Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

"HeatMan" wrote in
:


"Al Bundy" wrote in message
...
frank1492 wrote in
:

I used to take great joy in visiting HD, but over the past year it
has become a frustrating experience. (I live in MA.) Every time I
need something these days, they are out os stock, and I'm not
talking slow-moving stuff, I'm talking basics like 3/4" copper
elbows! They tell me they can't order when they need something
these days, but receive stuff only when the home office tells them
they need it!
The other day, they only had ONE model of hedge trimmer in
stock in the Worcester store, so I went to Lowe's. No problem
finding HedgeHogs there.
Anybody else seeing this? One other observation: If an item
can be found at both Wal*Mart and HD, Walmart usually steps
all over HD on price.
I'm starting to dread going to HD.
Frank


I have noticed this over the past couple of years.

And discontnuing items for a higher priced line. Example comes to
mind. Went to get a plastic toilet supply line. Empty. Knowledgable
employee I know nearby. Says they were discontinued and they will
only have the metal braded from now on.

And please, don't someone say how much better they are. They may be
but the betterness will never get used. Never had a plastic one
explode on me yet!

Talked to a gent at HD yesterday, an employee. He and his wife were
out on a camping trip and came home to water flowing out the garage of
their ranch with a full basement house. The plastic sink (as opposed
to toilet) supply line broke.






Bet it came from WalMart :-) Or maybe he forgot to mention it was a
modified straw!

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

In article ,
Doug Miller wrote:
In article , "Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote:

But whether it's Wal-Mart, HD, Lowe's, or Joe's Building Supplies, I
think it's a disgrace that the wages for a 40-hour week (or perhaps even
a 50- or 60-hour week) are not enough to put a roof over the worker's
head, put food on his/her table, meet the costs of transportation at
least to and from work, and cover health-care costs --at least not in
any place reasonably fit for human habitation.

Well, that's what happens to people that don't have a college education...

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Are you implying tha Walmart would pay more to those employees if they
had a degree?


--

Larry Wasserman Baltimore, Maryland

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

"Ed" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 17 Aug 2006 21:33:25 -0700, "Steve B"
wrote:

Finally, after about ten minutes, I walked out, leaving about $300 worth
of
merchandise sitting there.

I walked out leaving a purchase ticket for a $3600 outdoor shed laying
on the counter because 3.... Three.... THREE!.... McIdiots at the
register could not figure out how to do the transaction and the
manager would not answer his/her page. Two months later they burned
me on the last of three fraudulent rebates and I have never darkened
their sorry door again.

I do Lowe's because our local store employees knowledgeable people in
each department and they have cashiers that have brain power above
that of plant life. Actually our local Lowe's cashiers know how to
find items in a book at each register when that item does not have a
scan bar on it or if it comes out of a broken box.

Top marks to Lowe's and I wouldn't **** on Home Depot if it were on
fire.

Regards,

Ayup. I like to do the meanest nastiest thing I can do to them. Take my
money elsewhere. I usually like to give a parting shot to the manager, but
I think I hear the WHOOSH of a projectile passing over an empty air space.

Steve

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

"Ed" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 11:08:34 -0400, "Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote:

Silly me! Here was I thinking that retail stores were supposed to be
staffed by qualified, well-motivated people who know what the store
sells, where to find it, and whether that is what truly meets the
customer's needs.

It a thing of the past because Joe Beer Chucker has grown complacent
and expects unqualified, non-motivated brain dead turnips to be
working at these box outlets. Instead of demanding anything better,
Joe Sixpact just sluffs it off and keeps on coming back for more.

It use to be "America gets what America Wants", now it's "America Gets
what America lays down and Complacently Tolerates".

Regards,

My favorite is hearing the announcements for HD bluelight specials of the
day announced in SPANISH.

WE'RE IN AMERICA. SPEAK ****ING ENGLISH OR GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME TO.

And this applies to all who pander to the invading slime.

Steve

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

"Steve B" wrote in message
news:u8xFg.1856$rT5.1055@fed1read01...

"Ed" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 11:08:34 -0400, "Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote:

(snip)
My favorite is hearing the announcements for HD bluelight specials of the
day announced in SPANISH.

WE'RE IN AMERICA. SPEAK ****ING ENGLISH OR GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME TO.

And this applies to all who pander to the invading slime.

Depends on where you are. In the southwest, there are plenty of 3rd and 4th
generation Born In USA citizens who primarilly speak Spanish. Some
families can trace their presence back before the area WAS part of US. Don't
forget, lots of US territory used to belong to Spain or Mexico. Some old
land titles go back to Spanish land grants, not English or French ones. The
border moved, not the people or the culture. Yeah, they would probably have
an easier time if they assimilated fully into the Anglo culture, but hey,
they were there first.

So in other words- at least some of the people you bitch about ARE FROM
HERE. When did all your ancestors come over?

And no, I'm not a Spanish speaker. Wish I wasn't so lousy with languages- it
would make travel easier.

aem sends....

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

In article , () wrote:
In article ,
Doug Miller wrote:
In article , "Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote:

But whether it's Wal-Mart, HD, Lowe's, or Joe's Building Supplies, I
think it's a disgrace that the wages for a 40-hour week (or perhaps even
a 50- or 60-hour week) are not enough to put a roof over the worker's
head, put food on his/her table, meet the costs of transportation at
least to and from work, and cover health-care costs --at least not in
any place reasonably fit for human habitation.

Well, that's what happens to people that don't have a college education...

Are you implying tha Walmart would pay more to those employees if they
had a degree?

???

Of course not. The point is that if they had a college education (or had
learned a trade), they wouldn't need to be working at Wal-Mart.


--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

wrote in message
...

"Steve B" wrote in message
news:u8xFg.1856$rT5.1055@fed1read01...

"Ed" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 11:08:34 -0400, "Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote:

(snip)
My favorite is hearing the announcements for HD bluelight specials of the
day announced in SPANISH.

WE'RE IN AMERICA. SPEAK ****ING ENGLISH OR GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME TO.

And this applies to all who pander to the invading slime.

Depends on where you are. In the southwest, there are plenty of 3rd and
4th generation Born In USA citizens who primarilly speak Spanish. Some
families can trace their presence back before the area WAS part of US.
Don't forget, lots of US territory used to belong to Spain or Mexico. Some
old land titles go back to Spanish land grants, not English or French
ones. The border moved, not the people or the culture. Yeah, they would
probably have an easier time if they assimilated fully into the Anglo
culture, but hey, they were there first.

So in other words- at least some of the people you bitch about ARE FROM
HERE. When did all your ancestors come over?

And no, I'm not a Spanish speaker. Wish I wasn't so lousy with languages-
it would make travel easier.

aem sends....


My grandparents came from Poland in 1912. They became naturalized citizens
by learning to read and write in English. They insisted their children
learn the language and customs of the US, and to be proud Americans, not
Polish-Americans.

Steve

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"dicko" wrote in message

You aught to read the Vlasic Pickle story. About how Walmart put
Vlasic Pickle out of business.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html

It'd be hilarious if it werent so serious.

dickm


Interesting story. Only thing is, Wal Mart did not do them in, they really
did themselves in. At some point, you just have to say, "sorry, no deal"


But likely not a response that would work since Walmart is so big and
accounted for so much of Vlasics sales.


Now, you are probably thinking, "easy for you to say" and I must reply, yes,
not only is it easy we did just that to two of our largest customers. The
first was a major appliance manufacturer that accounted for over 25% of our
sales and much of our profit. After doing a job for a year, they asked us
for a 10% price reduction. The reasoning was that by now we have paid off
our R & D and start-up costs, and we probably found better methods to make
our parts. They were correct and we agreed and the following year we did
well. Year three, they said in order to maintain their market share, they
have to reduce costs. They pressured us for another 5% and we agreed, but
they also went from 30 days to 120 days payment. That year was OK, but not
as profitable as it was in the past.

Now comes price negotiations for year four. They said they wanted a 25%
reduction (remember, it was already reduced 10% and 5%). And, if we agreed,
they also wanted a 6% rebate for the business from the previous year. That
is when we said "sorry, no deal, where do you want your tooling shipped?"
We watched as they took truckloads of material from our competitor. We
watched as our competitor struggled and finally closed a manufacturing
plant when they did not make enough to pay their bills. As for the
appliance manufacturer, they closed their plant and now import everything
from China and Korea.

Two years later, we were faced with another situation. We walked from that
also. We made more profit from less sales. Not every sale is a good one.

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

"George" wrote in message
...
Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"dicko" wrote in message

You aught to read the Vlasic Pickle story. About how Walmart put
Vlasic Pickle out of business.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html

It'd be hilarious if it werent so serious.

dickm


Interesting story. Only thing is, Wal Mart did not do them in, they
really did themselves in. At some point, you just have to say, "sorry,
no deal"


But likely not a response that would work since Walmart is so big and
accounted for so much of Vlasics sales.


Now, you are probably thinking, "easy for you to say" and I must reply,
yes, not only is it easy we did just that to two of our largest
customers. The first was a major appliance manufacturer that accounted
for over 25% of our sales and much of our profit. After doing a job for
a year, they asked us for a 10% price reduction. The reasoning was that
by now we have paid off our R & D and start-up costs, and we probably
found better methods to make our parts. They were correct and we agreed
and the following year we did well. Year three, they said in order to
maintain their market share, they have to reduce costs. They pressured
us for another 5% and we agreed, but they also went from 30 days to 120
days payment. That year was OK, but not as profitable as it was in the
past.

Now comes price negotiations for year four. They said they wanted a 25%
reduction (remember, it was already reduced 10% and 5%). And, if we
agreed, they also wanted a 6% rebate for the business from the previous
year. That is when we said "sorry, no deal, where do you want your
tooling shipped?" We watched as they took truckloads of material from our
competitor. We watched as our competitor struggled and finally closed a
manufacturing plant when they did not make enough to pay their bills. As
for the appliance manufacturer, they closed their plant and now import
everything from China and Korea.

Two years later, we were faced with another situation. We walked from
that also. We made more profit from less sales. Not every sale is a
good one.

Years ago, Sears had a reputation for getting their suppliers to expand to
meet their needs. Then once that was done, and they were in debt to Sears
or the bank, Sears would insist on big price reductions. If the supplier
didn't comply, Sears would give them a choice...lose the business or sell
out to Sears. Some businesses, knowing of this predatory practice, would
avoid doing business with Sears. I think that eventually WalMart will go
the way of Sears. Sears started reducing the products they carried back in
the early 70's giving, eventually, WalMart an opening to compete and I see
WalMart doing that now. Someone will step in to fill the gap and without
the huge complexity and overhead of WalMart will be able to compete. I
don't find prices all that much lower at WalMart. If you look closely
you'll find marketing tricks like one I found recently....contractor's
garbage bags..10 to the container versus exact same product at Sears
Hardware..12 to the container. Appeared to be cheaper at WalMart but was
exactly the same price per bag. And if gas prices continue to escalate,
it's going to be cheaper to buy at the local hardware store or grocery store
rather than drive to a WalMart 15 miles away.

Tom G.

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

"George" wrote in message

Interesting story. Only thing is, Wal Mart did not do them in, they
really did themselves in. At some point, you just have to say, "sorry,
no deal"


But likely not a response that would work since Walmart is so big and
accounted for so much of Vlasics sales.

Evidently, saying yes put them out of business, so saying no may have left
them better off. They may be a smaller business, but they would still be
there, making a profit and paying employees. Sorry, but they allowed
themselves to be pushed over the top. Maybe greed, maybe just inept
management, but in any case, NO was an alternative.

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote

Evidently, saying yes put them out of business, so saying no may have left
them better off. They may be a smaller business, but they would still be
there, making a profit and paying employees. Sorry, but they allowed
themselves to be pushed over the top. Maybe greed, maybe just inept
management, but in any case, NO was an alternative.

I was in business for ten years. I did good, and sold the business for a
good profit. Early on, I would take work just to keep the wheels rolling.
Basically swapping dollars to pay the help and pay the overhead.

Then one day, I just said no. I'm in business to make money not to break
even. If I'm just going to break even , I'll go back to my old job, work
only 40 hours a week, cut my Tylenol bill by 90%, and only think about work
eight hours a day. Paid vacation, uniforms, meals, health care, and
pension.

Then I started concentrating on "gravy jobs". *

* explanation of a gravy job -

I would make a metal gate from scratch for about $150 back then. My profit,
about $10 per hour worked - about 5 hours.

Then I got into service welding. I charged $75 per hour to go out and just
fix gates. (and other things)

Bottom line ........ I would work less hours and clear more money.

Vlasic should have made the decision to keep selling more quart and pint
jars for a better profit than making gallon jars. I read a lot of the
story, but can't remember what the profit for a gallon was vs. profit for a
quart.

One time, I was thinking of expanding my business. I had a backer for $250k
that was looking to shelter some shady money. When I crunched the numbers,
everything went up by 100 to 400% except my paycheck. The backer balked
when I demanded that my income should at least double.

Gross don't mean squat.

Net is where it's at.

Money comes in ..... money goes out ........ how much stays?

Yes, Ed, sometimes it is smart to just say NO!

Steve

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

"George" wrote in message
...
Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"dicko" wrote in message

You aught to read the Vlasic Pickle story. About how Walmart put
Vlasic Pickle out of business.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html

It'd be hilarious if it werent so serious.

dickm


Interesting story. Only thing is, Wal Mart did not do them in, they
really
did themselves in. At some point, you just have to say, "sorry, no
deal"


But likely not a response that would work since Walmart is so big and
accounted for so much of Vlasics sales.


In which case the blame is STILL with Vlasic for relying on a single
customer instead of expanding the market. Bottom line? Brain-dead top
management. Lack of leadership.

Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over and
expecting different results. Relying on a single customer is always a
dangerous and destructive practice, but people refuse to learn from history.

Mike D.

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

Spoken like a man who does,nt know how to ask how and opens the box to
see if he can fiqure it out then leaves the mess for someone else to
clean up. Instead of serving him the mighty handyman. I work in retail
and have heard all of these bs stories a hundred times usually from man
that don,t know anything to start with and don,t know how to admit it
Ed wrote:
On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 11:08:34 -0400, "Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote:

Silly me! Here was I thinking that retail stores were supposed to be
staffed by qualified, well-motivated people who know what the store
sells, where to find it, and whether that is what truly meets the
customer's needs.

It a thing of the past because Joe Beer Chucker has grown complacent
and expects unqualified, non-motivated brain dead turnips to be
working at these box outlets. Instead of demanding anything better,
Joe Sixpact just sluffs it off and keeps on coming back for more.

It use to be "America gets what America Wants", now it's "America Gets
what America lays down and Complacently Tolerates".

Regards,

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

In the perfect world that would be true but there is the trip from
China, and the weather the breakdown of trucks plants on strike ect
ect. The fact that people want the cheapest price and the biggest cost
that can be controlled is staff so we are the first to go. Just so you
know I work in a home fix it store in Canada. Ive heard most of these
whines before and can tell you, the cust is not always right . In fact
you as consumers are the biggest reason your prices go up. Returns that
shouldn,t be taken back THEFT STAFF DONT TAKE IT ALL. Boxes open with
peices missing cause Cust don,t know how to put it together so they
open it up. Then I have to take time to put it back together, I would
love to go in a office and take your paperwork and spread it around
your place of employment. People I can fill this whole thread with
stories that you people give me, Not hat all are bad and lord I love to
serve the ones that are good. People if you don,t belive me come and
trie retail; if you can handle it
dpb wrote:
Bill wrote:
With computers and barcodes on everything, reordering is supposed to be
"just in time". That is they get a new shipment in just before they run out
of something.
...
This is a "management system" and it is not designed well obviously.

It should take into account how frequently an item sells predict when the
store will be out of an item.

Take into account how long it will take for a new shipment to arrive at a
particular store.

Alert management when any item is out of stock so they can tweak their
reordering of that item - prevent being out of stock in the future.

And incorporate all of this into stocking regional distribution centers.
...

I think if you would/could see the actual inventory algorithms you
would find they're far more sophisticated and global in their logic
than this. The actual target is to maximize overall _profitability_,
not just to restock individual widgets in a bin.

If targets were set so high so that _no_ product were ever out of stock
inventory and delivery costs would cost far more, overall, than the
occasional loss of sales.

The largest difficulty in making such models work continues to be data
collection at the POS and controlling shrinkage and on-shelf damage (as
somebody else noted) that reduce inventory out of the observability of
the collection system (as well as the actual loss, of course). The
effectiveness of local management and particularly department managers
in ensuring accurate data input makes the difference other note between
better/lesser-stocked stores within a given chain. It is certainly
true that if corporate makes a decision to remove power from local
managers to effect corrections into the data system the quality of the
data will go down and the effectiveness of the system will degrade with
that loss of data--"garbage in, garbage out".

I don't have local BORG available but when I do visit one on occasion
on treks to "the big city" :) I still observe there are some HDs that
are clearly far better managed locally than others. In general, for
the areas I see, it seems to me that Lowes in general are better than
HD in terms of numbers of people and general selection--that of course,
could reflect only on what my particular likes/dislikes are more than
any real difference--others could visit the same stores and undoubtedly
draw the opposite conclusion. Since the Lowes re-vitalization effort
some years ago it has seemed to me that what little lumber I've bought
at either that Lowes is better in general than HD in that particular
area.

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

"Pete C." wrote in message
...
HeatMan wrote:

"mm" wrote in message
...
On 18 Aug 2006 09:03:25 -0700, "dpb" wrote:

PS. Being in what most would consider a small town, there are the
occasional instances that there actually isn't much if any
alternative
any longer as the influence of the BORG-syndrome is most observable
on
the independent businesses in smaller communities which don't have
the
population base to support the smaller merchants as well.

Former Georgia Congressman and former civil-rights activist Andrew
Young, I just heard on the radio, resigned today from a pro-Walmart
organization, after he was criticized for remarks he had made.


You have a link to that story?

Here is the CNN version:


http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/18/news...art.young.reut
/index.htm?cnn=yes


I saw it in the local fish wrapper. Thanks.

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

I don't. I suspect that about 1/2 of the Walmart haters also hate
Microsoft, IBM, Disney, Toyota, and any other company that has found a
successful business model and made a crapload of money. [is Google
soon to be on that list?]

I like Microsoft fine. Good OS, and there's two alternatives. Not a
totally good comparison, as using Windows doesn't affect my local
economy.

IBM is fine, too. Good machines (now made by Lenovo) and competent
services.

Toyota's OK, I guess.

But Disney is just crap. The worst kind of schlock. What horrible
movies...

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

In article .com,
wrote in part:

As for their employees, they are free to find jobs elsewhere. With
unemployment under 5%, jobs are available for those that want them.

5% unemployment means that 5% of those who are either working or looking
for work are doing the latter. That 5% does not count those not looking
for work.

- Don Klipstein )

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

In article , Percival P. Cassidy wrote:

But whether it's Wal-Mart, HD, Lowe's, or Joe's Building Supplies, I
think it's a disgrace that the wages for a 40-hour week (or perhaps even
a 50- or 60-hour week) are not enough to put a roof over the worker's
head, put food on his/her table, meet the costs of transportation at
least to and from work, and cover health-care costs --at least not in
any place reasonably fit for human habitation.

The way I hear it, the usual workweek at Wal-Mart is 28 hours. 28 hours
of pay per week - try living on that!

- Don Klipstein )

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

In , Doug Miller wrote:

Well, that's what happens to people that don't have a college education...

There used to be a time when most Americans without college education
got to join the middle class!

- Don Klipstein )

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

"Don Klipstein" wrote in message
...
In , Doug Miller wrote:

Well, that's what happens to people that don't have a college education...

There used to be a time when most Americans without college education
got to join the middle class!

IMHO, a BA or BS today, is about the equal of what a HS Diploma was back in
the mid-sixties. Sure, there are the scary-smart kids at the top of the bell
curve when they are 18, but they are far-outnumbered by the
extended-adolesence brain-dead, testosterone-poisoned if male, makeup
poisoned if female, masses. Aside from the decreased level of practical
knowledge and life experience most 18 YO seem to have today (even the smart
ones), the decreased need for Strong Backs due to technology, and the
increased number of availble bodies due to the demographic bulges and shadow
bulges in the snake, means employers can be a lot pickier than the factory
foreman used to be. My employers, the feds, are in terror. Average age of
the geeks is 49, and most will be able to retire in next 5-7 years. With the
half-done dismantling of civil service job security, and the sky-high
salaries the smart kids can get in real world, recruitment is a problem. And
this is in jobs where you are unlikely to get shot at. The military is gonna
be between a rock and a hard place if they run out of older Guard and
Reserve guys, who seem much less eager to re-up after the 2nd or 3rd tour in
the sandbox.

aem sends...

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

In . com, dpb wrote:

I don't recall the date, but the shift from "Buy America" to "Buy
Cheap" came following his death and that is what precipitated the mass
stampede to Chinese and other third-world manufacturers. Of course,
Wally-World isn't the only one, just the leader--essentially everyone
has had to follow suit in order to compete. Simply try to find common
consumer products of the type W-M stocks and see if you can actually
find a non-third-world supplier for any of them---usually it can't be
done except in really large metro areas with very specialized shops,
and even then not necessarily.

I do know of such a product: Light bulbs of the higher sales volume
types! 40, 60, 75 and 100 watt "A-line", and 4-foot fluorescents! Ones
of major brands are still largely made in USA or Canada!

- Don Klipstein )

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

In article ,
says...
In article .com,
wrote in part:

As for their employees, they are free to find jobs elsewhere. With
unemployment under 5%, jobs are available for those that want them.

5% unemployment means that 5% of those who are either working or looking
for work are doing the latter. That 5% does not count those not looking
for work.

And just why do you think that those *NOT* looking for work should
be counted as "employed". Sheesh, you libs are nutz!

--
Keith

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

In article ,
says...
In , Doug Miller wrote:

Well, that's what happens to people that don't have a college education...

There used to be a time when most Americans without college education
got to join the middle class!

Times change, get with the program. BTW, do you think a plumber or
an electrician isn't somehow "middle class"? Grow up, already!

--
Keith

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

In article lY5Gg.660689$Fs1.456687@bgtnsc05-
news.ops.worldnet.att.net, says...

"Don Klipstein" wrote in message
...
In , Doug Miller wrote:

Well, that's what happens to people that don't have a college education...

There used to be a time when most Americans without college education
got to join the middle class!

IMHO, a BA or BS today, is about the equal of what a HS Diploma was back in
the mid-sixties. Sure, there are the scary-smart kids at the top of the bell
curve when they are 18, but they are far-outnumbered by the
extended-adolesence brain-dead, testosterone-poisoned if male, makeup
poisoned if female, masses. Aside from the decreased level of practical
knowledge and life experience most 18 YO seem to have today (even the smart
ones), the decreased need for Strong Backs due to technology, and the
increased number of availble bodies due to the demographic bulges and shadow
bulges in the snake, means employers can be a lot pickier than the factory
foreman used to be. My employers, the feds, are in terror. Average age of
the geeks is 49, and most will be able to retire in next 5-7 years. With the
half-done dismantling of civil service job security, and the sky-high
salaries the smart kids can get in real world, recruitment is a problem. And
this is in jobs where you are unlikely to get shot at. The military is gonna
be between a rock and a hard place if they run out of older Guard and
Reserve guys, who seem much less eager to re-up after the 2nd or 3rd tour in
the sandbox.

aem sends...

AEM, whitespace is nice.

BTW, how do we continue to pay the government employee, making
*twice* what the civvies make?


--
Keith

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

In article ,
says...
In article , Percival P. Cassidy wrote:

But whether it's Wal-Mart, HD, Lowe's, or Joe's Building Supplies, I
think it's a disgrace that the wages for a 40-hour week (or perhaps even
a 50- or 60-hour week) are not enough to put a roof over the worker's
head, put food on his/her table, meet the costs of transportation at
least to and from work, and cover health-care costs --at least not in
any place reasonably fit for human habitation.

The way I hear it,

You hear things in your head too.

the usual workweek at Wal-Mart is 28 hours. 28 hours
of pay per week - try living on that!

I won't, but since you're apparently on welfare perhaps you might
want to try working for a living. You know Don, there is no
guarantee of a good life. Never was, never will be. *WORK* you
lazy ass!

--
Keith

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

Don Klipstein wrote:
In . com, dpb wrote:

....
find a non-third-world supplier for ...

I do know of such a product: ...

And there's a telling comment -- "_a_ product:".

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

In article , (Don Klipstein) wrote:
In , Doug Miller wrote:

Well, that's what happens to people that don't have a college education...

There used to be a time when most Americans without college education
got to join the middle class!

Yes, but they did that by learning a trade. Not by working in retail stores.
Learning a trade is *still* a path to joining the middle class. Working in
retail isn't.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

In article , krw wrote:

BTW, how do we continue to pay the government employee, making
*twice* what the civvies make?

Most scientists and engineers in government service are making significantly
*less* than their counterparts in the private sector. The disparity is even
greater for managers.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

In article ,
says...
In article , krw wrote:

BTW, how do we continue to pay the government employee, making
*twice* what the civvies make?

Most scientists and engineers in government service are making significantly
*less* than their counterparts in the private sector. The disparity is even
greater for managers.

You certainly have not taken into account their benefits. *I*
certainly don't get their health and retirement benefits, though
will be paying for them until I die, and after, if the Democrats
have their way.

http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/P...20/the_great_w
age_gap

--
Keith

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

"Don Klipstein" wrote in message
...
In article .com,
wrote in part:

As for their employees, they are free to find jobs elsewhere. With
unemployment under 5%, jobs are available for those that want them.

5% unemployment means that 5% of those who are either working or looking
for work are doing the latter. That 5% does not count those not looking
for work.

But it does include those that only want a very specific job and salary
range and won't consider a career change of any sort. If you happen to be a
shoemaker, steam locomotive builder or assembler of 5 1/4" floppy disks,
chances are you have a long wait to find one that will put food on the table
and offer 4 weeks vacation.

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

"Doug Miller" wrote in message
om...
In article , krw
wrote:

BTW, how do we continue to pay the government employee, making
*twice* what the civvies make?

Most scientists and engineers in government service are making
significantly
*less* than their counterparts in the private sector. The disparity is
even
greater for managers.

You are correct- not sure why previous poster misunderstood what I was
trying to say. We can't come close to matching what private-sector pays
qualified entry-level sysadmins and techies. One of many reasons Govt has
outsourced most of those jobs. Not cheaper for the taxpayers, but you can
get money for a service contract easier than you can get money for a warm
body.


aem sends...

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

In article Iy8Gg.661554$Fs1.374052@bgtnsc05-
news.ops.worldnet.att.net, says...

"Doug Miller" wrote in message
om...
In article , krw
wrote:

BTW, how do we continue to pay the government employee, making
*twice* what the civvies make?

Most scientists and engineers in government service are making
significantly
*less* than their counterparts in the private sector. The disparity is
even
greater for managers.

You are correct-

No, he is not.

not sure why previous poster misunderstood what I was
trying to say. We can't come close to matching what private-sector pays
qualified entry-level sysadmins and techies. One of many reasons Govt has
outsourced most of those jobs. Not cheaper for the taxpayers, but you can
get money for a service contract easier than you can get money for a warm
body.

Do the numbers. The private sector can't afford the medical nor
retirement benefits the public sector gets. If a corporation ran
the same sort of books the government did, the CEO would be
sleeping in the same bunk as Ken Lay.

BTW, did you read the article I linked?

--
Keith

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

"frank1492" wrote in message
...
I have read that Walmart's presence in the economy in essence
raises disposable personal income by .9% due to its low prices
relative to other retailers. Aside from the low wages they pay
their employees, nobody ever seems to mention the way in which
Walmart benefits low income consumers overall.
Your comments, however, are most informative and accurate
I am sure. Our differences are examples of why there is such heated
debate on the relative merits of this company.

I've found WalMart's prices easily beatable here in the Chicago area. The
few pennies possibly saved are countered by the cost to travel to a Walmart,
they're not on every corner. And did you hear that WalMart is pulling out
of Germany - because German's figured out WalMart didn't actually have the
lowest price.

S

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

Inasmuch as "decimate" means "to reduce by 10%," that's not too bad. If
you meant "destroyed," well, good-o. 17,000 people get lower prices,
better hours, and greater variety. Shoppers in your town now have a $300
BILLION company standing behind their sales and service. Compare that to
the mom-and-pop stores.

They don't stand behind much of anything. They'll be happy to point you to
how to find the manufacturer's warranty, then you're on your own. No
improvement there.

Small vignette: I recently bought some tires at Walmart. After the hippie
installed and balanced the new tires, I asked: "All done?"

"Not quite," he said, and disappeared. He returned in a few moments with
the automotive manager in tow. The manager was carrying a torque wrench
and proceeded to test all the lug nuts. While this was going on, the
hippie oozed over to me and said: "Company policy says I have to have
another member of the staff test all the bolt-thingies. Wouldn't want your
nuts to fall off! Hee-hee."

I once had an oil change done at a WalMart. After filling the engine with
oil they forgot to put the cap on. I'm pretty sure this "policy" is the
result of someone forgetting to tighten the lug nuts. I hope the victim of
such idiocy wasn't badly hurt.

And, since there is now no competition in your town, did the great
bug-a-boo, Wal-Mart raising their prices since they are now an effective
monopoly, actually come to pass?

Here in Chicago, WalMart prices will vary from store to store. The stores
with less direct competition will have higher prices. Every so often the
news media will compare prices against Target stores. At least here you
don't always save at WalMart. And returns are so much easier at Target.

S

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

In article ,
krw wrote:
...snipped...
BTW, how do we continue to pay the government employee, making
*twice* what the civvies make?



What country are you in?

--

Larry Wasserman Baltimore, Maryland

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

"HeyBub" wrote in message
...
40 million shoppers say you're wrong. They voted with their feet and their
dollars.

Lots of people eat at McDonalds, but that doesn't mean their food is any
good.

The average Wal-Mart shopper spends $2300 annually at Wal-Mart. Assuming
this is 10% lower than they would have spent without Wal-Mart, times the
number of shoppers, you'll find that Wal-Mart provides, each year, a
greater dollar benefit to society than all the government's welfare
programs combined.

How do you come up with that assumption of 10%? I check prices and almost
never end up buying from WalMart.

And the company pays taxes while they do it.

So does every other company too.

S

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

And you are exactly what I was talking about Complacent Joe Beer
Chucker. You are the whining complacent type that tolerates what
bones are thrown your way while the rest of us that DO know how to
figure things out act instead of sucking our thumbs and crying to
mommy and asking the tax payers to help you out.

Complacent Joe Beer Chucker’s go crazy when you talk down about
Complacent Joe Beer Chucker’s!


On 19 Aug 2006 19:22:04 -0700, "jim" wrote:

Spoken like a man who does,nt know how to ask how and opens the box to
see if he can fiqure it out then leaves the mess for someone else to
clean up. Instead of serving him the mighty handyman. I work in retail
and have heard all of these bs stories a hundred times usually from man
that don,t know anything to start with and don,t know how to admit it
Ed wrote:
On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 11:08:34 -0400, "Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote:

Silly me! Here was I thinking that retail stores were supposed to be
staffed by qualified, well-motivated people who know what the store
sells, where to find it, and whether that is what truly meets the
customer's needs.

It a thing of the past because Joe Beer Chucker has grown complacent
and expects unqualified, non-motivated brain dead turnips to be
working at these box outlets. Instead of demanding anything better,
Joe Sixpact just sluffs it off and keeps on coming back for more.

It use to be "America gets what America Wants", now it's "America Gets
what America lays down and Complacently Tolerates".

Regards,

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

Perhaps you have not thought this through. Many of the employees of
these retail giants come from former high paying jobs but because of
accident, injury, illness, they can no longer perform their previous
duties.

So before we judge others by the jobs they have, think for a moment.
Could it happen to you some day? Could an event befall you that you
did not expect?

A good education could make one overqualified, a couple years off due
to health issues can blight a great resume, and a disability can ruin a
degree. All is not what it seems.

I would preferred to post my message to all , and not in particular in
reply to yours, however, your post did stand out.

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

On 19 Aug 2006 19:51:02 -0700, "jim" wrote:

People I can fill this whole thread with
stories that you people give me

And as an owner of 3 retail flooring stores, I can give all kinds of
stories about complacent Joe Beer Chucker types like you. I've fired
a bunch of them because they get this sad "YOU PEOPLE" mentality.

Complacent Joe Beer Chucker’s go crazy when you talk down about
Complacent Joe Beer Chucker’s!

Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem
 

In article , krw wrote:
In article ,
says...
In article , krw
wrote:

BTW, how do we continue to pay the government employee, making
*twice* what the civvies make?

Most scientists and engineers in government service are making significantly
*less* than their counterparts in the private sector. The disparity is even
greater for managers.

You certainly have not taken into account their benefits. *I*
certainly don't get their health and retirement benefits, though
will be paying for them until I die, and after, if the Democrats
have their way.

http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/P...20/the_great_w
age_gap


--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.