I bought a cart-full at Costco today, and I'll offer a comparison to Home
Depot. One of the items in my cart was a case of motor oil, which had been
opened. While they were moving and scanning my purchases, I saw the guy
open the case and look inside. Why did he do that? Because there was a
possibility that I was stealing something by hiding it in the box. Whether
he did that because he is well trained, or because he is an intelligent and
alert employee, I am convinced that it must stem from a higher standard of
hiring, training and pay scale at Costco, compared to HD.

My guess is that HD has adopted a policy of saving money on salaries, with
full knowledge that they will lose part of it because of poor employee
performance.

I admire honesty and efficiency, but, who knows--in the grand scheme of
things, Home Depot seems to have a system that works for them.