Is it just me?

[John Miliunas]

A bit ago, LOML asked me if I was headed to Home Depot anytime in the near future. That drummed up a bad memory for me on something which happened there a few days ago.

I stopped in after work to grab a few odd items, as well as a couple more shelf standards and brackets. Got my stuff and went to checkout. Now, I don't know if this is global at the HD's everywhere, but I have a hunch it probably is. What I refer to is the "self service" checkouts, where you scan, bag and pay for everything yourself. I've used them before when I had one or two items and the line (or on rare occasions, lines [plural]), but I typically avoid them. Well, on this particular day, there were ZERO tellers at the "real" checkout lanes. Fine, so I head over to their stupid "self service" ones. Not only are they just naturally slow, but when you have 10 identical articles, it gets to be a royal pain! You wait for the dang thing to tell you to scan. Then it tells you to put it in the tray area. Then you wait until it resets and tells you to scan again. Wait. Put in tray area. Wait. Scan. Wait. Put... OK, I think you get the idea.:rolleyes: Unlike the regular cashiers, you can't scan one item and then have it multiply by the number of identical items. So, this process times 10, plus the other articles I had.:mad:

So, am I the only one who sees problems with this? IHMO, it takes longer, is much more inconvenient and completely abandons any notion of "Customer Service". Had I not needed the couple other items I bought, I would certainly have left the cart sitting right there at their "Self Service" aisle!:mad: I told LOML that, in the first place, the next time I need something more usually found at a Borg, I'm going to Menard's. If I do end up going to HD and, there are no live tellers available at the time of checkout, they'll be spending the money they saved on a live teller to pay another live person to put all the stuff in my cart back on the shelves!:D End of rant! :) :cool:

[Mark Singer]

John,

Your spoiled....you like a little coversation with the HD checker..."Nice Day" How do you like these tape measures?" Any specials I am missing" ........You can still talk to the stupid checker....its fine...and the answers will be exactly what you want to hear...after all they are in your head....."Have a nice day" ":rolleyes: Thats easy for you to say....ever tried being a machine and waiting on spoiled customers?":rolleyes:

[Cecil Arnold]

Actually John, I recently read an article that took the position that most of the productivity increase we have experienced in the past 10-20 years is from the transfur of labor from the business' employes to the customer. The example used was quick fry restaurants where you now bus your own tables and draw your own drinks, saving the rest. help from these tasks and only having to wipe the table. In the computer field I lived through the change from data entry (keypunch operators) to distributive processing, and some of us remember the era of secrataries and stenos insted of typing all our own letters. Is it good or bad? Don't know, but all the wizzards claim it holds the prices down. For me it just makes me feel that the business is only interested in seperating me from my $$ and could care less if I get what I need, and they sure don't want to pay anyone knowledgable to be around to answer questions.

On a related subject, we had a Sears Hardware in our neighborhood that did just that, sold hardware and some tools, automotive, etc. They are restructuring now and have given over most of the floor space to appliances. Seems there is more profit in those. However, within 10 miles of this store there is a major Sears, Best Buy, Conns, Three Home Depots, a Lowes, Circut City, a builder's supply called Proven Products, and at least four other stores that sell appliances. This is all in an area of Houston called Clear Lake, with a population of 50-75,000. My prediction is that what was once a convinent place to pick up some screws, nails, plumbing, etc. will be closed for a lack of business within the next year or so. So much for MBAs.

[Norman Hitt]

John, you expressed my sentiments exactly, and I HAVE already left a cart, (partially checked out), at the "Stupid" register and walked out of there, not once, but twice. It seems something Always locks the thing up, requiring the ONE self check supervisor to come key in something that only they can do with their code, (after a 14 minute wait, while they got the other machines going for other customers, I might add), or one of my items doesn't fit into the allotted space which triggers a series of remarks from the machine, etc. I personally feel that if I have to do their work, I should get paid for it and their quality vs price Certainly doesn't make up for it.

What Really makes me mad though, is that these type businesses, (we also have a grocery chain here doing the same thing), come in with prices low until they run out all the local competition, and then raise prices and stock cheaper quality items at Regular prices yet expect us to give them all our business/money, and then won't even put money back into the local economy by hiring employees to do the work. They just expect us to give them our money so they can immediately export it back to their Corporate home. I have almost completely stopped shopping at both these businesses.

One thing is certain though, they won't put more Crap on us than we will accept, but if we go along with it, they will just add something else that is just as bad, until we get smart and VOTE with our Pocket books loud enough and long enough for them to get the message that they had better do something different if they want to stay in business. Personally, I don't care if they stay in business or not.

End of My Rant!!!!

[Randy Meijer]

John: I share your pain over the multiple item problem.....in fact just complained to a store manager about that very issue within the past week or so!! And I agree that HD really hasn't gotten the self-checkout system fined tuned yet.

I'm a single guy and never really fill up a cart at the grocery store and many times will only pick up half a dozen items. At the time of day that I shop there usually isn't an express line open so I have to stand in the regular line. If you have ever stood in line with a gallon of milk, a pound of hamburger and two tomatoes behind some gal with three kids and a basket piled to the ceiling, you may rethink your view of the electronic checker??? ;)

As for conversations with checkers, it has been my experience that about half of them don't even know the time of day much less anything worth talking about!!

[Tim Morton]

On one hand I just find it rude that the company is trying to squeeze another small percentage of profit out of me by not having someone say thank-you when taking my hard earned money. On the other hand I never get a thank-you from anyone over at amazon.com

Of course I also never feel like I get any of the rudeness I feel when walking into my local woodcraft either. :D

[Dennis Peacock]

I hate those things too John..!!!! :mad:

I find it interesting that:

store prices climb.
there are fewer and fewer employees to help you in the store.
they are out of stock or don't carry that item any longer.
they hire and use less and less people for cashiers.
they become to "expect" the store "customers" to check themselves out.
The fewer employees there are? Doesn't equal cheaper store prices.
I feel that I am working for "them" while in the store and I have to "pay" for the priveledge of getting what I need from the store. :mad: :mad:

I don't "shop" at HD any more and don't go there unless I absolutely have to. Fortunately, the local Lowes still has people around, someone to wait on you when you need help, cashier's to check you out and I find that they carry more items, more stock and better overall products than they Borg does.

Of course....the real upsetting thing is? :confused: The price of everything keeps going up!!!! while my pay stays the same.!!! :( :rolleyes:

[Jerry Clark]

Well, I really like the self check-out! So many time in the past I have gone there needing one item to finish a project and have to wait in the regular line for half hour for check-out.

With the self-check out, I am in and out in 10 minutes. Save me time and helps keep the costs down for the borg. If I have multi-items I ask the "watching cashier" to punch them in. I vote for them! :D

I do go to Cannings Hardware for some items and it is all self service honor system -- put it in a bag and tell the cashier how many and how much. This also helps them and helps keep them in business. Great selection!

[Jim Becker]

I use the self-serve checkouts whenever I can to avoid lines and have had no issues, other than occasionally and stupidly picking up something that is sans its UPC bar code. There definitely is a "touch" to using the scanners, but like anything...practice makes perfect. And the "avoid lines" is getting less and less applicable because folks have started to stack up behind these checkouts too on the weekends.

The moral to the story...you're going to have to do a lot more purchasing at Home Depot so you can practice your checkout techniques!! :D :D :D :D

[Karl Laustrup]

Well, let me begin by getting my soap box set up.

I am finding it increasingly more frustrating shopping at the borg's. :mad: HD and Wally World [WW] are about the only two I have access to, but the scenario is about the same. Very little customer service, if any.:mad: Trying to find someone who knows anything on a weekday morning at HD is impossible. About the same for WW.

Even asking or complaining to store employees or store management is useless. The decisions are made at corporate HQ by people who have no clue, and probably don't want to know, what the customer wants. All they see are numbers. We've got to make x billions of $$ because our CEO'S, Chairmen, Presidents don't feel like the atrocious salaries that they make is enough. :mad:

It's not even the stockholders that motivate these companies. There are so many ways to keep the ROI to stockholders at whatever the company wants. It's the greed of the corporate officers and desk jockeys in their "ivory towers", so to speak.

Give me a chance at $10, 15, 20 million/year or whatever these corporate big wigs make. I could make do with what they make in a year for the rest of my life. And live 100 times better than I live now. I mean, really, how many million dollars do you need to live a sumptuous life style? Is $45 BILLION enough? Just the other day, I heard about one CEO that got his $7-8 million dollar salary, or whatever it was, plus a sizable bonus in the millions, while his company lost something like $12 million. How can you go to sleep at night with a clear consious? :confused: How can you spend $20 million per year. :confused: Yeah, maybe the first couple of years, but after that, don't you think you would have all the toys you need? How many cars and boats do you need? How many houses? How many diamonds does your wife need? And to think you might be worth $20-40 million, or even a couple of hundred million, and BG can buy and sell you many times over.

OK! Thanks for the rant.

Now who wants to use the soap box next?

[John Hart]

I guess I have to deviate a bit. I know that HD is developing a bad rep but I just don't see it. The HD near me is large, well stocked, low prices and has no self-serve check out. There are trained people assigned to various sections of the store and have always been helpful. In fact, as I browse around, I am met with a very cheerful "hello" a half a dozen times nearly every time I'm in there. The checkout people are not trained in the details so they can't answer questions...but by that time, I don't have any questions.

I have run into some crabby checkout people...but it's funny, they don't work there very long.:p

As many bad and specific things that I've heard about HD...I'm fairly convinced that I'm lucky enough to be near one that is managed the right way.

[Karl Laustrup]

II'm fairly convinced that I'm lucky enough to be near one that is managed the right way.

Yes, I would say you are right, John. Our local HD is a joke. The only ones that seem to know anything are the Dept. Heads and you can never seem to find them. The people are friendly, as I also get "Hello's" several times during my visits. However, my experience is that if you want a specific question answered these "hello" people are useless. I sometimes wonder what they do as all I ever see them do is wander the store saying "hello, are you finding everything you need"? I quit asking them questions because I have yet to have one of them be able to answer a question.

[JayStPeter]

I'm a big fan of self-service checkouts. The self service stations at the grocery stores are actually easy to use and usually faster than waiting in line for a cashier. But not at home depot. One of the things they do is weigh the items you put in the bag afterward to be sure you aren't loading your bag with extras using a little slight of hand. With bigger items, HD basically doesn't want you to put it on the scales. I guess they just put zero in for the weight. So, with medium sized items, you have to guess if you should put it on or not. If you guess wrong, you have to wait for the helper to reset you. Every time I've used the stupid thing, I've had to get reset.
Box of screws ... in the bag ... check.
Box of pneumatic framing nails ... hmmm, in the bag I guess ... bzzzzzzt "unexpected item ..." ... 5 min wait for reset
Shovel ... doutful ... but where do I put the friggin thing now that I've scanned it.
Hose hanger ... well, it'll fit in a bag OK and isn't that heavy ... bzzzzzzzt "unexpected item ..." ... 2 min wait this time because I catch the person walking away.

Don't even get me started on individual nuts and bolts. The menuing system you have to go through to find that stuff is frustrating at best. It takes at least 3 seconds to process each keypress. And there are no shortage of keypresses to get there.



Jay

[Rob Littleton]

Can I start out by saying, I HATE HD!!!!!!!!!!!!

I find the self checkouts MORE knowledgable than most of the staff in our HD.

We have this STUPID system where if you want sheet rock or pellets for your stove, you pay, then go outside and wait for some brain dead to come along, check your receipt, then go get a fork lift. God help you if they have to go and get a fork lift. The lines thru the drive thru section become stupid and people start getting angry, seeing you sitting there doing nothing.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I need 20 sheets of 3/4 sheetrock. The McDonalds reject worker went to get a fork lift, and by the time he came back with someone "fork lift" certified, I had loaded them and waved at him as I drove away. NOTE: He came back with someone fork lift certified, NOT a fork lift.....

If I get individual weightless stuff and use the self checkout, as I place them in the bag, I push down on the scale with my hand so as to cause a fluctuation in weight.

Over size items are a different story. WHERE the heck do you put them after you scan them?????

The multiple entry is also an issue. 60+ of the plates that you use on studs to protect to the wires going thru the studs of a new construction. I could have made some nice bowls out of the wood they used for my receipt alone. It was LOOOOONG.........

Man, Home Depot and the Royal Family REALLY touch a nerve with me (in case you couldnt tell)...........

I hate them both equally.

I once asked a store manager in San Jose, why do you have 25 checkouts and AT BEST, 4 of them are open on a Saturday afternoon. The peak of business usually. I told him to REMOVE 20 of them and when I walk in and see 4 tellers on 5 checkouts, I dont get so angry as seeing 25 and only 4 working. He told me it was hard to find applicants that pass the drug test.......DOH!!! Pay peanuts, get monkeys..............

Im outta here, my fingers hurt and I need a coffee :-)

Thanks for the floor

[John Miliunas]

Jim, Jerry and the others who advocate the SS lines: As I stated, I too use them from time to time, if/when the situation is appropriate. What you guys state, makes it look like a feature and added Customer Service. Couldn't agree more! BUT, when they totally abandon the regular checkout stations and *force* you to use them, particularly for many items, it is no longer a feature or Customer Service, but is now a royal PITA.:mad: Also, no argument that most of the checkers I've run into at our local HD had the personality of an earthworm. And, I don't want to hear the old, "Yeah, well they ain't getting paid squat." They are getting paid what they *agreed* to get paid and that does NOT automatically give them the right to make MY day equally as gloomy as theirs!:rolleyes: At any rate, I can see and have used these lines as a convenience to myself and other customers who may have a greater need to be in the "humanized" checkout line, but to leave what could otherwise be 4 human-staffed registers empty and only make these machines available is unacceptable to me! I, for one, will NOT step foot in HD unless I absolutely HAVE to, which is a shame, because it's much more convenient for me to go there than Menards. Still, Menards will win more of my business now! There used to be a time that HD "automatically" got much of my business. Now that they've gone so "high-tech", low-CS, others will automatically get my $$$. Sorry HD, you LOSE!!!:D :cool:

[Steve Clardy]

I despise going into HD. I'll go into lowes before I even consider HD.
Last time I was in HD, I had forgot to get a cart. I picked out 12 pieces of 36" 1/2" pipe for some new pipe clamp heads I had purchased about a year ago.
I had those 12 pipes, and 6 jorgy F clamps all in my hands. I went to the closest checkout, stood there for 15 minutes listening to three employees talk about a customers returns, etc.
My arms were about to fall off, so I laid this stuff down on a nearby box. THEN they spotted me. They told me to head down to the other checkouts WAY down at the other end. Got down there, and here were 6 checkouts, with one open, and a line of 50 bodies behind it.
I was ready to drop things and leave, when a lady came over and asked if I wanted to go through the self checkout. Well yes. Anything to get out of here.
This took 15 minutes with Her helping me. I vow to not go back to a HD unless they have the last item on earth that I need.
Rant off.
Steve

[Jerry Clark]

While we are discussing self service, how long has it been since the gas station pumped your gas, without charging a premium price. It has been that way so long that is the standard. unless you happen to be in Oregon. Self service is here to stay, and will probably spread to other businesses. Labor is expensive and requires expensive benefits also. I agree that if there are long lines they should open extra cash registers. A lot of markets do that. Enough complaints to management may help! :rolleyes:

[Jim Becker]

While we are discussing self service, how long has it been since the gas station pumped your gas, without charging a premium price.

Every time I buy gas in New Jersey...which is as much as I can since the price is 15 cents lower than in PA all the time.:D Paid $2.03 the other day "over there". (New Jersey does not allow self-serve gas pumping by law)

[Tony Falotico]

Hey John, look at the positive side.... at least the self check outs have 'artificial' intelligence. :)

[John Miliunas]

Hey John, look at the positive side.... at least the self check outs have 'artificial' intelligence. :)

:D LOL:D You DO have a point there, Tony!

After thinking about it a bit, another thing I realized is that at HD, it seems like I'm seeing what few associates they have in there for the first time. They must have a tremendous turnover. At the same time, I know a LOT of the staff at our Menard's by name! And, if you're looking for something at this Menard's, you can ask just about any single associate in there and they'll walk you to a totally different department than the one they're in and lead to exactly what you're looking for. At HD, if it's something not in their one or two aisles, forget about it! Worst part is, most of them don't even know their couple aisles all too well, either!:rolleyes: :)

[Jim Becker]

John, I worked retail for 7 years back in the 1980s. (Tandy/Radio Shack) The hours were brutal, especially since my store was in a mall and like HD, it was open a lot of hours. The hourly pay was bad and if I wasn't a store manager and making a cut of the net profit, it wouldn't have lasted more than a few months. I'm still surprised I made it 7 years before the 70+ hours a week "killed" me. I can't imagine it's any different for the folks that work at HD and other box stores...tough pay and rough hours. No doubt, there is a good bit of turnover because of that.

[John Miliunas]

John, I worked retail for 7 years back in the 1980s. (Tandy/Radio Shack) The hours were brutal, especially since my store was in a mall and like HD, it was open a lot of hours. The hourly pay was bad and if I wasn't a store manager and making a cut of the net profit, it wouldn't have lasted more than a few months. I'm still surprised I made it 7 years before the 70+ hours a week "killed" me. I can't imagine it's any different for the folks that work at HD and other box stores...tough pay and rough hours. No doubt, there is a good bit of turnover because of that.

Yup, been the retail mgr. route myself many, many moons ago! (As it happens, a stereo system retailer, so not all that far off of RS!) :) Anyhow, I'm not entirely convinced about the "long hours" part of it. Seems that HD, as well as a LOT of retailers nowadays, try to make do with a load of part-time help, in order to circumvent benefits being paid out. The better ones still retain a core group of their better full-time staff, which at least for now, is still the majority at those locations. Sadly, so many others put greed in front of all else and customers suffer poor service. As for the SS lines at HD, I'd be happy to have a line or two of checkouts commandeered by part timers!:) :cool:

[Jeff Sudmeier]

John, suffice to say, I agree! I hate the concept of self service checkouts! You mean to tell me that after I spend money in your store I have to bag it yourself! I am YOUNG and I still remember the time when the bag boy brought your groceries out to your car! Now I have to checkout myself!??! No thanks!

Ohh and don't get me started on the new Menard's concept of having a checker, but you bag your own stuff. I stand up by the checker and putz around till they go bag it. Not the checker's fault, but it is DUMB!

[John Miliunas]

John, suffice to say, I agree! I hate the concept of self service checkouts! You mean to tell me that after I spend money in your store I have to bag it yourself! I am YOUNG and I still remember the time when the bag boy brought your groceries out to your car! Now I have to checkout myself!??! No thanks!

Ohh and don't get me started on the new Menard's concept of having a checker, but you bag your own stuff. I stand up by the checker and putz around till they go bag it. Not the checker's fault, but it is DUMB!

What doesn't fail to amaze me is then, all these brick & mortar places are yelling and screaming about how Internet sales are "stealing" their business! Say what??? Nobody is "stealing" their business; They're giving it away!:) :cool:

[Nick Adams]

our HD has a scan wand looks like a pen with a cord. Works well, however I was told it is new to the chain and is in testing. After you have scanned everything you have to count it all up and give the machine a number that corresponds to how many you scanned. IT could be defeated however if you are going to steal..... you prolly wouldnt check one item out and carry 20 out the door. By doing this it catches those people trying to sneak 2-3 items in when they have forgotten how many they scanned.

Stealing is bad, Theft is bad, It is an honor system. And although I despise them taking away checkers I truly don't miss the bs in those lines. It normally takes me between 5-15 minutes to check out at a self service spot, 20-30 at a normal one if I am lucky.

[Alan See]

I was in HD about 6 months ago and found the exact situation you described in your initial post. Zero real cashiers, just one guy watching over all the self-check lanes. There was a little old lady in front of me who was bewildered by the technology, and she asked the man to please ring her up. He said "No. If you have a problem, then I'll come over" That made me angry. So when it was my turn, I DIDN'T ask for help. I just dragged my two leaky bags of sand, and 10 or so retaining wall blocks across the scanner. My wife says my passive-agressive responses are counterproductive. I'm sure she's right, but boy it feels good sometimes.

Recently a brand new HD opened even closer to my house. The new store has no self-serve lanes. Maybe HD has decided that self-serve doesn't help their bottom line. Or maybe they are waiting until their customer base is habitualized before they begin retrianing them. Time will tell.

On a related note, I went in to HD to have a replacement pane cut for the garage window. The guy in the window department told me "We don't cut glass any more" . He tried to sell me the glass, a cutter, a little bottle of mineral spirits, and a straight edge.

Shopping in the Big Orange Box these day is like using a giant vending machine. Which is fine if you just want a snack, not so good if you want a whole meal.

[Mike Ramsey]

We don't have the ss checkouts here at HD yet, but what really ticks me off is trying to find an isle that is not "Temporarily" closed off with those scissor things. The last time i went it seems every isle that had something i needed
was "Temporarily" closed off and with no visible reason for it to be closed.
Usually just a deserted area blocked off.....And sadly, i think real service of
any kind is a thing of the past. (consistent service anyway).

[Dennis McDonaugh]

....... weightless stuff and use the self checkout, as I place them in the bag, I push down on the scale with my hand so as to cause a fluctuation in weight.

Over size items are a different story. WHERE the heck do you put them after you scan them?????......

Rob, at Walmart you can push "skip bagging" and move on to the next item without having to put weight on the scale. Look at HD next time you are there.

[Norman Hitt]

On a related note, I went in to HD to have a replacement pane cut for the garage window. The guy in the window department told me "We don't cut glass any more" . He tried to sell me the glass, a cutter, a little bottle of mineral spirits, and a straight edge.

.

Alan, not only do they not cut "glass" any more, they won't even cut "plexiglass". My Buddy got here late this evening, and conned me into going to HD with him to get a small piece of plexiglass for the door in his router table I'm making for him, but the salesman said their insurance had dropped them, and HD didn't want the liability of one of their employees getting hurt. He looked, and they had even removed all the cutting mechanism from the glass/plexiglass cutting machine. I will say that he didn't even TRY to sell us a larger piece. Guess he understood my comments about "Should have driven the 20 miles to Lowes in the first place". :mad: :mad:

[John Miliunas]

So, after giving it some more thought, I figured that most *any* vendor or OEM may deserve a "second chance" or opportunity to explain themselves and try to make good on a dis-service. So, on the 24th (April), I emailed their "Customer Service" dept. (More like Customer DIS-service!) explaining what I experienced. Finally, on the 29th, I received a reply from "Victoria" in the CS dept.

She responded apologetically, explaining how they regard Customer Service. And I quote here directly from her email: "Home Depot strives to offer all of its customers the most pleasant shopping experience available. We are always looking for ways to better serve our customers and your comments will be used in the overall evaluation.":p

She continued with requesting I email her my snail maid address, so that they may send along a 10% discount coupon, so that I may give HD another try. OK, like I said before, everyone deserves a second chance. On the 12th of May, I still had NOT received anything from them. I emailed Victoria once again. I explained that the only thing worse than poor Customer Service at the store level is when their Corporate staff provide the same poor CS and lie on top of it all.

This time, I got a bit quicker response, again apologizing, though she did tell me that the discount request had been sent up for processing on May 2nd. and I should receive the discount within a WEEK! And that folks, is a quote! The other quote included was: "We apologize for the delay and for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Please know that your patronage is important to us and we truly value you as our customer.":p

In case you haven't figured it out by now, I have received absolutely NOTHING more from HD, except for my monthly statement on their charge card. Strangely, that seems to find its way to my home address with great efficiency!:rolleyes: Granted, 10% doesn't amount to squat, unless you're ready to spend several thousand on a big project or such. Still, it's just another promise given by this large retailer who is neither interested in providing good Customer Service, nor in valuing me as one of their customers! :mad:

So, if any of you folks experience poor Customer Service at the local level, don't be a bit surprised if you are presented with the same (or worse) level of "service" at their corporate level! As far as I'm concerned, when the negative response ascended up to their corp. level, that was THE last straw. I will pay off my HD charge and continue to do my business at our Menard's and hope that Lowe's will make its way to our community sometime in the future.:) OK, stepping down off soap box...End of rant!:) :cool:

[Jeff Sudmeier]

John,

As you know, I work for a company whose corporate policy resolves around customer service. Suffice to say I am very aware of what good service is and expect it if you want my money :)

As you said, it is unacceptable to make a promise that the CS department does not deliver on. This is received even worse by the Customer than the original complaint.

As you said, it is Menards for me... maybe someday Lowes will get closer than IA.

[Frank Pellow]

I am happy to be able to report that self service checkouts have not yet been inflicted upon us at Home Depots in the Toronto area. :) But, I except that they are on their way. :(

[Rich Konopka]

Try sending an email to the CEO of HD. It is probably something like: robert_nardelli@homedepot.com or robert_l_nardelli@homedepot.com. You'll get a response if you get his email correct. I've done it at other companie and it works.