Home Depot

RoofContractor2

I was just wondering what everybody thought of Home Depot. I'm sure this has been a topic in here but I want to know what you think now compared to the past

Cole

lol, there has been numerous posts, search home depot.

__________________
Tulsa's Leader in Outdoor Living Construction | Facebook | Tulsa Pergola Builder | Tulsa Outdoor Kitchens

slickshift

Same , different day
Curious as to why you would phrase it that way, are they supposed to be different now?

Michigan Exhaust

Everytime I visit:
Homedepot= Headache
Reason due to the fact that they don't carry simple things that I need, and when they do have what you need the stores inventory is so messed up (Things are mixed with other things, screws etc mixed with wrong sizes, inventory is never stocked, you get stuff home and it is damaged). Although they are cheaper.

Lowes=Headache
Reason due to the fact that you can never find anyone that knows where or what you are talking about. Although everything is in it's proper place, stocked, and the prices are slightly higher.

I pick Lowes if I have to. Pay more but it is usually stocked and I'll find it myself since no one else will.

__________________

slickshift

My Trip To Home Depot
By slickshift

See the thread titled:
Well, I'm off to HD, wish me luck...
http://www.contractortalk.com/f22/well-im-off-hd-wish-me-luck-4368/

RYANINMICHIGAN

I avoid both Lowes and Home Depot at all costs. I deal with 84 lumber most of the time, nice to able to walk in there and talk to poeple who know what the hell they are doing. Plus I can finnish my cig while I am in there. Lowes has better lumber then HD thats about it.

RobertCDF

I like ONE hd in my city it is an old one that was desinged for contractors and there are still a lot that shop there. The pro desk guys are all former tradesmen and do know what they are talking about. If I go in there and there is a line the pro desk guys will wave me over to them and they will check me out. If I need something I know will be locked up or is up in the steel I will go right to them and ask they will either get it for me themselves or will get someone to get it for me RIGHT NOW. If I did not have this HD or it starts to look and be like all the other ones in town I will stop shopping there. But I highly doubt they will change this one there are really a lot of contractors that shop there and to change it and chase them all off would be really bad for them. Now blowes on the other hand sucks one of the times I went by the contractor desk they had a CART GOFER at the desk who did not know about anything and could not even get me someone who did. Slowes prices are higher and their checkers are too stupid to even ring stuff up the few times I venture in there I will wait in line for 15 minutes with only 2 people in front of me and its not like a huge lumber cart with 50 differant items its some old person with 4 things. I did write an email to lowes about how much they sucked and the GM called me and asked me how they could fix the many things I listed that was wrong with the store. The next time I went in there they did have more checkers and it did not take any time to get through the line. But I am shure that will be short lived when they see they have to pay those checkers.

__________________
Robert Shaw
Colorado Springs Custom Decks
Colorado Custom Decks
Custom Composite Decks

jmic

I dread the thought of going to H.D. but always find myself there when I need something , just convenient I guess. Couple of miles down the road and open all kinds of hrs. Any big orders goes to lumber co. H.D. has what I need 60% of the time. Oh yeah, also hate going there cause I always feel like something will get ripped out of my truck, hasn't yet but would really pi$$ me off if it did.
Joe

noreast05

Low quality crap. Love the molding isle, not hard to find a banana in those racks. lumber should be stored horizontally, but they would rather sacrifice the material instead of increasing the store size. Pro desk is a joke. There pros have years of experience in construction Why wouldn't the pro be out in the field making more than $10 an hour. First clue they are not pros, unless it's a retired construction fellow looking for something to do. Don't tell me it's for the benefits. When I use to shop there the "pros" would always order the wrong things . And they want me to wait weeks for a delivery and pay for it too....... I don't think so Local lumber company same day delivery for free.

Cole

I find it amazing with all the topics about HD and Lowes has not been bad-mouthed yet.

__________________
Tulsa's Leader in Outdoor Living Construction | Facebook | Tulsa Pergola Builder | Tulsa Outdoor Kitchens

DecksEtc

We don't have Lowes in Canada so I can't bad mouth it!

Cole

O, my bad.

lol.

__________________
Tulsa's Leader in Outdoor Living Construction | Facebook | Tulsa Pergola Builder | Tulsa Outdoor Kitchens

ConcreteGuy

Like anything, it depends upon your experience with people. For example, I may have a bad impression of your company just because your foreman and me couldn't get along.

Where I'm working right now I'm impressed with Lowe's because they try to make sure carts are available inside the store. And they have a contractor's loading zone where you can back up your work truck and feel all warm-and-fuzzy special. The folks at Lowe's have put some thought into this.

And I would admonish you all in your criticism of HD & L's employees. To me they are like building maintenance men. They ain't good enough to put the work in place, only able to complain about it. You're on your own.

EDIT: As an Atlanta native I have a bias for Home Depot and Bernie Marcus, who recently spent millions on an aquatic center, donated to the city.

However, imagine yourself the manager of a Lowe's or Home Depot seeking qualified employees. You would be trying to extract from a dwindling market the kind of help we contractors want to have, while offering less pay. Not to mention the pressures of working for a publicly held corporation with vast resources spent on marketing.
By this I mean to adjust your reasonable expectations, but I admit to being equally frustrated. I want low prices and convenience, but I bitch because I got exactly what I paid for.

Have any of you had a good experience at these mega-lo-marts and expressed it to their management? I regret not saying something to the manager of my local Home Depot about a guy in his plumbing department who is great. And the Lowe's I go to where my job is has no competition but their people are above average.

---END RANT

bob the builder

GC man I agree with you to a point. If I go to HD or Lowes I don't really need someone with experience in the construction field, just work the register. But they still suck....

Bob

Teetorbilt

Here HD has an A-Team that they use to open new stores until they are replaced with mostly dummies.

I have a few retired friends who went to work for Lowe's mostly just to get out of the house. These guys really know their stuff but Lowe's works them at odd hours which older bodies and minds have a hard time tolerating.

Jimmy had an electrical co. for 40 yrs, he retired and his wife passed away about 5 yrs. later. For something to do, he went to work for Lowe's and was excellent in the electrical dept. Some nights he had to work until 11:00 offloading trucks, drive home in the dark and might have to open at 6:00 the following morning. His late 60's bod just couldn't handle it. He now hangs out at a local pub and just waits to die.

__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

skylands

Lets face it. We're all just one step away from hiring help that need assistance writing their own name. So when I go into HD it just reinforces me that some companies will hire anybody. I agree that Lowes is better. My biggest complaint about HD is with the check-out registers. Why does every HD store have a dozen registers but only one open? And the guy ahead of me always has a basket full of plumbing parts and sure as hell, one fitting doesn't have the sku sticker on it and the line stops for an hour. But then I remember. It's Sunday afternoon and HD is open and that's why I'm standing in this line in the first place.

DecksEtc

This would be the reason that self checkouts are becoming so popular. That and the fact one person can oversee 4-6 at a time.

Brian

I like both Home Depot and Lowes. I know what I'm in for when I go there. I don't go for the advice, but for the selection. I have one of each about 2 miles from my office, so they are very convenienct for one stop shopping.

I like Home Depot's self check lines for the most part. But have you ever tried scanning 200 pickets and getting them in that little bag where you have to put everything? About halfway through I began to wonder if maybe I should have gone to a regular line. I did get a little ticked off when the clerks laughed when the bags broke.

Brian Phillips

__________________
Houston Interior Painting
Houston Exterior Painting
Houston Painting Contractor

Mike Finley

I would have a hard time being in business without them. Nobody else in my area carries as wide a range of generic stuff as them. On bigger, better projects I tend to have to special order 10% of the materials needed such as maybe faucets or cabinets or a tub, special install from a sub 10%, electrical, plumbing, a glass shower surround or something, hunt down 10% from specialty vendor such as some special drywall trim, glass block, tile or something and then luckily about 60-70% of everything else I can get from Lowes or HD.

In an ideal world I could get 100% of everything from them and I'd be even happier.

go dart

come on finley, i was hoping you were a real contractor. ya know some wholesale accts? there isn.t a wholesaler in kc that won.t match their or drastically beat their pricing on special orders. most items ie: cabinets, hardware. windows, doors etc are purchaced WHOLESALE w/ deliverys to my shop!