Your cost + HD Service Provider Cost + HD margin = Retail Price

Retail prices for cabinet installs is $59 $69 or $79 a box. You do the math.

Finding out who currently does the installations of any category is simple. Just call the store and ask them. The expeditor can tell you. Once you have that, call that company and ask them if they need help. (trust me when I say they almost always need quality workers who can pass a background check).

Keep in mind that the business is very regionalized, so someone's experience with the team on the west coast could be drastically different from someone in Florida.

In general, there are 4 different types of service programs.

Install only - local service provider does the install on HD supplied product- Example - Kitchens, flooring

Furnish and Install - Service provider furnishes and installs the product. Example - Corian tops

Sell Furnish and Install - Customer calls 800 number or store associate calls in a lead to a call center. Service provider contacts the customer, does in home consultation, sells, furnishes and installs the product. - Example - Fencing

AHS Sell Furnish and Install: Roofing, Siding, Windows, Gutters and Insulation. Same as above except that Home Depot owns the company that runs these programs.

I've seen installers literally get rich from HD or EXPO jobs. I've also seen those same installers put all their eggs in the HD basket and then go bust when a line review comes up and another company comes in and gets the contract.

I won't tell the horror stories, but I do believe I've seen it all when it comes to poor workmanship and bad behavior on job sites. Having said that, most of the installs the company does go off without a hitch and the customers are generally satisfied.

The name of the game for any HD service provider is their customer service scores and low prices.

dan-o

Thanks HomerJ
To be clear, I have no interest in becoming an HD installer but I thought some real info may help other CT members, present and future, to see both sides of the system to help make an educated choice.

I was recently approached re: installing epoxy flooring. Installers cut is 50% of the sales price (labor only, materials from HD cut), which is the same nationwide despite my area being more expensive than most.

For me it doesn't make much sense. I have a large advertising budget so I'm not hurting for leads. They sold their cut heavily on the value of their marketing and sourcing of leads. I am curious about your opinion re: the quality of the leads (how much vetting of HO, knowledge of sales people etc).

I could see it making sense for a 1-2 guy operation (I have 2 crews) with little overhead and no real marketing plan/experience/budget. The buy in was pricey in this case and you were subject to HD Installer rules including wearing their shirts/badges. Financing HD jobs, via waiting 3-6 weeks for payment is ridiculous though. Talk about cart before the horse.

I was already planning on going into the epoxy flooring market anyway so I'll keep the extra margin and source my own leads, thank you very much.

bwalley

Home Depot pretty much rips off all of the vendors they can, that is why many people refuse to do business with them.

If you do work as a sub and the contractor (HD) does not pay you, lien the clients property.

The customer paid HD, yet they want to rip off their subs, what kind of BS is that?

Screw HD.

HomerJ

The leads from HD will be hit and miss. It really depends on:

How good the in-store lead generator is

How much the paint dept. associates push the program

What does the in-store display look like. There are some stores that have an area of the store coated to show customers what it looks like. From what I understand, those stores did well with the program.

You won't find many people in the store who are experts on garage floor coatings. They aren't asked to be. They're asked to get the customer's info and get in called in as quickly as possible so that the experts (service providers) can take over.