I had to go to one of the local Home Depots the other day, well I didn't
actually have to but it was on the way home and I needed the stuff and I
knew that they'd have it and besides the girl who sells hotdogs outside is
kinda cute but I digress...

For those in the Los Angeles area this is the store on San Fernando road in
the city of Glendale, one of the worst stores to visit in my experience,
small, crowded, understocked and understaffed even more than usual.

Anyway, for whatever reason the place was packed, this was at about 3pm on a
weekday, don't these people have jobs....?

I pick up the 2 things I need and head to the cashier...and that's where the
fun started. This store has 14 checkout lanes including 4 of the
"self-serve" ones plus a commercial account desk and an extra register in
the "tool corral", now guess how many of these registers were actually being
staffed?


2...and at least one of the self-service machines was broken with no sign on
it indicating as such. Of course there was the obligatory employee out side
the exit door checking reciepts as people left. Does anyone other than me
refuse to stop for that crap? "If you think I stole something, you better
have some proof and you better go ahead and arrest me cause I ain't stopping
so you can "check my receipt" lady." But I digress.

The lines were at least 12 people deep, so long that guys using the lumber
carts had to leave extra space between them so people could get thru the
store...the tool corral line was in 2 different places and heading for a
showdown as people who thought that they were in line found out that they
weren't.

People were walking up and seeing the space left by the lumber cart guys
they assumed that that meant the line ended there and so they'd try to take
up residence, which made for some interesting confrontations.

While all this was going on, there were 2 cashiers standing a bit down from
the registers trying to entice unwary shoppers to sign up for an inhouse
credit card, when the second one hit me up for an account I said I'd like
one but was afraid I'd never be able to find a cashier to accept it, he
sorta mumbled some thing and wandered off to try and sell an appliance.

After waiting for about 10 minutes in line with virtually no movement I got
on my cel phone, got the manager of the store on the line and asked him why
in the hell wasn't he out front helping to clear some of these customers out
of the store...he babbled a bit about about using the self-serve registers,
that was when I told him that at least one of those wasn't working either...

Well long story slightly shorter, I eventually made it to the cash register
only to find my favorite appliance salesman had actually been told to do
something and he was now working the register, he tried his best to make me
his buddy but all I said was that he should have been helping people a half
hour earlier, paid my bill and left.

The hot dog was very tasty and the can of soda was cold and I didn't have to
wait for the pretty girl to ring me up.

John Emmons

"when hatred calls with his package, refuse delivery..."

Ever consider not letting these things bother you?

yeah I have but then I'd have nothing to write these little stories about.
The only thing that "bothered" me was the complete lack of any understanding
of customer service. If I ran my business like that, I'd be out of business
as I should be.

It's all part of the loss of simple consideration for others that plagues
this world we live in.

John

"FriscoSoxFan" wrote in message
oups.com...
Ever consider not letting these things bother you?

John Emmons wrote:

I had to go to one of the local Home Depots the other day, well I didn't
actually have to but it was on the way home and I needed the stuff and I
knew that they'd have it and besides the girl who sells hotdogs outside is
kinda cute but I digress...

For those in the Los Angeles area this is the store on San Fernando road in
the city of Glendale, one of the worst stores to visit in my experience,
small, crowded, understocked and understaffed even more than usual.

snip




You just described about 95% of all Home Depots in the L.A. area!

"John Emmons" wrote in message
...
yeah I have but then I'd have nothing to write these little stories about.
The only thing that "bothered" me was the complete lack of any
understanding
of customer service. If I ran my business like that, I'd be out of
business
as I should be.

It's all part of the loss of simple consideration for others that plagues
this world we live in.

An the arrogance these big box stores and their management have that
customers don't matter. However, I did hear the CEO of Wally World say on
TV the other day, that for every customer they lose, they potentially lose
$200,000 in future sales.

John Emmons wrote:

[snip]
The hot dog was very tasty and the can of soda was cold and I didn't have to
wait for the pretty girl to ring me up.

Ah, the pretty girl. Now if I could just remember why they were so
interesting...
j4

"John Emmons" wrote in message

2... Does anyone other than me
refuse to stop for that crap? "If you think I stole something, you better
have some proof and you better go ahead and arrest me cause I ain't
stopping
so you can "check my receipt" lady." But I digress.

Yes, a lot of honest people feel that way. Problem is, there are too many
dis-honest ones that makes it a necessity in some areas. Considering the
cost of having a guard at the door, they would not do it unless thee was a
payback. I know the one at our BJ's store has a half dozen gold starts from
catching a few big ones. I see it getting even worse in the future.


After waiting for about 10 minutes in line with virtually no movement I
got
on my cel phone, got the manager of the store on the line and asked him
why
in the hell wasn't he out front helping to clear some of these customers
out
of the store...he babbled a bit about about using the self-serve
registers,
that was when I told him that at least one of those wasn't working
either...

Good ploy. I refuse to use the self checkout until they offer me a 5%
discount.

The hot dog was very tasty and the can of soda was cold and I didn't have
to
wait for the pretty girl to ring me up.

The trip was not a total waste.



"when hatred calls with his package, refuse delivery..."


Worth thinking about next time you are standing in line getting ****ed off.
Retail is getting worse with service all the time.

Next time skip the hardware and just get the hot dogs.

--
To e-mail, replace "bucketofspam" with "dleegordon"

Gary wrote:

"John Emmons" wrote in message
...
yeah I have but then I'd have nothing to write these little stories about.
The only thing that "bothered" me was the complete lack of any
understanding
of customer service. If I ran my business like that, I'd be out of
business
as I should be.

It's all part of the loss of simple consideration for others that plagues
this world we live in.

An the arrogance these big box stores and their management have that
customers don't matter. However, I did hear the CEO of Wally World say on
TV the other day, that for every customer they lose, they potentially lose
$200,000 in future sales.

Well, he stood in line the whole time, didn't he? Shows it doesn't
matter, often.

When this happens to me, unless I REALLY NEED the stuff, I will abandon my
cart or basket where I stand and walk out.


"John Emmons" wrote in message
...
I had to go to one of the local Home Depots the other day, well I didn't
actually have to but it was on the way home and I needed the stuff and I
knew that they'd have it and besides the girl who sells hotdogs outside is
kinda cute but I digress...

For those in the Los Angeles area this is the store on San Fernando road
in
the city of Glendale, one of the worst stores to visit in my experience,
small, crowded, understocked and understaffed even more than usual.

Anyway, for whatever reason the place was packed, this was at about 3pm on
a
weekday, don't these people have jobs....?

I pick up the 2 things I need and head to the cashier...and that's where
the
fun started. This store has 14 checkout lanes including 4 of the
"self-serve" ones plus a commercial account desk and an extra register in
the "tool corral", now guess how many of these registers were actually
being
staffed?


2...and at least one of the self-service machines was broken with no sign
on
it indicating as such. Of course there was the obligatory employee out
side
the exit door checking reciepts as people left. Does anyone other than me
refuse to stop for that crap? "If you think I stole something, you better
have some proof and you better go ahead and arrest me cause I ain't
stopping
so you can "check my receipt" lady." But I digress.

The lines were at least 12 people deep, so long that guys using the lumber
carts had to leave extra space between them so people could get thru the
store...the tool corral line was in 2 different places and heading for a
showdown as people who thought that they were in line found out that they
weren't.

People were walking up and seeing the space left by the lumber cart guys
they assumed that that meant the line ended there and so they'd try to
take
up residence, which made for some interesting confrontations.

While all this was going on, there were 2 cashiers standing a bit down
from
the registers trying to entice unwary shoppers to sign up for an inhouse
credit card, when the second one hit me up for an account I said I'd like
one but was afraid I'd never be able to find a cashier to accept it, he
sorta mumbled some thing and wandered off to try and sell an appliance.

After waiting for about 10 minutes in line with virtually no movement I
got
on my cel phone, got the manager of the store on the line and asked him
why
in the hell wasn't he out front helping to clear some of these customers
out
of the store...he babbled a bit about about using the self-serve
registers,
that was when I told him that at least one of those wasn't working
either...

Well long story slightly shorter, I eventually made it to the cash
register
only to find my favorite appliance salesman had actually been told to do
something and he was now working the register, he tried his best to make
me
his buddy but all I said was that he should have been helping people a
half
hour earlier, paid my bill and left.

The hot dog was very tasty and the can of soda was cold and I didn't have
to
wait for the pretty girl to ring me up.

John Emmons

"when hatred calls with his package, refuse delivery..."

"EXT" etonks@sunstormADD-DOT-COM wrote in message
anews.com...
When this happens to me, unless I REALLY NEED the stuff, I will abandon my
cart or basket where I stand and walk out.


I have done this more than once. I usually point this fact out in a loud
voice as I pass the cashier too. I let them know that the service was
intolorable.

"Lee Michaels" wrote in message
...

I have done this more than once. I usually point this fact out in a loud
voice as I pass the cashier too. I let them know that the service was
intolorable.


Do you think a $6.50 /hr. cashier gives a rat's ass about service??

"EXT" etonks@sunstormADD-DOT-COM wrote in message
anews.com...
When this happens to me, unless I REALLY NEED the stuff, I will
abandon my
cart or basket where I stand and walk out.

Reminds me of a story my Dad loved to tell - he bought a can of custom
color paint and then got ****ed off about standing in line, so he walked
out in disgust.

After he chilled out, he went back the next day, and saw his paint in
the "error" section. He bought it for a fraction of what he would have
paid the previous day. He had no guilt, given the crap he used to go
through.

gw wrote:

"Lee Michaels" wrote in message
...

I have done this more than once. I usually point this fact out in a loud
voice as I pass the cashier too. I let them know that the service was
intolorable.


Do you think a $6.50 /hr. cashier gives a rat's ass about service??

Yes, while venting at the cashier is an understandable reaction, it's a
turn on the "shooting the messenger" syndrome. The place to complain is
to management. Almost always the actual worker bees are doing the best
they can in a usually nearly intolerable situation...

In those situations, I usually call the 800 number that's on the wall
behind the cashiers. You know the one....the one saying it is the
number for customer service....

It's pretty amazing to watch the folks come out of the office like a
swarm of angry bees after you've told the person on the phone that you
have $5000 worth of merchandise you want to buy and can't find anyone
(ok...so it was a little white lie) to take your money....

Only had to do it once....ever since then the local HD has been very
good about keeping cashiers on-line and the lines short.

bill W

Well no different here in NY/NJ. I simply go at 7:30am Mon-Sun. or after
7:00pm Mon-Thur.

After standing in line for what appears Hours one Sat.! One of the products
didn't have a SKU# or Barcode. So they put me to the side and paged the
department for a price check.... I went and got a hotdog and drink finished
both, walked back to the tools to look over a planer, then got the SKU# and
still nobody had showed up from that area....

Lowes is much Better in this area for sure..... Infact I will drive 15 miles
out of my way and pass 3 Home Depots to go to a Lowes. HD simply carries
tools like Rigid that I buy...

But Lowes isn't perfect I got jerked around trying to get help on finding a
router bit and was blown off by the woman handling Cabinets!

WHAT I DID FIND was that in Pricing, I went to 3 Home Depots (2 the same
day)and with exact detailed drawings. I was given 3 prices all close to
3,555.00.

Went to Home Expo $3,100.00 and a free 6 sqft piece! Go Figure!




"John Emmons" wrote in message
...
I had to go to one of the local Home Depots the other day, well I didn't
actually have to but it was on the way home and I needed the stuff and I
knew that they'd have it and besides the girl who sells hotdogs outside is
kinda cute but I digress...

For those in the Los Angeles area this is the store on San Fernando road
in
the city of Glendale, one of the worst stores to visit in my experience,
small, crowded, understocked and understaffed even more than usual.

Anyway, for whatever reason the place was packed, this was at about 3pm on
a
weekday, don't these people have jobs....?

I pick up the 2 things I need and head to the cashier...and that's where
the
fun started. This store has 14 checkout lanes including 4 of the
"self-serve" ones plus a commercial account desk and an extra register in
the "tool corral", now guess how many of these registers were actually
being
staffed?


2...and at least one of the self-service machines was broken with no sign
on
it indicating as such. Of course there was the obligatory employee out
side
the exit door checking reciepts as people left. Does anyone other than me
refuse to stop for that crap? "If you think I stole something, you better
have some proof and you better go ahead and arrest me cause I ain't
stopping
so you can "check my receipt" lady." But I digress.

The lines were at least 12 people deep, so long that guys using the lumber
carts had to leave extra space between them so people could get thru the
store...the tool corral line was in 2 different places and heading for a
showdown as people who thought that they were in line found out that they
weren't.

People were walking up and seeing the space left by the lumber cart guys
they assumed that that meant the line ended there and so they'd try to
take
up residence, which made for some interesting confrontations.

While all this was going on, there were 2 cashiers standing a bit down
from
the registers trying to entice unwary shoppers to sign up for an inhouse
credit card, when the second one hit me up for an account I said I'd like
one but was afraid I'd never be able to find a cashier to accept it, he
sorta mumbled some thing and wandered off to try and sell an appliance.

After waiting for about 10 minutes in line with virtually no movement I
got
on my cel phone, got the manager of the store on the line and asked him
why
in the hell wasn't he out front helping to clear some of these customers
out
of the store...he babbled a bit about about using the self-serve
registers,
that was when I told him that at least one of those wasn't working
either...

Well long story slightly shorter, I eventually made it to the cash
register
only to find my favorite appliance salesman had actually been told to do
something and he was now working the register, he tried his best to make
me
his buddy but all I said was that he should have been helping people a
half
hour earlier, paid my bill and left.

The hot dog was very tasty and the can of soda was cold and I didn't have
to
wait for the pretty girl to ring me up.

John Emmons

"when hatred calls with his package, refuse delivery..."

Ever consider not letting these things bother you?



"FriscoSoxFan" wrote in message
oups.com...
Ever consider not letting these things bother you?

John Emmons wrote:

Anyway, for whatever reason the place was packed, this was at about 3pm on a
weekday, don't these people have jobs....?

I pick up the 2 things I need and head to the cashier...and that's where the
fun started. This store has 14 checkout lanes including 4 of the
"self-serve" ones plus a commercial account desk and an extra register in
the "tool corral", now guess how many of these registers were actually being
staffed?


snip

I have a friend who is a cashier at a H/D in SoCal.

The conditions you describe do exist because those are the procedures to
be used as given by the headquarters operation in Atlanta.

Why do they do it?

It is less costly to warehouse customers than it is to pay cashiers.

My friend says working at H/D these days is a very stressful situation
at best, but an individual employee is unable to do anything about it.

BTW, warehousing customers appears to be practiced these days by almost
every supermarket and big box retail operation in existence.

Lew

You hit the nail on the head. Most of these employees don't give a
%&$& about customer service -- they get paid no matter what.

John Emmons wrote:
Of course there was the obligatory employee out side
the exit door checking reciepts as people left.

Hell, at least she was doing *something*! At Lowe's, a loafer stands by
the front door to say "hello" and another one stands at the exit not
even saying, "goodbye!" Meanwhile, the checkout lines stretch for
miles.

"Jerry" wrote in message
ups.com...
You hit the nail on the head. Most of these employees don't give a
%&$& about customer service -- they get paid no matter what.


I think you're missing the point...

The cashiers and roving idiots *can't* do anything about it - at least the
understaffing of the registers and various departments. If the store only
has 2 cashiers on shift, that's it. I doubt there are 10 more cashiers
squirreled away in the break room laughing at the long lines. Corporate has
decided that for peak efficiency, store X only needs 2.3 cashiers on
weekdays between X:00 and Y:00. Done deal. Efficiency is measured in labor
expense, not keeping the sheep waiting in line. They put in the "Self
Checkout" hoping that at least some of the unwashed will use them. I do
(does that make me unwashed?) because I know that I am more likely to
accurately wave the item over the scanner than the average dullard who can't
tell a vice-grip from a toilet flange.

On the other hand, the zombies in orange roving the aisles seem to be
half-and-half. They either drive me nuts by asking if I need help every 4.2
seconds, or they scatter like roaches in bright light if I find that I *do*
have a question.

You've hit the nail on the head here.

I worked at HD for a few months in between being laid off and finding
another "real" job.
Currently I work in the retail software management busineess....anyway.

HD calculates the number staff (in person hours) based on historic
sales information on an hour by hour basis. From this they build the
employee schedule. They use prior year and prior month sales
information as well as seasonal factors to come up with the number of
employees needed on the floor during at a specific hour. The store
manager is allowed a specific labor budget for the month. The problem
lies in overusing his/her budget early in the month for whatever
reason..be it a special sale day or a local blip in the demand. They
have to budget carefully to avoid what happened to you.

The blame clearly goes back to district office or Atlanta HQ, NOT the
store manager. He can only work with the budget he is given.

NJTrout

"John Emmons" wrote in message
yeah I have but then I'd have nothing to write these little stories about.
The only thing that "bothered" me was the complete lack of any
understanding
of customer service. If I ran my business like that, I'd be out of
business
as I should be.

It's all part of the loss of simple consideration for others that plagues
this world we live in.

Well said!

Home Depot is in business for the convenience of its employees/stockholders,
not its customers. It's that damn simple ... around here it starts before
you ever walk in the door, with the lumber carts stored at the opposite end
of the gigantic parking lot from the front doors, and goes down hill from
there.

When HD opens a shiny new store everything is rosy, then, over time, like a
calked miter joint in a poorly made outhouse, the smell creeps out.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 7/12/05

In article , "Swingman" wrote:

When HD opens a shiny new store everything is rosy, then, over time, like a
calked miter joint in a poorly made outhouse, the smell creeps out.

You have a way with words. Nicely put, and dead-on accurate. I've been
watching that process taking place at my local HD over the last coupla years.

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

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

The fact that people were standing in line 12 deep indicates this is one
very busy and money making store.
It's like the old joke "This place will go out of business because the check
out lines are so busy I had to wait an hour"!

"John Emmons" wrote in message
...
yeah I have but then I'd have nothing to write these little stories about.
The only thing that "bothered" me was the complete lack of any
understanding
of customer service. If I ran my business like that, I'd be out of
business
as I should be.

It's all part of the loss of simple consideration for others that plagues
this world we live in.

John

"FriscoSoxFan" wrote in message
oups.com...
Ever consider not letting these things bother you?

George wrote:

The fact that people were standing in line 12 deep indicates this is one
very busy and money making store.
It's like the old joke "This place will go out of business because the check
out lines are so busy I had to wait an hour"!

Sounds a lot like something I heard Yogi say once upon a time...

Duane Bozarth wrote in
:

Sounds a lot like something I heard Yogi say once upon a time...


Look Boo-Boo! Pic-a-nic baskets!

Oh, wait ... that other Yogi.

Got it.

Regards,
JT

In article
, John
Emmons wrote:

yeah I have but then I'd have nothing to write these little stories about.
The only thing that "bothered" me was the complete lack of any understanding
of customer service. If I ran my business like that, I'd be out of business
as I should be.

Apparently not. You'd have people like you willing to stand in line, no
matter how long it took... Take your business elsewhere, and just stop
in for hot dogs.

;-D

--
~ Stay Calm... Be Brave... Wait for the Signs ~
------------------------------------------------------
One site: http://www.balderstone.ca
The other site, with ww linkshttp://www.woodenwabbits.com

"Swingman" wrote in message
...
Home Depot is in business for the convenience of its
employees/stockholders,
not its customers. It's that damn simple ... around here it starts
before
you ever walk in the door, with the lumber carts stored at the
opposite end
of the gigantic parking lot from the front doors, and goes down hill
from
there.

When HD opens a shiny new store everything is rosy, then, over time,
like a
calked miter joint in a poorly made outhouse, the smell creeps out.

Agreed! I'm a remodeler and spend more time in these sh-tholes than
I like to admit, certainly more than I want to.

And, let me add a couple of more to the list. :
1. It seems that no two of HDs are laid out the same. I often
find myself wandering around, wasting time looking for areas that are
supposed to be somewhere else.
2. For the last couple of months, the store on Hwy. 290 has taken
up a couple of complete rows of parking by warehousing their crates of
surplus tile out in the parking lot. It's hard enough parking n F250
Crew Cab with an eight foot bed; now I'm pushed even further away from
the building.
--
"New Wave" Dave In Houston

My wife works for a large grocery chain here in SoCal. The store
manager's bonus at the end of the year is dependent on the profits of
the store (i.e. the total sales versus the total payroll). If you get a
store manager who cares more about his bonus than the satisfaction of
the customer, you will find the store consistently understaffed.
Especially when he is not there to take the flak from disgruntled
customers.

Just my 2¢

In article ,
wrote:

My wife works for a large grocery chain here in SoCal. The store
manager's bonus at the end of the year is dependent on the profits of
the store (i.e. the total sales versus the total payroll). If you get a
store manager who cares more about his bonus than the satisfaction of
the customer, you will find the store consistently understaffed.
Especially when he is not there to take the flak from disgruntled
customers.

A friend used to be with the Wegman's supermarket in NY state.
Employees were (are) shareholders.

I had a couple of tours, and it's a hellluvan operation. Most
impressive.

--
~ Stay Calm... Be Brave... Wait for the Signs ~
------------------------------------------------------
One site: http://www.balderstone.ca
The other site, with ww linkshttp://www.woodenwabbits.com

About three years ago HD started taking the top 10 selling items from every
vendor they buy from and having those item copied in China. Check out the
Drywall tool section. It still looks like ALL the tools are from "Wallboard
Drywall Tool Company" (Made in USA) but 10% of the items are made in China
and directly imported by Home Depot. Yet they keep hitting up their vendors
for larger discounts while raising the price at the retail end!!! I was a
vendor to Home Depot for 12 years. They made my little vendor business into
a $10.00 an hour job. I have since opened a new business and deal with
customers who truly appreciate my work.



cm


"John Emmons" wrote in message
...
I had to go to one of the local Home Depots the other day, well I didn't
actually have to but it was on the way home and I needed the stuff and I
knew that they'd have it and besides the girl who sells hotdogs outside is
kinda cute but I digress...

For those in the Los Angeles area this is the store on San Fernando road
in
the city of Glendale, one of the worst stores to visit in my experience,
small, crowded, understocked and understaffed even more than usual.

Anyway, for whatever reason the place was packed, this was at about 3pm on
a
weekday, don't these people have jobs....?

I pick up the 2 things I need and head to the cashier...and that's where
the
fun started. This store has 14 checkout lanes including 4 of the
"self-serve" ones plus a commercial account desk and an extra register in
the "tool corral", now guess how many of these registers were actually
being
staffed?


2...and at least one of the self-service machines was broken with no sign
on
it indicating as such. Of course there was the obligatory employee out
side
the exit door checking reciepts as people left. Does anyone other than me
refuse to stop for that crap? "If you think I stole something, you better
have some proof and you better go ahead and arrest me cause I ain't
stopping
so you can "check my receipt" lady." But I digress.

The lines were at least 12 people deep, so long that guys using the lumber
carts had to leave extra space between them so people could get thru the
store...the tool corral line was in 2 different places and heading for a
showdown as people who thought that they were in line found out that they
weren't.

People were walking up and seeing the space left by the lumber cart guys
they assumed that that meant the line ended there and so they'd try to
take
up residence, which made for some interesting confrontations.

While all this was going on, there were 2 cashiers standing a bit down
from
the registers trying to entice unwary shoppers to sign up for an inhouse
credit card, when the second one hit me up for an account I said I'd like
one but was afraid I'd never be able to find a cashier to accept it, he
sorta mumbled some thing and wandered off to try and sell an appliance.

After waiting for about 10 minutes in line with virtually no movement I
got
on my cel phone, got the manager of the store on the line and asked him
why
in the hell wasn't he out front helping to clear some of these customers
out
of the store...he babbled a bit about about using the self-serve
registers,
that was when I told him that at least one of those wasn't working
either...

Well long story slightly shorter, I eventually made it to the cash
register
only to find my favorite appliance salesman had actually been told to do
something and he was now working the register, he tried his best to make
me
his buddy but all I said was that he should have been helping people a
half
hour earlier, paid my bill and left.

The hot dog was very tasty and the can of soda was cold and I didn't have
to
wait for the pretty girl to ring me up.

John Emmons

"when hatred calls with his package, refuse delivery..."

cm wrote:
About three years ago HD started taking the top 10 selling items from every
vendor they buy from and having those item copied in China. Check out the
Drywall tool section. It still looks like ALL the tools are from "Wallboard
Drywall Tool Company" (Made in USA) but 10% of the items are made in China
and directly imported by Home Depot. Yet they keep hitting up their vendors
for larger discounts while raising the price at the retail end!!! I was a
vendor to Home Depot for 12 years. They made my little vendor business into
a $10.00 an hour job. I have since opened a new business and deal with
customers who truly appreciate my work.

Well, that's good! The last sentence, I mean.

Do vendors have to stand in line for an hour to get screwed?

Gawd... I was just recovering from the last 3,000 entry thread on the
insanity and horrors of Home Depot that went on about 45 days ago.

Now I feel myself falling into depression thinking of all the people
not smart enough to stay out of those stores knowing what they
obviously know about the stores themselves and the people that work
there....

I know, they can actually be more convenient and take less time...
laziness can generate a powerful argument to actually rationalize
convenience... and bitching about getting screwed is so much fun...

I'll be taping Dr. Phil to see how he deals with you guys. Best of
luck to you all.

Sigh... what happened to the Norm bashing that went on for years here?
It used to be a solid ass kicking and whining about HD, then Norm and
his brad nailers, then Lowe's, some fringe players tried to bash
Menard's, and even our Canuck buddies used to hammer the "whatever"
Tire company.

At least it brought some variety to the bitching.

Robert

On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 19:32:48 GMT, Lew Hodgett
wrote:

John Emmons wrote:

Anyway, for whatever reason the place was packed, this was at about 3pm on a
weekday, don't these people have jobs....?

I pick up the 2 things I need and head to the cashier...and that's where the
fun started. This store has 14 checkout lanes including 4 of the
"self-serve" ones plus a commercial account desk and an extra register in
the "tool corral", now guess how many of these registers were actually being
staffed?


snip

I have a friend who is a cashier at a H/D in SoCal.

The conditions you describe do exist because those are the procedures to
be used as given by the headquarters operation in Atlanta.

Why do they do it?

It is less costly to warehouse customers than it is to pay cashiers.


i.e, the time of their cashiers costs $7 and up per hour plus any benefits,
the cost of your time to them is $0. As long as you are willing to wait,
the trade is an easy one. That's one of the things I really despised about
colleges -- students' time was considered a free and expendable thing,
college staff time cost money, thus, even if you had to walk across campus
to pay 10 cents to get a receipt in order to make a copy, that was the
process. Didn't like it in college but I was a captive audience, I'm not a
captive at retail stores -- if I walk in and see that things are going to
waste my time, I turn around and go somewhere else or come back later.



My friend says working at H/D these days is a very stressful situation
at best, but an individual employee is unable to do anything about it.

BTW, warehousing customers appears to be practiced these days by almost
every supermarket and big box retail operation in existence.

Lew



+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 18:23:16 -0600, the opaque Dave Balderstone
clearly wrote:

In article
, John
Emmons wrote:

yeah I have but then I'd have nothing to write these little stories about.
The only thing that "bothered" me was the complete lack of any understanding
of customer service. If I ran my business like that, I'd be out of business
as I should be.

Apparently not. You'd have people like you willing to stand in line, no
matter how long it took... Take your business elsewhere, and just stop
in for hot dogs.

Nah, COSTCO is the place to go for dogs. $1.50 buys you both a soft
drink and a delicious hot dog. Choose from Hebrew National All Beef
or Kosher weenie on your dog: big, meaty thangs. I make it a point
to do my shopping in Medford about noon so I can stop by COSTCO for
gas and a dog, in that order. (Luckily it's not the other way around,
even with sauerkraut on the Pdog.

- - -
Brain cells come and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever.
---
http://diversify.com Website Application Programming for YOU!

On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 23:02:47 -0700, the opaque Mark & Juanita
clearly wrote:

i.e, the time of their cashiers costs $7 and up per hour plus any benefits,

That low?

My very first job (age 15, 3rd year in CA) was as a box boy at an
Alpha Beta grocery store for $1.95/hr. (That was my first and last
Union job, BTW. Non-union pay was $1.65/hr and my net pay after Union
fees came to $1.69/hr.) That was in 1968 and cashiers were starting at
$8.65/hr even then. Can HD's pay rate nearly 40 years later be that
much lower? I thought that being able to use a cash register and/or
having any 10-key experience almost doubled the minimum wage pay for
those jobs.

Anyone have data on cashier pay rate trends?

- - -
Brain cells come and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever.
---
http://diversify.com Website Application Programming for YOU!

wrote:
My wife works for a large grocery chain here in SoCal. The store
manager's bonus at the end of the year is dependent on the profits of
the store (i.e. the total sales versus the total payroll). If you get a
store manager who cares more about his bonus than the satisfaction of
the customer, you will find the store consistently understaffed.
Especially when he is not there to take the flak from disgruntled
customers.

Just my 2¢

Exactly the situation at HD. They open with well-paid pros in all the
departments who drift away, especially after the first profit review
when the manager has to cut his payroll. The replacements are paid about
half as much and don't know even that.
My local HD ran out of an item three weeks after they opened. I've
talked with department managers there who say that it's almost
impossible to get reorders from the warehouse in a reasonable time.
Don't get me started on the last time I made a special order with them.

And HD wants to own the Chinese market...

Bob

Larry Jaques wrote:
....

Anyone have data on cashier pay rate trends?

No data, but I'd suspect it has been pretty flat, at best...

I've been following this thread and struggling to keep my big mouth shut.

More than 'a few years ago' I grew up in Atlantic City, NJ. {That's the
'city' itself, which is one of FOUR municipalities on the island that people
think of as 'Atlantic City'}. I was easily able to WALK to school . . . from
Kindergarten through High School graduation.

Within the short walk to Grammar School there was a 'local' hardware store
that seemed to have everything for every season. From storm windows in the
winter to a wide variety of 'sinkers', line, and other fishing tackle in the
summer. Almost always the same faces 'behind the counter' . . . you actually
grew up with them. Literally across the street was a 'glass company'. Kind
of like an iceberg . . . a small 'storefront' but a huge workroom &
warehouse behind. The other way from the Grammar school, about an equal
distance from home, was the High School. A bit beyond that - across a grass
& tree lined park - was a PAINT Store. From powered additives to the gallon
cans to anything the 'real PRO's' needed. A bit beyond this was a store only
about twice the width of the front door. Maybe 50 feet long, at the rear was
a 'counter opening' in the wall for the proprietor - Irv of 'Irv's Tackle
Box'. If it was about fishing - especially Salt Water - he had it.

Fast forward a lot of years, and about 60 miles away to suburban Philly.
There's an old line about the 'definition of a boat . . . a hole in the
water in which you pour money'. When you buy a house, you find the
'landlubbers' equivalent . . . the title of the Tom Hanks movie . . . 'The
Money Pit'. The 'handy' type develops an intimate knowledge of the local
'sources of supply'. About this same time the 'Big Box Stores' phenomenon
started.



wrote in message
oups.com...
Gawd... I was just recovering from the last 3,000 entry thread on the
insanity and horrors of Home Depot that went on about 45 days ago.

Now I feel myself falling into depression thinking of all the people
not smart enough to stay out of those stores knowing what they
obviously know about the stores themselves and the people that work
there....
SNIP