"Swingman" wrote:
Over time you do notice one consistent, overriding philosophy: they are
there solely for the convenience and financial gratification of the
employees and management, PERIOD

Actually, like any publicly traded company, they are there solely for the
financial gratification of the stockholders. And based on what their stock
price has done over the past 20 years or so, I suspect stockholder
gratification is pretty high.

If they invest any effort to make customers, employees, and/or management
happy, it's only because they believe doing so will ultimately improve
shareholder value.

Let's take an example at another end of the spectrum -- Lee Valley. You
often hear people on this group raving about what a wonderful company it is
and how well they treat their customers. Well, that may be true, but my
statement above still holds -- they only treat their customers well because
they believe doing so will ultimately improve shareholder value (it's not a
publicly traded company, but the owner(s) still profit from it doing well).

There is no doubt that I like doing business with Lee Valley more than I
like doing business with Home Depot. But, it also doesn't escape my
attention that Home Depot could probably buy Lee Valley out of Petty Cash.
It would seem (sad as it may be to say this) that when push comes to shove,
big, obnoxious, and relentlessly efficient is a better (or at least, more
successful) way to make money.

Personally, I drop a lot of money at Home Depot. I know what to expect
from them, and what not to expect from them. And I know if I buy some
low-end B&D power tool, I'll probably regret it, but that's not really HD's
fault. I'm gonna keep buying hand planes from LV, but when I need a box of
nails, a garden hose, and a roll of BX cable at 10:00 on a Sunday night,
the big orange box is where I head. And, yes, I'm hoping Lowes gets some
stores open in my area. Having somebody who can compete with HD on an even
footing can only be good for me as a customer.