I was in my local Home Depot the other day and instead of the usual
friendly service everyone I saw working there looked like they were
not very happy to be there and a lot less friendly and less patient
than what I remember.

Anything bad going on in the world of HD?

On 11/11/2010 10:40 AM Country spake thus:

I was in my local Home Depot the other day and instead of the usual
friendly service everyone I saw working there looked like they were
not very happy to be there and a lot less friendly and less patient
than what I remember.

Anything bad going on in the world of HD?

Maybe just the usual crap? Stupid, overbearing bosses, crappy pay,
virtually no training, etc.?

Friend of mine works at the Despot and reports all of the above.

Ackshooly, since I'm in my local store almost weekly, I've noticed over
the last year or so a definite upgrading of the staff, as well as a
noticeably cleaner store. They seemed to have gone on something of a
hiring spree, and also seem to be responding to what they must know is a
****-poor customer service image. But this may vary from store to store.


--
The fashion in killing has an insouciant, flirty style this spring,
with the flaunting of well-defined muscle, wrapped in flags.

- Comment from an article on Antiwar.com (http://antiwar.com)

"Country" wrote in message
...
I was in my local Home Depot the other day and instead of the usual
friendly service everyone I saw working there looked like they were
not very happy to be there and a lot less friendly and less patient
than what I remember.

Anything bad going on in the world of HD?

It will be clear, calm, and 78 degrees today.

Of course, it may be different where YOU are.

At MY HD's, in St. George and Cedar City, Utah, all is alive and well. No
employee passes without saying hello, asking you if you need any help, and
then walking you to the product you asked about instead of pointing.
Getting to know some of the employees by a first name basis, and a nod when
I'm running around getting stuff for a current remodel. No problem about
getting help, or bad attitudes.

Each store has its own autonomy, personalities, politics, management, help,
and other issues. Some are doing better than others, hence, at those
stores, employees are working full weeks instead of partial weeks, which can
affect ANYONE'S attitude.

MHO, YMMV. And probably does.

Steve

Heart surgery pending?
Read up and prepare.
Learn how to care for a friend.
http://cabgbypasssurgery.com

On Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:40:18 -0800 (PST), Country
wrote:
everyone I saw working there looked like they were
not very happy to be there and a lot less friendly and less patient
than what I remember.

Maybe you were in a bad mood? That changes your perceptions greatly.

Edward

David Nebenzahl wrote in news:4cdc3ce1$0$2535
:

On 11/11/2010 10:40 AM Country spake thus:

I was in my local Home Depot the other day and instead of the usual
friendly service everyone I saw working there looked like they were
not very happy to be there and a lot less friendly and less patient
than what I remember.

Anything bad going on in the world of HD?

Maybe just the usual crap? Stupid, overbearing bosses, crappy pay,
virtually no training, etc.?

Friend of mine works at the Despot and reports all of the above.

Ackshooly, since I'm in my local store almost weekly, I've noticed over
the last year or so a definite upgrading of the staff, as well as a
noticeably cleaner store. They seemed to have gone on something of a
hiring spree, and also seem to be responding to what they must know is a
****-poor customer service image. But this may vary from store to store.



Back a bit in NC I was in one and the tool dept head was venting to another
employee. From what I overheard (and it wasn't hard) they wanted some
people to come in, work for an hour, take their lunch break then work the
remaining shift.

On Nov 11, 1:45*pm, Edward Reid
wrote:
On Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:40:18 -0800 (PST), Country
wrote:

everyone I saw working there looked like they were
not very happy to be there and a lot less friendly and less patient
than what I remember.

Maybe you were in a bad mood? That changes your perceptions greatly.

Edward


Nope.

On 11/11/2010 12:58 PM Country spake thus:

On Nov 11, 1:45 pm, Edward Reid
wrote:

On Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:40:18 -0800 (PST), Country
wrote:

everyone I saw working there looked like they were not very happy
to be there and a lot less friendly and less patient than what I
remember.

Maybe you were in a bad mood? That changes your perceptions
greatly.

Nope.

So where is your big orange store?


--
The fashion in killing has an insouciant, flirty style this spring,
with the flaunting of well-defined muscle, wrapped in flags.

- Comment from an article on Antiwar.com (http://antiwar.com)

On Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:58:56 -0800, David Nebenzahl
wrote:

On 11/11/2010 10:40 AM Country spake thus:

I was in my local Home Depot the other day and instead of the usual
friendly service everyone I saw working there looked like they were
not very happy to be there and a lot less friendly and less patient
than what I remember.

Anything bad going on in the world of HD?

Maybe just the usual crap? Stupid, overbearing bosses, crappy pay,
virtually no training, etc.?

Friend of mine works at the Despot and reports all of the above.

Ackshooly, since I'm in my local store almost weekly, I've noticed over
the last year or so a definite upgrading of the staff, as well as a
noticeably cleaner store. They seemed to have gone on something of a
hiring spree, and also seem to be responding to what they must know is a
****-poor customer service image. But this may vary from store to store.
Here in Waterloo Ontario they've upshifted a little bit because
"there is a new sherrif in town".
Lowes opens very soon.
Rona wasn't a real strong competitor, particularly being the far side
of Kitchener and being Rona.

"Red Green" wrote in message
...
David Nebenzahl wrote in news:4cdc3ce1$0$2535
:

On 11/11/2010 10:40 AM Country spake thus:

I was in my local Home Depot the other day and instead of the usual
friendly service everyone I saw working there looked like they were
not very happy to be there and a lot less friendly and less patient
than what I remember.

Anything bad going on in the world of HD?

Maybe just the usual crap? Stupid, overbearing bosses, crappy pay,
virtually no training, etc.?

Friend of mine works at the Despot and reports all of the above.

Ackshooly, since I'm in my local store almost weekly, I've noticed over
the last year or so a definite upgrading of the staff, as well as a
noticeably cleaner store. They seemed to have gone on something of a
hiring spree, and also seem to be responding to what they must know is a
****-poor customer service image. But this may vary from store to store.



Back a bit in NC I was in one and the tool dept head was venting to
another
employee. From what I overheard (and it wasn't hard) they wanted some
people to come in, work for an hour, take their lunch break then work the
remaining shift.

Imagine that. Am employer asking an employee to do something!

Ridiculous!

Steve

On Nov 11, 3:33*pm, David Nebenzahl wrote:
On 11/11/2010 12:58 PM Country spake thus:

On Nov 11, 1:45 pm, Edward Reid
wrote:

On Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:40:18 -0800 (PST), Country
wrote:

everyone I saw working there looked like they were not very happy
to be there and a lot less friendly and less patient than what I
remember.

Maybe you were in a bad mood? That changes your perceptions
greatly.

Nope.

So where is your big orange store?

--
The fashion in killing has an insouciant, flirty style this spring,
with the flaunting of well-defined muscle, wrapped in flags.

- Comment from an article on Antiwar.com (http://antiwar.com)


Coldwater, Michigan.

Just from a customer eye point of view. I was in the Victor, NY HD, a
couple times, last day or two. The service was less than usual.
Usually they are very successful with pestering me with the endless
greetings. Last couple days, I've been less pestered. I don't know
anything about their internal politics or policies.

Lowe's in Macedon, NY. I really resent the bilingual signage. I like
the melting pot USA, not the salad bowl. That said, their customer
service was nearly zero. I had to go several aisles away to ask
someone, who turned out to be both clueless, and didn't encourage me
to finish my story and didn't ask me what I wanted. He handed me off
to "the girl" who enlisted the old grey haired guy who really knew his
hardware. I really felt the lack of customer service in both stores.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Country" wrote in message
...
I was in my local Home Depot the other day and instead of the usual
friendly service everyone I saw working there looked like they were
not very happy to be there and a lot less friendly and less patient
than what I remember.

Anything bad going on in the world of HD?

"Country" wrote in message
...
I was in my local Home Depot the other day and instead of the usual
friendly service everyone I saw working there looked like they were
not very happy to be there and a lot less friendly and less patient
than what I remember.

Anything bad going on in the world of HD?

Here in small town Canon City, CO all the employees are friendly, eager to
help. Know what they are doing, greet you at the entry and thank you when
you leave. As for lumber they show they will cut to size 2 cuts free. I
have had as many as 6 cuts and never a charge. Now the larger towns near by
(50 miles) is a whole different outlook. I avoid them. Maybe because this
is a friendly small town the attitude is different. WW

On Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:58:56 -0800, David Nebenzahl
wrote:

On 11/11/2010 10:40 AM Country spake thus:

I was in my local Home Depot the other day and instead of the usual
friendly service everyone I saw working there looked like they were
not very happy to be there and a lot less friendly and less patient
than what I remember.

Anything bad going on in the world of HD?

Maybe just the usual crap? Stupid, overbearing bosses, crappy pay,
virtually no training, etc.?

Friend of mine works at the Despot and reports all of the above.

Ackshooly, since I'm in my local store almost weekly, I've noticed over
the last year or so a definite upgrading of the staff, as well as a
noticeably cleaner store. They seemed to have gone on something of a
hiring spree, and also seem to be responding to what they must know is a
****-poor customer service image. But this may vary from store to store.

I've found this varies from region to region, not so much store to store. I
don't know if it's regional management or perhaps they "feel the heat" in some
areas more than others.

When I worked for McDonalds. I found that the employees mood was
totally based on who was managing, and the manager's mood. I'm
thinking same deal occurs at any other retail or wholesale location.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


wrote in message
...

I've found this varies from region to region, not so much store to
store. I
don't know if it's regional management or perhaps they "feel the heat"
in some
areas more than others.

On Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:41:48 -0500, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:

When I worked for McDonalds. I found that the employees mood was
totally based on who was managing, and the manager's mood. I'm
thinking same deal occurs at any other retail or wholesale location.

Absolutely! When management starts telling you how good things are and how
"you are in charge of your attitude", you know things are about to get even
worse. :-(

On 11/11/2010 1:40 PM, Country wrote:
I was in my local Home Depot the other day and instead of the usual
friendly service everyone I saw working there looked like they were
not very happy to be there and a lot less friendly and less patient
than what I remember.

Anything bad going on in the world of HD?

I posted a thread on this a couple months ago. I'm in HD's home town, so
I probably see things earlier.

What I do know is that they brought in some outside management to
redo some things. Shortly after I saw about what you did. Employees
doing the letter of their job, but indifferent to customers to the point
that they didn't want to be bothered.

FWIW, it seems to be back to normal. Not that the HD employees I see
really like working there, never really have. Lowes has got a much
happier group.

Jeff

"Steve B" wrote in
:


"Red Green" wrote in message
...
David Nebenzahl wrote in
news:4cdc3ce1$0$2535 :

On 11/11/2010 10:40 AM Country spake thus:

I was in my local Home Depot the other day and instead of the usual
friendly service everyone I saw working there looked like they were
not very happy to be there and a lot less friendly and less patient
than what I remember.

Anything bad going on in the world of HD?

Maybe just the usual crap? Stupid, overbearing bosses, crappy pay,
virtually no training, etc.?

Friend of mine works at the Despot and reports all of the above.

Ackshooly, since I'm in my local store almost weekly, I've noticed
over the last year or so a definite upgrading of the staff, as well
as a noticeably cleaner store. They seemed to have gone on something
of a hiring spree, and also seem to be responding to what they must
know is a ****-poor customer service image. But this may vary from
store to store.



Back a bit in NC I was in one and the tool dept head was venting to
another
employee. From what I overheard (and it wasn't hard) they wanted some
people to come in, work for an hour, take their lunch break then work
the remaining shift.

Imagine that. Am employer asking an employee to do something!

Ridiculous!

Steve



I know. Employees should not expect to have lunch around lunchtime which
is somewhere around midshift.

"Steve B" wrote


Back a bit in NC I was in one and the tool dept head was venting to
another
employee. From what I overheard (and it wasn't hard) they wanted some
people to come in, work for an hour, take their lunch break then work the
remaining shift.

Imagine that. Am employer asking an employee to do something!

Ridiculous!

Steve


Schedule like that makes for a messed up day. I'd certainly bitch about it.
Work an hour, break an hours, work seven hours. That would get old fast.

Ed Pawlowski wrote:

"Steve B" wrote


Back a bit in NC I was in one and the tool dept head was venting to
another
employee. From what I overheard (and it wasn't hard) they wanted some
people to come in, work for an hour, take their lunch break then work
the
remaining shift.

Imagine that. Am employer asking an employee to do something!

Ridiculous!

Steve


Schedule like that makes for a messed up day. I'd certainly bitch about
it. Work an hour, break an hours, work seven hours. That would get old
fast.
In some states a 7 hour stretch like that is illegal for safety reasons

"Red Green" wrote in message
...
"Steve B" wrote in
:


"Red Green" wrote in message
...
David Nebenzahl wrote in
news:4cdc3ce1$0$2535 :

On 11/11/2010 10:40 AM Country spake thus:

I was in my local Home Depot the other day and instead of the usual
friendly service everyone I saw working there looked like they were
not very happy to be there and a lot less friendly and less patient
than what I remember.

Anything bad going on in the world of HD?

Maybe just the usual crap? Stupid, overbearing bosses, crappy pay,
virtually no training, etc.?

Friend of mine works at the Despot and reports all of the above.

Ackshooly, since I'm in my local store almost weekly, I've noticed
over the last year or so a definite upgrading of the staff, as well
as a noticeably cleaner store. They seemed to have gone on something
of a hiring spree, and also seem to be responding to what they must
know is a ****-poor customer service image. But this may vary from
store to store.



Back a bit in NC I was in one and the tool dept head was venting to
another
employee. From what I overheard (and it wasn't hard) they wanted some
people to come in, work for an hour, take their lunch break then work
the remaining shift.

Imagine that. Am employer asking an employee to do something!

Ridiculous!

Steve



I know. Employees should not expect to have lunch around lunchtime which
is somewhere around midshift.

Damn right. Employees are entitled to take lunch whenever they want. And
take as long as they want.

Steve

"LouB" wrote in message
...
Ed Pawlowski wrote:

"Steve B" wrote


Back a bit in NC I was in one and the tool dept head was venting to
another
employee. From what I overheard (and it wasn't hard) they wanted some
people to come in, work for an hour, take their lunch break then work
the
remaining shift.

Imagine that. Am employer asking an employee to do something!

Ridiculous!

Steve


Schedule like that makes for a messed up day. I'd certainly bitch about
it. Work an hour, break an hours, work seven hours. That would get old
fast.
In some states a 7 hour stretch like that is illegal for safety reasons

It is definitely a safety issue. There is a falling off of performance
about 3 hours after a fat heavy meal, and slightly longer for a carbohydrate
based meal.
Based on a study by a Certified Safety Professional with the Board of
Certified Safety Professionals who owned Schram Catering, the largest
caterer in the Gulf of Mexico.

Steve

When I was a McDrone, in about 1983. We had a top loading VHS, in the
break room. The movie I remember called "You set the beat". Which
essentially said that the front line employee controls the mood and
attitude of the store. I found, in the year I worked there, that the
manager set the mood.

And you're right, about the "cheer up, things could get worse". They
do.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


wrote in message
...
On Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:41:48 -0500, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:

When I worked for McDonalds. I found that the employees mood was
totally based on who was managing, and the manager's mood. I'm
thinking same deal occurs at any other retail or wholesale location.

Absolutely! When management starts telling you how good things are
and how
"you are in charge of your attitude", you know things are about to get
even
worse. :-(

On Nov 11, 1:40*pm, Country wrote:
I was in my local Home Depot the other day and instead of the usual
friendly service everyone I saw working there looked like they were
not very happy to be there and a lot less friendly and less patient
than what I remember.

Anything bad going on in the world of HD?

Since when was HD's service anything other than worthless?

nate

On 11/11/2010 10:45 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

"Steve B" wrote


Back a bit in NC I was in one and the tool dept head was venting to
another
employee. From what I overheard (and it wasn't hard) they wanted some
people to come in, work for an hour, take their lunch break then work
the
remaining shift.

Imagine that. Am employer asking an employee to do something!

Ridiculous!

Steve


Schedule like that makes for a messed up day. I'd certainly bitch about
it. Work an hour, break an hours, work seven hours. That would get old
fast.

ISTR something in labor law about no more than 5 hours in a row without
a meal break? Or maybe that is just the union contract where I work.
(Legally meaningless, since I work for the Feds, but still mostly
followed anyway.)

But yeah, expecting people to work (other than in an emergency) an
oddball shift like that, is an indicator of ****-poor planning. By the
last 2-3 hours of their shift, even for healthy people, their sugar
levels will be way low, they will be making more mistakes and getting
less work done, and they will be snapping at the customers. Hungry
people are cranky people.

--
aem sends...

aemeijers wrote in
:

On 11/11/2010 10:45 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

"Steve B" wrote


Back a bit in NC I was in one and the tool dept head was venting to
another
employee. From what I overheard (and it wasn't hard) they wanted
some people to come in, work for an hour, take their lunch break
then work the
remaining shift.

Imagine that. Am employer asking an employee to do something!

Ridiculous!

Steve


Schedule like that makes for a messed up day. I'd certainly bitch
about it. Work an hour, break an hours, work seven hours. That would
get old fast.

ISTR something in labor law about no more than 5 hours in a row
without a meal break? Or maybe that is just the union contract where I
work. (Legally meaningless, since I work for the Feds, but still
mostly followed anyway.)

But yeah, expecting people to work (other than in an emergency) an
oddball shift like that, is an indicator of ****-poor planning. By the
last 2-3 hours of their shift, even for healthy people, their sugar
levels will be way low, they will be making more mistakes and getting
less work done, and they will be snapping at the customers. Hungry
people are cranky people.


I really don't know the legal rules and probably vary state to state.
Probably something like building code where there's a national/federal
code and local states can be more restrictive.

I seem to remember something about xx minute break for ever 4 continuous
hrs of work. May have been a company policy and not a rule.

Maybe just the usual crap? Stupid, overbearing bosses, crappy pay,
virtually no training, etc.?

Friend of mine works at the Despot and reports all of the above.

Why do they need training? Aren't they just salespersons? All they need
to tell the customers is just where the stuff is...

aemeijers wrote:
-snip-

ISTR something in labor law about no more than 5 hours in a row without
a meal break? Or maybe that is just the union contract where I work.
(Legally meaningless, since I work for the Feds, but still mostly
followed anyway.)

Here is NY's law on it;
http://www.labor.ny.gov/workerprotec...yer/meals.shtm

30 years ago I worked retail & the employer was breaking that law. A
person complained. The employer found out. He fired them. When the
labor folks came around to investigate the complaint, the employer
told them he didn't work there anymore-- so there was no
investigation.

Retail work sucks. But I'm glad I did it for a few months just so I
could appreciate some of the better jobs I've had.

Jim

On Nov 11, 9:00*pm, Jeff Thies wrote:
On 11/11/2010 1:40 PM, Country wrote:

I was in my local Home Depot the other day and instead of the usual
friendly service everyone I saw working there looked like they were
not very happy to be there and a lot less friendly and less patient
than what I remember.

Anything bad going on in the world of HD?

I posted a thread on this a couple months ago. I'm in HD's home town, so
I probably see things earlier.

* *What I do know is that they brought in some outside management to
redo some things. Shortly after I saw about what you did. Employees
doing the letter of their job, but indifferent to customers to the point
that they didn't want to be bothered.

* *FWIW, it seems to be back to normal. Not that the HD employees I see
really like working there, never really have. Lowes has got a much
happier group.

* *Jeff




Yeah, I think the memory of that thread is what made me wonder about
the change I saw this time. Could have been just a bad day in that
particular store, tho.

-C-

On 11/12/2010 5:12 AM N8N spake thus:

On Nov 11, 1:40 pm, Country wrote:

I was in my local Home Depot the other day and instead of the usual
friendly service everyone I saw working there looked like they
were not very happy to be there and a lot less friendly and less
patient than what I remember.

Anything bad going on in the world of HD?

Since when was HD's service anything other than worthless?

Seems to be the luck of the draw. I have found some HD employees who are
actually very knowledgable and helpful. One old guy in the store I shop
at (Emeryville, CA) is very good with electrical stuff.


--
The fashion in killing has an insouciant, flirty style this spring,
with the flaunting of well-defined muscle, wrapped in flags.

- Comment from an article on Antiwar.com (http://antiwar.com)

David Nebenzahl wrote in news:4cdd7e3e$0$2548
:

On 11/12/2010 5:12 AM N8N spake thus:

On Nov 11, 1:40 pm, Country wrote:

I was in my local Home Depot the other day and instead of the usual
friendly service everyone I saw working there looked like they
were not very happy to be there and a lot less friendly and less
patient than what I remember.

Anything bad going on in the world of HD?

Since when was HD's service anything other than worthless?

Seems to be the luck of the draw. I have found some HD employees who are
actually very knowledgable and helpful. One old guy in the store I shop
at (Emeryville, CA) is very good with electrical stuff.



Oh I've found them too at both Borg in multiple stores. Then they suddenly
disappear...

Steve B wrote:
"LouB" wrote in message
In some states a 7 hour stretch like that is illegal for safety
reasons

It is definitely a safety issue. There is a falling off of
performance about 3 hours after a fat heavy meal, and slightly longer
for a carbohydrate based meal.
Based on a study by a Certified Safety Professional with the Board of
Certified Safety Professionals who owned Schram Catering, the largest
caterer in the Gulf of Mexico.

Here in Oregon, a 15 minute paid break is required after two hours working.
After four hours, you get a 30 minute unpaid break.

Of course, depending on the job, it may not be appropriate to take advantage
of the system, but you do have the legal right to demand it.

Jon

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...

Since when was HD's service anything other than worthless?

Seems to be the luck of the draw. I have found some HD employees who are
actually very knowledgable and helpful. One old guy in the store I shop at
(Emeryville, CA) is very good with electrical stuff.


Seems to be that way in most any store. I have talked with electricians in
the stores that were working there because of bad economy or they were
retired. Same as in an electrical supply store I know of. Sometimes you
just get a guy that only knows where the item is on the shelf if you can
show him one.

On Fri, 12 Nov 2010 02:06:04 -0500, LouB wrote:

Ed Pawlowski wrote:

"Steve B" wrote


Back a bit in NC I was in one and the tool dept head was venting to
another
employee. From what I overheard (and it wasn't hard) they wanted some
people to come in, work for an hour, take their lunch break then work
the
remaining shift.

Imagine that. Am employer asking an employee to do something!

Ridiculous!

Steve


Schedule like that makes for a messed up day. I'd certainly bitch about
it. Work an hour, break an hours, work seven hours. That would get old
fast.
In some states a 7 hour stretch like that is illegal for safety reasons
In Canada it is law - 1/2 hour break after 5 hours.

wrote in
:

On Fri, 12 Nov 2010 02:06:04 -0500, LouB wrote:

Ed Pawlowski wrote:

"Steve B" wrote


Back a bit in NC I was in one and the tool dept head was venting
to another
employee. From what I overheard (and it wasn't hard) they wanted
some people to come in, work for an hour, take their lunch break
then work the
remaining shift.

Imagine that. Am employer asking an employee to do something!

Ridiculous!

Steve


Schedule like that makes for a messed up day. I'd certainly bitch
about it. Work an hour, break an hours, work seven hours. That
would get old fast.
In some states a 7 hour stretch like that is illegal for safety
reasons
In Canada it is law - 1/2 hour break after 5 hours.


How dare them not allowing an employer to ask an employee to do
something!

:-)

On Fri, 12 Nov 2010 07:33:47 -0500, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:

When I was a McDrone, in about 1983. We had a top loading VHS, in the
break room. The movie I remember called "You set the beat". Which
essentially said that the front line employee controls the mood and
attitude of the store. I found, in the year I worked there, that the
manager set the mood.

And you're right, about the "cheer up, things could get worse". They
do.

Translated: "The floggings will continue until the morale improves".

"Jon Danniken" wrote
Here in Oregon, a 15 minute paid break is required after two hours
working. After four hours, you get a 30 minute unpaid break.

Of course, depending on the job, it may not be appropriate to take
advantage of the system, but you do have the legal right to demand it.

Jon


Two hour is on the short side by law. IIRC, in MA it is six hours. In an 8
hour day you have to allow 30 minutes unpaid, but you can give a shorter
pair break if the employees prefers it. We give 10 - 15- 10 all paid, but
they still have the option of a 30 minute unpaid for lunch. The law allows
certain job classifications to have no break.

You have to provide water, toilets, and not much more. No minimum heat
required. Laws aside, you don't keep good and get good work from people
unless you treat them well.