4 ms·

Wow, the non-response/communication at any time by Home Depot to all parties involved in trying to help them, is staggering.

el_benhameen 11mo ago
If you’ve ever tried to find an employee in one of their stores, this won’t be very surprising.
- reactordev 11mo ago
  Go in knowing exactly what you want and you’ll be asked by no less than 3 employees if you need help finding anything.
- barbazoo 11mo ago
  Opposite data point, where I live, there's lots of people working the floor. I'm usually asked if I need help at least once when I'm there. Maybe it depends on the store or whatever the umbrella org is.
- AznHisoka 11mo ago
  Purely anecdotal, but I found Lowe's generally had much better customer service. But maybe it's just where I live
  - RankingMember 11mo ago
    Yeah I think it'll be location dependent. FWIW I've got both by me and they're equally terrible as far as the availability and knowledge of their employees. Lowes edges out Home Depot a tiny bit for me simply because I've never been accosted by a sanctioned in-store roaming sales person for solar or siding at Lowes (yet!).
    - antonymoose 11mo ago
      I get hit up for gutter guards every trip at my Lowe’s. I have a stationary woman hawking Generac and HVAC installs at my Home Depot. I’d agree though, it’s department dependent. The electrical at my HD is an unorganized mess, but their plumbing section is world-class. Lowe’s is oddly flip-flopped. To Lowe’s great credit, their staff has those little tablets with inventory locations on them including all the top-shelf and end cap locations the website doesn’t show. Those usually save my trip, HD doesn’t seem to have an equivalent.
      - bombcar 11mo ago
        HD has it, but it lies, and is horribly inaccurate.
    - wnevets 11mo ago
      > Yeah I think it'll be location dependent I've found it to be very datetime dependent. I walking the aisles on a late Sunday night recently and the only time I saw an employee was at the self checkout before I left.
  - tclancy 11mo ago
    That was true for a long time, but before that, Home Depot's customer service was terrific too. I think that's a cost that gets cut by a focus on shareholder value. Local hardware stores are still going to be better, with the caveat it may take a decade before they smile when you walk in.
    - sh34r 11mo ago
      > with the caveat it may take a decade before they smile when you walk in. That’s damn good customer service right there, if you ask me. The fake-chipper act makes me want to dive into a wood chipper…
      - ssl-3 11mo ago
        I used to frequent a wonderful Ace Hardware with some regularity. The old lady that always seemed to be behind the register eventually started greeting me by name when I walked in. (I don't recall ever giving her my name; maybe she remembered seeing on a credit card or something.) After the pleasantries (which didn't seem fake at all), one of the greybeards present would appoint themselves as my personal shopper. I'd go down my list of demands that was only vaguely sorted by department: "One M8x1.25x80mm all-thread stainless Philips screw, a 16x20 furnace filter, a box of #8x3/4 sheet metal screws, and uh... what do you have for can openers?" And then we'd make a lap or two of the store to get these things, and I'd pay and GTFO. It was great.
  - sh34r 11mo ago
    Purely anecdotal as well but it really feels like a quantity over quality thing between the two. It takes significantly longer to find someone in orange, but they’re as helpful as I can reasonably expect. Whereas Lowe’s employees tend to be both useless and annoying.
  - datavirtue 11mo ago
    Same here in Cincinnati. Lowe's is far better than Home Depot. Everyone at HD clearly hates their job. Probably not their fault.
  - michaelcampbell 11mo ago
    Very location dependent. Within the same metro area in one place we lived Lowes was better; in another less than 20 miles away, HD is. But for actual help and humanity (if you can afford the price and the more limited selection), Ace is consistently better near where I am.
ultrarunner 11mo ago
Too busy going all-in on Flock cameras. This was the nail in the coffin for me. [0] https://deflock.me/map#map=17/33.639428/-111.976540 https://deflock.me/map#map=17/33.639428/-111.976540
- SoftTalker 11mo ago
  Seems that all the big box stores are doing that. Lowes does it here for sure.
- cyral 11mo ago
  Not entirely unsurprising due to the theft issues they face
  - xeromal 11mo ago
    Yeah, I'm not sure why so many people seem pro-theft for a lack of a better term. I don't believe they are but there's so much resistance to locking up high value items especially if they're valuable ones.
    - estimator7292 11mo ago
      People are anti-surveillance, not pro-theft. Although, plenty of people are pro-theft from the corporations sucking our towns and local economies dry and paying so little that their employees have to rely on foodstamps.
      - Computer0 11mo ago
        Home Depot making money doesn't make my town rich, the smaller shops making money do. The big corps just suck suck suck.
    - ultrarunner 11mo ago
      Maybe you're not familiar with Flock Safety, but my comment is not about locking up high value items. It's more about my location information being shipped to weird police circles by big box stores. [0] deflock.me [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB0gr7Fh6lY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB0gr7Fh6lY

el_benhameen 11mo ago

If you’ve ever tried to find an employee in one of their stores, this won’t be very surprising.

reactordev 11mo ago
Go in knowing exactly what you want and you’ll be asked by no less than 3 employees if you need help finding anything.
barbazoo 11mo ago
Opposite data point, where I live, there's lots of people working the floor. I'm usually asked if I need help at least once when I'm there. Maybe it depends on the store or whatever the umbrella org is.
AznHisoka 11mo ago
Purely anecdotal, but I found Lowe's generally had much better customer service. But maybe it's just where I live
- RankingMember 11mo ago
  Yeah I think it'll be location dependent. FWIW I've got both by me and they're equally terrible as far as the availability and knowledge of their employees. Lowes edges out Home Depot a tiny bit for me simply because I've never been accosted by a sanctioned in-store roaming sales person for solar or siding at Lowes (yet!).
  - antonymoose 11mo ago
    I get hit up for gutter guards every trip at my Lowe’s. I have a stationary woman hawking Generac and HVAC installs at my Home Depot. I’d agree though, it’s department dependent. The electrical at my HD is an unorganized mess, but their plumbing section is world-class. Lowe’s is oddly flip-flopped. To Lowe’s great credit, their staff has those little tablets with inventory locations on them including all the top-shelf and end cap locations the website doesn’t show. Those usually save my trip, HD doesn’t seem to have an equivalent.
    - bombcar 11mo ago
      HD has it, but it lies, and is horribly inaccurate.
  - wnevets 11mo ago
    > Yeah I think it'll be location dependent I've found it to be very datetime dependent. I walking the aisles on a late Sunday night recently and the only time I saw an employee was at the self checkout before I left.
- tclancy 11mo ago
  That was true for a long time, but before that, Home Depot's customer service was terrific too. I think that's a cost that gets cut by a focus on shareholder value. Local hardware stores are still going to be better, with the caveat it may take a decade before they smile when you walk in.
  - sh34r 11mo ago
    > with the caveat it may take a decade before they smile when you walk in. That’s damn good customer service right there, if you ask me. The fake-chipper act makes me want to dive into a wood chipper…
    - ssl-3 11mo ago
      I used to frequent a wonderful Ace Hardware with some regularity. The old lady that always seemed to be behind the register eventually started greeting me by name when I walked in. (I don't recall ever giving her my name; maybe she remembered seeing on a credit card or something.) After the pleasantries (which didn't seem fake at all), one of the greybeards present would appoint themselves as my personal shopper. I'd go down my list of demands that was only vaguely sorted by department: "One M8x1.25x80mm all-thread stainless Philips screw, a 16x20 furnace filter, a box of #8x3/4 sheet metal screws, and uh... what do you have for can openers?" And then we'd make a lap or two of the store to get these things, and I'd pay and GTFO. It was great.
- sh34r 11mo ago
  Purely anecdotal as well but it really feels like a quantity over quality thing between the two. It takes significantly longer to find someone in orange, but they’re as helpful as I can reasonably expect. Whereas Lowe’s employees tend to be both useless and annoying.
- datavirtue 11mo ago
  Same here in Cincinnati. Lowe's is far better than Home Depot. Everyone at HD clearly hates their job. Probably not their fault.
- michaelcampbell 11mo ago
  Very location dependent. Within the same metro area in one place we lived Lowes was better; in another less than 20 miles away, HD is. But for actual help and humanity (if you can afford the price and the more limited selection), Ace is consistently better near where I am.

ultrarunner 11mo ago

Too busy going all-in on Flock cameras. This was the nail in the coffin for me. [0] https://deflock.me/map#map=17/33.639428/-111.976540 https://deflock.me/map#map=17/33.639428/-111.976540

SoftTalker 11mo ago
Seems that all the big box stores are doing that. Lowes does it here for sure.
cyral 11mo ago
Not entirely unsurprising due to the theft issues they face
- xeromal 11mo ago
  Yeah, I'm not sure why so many people seem pro-theft for a lack of a better term. I don't believe they are but there's so much resistance to locking up high value items especially if they're valuable ones.
  - estimator7292 11mo ago
    People are anti-surveillance, not pro-theft. Although, plenty of people are pro-theft from the corporations sucking our towns and local economies dry and paying so little that their employees have to rely on foodstamps.
    - Computer0 11mo ago
      Home Depot making money doesn't make my town rich, the smaller shops making money do. The big corps just suck suck suck.
  - ultrarunner 11mo ago
    Maybe you're not familiar with Flock Safety, but my comment is not about locking up high value items. It's more about my location information being shipped to weird police circles by big box stores. [0] deflock.me [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB0gr7Fh6lY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB0gr7Fh6lY