9 ms·

> Home Depot had ... associates who are knowledgeable about the products, says Langone. "These people learned their business and, to this day, the heart and sou

> Home Depot had ... associates who are knowledgeable about the products, says Langone. "These people learned their business and, to this day, the heart and soul of the Home Depot are these 400,000 people that work in the stores," Langone says. That is not at all my experience. They frequently don't even know inventory or where to find products in the store, and even less often do they know much about the products. Generally they are unmotivated, even relative to retail sales employees. EDIT: I want to be clear that I'm not at all criticizing the employees. It's obviously a systemic problem; they are poorly paid, and my impression is they are poorly trained and poorly treated, all for minimum age. I'm criticizing management for creating this system and for making the BS claim in the quote, and CNBC for letting it pass unchallenged.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
Mediterraneo10 8y ago
Funny, I get the same impression about the Home Depot equivalents in my own country (Praktiker and Dedeman). Over half the staff walking around is nearly retirement-age women who know bugger-all about most of the products on sale. Ask them where something is, and they have no idea, they will either claim not to have it (when they do), or they will go look for one of the few technically competent workers and ask them. You start to wonder if these stores' hiring choices are just some kind of gigantic makework project for needy widows, like Walmart greeters in the US. Or: someone knowledgeable about retail might be able to say whether these people walking around, even if they cannot really help customers, somehow pay for themselves because they discourage shoplifting.
- GordonS 8y ago
  Not sure what the age and gender of the workers has to do with it?!
  - Mediterraneo10 8y ago
    My country is what it is, a place where that demographic of old and female does not have much technical knowledge because society has traditionally discouraged it. So when you see a store with aisles full of tools and building materials overwhelmingly hiring that demographic -- and workers who are indeed unable to help customers much -- it does seem strange and one wonders at the reasons that the company's management has in mind. Are wages so low that only this demographic would accept them? Is it merely an anti-shrink measure? Are profit margins higher on the products (e.g. gardening) that they do know much about?
  - pubby 8y ago
    Perhaps it's irrelevant to the parent comment, but there is something interesting here about age. In America, lots of retired tradesmen and contractors end up working for Home Depot, and they're the best employee's you'll find there.
  - coolso 8y ago
    He explicitly stated it: his observation that people of that particular age and gender make up a large portion of the employees at his local hardware store, and those same workers know "bugger-all" about most of the products on sale. Also, where do you live where there is a large population of retirement-age women who know lots about home improvement? Would it have bothered you if he had said "teen-aged males" instead?
  - AmVess 8y ago
    Older women working at the cash registers typically don't have the strength to move items around in a trolley full of lumber and giant boxes full of nails or other heavy items which those stores are full of. One of the local HD's has primarily older women working the registers. Trying to find an SKU so a worker can scan it is a frustrating experience when they are unable to assist. This is a failure of management. If the women at my local supermarket can get a dedicated bagger, then these stores can have capable employees assisting the cashiers with their duties.
- tdeck 8y ago
  I don't know, this has been my experience with employees of all ages at many different large retailers in the US. You'll get the old "we don't have that" at many places. It's not the employees' fault. Employers don't want to pay for their staff to study up on the store layout, or to pay enough to retain people for a long enough tenure that they'd learn it themselves. And the inventory is huge and constantly changing. Meanwhile these people have constant work to do in the shop moving and re-organizing things. Helping customers find things is just one part of it.
  - lotsofpulp 8y ago
    It's not the employer's fault either. Customers will choose the store that sells for $1 less, so how can an employer invest in smart, knowledgeable employees when they would lose business to one that uses minimum wage labor?
    - thaumasiotes 8y ago
      I went into a Walgreens in San Francisco and asked for an Allen wrench, and nobody on the staff knew what that was. They didn't speak fluent English. But hey, Walgreens is exactly the type of store your comment applies to. I went into the Macy's flagship store on Union Square to ask for long underwear, and the salesman... didn't know what that was. He didn't speak fluent English either. He did eventually guess "do you mean... thermal?" At that point I'm pretty comfortable saying it's the employer's fault. A tourist-attracting flagship is not in a cutthroat pricing competition with everyone nearby.
      - lotsofpulp 8y ago
        I don't see how that claim can be made unless you know the ins and outs of Macy's cost and revenue structures. Also, from various articles, flagship stores famously lose money due to exorbitant rent and are actually marketing expenses. Considering the fact that retail store equity prices aren't high growth and they shut more stores than they open, I would bet that they are under considerable pressure to contain costs as people will just shop online or another department store. The only retail that can afford to pay their employees a professional wage is probably the super high end like Zegna or Hugo and the like. Found an article talking about Macy's financials: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/business/dealbook/retail-wall-street-macys-jc-penney.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/business/dealbook/retail-... There's no way commodity retail that caters to middle and lower class can be profitable with highly paid employees, you just won't move enough product. The fact that there isn't a chain that exists with that model is proof.
newnewpdro 8y ago
It depends on the store. In my experience it's kind of a reflection of the local community.
- AmVess 8y ago
  It's primarily a reflection on the store manager's desire and ability to run a store well. There are two Lowe's in my area. Same demographics. One has lethargic employees and is poorly stocked and in disarray. The other one is neat as a pin.
NegativeLatency 8y ago
I try and stick to the small local shops even if they cost more.
ravenstine 8y ago
I've noticed that most Home Depot employees use a specific question they ask to overcome the fact they don't know anything about their inventory or home improvement. If you're looking for a specific product, they'll ask this: "What are you using it for?" To someone who rarely goes to Home Depot, this may come off as if the employee actually knows something about home improvement and wants to help you by understanding your nuanced situation. What it really means is that they are clueless, so if you reply with "I'm looking for Jasco paint thinner", they'll either point you to the paint aisle(even though you've probably already been there) or they'll drag you there and fumble around until you find the product before they do. If you're really unlucky, they'll bring you to the wrong aisle or flag down another clueless employee. Going to Home Depot is an aggravating experience. Every time they ask me what I'm looking for, I get this deer in the headlights expression for even the most basic of things. Unless you're buying lumber, the employees don't seem to understand concepts like "I'm looking for some little pieces of felt or rubber to prevent my cabinets from being loud when they slam."
- manigandham 8y ago
  These are minimum wage employees that would only really know the major categories at best. What are you expecting? If you already know what you're looking then why bother with them at all?
  - fierro 8y ago
    Word
  - IanCal 8y ago
    > If you already know what you're looking then why bother with them at all? Well in their examples it's about actually finding the item in the store, rather than working out what to buy.
    - ravenstine 8y ago
      That and their stores are massive. In theory, it'd save me time to ask someone who's spent months working hours on end in the store. In practice, however...
icantdrive55 8y ago
They used to have experience trade people. Now--it's who ever wants a crappy job. The corporation managed to piss off their customer base, and their employees. They don't have much competition because they killed off the competition years ago, so their sales are respectable. I used to enjoy browsing the store near my home. Now--I just dread going in. And they don't have the lowest prices anymore. It's a shame what some corporations morph into. Would I go in if they were handing out one dollar bills--hell no. In my store, my picture is taken at the door, around the store, at the checkout, the exit door, and in the parking lot. All in order to buy a screw. I believe they are trying to control theft. I have a sneaky suspicion most of the theft is internal. The employee apathy is palatable.
noonespecial 8y ago
I know some people who have worked there. They report having their schedule continuously janked around and being moved departments often. Hardly conducive to becoming knowledgeable about any one department. Apparently some of the older (seniority, not age) full-timers are allowed to stay in their departments permanently. I'm guessing which of the two you get will have a big effect on your experience as a customer.
- tunap 8y ago
  I have observed competency & morale of associates are tightly correlated w/ the individual store's management. Some stores' associates avoid eye contact, shy away from customers & do not interact well w/ other associates. While at other locations associates actively engage customers & co-workers, and even have fun doing their jobs. The early signs of management competency is if cart corrals are full/empty, how/if you are received on entering building and if inventory is littered in aisles on pallets/carts or if it is properly shelved. The bummer for management is, if they put together a working team & environment their reward often is to be transferred to a miserable store to "turn it around". Having worked on 500+/stores over the last decade, the stark differences are apparent as soon as I pull into the parking lot before they open for business.
- jwassil 8y ago
  I worked at Lowe's one summer 18 years ago when I was on summer break during college. From what I can tell, little has changed, so I have some insight here. The schedule for workers constantly changes; very often, people that worked there would call in sick or just not come in. The managers move you to where they need you. I was hired strictly as a cashier, but I would often be moved from Tool World to the outdoor section to the main cash registers - all during one shift. Each of these areas has a very different customer type. Being a young college kid who never owned my own place, I didn't know much about any particular area. I tried to be as helpful as possible though. Some customers understood this; others were just plain rude. Funny story: Management often put me on the cash register guarding the entrance/exit to Tool World because I was very thorough in checking customers as they exited; there was a big problem back then with customers stealing small high-value tools by putting them inside other, less-expensive products. So, it was my job to prevent that. Anyways, I didn't know much about tools, but there was a girl about my age who was very knowledgeable in that area. She was the Tool World expert who roamed around the section. One day, a contractor came up to me at the cash register and asked me some very specific tool-related questions. I had no idea; I said, "I'll call the expert in to help." He said okay and waited. When he saw this young girl with glasses walk up, he looked at me and said, "you've got to be kidding me?"...then he walked away and left! Funny thing is that she probably could have helped him!
gregmac 8y ago
I've had several positive experiences in electrical and plumbing, where I was looking for a specific part and they were able to find it in a fraction of the time it would take me. I've also gone in with "I need a fitting to go from (size and type of thread) to (other material pipe)" and had someone enthusiastically figure out a couple ways to do it, trying to find the cheapest/simplest way based on parts. I know one of the people I had this experience with was a retired electrician, but I would bet that finding and keeping people with that type of experience is difficult.
nikofeyn 8y ago
i had a boss battle with a home depot employee once. i was looking to have a small piece of wood cut, really nothing fancy, and it’s a service they offer or at least i thought they offered. i found the wood i needed and was over in the lumber section looking at the front counters. no one to be found, i browsed the lumber some more to see if i had missed a size that would be more preferable. i came back to the front counters and realized that this section must be closed (maybe i finally saw a sign or something). anyway, i look back at the very back of the store and notice an employee watching me. he was standing with his legs positioned wide and his hands in his overalls (kind of like a chicken wing) facing me square on. it was kind of a weird feeling the way he was just watching me. he never budged to come help. so i kind of started walking to the other aisle but then thought, no, i am going back there and asking. so i snake my way back to the very back. of course, home depot is massive. as i do that i have noticed the guy has disappeared, maybe behind one of the aisle ends. it was clear afterward he intentionally moved there to hide, and i snaked the two aisles to see if i would catch him moving more inwards into the store. when i finally got back there, he was just standing there at the aisle end, even looking my direction as i turned the corner. it startled me a little, as i didn’t expect him to be just...there. i said i was looking for someone to cut the lumber i had picked out. he said he knew and that he had saw me. so i said, well, can you cut it? he said no, the aisle adjacent to his had a forklift moving stuff, and that we couldn’t use his aisle which had the equipment to cut due to some safety protocol. i recall the forklift not being in use and not being anywhere close to the equipment. there was some other curt responses by him when asked could he not just make this extremely simole cut, so i finally just said forget it and walked off. he muttered some stuff as i walked away. that’s not exciting really, but this moment sticks out in my mind so much. he just was doing everything he could to avoid customers, and in a pretty weird, awkward way. i eventually found a self-serve hand-cutting station in the store and cut the wood myself with a hacksaw.
- Casseres 8y ago
  Next time contact management and let them know. That would probably be more productive then bottling it up and posting it on a random forum months/years later.
  - 8y ago
johnpowell 8y ago
I am a licensed electrician in a few states. When the whole 2008 economy collapse thing happened a lot of us tradies went to work for Home Depot. The pay was shit but it payed the rent and helped with food. There are actually a fair amount of skilled people working there.. Even today. But if you ask where you can find a light switch they will point you in the right direction. They won't dig deeper unless you ask. Here is what terrified me. I started around four years after youtube. Now everyone was a electrician because wanglover76 posted a video of how to install a ceiling fan and tie it into a dimmer. It is pretty hard to convince a person shopping at home depot that their weekend project will probably kill their children.
- blackbrokkoli 8y ago
  Honest question: How to decide wether or not you can do something yourself? Like, it's technically required to get an electrican to change a light bulb - but who does this? So what is ok? Where is the line between setting up a desk lamp and stealing electricity from your neighbour with a screwdriver?
  - varjag 8y ago
    Here (Norway) it's whenever it involves the work on the mains panel or on unterminated power wire. You can change ceiling fixture if it has a clip in power socket, you can of course change lightbulbs (doubt it's licensed anywhere in the world), you can even install electric flooring that clicks to connect. You can't do anything that requires tying or soldering power wire together, and you can't install hidden cabling/channels and fixtures yourself (fire safety reasons).
    - lotsofpulp 8y ago
      Does that include running Ethernet or HDMI and other low power cables?
      - varjag 8y ago
        You can put exterior signal cables yourself. The wall conducts for such cables still have to be put in place by electricians I believe, but not 100% sure.
speby 8y ago
Funny, that is exactly my experience at Home Depot. I'd say 8 or 9 times out of 10, if I asked someone where something was, they knew or were able to quickly cross-check from their hand-held. And yet in other cases, employees could recommend something about a particular product or explain how it would be used for my specific situation. Or if they didn't know, they knew exactly who did and went and got them. So perhaps it's possible to chalk it up to some stores being better and worse at it. One nice thing is now the Home Depot mobile app will let you search for items in the store's inventory and will show you visually where exactly in the store the item is. Saves you from having to flag down an employee as sometimes they may be busy helping someone else.
dlhavema 8y ago
i agree with this, sometimes you find the one guy that knows a lot about one aisle ( out of 50-100 ), but that is maybe 1 in 5 trips.
Rotdhizon 8y ago
Home Depot is hit or miss. Either you get someone who's really passionate that knows their entire part of the store inside or out, or you get someone who moans and has to call someone else for assistance. It's rather satisfying to go in there, ask about something like a lawnmower and end up spending 20 minutes discussing lawnmower things with a knowledgeable employee.
phaedrus 8y ago
This month I had the same thing happen at 4 different stores (Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, and Ace Hardware): I ask where can I find product-X and the store attendant pulls out his/her smartphone to look it up on the internet, either to find out what department that is or what it is (when it's something they ought to know). I have a smartphone too, I could have looked it up. I'm not asking to see the web page for it, I want to know where it is physically. They hire people who do not even have basic knowledge of their own department, and apparently do not train them either. But this thing of acting as though them looking up the same thing I already researched on the web before I came in the store is something that I need help with is new.
- astura 8y ago
  The website tells you where it's physically located, it's like "aisle 12 bay 16."
acranox 8y ago
As a former Home Depot employee they actually have pretty good training material. A lot of staff probably don’t pay attention or utilize it. We were required to do a certain amount, but just like school it’s easy to barely pay attention, pass the test, and then forget it all. But the training material was actually pretty good if you wanted to learn from it.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

Mediterraneo10 8y ago

Funny, I get the same impression about the Home Depot equivalents in my own country (Praktiker and Dedeman). Over half the staff walking around is nearly retirement-age women who know bugger-all about most of the products on sale. Ask them where something is, and they have no idea, they will either claim not to have it (when they do), or they will go look for one of the few technically competent workers and ask them. You start to wonder if these stores' hiring choices are just some kind of gigantic makework project for needy widows, like Walmart greeters in the US. Or: someone knowledgeable about retail might be able to say whether these people walking around, even if they cannot really help customers, somehow pay for themselves because they discourage shoplifting.

GordonS 8y ago
Not sure what the age and gender of the workers has to do with it?!
- Mediterraneo10 8y ago
  My country is what it is, a place where that demographic of old and female does not have much technical knowledge because society has traditionally discouraged it. So when you see a store with aisles full of tools and building materials overwhelmingly hiring that demographic -- and workers who are indeed unable to help customers much -- it does seem strange and one wonders at the reasons that the company's management has in mind. Are wages so low that only this demographic would accept them? Is it merely an anti-shrink measure? Are profit margins higher on the products (e.g. gardening) that they do know much about?
- pubby 8y ago
  Perhaps it's irrelevant to the parent comment, but there is something interesting here about age. In America, lots of retired tradesmen and contractors end up working for Home Depot, and they're the best employee's you'll find there.
- coolso 8y ago
  He explicitly stated it: his observation that people of that particular age and gender make up a large portion of the employees at his local hardware store, and those same workers know "bugger-all" about most of the products on sale. Also, where do you live where there is a large population of retirement-age women who know lots about home improvement? Would it have bothered you if he had said "teen-aged males" instead?
- AmVess 8y ago
  Older women working at the cash registers typically don't have the strength to move items around in a trolley full of lumber and giant boxes full of nails or other heavy items which those stores are full of. One of the local HD's has primarily older women working the registers. Trying to find an SKU so a worker can scan it is a frustrating experience when they are unable to assist. This is a failure of management. If the women at my local supermarket can get a dedicated bagger, then these stores can have capable employees assisting the cashiers with their duties.
tdeck 8y ago
I don't know, this has been my experience with employees of all ages at many different large retailers in the US. You'll get the old "we don't have that" at many places. It's not the employees' fault. Employers don't want to pay for their staff to study up on the store layout, or to pay enough to retain people for a long enough tenure that they'd learn it themselves. And the inventory is huge and constantly changing. Meanwhile these people have constant work to do in the shop moving and re-organizing things. Helping customers find things is just one part of it.
- lotsofpulp 8y ago
  It's not the employer's fault either. Customers will choose the store that sells for $1 less, so how can an employer invest in smart, knowledgeable employees when they would lose business to one that uses minimum wage labor?
  - thaumasiotes 8y ago
    I went into a Walgreens in San Francisco and asked for an Allen wrench, and nobody on the staff knew what that was. They didn't speak fluent English. But hey, Walgreens is exactly the type of store your comment applies to. I went into the Macy's flagship store on Union Square to ask for long underwear, and the salesman... didn't know what that was. He didn't speak fluent English either. He did eventually guess "do you mean... thermal?" At that point I'm pretty comfortable saying it's the employer's fault. A tourist-attracting flagship is not in a cutthroat pricing competition with everyone nearby.
    - lotsofpulp 8y ago
      I don't see how that claim can be made unless you know the ins and outs of Macy's cost and revenue structures. Also, from various articles, flagship stores famously lose money due to exorbitant rent and are actually marketing expenses. Considering the fact that retail store equity prices aren't high growth and they shut more stores than they open, I would bet that they are under considerable pressure to contain costs as people will just shop online or another department store. The only retail that can afford to pay their employees a professional wage is probably the super high end like Zegna or Hugo and the like. Found an article talking about Macy's financials: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/business/dealbook/retail-wall-street-macys-jc-penney.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/business/dealbook/retail-... There's no way commodity retail that caters to middle and lower class can be profitable with highly paid employees, you just won't move enough product. The fact that there isn't a chain that exists with that model is proof.

newnewpdro 8y ago

It depends on the store. In my experience it's kind of a reflection of the local community.

AmVess 8y ago
It's primarily a reflection on the store manager's desire and ability to run a store well. There are two Lowe's in my area. Same demographics. One has lethargic employees and is poorly stocked and in disarray. The other one is neat as a pin.

NegativeLatency 8y ago

I try and stick to the small local shops even if they cost more.

ravenstine 8y ago

I've noticed that most Home Depot employees use a specific question they ask to overcome the fact they don't know anything about their inventory or home improvement. If you're looking for a specific product, they'll ask this: "What are you using it for?" To someone who rarely goes to Home Depot, this may come off as if the employee actually knows something about home improvement and wants to help you by understanding your nuanced situation. What it really means is that they are clueless, so if you reply with "I'm looking for Jasco paint thinner", they'll either point you to the paint aisle(even though you've probably already been there) or they'll drag you there and fumble around until you find the product before they do. If you're really unlucky, they'll bring you to the wrong aisle or flag down another clueless employee. Going to Home Depot is an aggravating experience. Every time they ask me what I'm looking for, I get this deer in the headlights expression for even the most basic of things. Unless you're buying lumber, the employees don't seem to understand concepts like "I'm looking for some little pieces of felt or rubber to prevent my cabinets from being loud when they slam."

manigandham 8y ago
These are minimum wage employees that would only really know the major categories at best. What are you expecting? If you already know what you're looking then why bother with them at all?
- fierro 8y ago
  Word
- IanCal 8y ago
  > If you already know what you're looking then why bother with them at all? Well in their examples it's about actually finding the item in the store, rather than working out what to buy.
  - ravenstine 8y ago
    That and their stores are massive. In theory, it'd save me time to ask someone who's spent months working hours on end in the store. In practice, however...

icantdrive55 8y ago

They used to have experience trade people. Now--it's who ever wants a crappy job. The corporation managed to piss off their customer base, and their employees. They don't have much competition because they killed off the competition years ago, so their sales are respectable. I used to enjoy browsing the store near my home. Now--I just dread going in. And they don't have the lowest prices anymore. It's a shame what some corporations morph into. Would I go in if they were handing out one dollar bills--hell no. In my store, my picture is taken at the door, around the store, at the checkout, the exit door, and in the parking lot. All in order to buy a screw. I believe they are trying to control theft. I have a sneaky suspicion most of the theft is internal. The employee apathy is palatable.

noonespecial 8y ago

I know some people who have worked there. They report having their schedule continuously janked around and being moved departments often. Hardly conducive to becoming knowledgeable about any one department. Apparently some of the older (seniority, not age) full-timers are allowed to stay in their departments permanently. I'm guessing which of the two you get will have a big effect on your experience as a customer.

tunap 8y ago
I have observed competency & morale of associates are tightly correlated w/ the individual store's management. Some stores' associates avoid eye contact, shy away from customers & do not interact well w/ other associates. While at other locations associates actively engage customers & co-workers, and even have fun doing their jobs. The early signs of management competency is if cart corrals are full/empty, how/if you are received on entering building and if inventory is littered in aisles on pallets/carts or if it is properly shelved. The bummer for management is, if they put together a working team & environment their reward often is to be transferred to a miserable store to "turn it around". Having worked on 500+/stores over the last decade, the stark differences are apparent as soon as I pull into the parking lot before they open for business.
jwassil 8y ago
I worked at Lowe's one summer 18 years ago when I was on summer break during college. From what I can tell, little has changed, so I have some insight here. The schedule for workers constantly changes; very often, people that worked there would call in sick or just not come in. The managers move you to where they need you. I was hired strictly as a cashier, but I would often be moved from Tool World to the outdoor section to the main cash registers - all during one shift. Each of these areas has a very different customer type. Being a young college kid who never owned my own place, I didn't know much about any particular area. I tried to be as helpful as possible though. Some customers understood this; others were just plain rude. Funny story: Management often put me on the cash register guarding the entrance/exit to Tool World because I was very thorough in checking customers as they exited; there was a big problem back then with customers stealing small high-value tools by putting them inside other, less-expensive products. So, it was my job to prevent that. Anyways, I didn't know much about tools, but there was a girl about my age who was very knowledgeable in that area. She was the Tool World expert who roamed around the section. One day, a contractor came up to me at the cash register and asked me some very specific tool-related questions. I had no idea; I said, "I'll call the expert in to help." He said okay and waited. When he saw this young girl with glasses walk up, he looked at me and said, "you've got to be kidding me?"...then he walked away and left! Funny thing is that she probably could have helped him!

gregmac 8y ago

I've had several positive experiences in electrical and plumbing, where I was looking for a specific part and they were able to find it in a fraction of the time it would take me. I've also gone in with "I need a fitting to go from (size and type of thread) to (other material pipe)" and had someone enthusiastically figure out a couple ways to do it, trying to find the cheapest/simplest way based on parts. I know one of the people I had this experience with was a retired electrician, but I would bet that finding and keeping people with that type of experience is difficult.

nikofeyn 8y ago

i had a boss battle with a home depot employee once. i was looking to have a small piece of wood cut, really nothing fancy, and it’s a service they offer or at least i thought they offered. i found the wood i needed and was over in the lumber section looking at the front counters. no one to be found, i browsed the lumber some more to see if i had missed a size that would be more preferable. i came back to the front counters and realized that this section must be closed (maybe i finally saw a sign or something). anyway, i look back at the very back of the store and notice an employee watching me. he was standing with his legs positioned wide and his hands in his overalls (kind of like a chicken wing) facing me square on. it was kind of a weird feeling the way he was just watching me. he never budged to come help. so i kind of started walking to the other aisle but then thought, no, i am going back there and asking. so i snake my way back to the very back. of course, home depot is massive. as i do that i have noticed the guy has disappeared, maybe behind one of the aisle ends. it was clear afterward he intentionally moved there to hide, and i snaked the two aisles to see if i would catch him moving more inwards into the store. when i finally got back there, he was just standing there at the aisle end, even looking my direction as i turned the corner. it startled me a little, as i didn’t expect him to be just...there. i said i was looking for someone to cut the lumber i had picked out. he said he knew and that he had saw me. so i said, well, can you cut it? he said no, the aisle adjacent to his had a forklift moving stuff, and that we couldn’t use his aisle which had the equipment to cut due to some safety protocol. i recall the forklift not being in use and not being anywhere close to the equipment. there was some other curt responses by him when asked could he not just make this extremely simole cut, so i finally just said forget it and walked off. he muttered some stuff as i walked away. that’s not exciting really, but this moment sticks out in my mind so much. he just was doing everything he could to avoid customers, and in a pretty weird, awkward way. i eventually found a self-serve hand-cutting station in the store and cut the wood myself with a hacksaw.

Casseres 8y ago
Next time contact management and let them know. That would probably be more productive then bottling it up and posting it on a random forum months/years later.
- 8y ago

johnpowell 8y ago

I am a licensed electrician in a few states. When the whole 2008 economy collapse thing happened a lot of us tradies went to work for Home Depot. The pay was shit but it payed the rent and helped with food. There are actually a fair amount of skilled people working there.. Even today. But if you ask where you can find a light switch they will point you in the right direction. They won't dig deeper unless you ask. Here is what terrified me. I started around four years after youtube. Now everyone was a electrician because wanglover76 posted a video of how to install a ceiling fan and tie it into a dimmer. It is pretty hard to convince a person shopping at home depot that their weekend project will probably kill their children.

blackbrokkoli 8y ago
Honest question: How to decide wether or not you can do something yourself? Like, it's technically required to get an electrican to change a light bulb - but who does this? So what is ok? Where is the line between setting up a desk lamp and stealing electricity from your neighbour with a screwdriver?
- varjag 8y ago
  Here (Norway) it's whenever it involves the work on the mains panel or on unterminated power wire. You can change ceiling fixture if it has a clip in power socket, you can of course change lightbulbs (doubt it's licensed anywhere in the world), you can even install electric flooring that clicks to connect. You can't do anything that requires tying or soldering power wire together, and you can't install hidden cabling/channels and fixtures yourself (fire safety reasons).
  - lotsofpulp 8y ago
    Does that include running Ethernet or HDMI and other low power cables?
    - varjag 8y ago
      You can put exterior signal cables yourself. The wall conducts for such cables still have to be put in place by electricians I believe, but not 100% sure.

speby 8y ago

Funny, that is exactly my experience at Home Depot. I'd say 8 or 9 times out of 10, if I asked someone where something was, they knew or were able to quickly cross-check from their hand-held. And yet in other cases, employees could recommend something about a particular product or explain how it would be used for my specific situation. Or if they didn't know, they knew exactly who did and went and got them. So perhaps it's possible to chalk it up to some stores being better and worse at it. One nice thing is now the Home Depot mobile app will let you search for items in the store's inventory and will show you visually where exactly in the store the item is. Saves you from having to flag down an employee as sometimes they may be busy helping someone else.

dlhavema 8y ago

i agree with this, sometimes you find the one guy that knows a lot about one aisle ( out of 50-100 ), but that is maybe 1 in 5 trips.

Rotdhizon 8y ago

Home Depot is hit or miss. Either you get someone who's really passionate that knows their entire part of the store inside or out, or you get someone who moans and has to call someone else for assistance. It's rather satisfying to go in there, ask about something like a lawnmower and end up spending 20 minutes discussing lawnmower things with a knowledgeable employee.

phaedrus 8y ago

This month I had the same thing happen at 4 different stores (Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, and Ace Hardware): I ask where can I find product-X and the store attendant pulls out his/her smartphone to look it up on the internet, either to find out what department that is or what it is (when it's something they ought to know). I have a smartphone too, I could have looked it up. I'm not asking to see the web page for it, I want to know where it is physically. They hire people who do not even have basic knowledge of their own department, and apparently do not train them either. But this thing of acting as though them looking up the same thing I already researched on the web before I came in the store is something that I need help with is new.

astura 8y ago
The website tells you where it's physically located, it's like "aisle 12 bay 16."

acranox 8y ago

As a former Home Depot employee they actually have pretty good training material. A lot of staff probably don’t pay attention or utilize it. We were required to do a certain amount, but just like school it’s easy to barely pay attention, pass the test, and then forget it all. But the training material was actually pretty good if you wanted to learn from it.