We are the optimists. Boy, did we feel like the good cops after we saw what MUG wrote about Home Depot yesterday. Thank goodness, a reader commented to us about how great the tool, hardware and DIY section is.
Needless to say, we were completely unaware that HD was able to create so much trouble without setting off national buzzers like Wal-Mart has done in the past year. Between discrimination of employees, consumer fraud, gift certificate rip-offs, and an unsatisfactory rating by the Better Business Bureau, it ain't surprising that we found the store in a bit of dissarray on Sunday. It is damn hard to grow big and still serve the people.
Contrast that with The Container Store, which - whether you like it or not - has outrageous (and sometimes too annoyingly helpful) customer service and an ability to deal with crowds on a regular basis. It's all about keeping your cultchah alive... MGR
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Comments (2)
I tried the Home Depot near Red Hook several times pver the last couple years and frequently found it difficult to find customer service people who knew the store's stock well. It took a great deal of time to discover they didn't have some not unusual items I wanted in stock. For example, I couldn't find spar varnish there, yet it was carried by a whole-in-the-wall hardware shop a block from the Windsor Terrace apartment I lived in at that time. After being disappointed too many times, I gave up on them.
I later learned that this poor inventory control is a common complaint against Home Depot, and that part of the problem is that, to save money, rather than monitoring their store inventory completely themselves, Home Depot relies on its suppliers to keep track of inventory and stock their stores. As a result, they don't really know what's selling in their stores as well as they could. Anyone know if there's any truth to this explanation?
I shop Home Depot because we have one in town. If I just need to pick up a few small thing it's convenient. If I have major home improvement/DIY shopping to do I drive the 45 minutes to Lowes. They have better selection, more helpful staff and lower prices.