# Home Depot



## RoofContractor (Dec 15, 2005)

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:thumbup:


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## Cole (Aug 27, 2004)

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


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## slickshift (Jun 14, 2005)

RoofContractor2 said:


> I was just wondering what everybody thought of Home Depot. ...I want to know what you think now compared to the past


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


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## Michigan Exhaust (Dec 29, 2005)

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.


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## slickshift (Jun 14, 2005)

My Trip To Home Depot
By slickshift

See the thread titled:
Well, I'm off to HD, wish me luck...
http://www.contractortalk.com/showthread.php?t=4368


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## RYANINMICHIGAN (Dec 9, 2005)

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.


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## RobertCDF (Aug 18, 2005)

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.


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## jmic (Dec 10, 2005)

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.:furious: 
Joe


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## noreast05 (Sep 4, 2005)

:thumbdown :thumbdown :thumbdown 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:furious: . And they want me to wait weeks for a delivery and pay for it too....... I don't think so:thumbdown :thumbdown :thumbdown :thumbdown Local lumber company same day delivery for free.:thumbup:


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## Cole (Aug 27, 2004)

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


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## DecksEtc (Oct 27, 2004)

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


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## Cole (Aug 27, 2004)

O, my bad.

lol.


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## ConcreteGuy (Jun 10, 2005)

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 ***** 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


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## bob the builder (Oct 6, 2005)

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


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

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.


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## skylands (Dec 10, 2005)

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.


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## DecksEtc (Oct 27, 2004)

skylands said:


> 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.


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.


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## Brian (Jun 9, 2004)

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


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

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.


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## go dart (Dec 6, 2005)

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!


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## go dart (Dec 6, 2005)

ok i've been out howling with the wife tonight and had a few but stop kissing hds butt. how about a lil backbone.your competing w/ dem bastar#$%. buy the low margin,stuff like studs ,insulation, and drywall, and fastners but cowboy up and establish some wholesale accts. you pay full retail for special orders! you only make them stronger if you go along. are you contractors or not? i am! come on guys get real


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

I can whup HD, Lowe's on many items, most times get better quality too.


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## go dart (Dec 6, 2005)

way to go teetorbuilt a guy w/ some stones


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

go dart said:


> way to go teetorbuilt a guy w/ some stones


How many wholesale accounts qualifies me for 'real' contractor status? I have the ones I need but if I need a few more to get into the 'real' contractor club I might get them just so I can be a member too.

I guess I could go to my plumbing wholesaler and buy the toilet I need, the 2 faucets the 2 sinks, the shower fixture, the shower pan. Leave with the toilet, the two sink, the shower fixture and go back in 2-5 days when the pan comes in and the 2 faucets. Contact my wholesale glass company for the vanity mirror. Contact my shower door manufacturer for the shower door. Go to the lumber yard for 12 studs for framing, go to the drywall wholesaler for the 2 sheets of drywall and mud, go to my tile wholesaler to pick up the 6 sheets of cement board, screws, mesh tape grout and tile, go to the lighting store for the vanity light, go to the electrical wholesaler for the 3 can lights and covers, go to the hvac distributer for the exhaust fan and 6 feet of duct work, contact the window store for the new window, run to the cabinet wholesaler for the vanity... blah, blah, blah...

Or I guess I don't get my 'real' contractor card.:cheesygri 

Sorry, for me it isn't about ego, fighting corporate America, defending small businesses that need to fold anyways... it's about *me*, it's also about price and convenience, organization and time saved that can be applied elsewhere. I'll spend my dollars where it works best for me.


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## old27 (Feb 13, 2005)

*In a Perfect World...*

Every large retail store should model themselves after babies'r'us. Whoever is engineering that corporate train should spread the word to the HD's and Lowes of the world. 

It seems to be all about training and company policy,i.e babies'r'us seems to tell their employees to know everything about everything in the store and to approach customers in a non-used car salesman type of way...HD on the other hand has no go-getters. In a million years, i have never had an HD worker approach me and say , "Can I help you?"

-old

ps sorry for the babies r us inclusion...lol


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

old, we don't have the stores yet and both of my kids are against reproduction. I doubt if I'll ever step foot in that store, if we get one. 

Ace is still a very 'go to' store. They beat the boxes on some common items and stress service. WTG! I can get in and out in minutes.


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## DecksEtc (Oct 27, 2004)

The "I Help In All Departments" printed on the HD employee's orange aprons has to be one of the biggest oxymoron's on the planet!

They should really print "That's Not My Department, Go To Aisle X And Try To Run Into Another Moron Wearing An Orange Apron" on them.


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## go dart (Dec 6, 2005)

well when you have an established place of business guess what? vendors call on you, deliver to your shop (time and gas worth anything?) buy back leftover matls, help settle bad product, send you referals, all sorts of things a hd or lowes won't do. my pluming wholesaler sold me an americast tub for 424.00 that lowes wanted 575.00 for and 6 wks. delivered to my shop in 13 working days for 150.00 less. i purchase andersen windows factory direct with a nice multiplier shipped to my shop and ordered off the same iq program as theirs. if its not on the shelf you pay full retail! also your homeowner pays the same amt. are you buying stone counters from depot? fabricators call on my shop often and my regular shop kicks hd's ass. the difference between what you pay depot and wholesale is what you put in your pocket. did you ever send your bath customers to a professional showroom that gives 40% disc? thats 40% in the bank.


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

Set yourself up as an OEM and see what happens. Better if your listed on Dunn & Bradstreet.


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## old27 (Feb 13, 2005)

Teetorbilt said:


> old, we don't have the stores yet and both of my kids are against reproduction. I doubt if I'll ever step foot in that store, if we get one.
> 
> Ace is still a very 'go to' store. They beat the boxes on some common items and stress service. WTG! I can get in and out in minutes.



Well said about ACE..I actually hit a True Value today to pick up some contractor bags...I normally wouldn't have hit that store, but was on my way to Mom's to help clean the basement and remembered she asked me to pick some up...I walked in the door, the guy behind the counter said "hi" and I asked where the bags were...I was in and out in thirty seconds and even got in some witty banter when the guy ringing me out (who I presume was the owner) asked me if i wanted a bag for my bags...lol.

regarding the babies r us citing: I think i posted that so that i could convince myself that all is not lost and that some retailers are capable of hiring good help that takes pride in their work. After my daughter was born and we vistited there a few times, i left the store wanting to sell breast pumps...lol. have a good one.

-old


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## go dart (Dec 6, 2005)

teetorbuilt please explain


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

go dart said:


> well when you have an established place of business guess what? vendors call on you, deliver to your shop (time and gas worth anything?) buy back leftover matls, help settle bad product, send you referals, all sorts of things a hd or lowes won't do. my pluming wholesaler sold me an americast tub for 424.00 that lowes wanted 575.00 for and 6 wks. delivered to my shop in 13 working days for 150.00 less. i purchase andersen windows factory direct with a nice multiplier shipped to my shop and ordered off the same iq program as theirs. if its not on the shelf you pay full retail! also your homeowner pays the same amt. are you buying stone counters from depot? fabricators call on my shop often and my regular shop kicks hd's ass. the difference between what you pay depot and wholesale is what you put in your pocket. did you ever send your bath customers to a professional showroom that gives 40% disc? thats 40% in the bank.


Now you are making some sense. It sounds like you have a good system that works for you based more on individual vendors, whatever works is what you should do.

I don't have a shop, but it sounds like there are some real nice perks to having one from your discription. No doubt, the benefits of personal relationships with account reps are 1000 fold more beneficial then the relationship you have with a big boxes employees. 13 day turn around is fine for 1 or 2 specialty items, (as long as I have the lead time), but not for large amounts of common and generic items. I do like the return policies in big boxes vs supply houses, restocking fees and 30 day time limits on returns are unheard of in a big box. Your rep will help you out of a jam, good luck at a big box, they order something for you and misplace a letter on the order form and you end up with a pink tub instead of a white one, you won't get more than a "We can order it again for you, but it will take 10 days to get here." out of them. Your account rep at a wholesale house will hopefully do everything they can to get you out of the jamb they created. For every item that is cheaper from a wholesaler there is an item that is more expensive from a wholesaler. No stone counters or cabinets from HD, I get granite from the same vendor HD uses, but only @ 15% discount due to our market conditions. Nice cabinets or vanities from cabinet wholesalers, generic ones from the big boxes, tile from tile wholesalers, generic tile materials from the big boxes, specialty tile materials from the tile wholesaler, there is a theme here... the more common the materials the better chance I will be getting them from a big box, like I posted before 60-70% from the boxes, that leaves 30-40% from supply houses or specialty vendors. I'm in a big metro area for anything I need I have at least 10 different choices to supply it to me.


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

I'm sure Teetor is referring to setting yourself up direct with a manufacturer, eliminating the wholesaler all together. I've ran into opportunities to do this in the past, but they have all been for very specific or very unique products that weren't worth it since I don't use them in high enough volume for it to be worth it. That's a whole other subject about economy of scale and the value of warehousing yourself vs paying a slightly higher price and being able to pick up only what you need.


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## 747 (Jan 21, 2005)

i have only been in hd once because its up in matteson illinois which is about a 30 minute drive. My options are menards or lowes. I know a couple gcs who don't like lowes because they take for ever when going into to pickup something up a customer purchased. But on the other hand they both say menards is smooth sailing. I personally like menards.


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## shopdust (Apr 9, 2005)

I always (well 95% of the time) hit my locally owned independant hardware store first. Be it for a tool or a materials list. The few extra bucks it costs come back a hundred or thousand fold with a referral for a cabinet job. HD and Lowes sell similar items and would never give a referral.
Owners know I appreciate it too when I'm in there buying.


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## slickshift (Jun 14, 2005)

Teetorbilt said:


> ... HD, Lowe's...most times get better quality too.


Most times I can find better quality wood then my nearest HD on the side of the highway
lol


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## slickshift (Jun 14, 2005)

Teetorbilt said:


> Ace is still a very 'go to' store. They beat the boxes on some common items and stress service. WTG! I can get in and out in minutes.


:thumbup: 
Ace is the place
A good True Value is a great place also
I've noticed they can vary greatly though


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## NHCharger (Oct 23, 2005)

For all my lumber, windows, cabinets and roofing I use a real lumber yard where I get free deliveries, boom truck deliveries for large loads of framing materials and shingles, and even the female sales clerks know what the differance is between KD and PT.
I hit HD for the small misc. stuff. I never go on a weekend. They do have a large selection of fasteners, locksets, closetmaid, light bulbs, etc. that you don't find at the local lumber yard.
The problem I have with HD is our local store is alway putting on clinics on how to build your own deck, install your own flooring, even how to install your own FHW oil fired heating system. I have seen firsthand one of these decks built by a home owner. My estimate to repair the deck so it would meet code was more than what they paid for the materials.


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## go dart (Dec 6, 2005)

charger said it better and shorter than me. i believe thats the big boxes place. in my area they sell windows,roofing, siding, flooring, decks etc.(installed) its not enough for them to sell matls they want to control the market. If i'm anti-corperate its only because i don't want to see all of us one day trying to find an orange apron with our name on it


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## CGofMP (Feb 17, 2005)

For what it is worth, my thoughts on the box stores are in general pretty dismal.

Lumber - GAWD. what a mess. The stuff is hardly ever stacked properly and if I want anything other than scab board it takes me 40 minutes to an hour sorting through their crap for the occasional and rare jewel, an un cracked, cupped, warped, twisted or overly knotted board. I am using 84 lumber when I want something nicer than firewood.

Help and Knowledge - I have rarely found anyone at the boxes that could do anyhitng more difficult than put in their own ear-rings that morning (females OR males :thumbdown ). However I must say that on occasion you do find a gem. In fact I was so impressed with the knowledge and help I got from a mature woman in the garden department at Lowes that I wrote them a highly praising letter about her. She deserved it.

Quality in general - I find to be lower than what I expect. This is especially true with simple tools like shovels and rakes etc for some reason. Latest example is I wanted a trenching shovel to do a project. I went to both Lowes and HD as they are very conviniently located. No joy. they had stuff but it had that soda can feel to it. Ended up at a local lumber yard and got a rockin solid Amrican made shovel. Now why should that be so hard to find?

Selection - I gotta grant the big boxes have selection that I can not get at the local True Value store. As much as I'd rather do business locally I KNOW that if I am on a time schedule (always) that I am standing a 40-80 percent chance of having to go to the big box anyhow if I want something the slightest bit unusual and dont want to special order it. (hate that) So I choose to go to the box. :furious: 

Price - Prices are genrally cheaper, of course, at the boxes. I purchased 102 rose plants this year. I got them all on clearence and because I was able to take gobs of them Lowes made me a great deal. I figured it all out and it came to 87 cents each. The planting soil I put them in cost more than that. (Physics problem: CGofMP has 102 rose bushes at 30 bags of potting soil to get home, if CGofMP drives a 15 year old 4 door commuter car how many trips with it take and how many thorn injuries will he suffer if the store is 45 minutes from hos home? - Oh never mind...:cheesygri )

So as I say ithe box stores are a mixed bag. I do not respect the box stores at all. I destest having to ask their sales force anything (with one or two exceptions), the quality is lower in many cases, but they do have selection and price in their favor.

Basically a no-win.


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