anyone work at home depot or lowes?

[Mike Gager]

i put in my application to both places today. i was curious how it is to work at either place and what the pay is like.

i figure its gonna be a paycut from where im at now but anythings gotta be better then what im doing now (data entry, sitting at a desk staring at a computer all day) ive done it for 10 years and want to do something different.

i go to HD and lowes 2-3 times a week i figure i might as well get a job there

[Fred Voorhees]

Oh, you will just love it here! Just wait a few days and you will find plenty to read about. By the way, do you have thick skin?

[Mike Gager]

unless you are referring to the general lack of enthusiasm around here for the borgs im not following you

[glenn bradley]

If you are like me, you probably know the store better than most of the folks who work there. Good luck with the job change.

[Tom Veatch]

"anyone work at home depot or lowes?"

Well, I've seen the cashiers working occasionally, and I've seen guys driving fork lifts around, and I can remember a few times that I've even gotten some of the floor walkers to notice that I'd like some help, so I suppose you could say at least someone there works some of the time although I'm not sure the number that work is the same number that draw a paycheck.:rolleyes:

(Yeah, I know that's not what the OP meant. :D)

[Joe Chritz]

If you know your stuff you will get over worked making up for the ones who don't.

When I was building there was a guy in electrical, Matt I think was his name, who really knew his stuff. I could send mama in with a note and he always hooked up the right stuff. He was far from the norm and whenever someone needed help on something even close to unusual they went and found him.

Nothing on the company itself. Asking the employees during work isn't a great way to get info and asking them out after will get you a date or stalking charges depending. :D

Joe

[Mike Gager]

Nothing on the company itself. Asking the employees during work isn't a great way to get info and asking them out after will get you a date or stalking charges depending. :D

Joe


lol yeah so true

i did ask one lady that worked there how she liked it and she said she had worked there 1-1/2 years and enjoyed it. she said pay was pretty good for full time but didnt elaborate.

[Joe Pelonio]

I knew a guy that worked for Home Depot, then got fired after his odd sense of humor got him in trouble with a customer. He then went to Lowe's and stayed a year or so before going on disability due to a medical issue. His complaint was that as a cashier, he would page help for a customer and they would have to wait a long time (both places).

There are websites that show pay at various places:

http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Employer=Lowes_Home_Improvement/Hourly_Rate/by_Job

http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Employer=Home_Depot_Inc/Hourly_Rate

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello Mike,
I started working part time in 1966 stocking shelves in a retail/wholesale outlet of the Glidden Paint company.
I left retail in 1988 to go back to school to learn computers, which is the filed I've been in since 1990.

In 18 years of the computer field, I'd guesstimate I've run across, maybe, a total of 5 "unreasonable petty people".

(oops for got to add that along the way I did a stint with Builders Square in the mid 80's)

OTOH - in retail - you see twice that number - in a single day- prior to your first break... ;)

Most of the "horror stories" you read online about the borg, while true, give you only one side of the story.

For retail - either HD or Lowes, you need, number one, numero uno, the ability to deal with petty annoying people on a constant basis. - and understand that a number of those people come in through the back door as well as the front.

Your number one priority may be to give the best customer service/advice you can possibly give. Your bosses' priorty may very well amount to how "pretty and faced off" the shelves look.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Well, I've seen the cashiers working occasionally, and I've seen guys driving fork lifts around, and I can remember a few times that I've even gotten some of the floor walkers to notice that I'd like some help, so I suppose you could say at least someone there works some of the time although I'm not sure the number that work is the same number that draw a paycheck.

LOL! Someone supposedly once asked my company's founder "how many people work there?" His answer - "About half of them". LOL.

[Craig D Peltier]

i put in my application to both places today. i was curious how it is to work at either place and what the pay is like.

i figure its gonna be a paycut from where im at now but anythings gotta be better then what im doing now (data entry, sitting at a desk staring at a computer all day) ive done it for 10 years and want to do something different.

i go to HD and lowes 2-3 times a week i figure i might as well get a job there

Try this question on the ridgid forum. There are some workers there.

[Lee Schierer]

Before you quit your regular job, try working at HD or Lowes part time. Dealing with consumers can be an eye opening experience on human behavior. I worked retail building supplies a number of years ago. Being on your feet for 8 hours on concrete gets pretty tiring.

I found there were basically three types of customers. The most common were the ones that were clueless that would ask a million questions and only understand half of what you were telling them. Then there were the know it alls that already had their mind made up when they walked in the store and it didn't matter what you told them they weren't going to believe it because they were determined to do it their way. Finally, and by far in the minority, there were the folks that knew what they wanted and how to get it done and just needed your help pulling their order or locating what they needed in the store.

[Mike Gager]

well my day job is killing me (literally) i HAVE to do something different. i figure if i can get into the tool department or something interesting it would be pretty nice. i can deal with stupid customers. as far as standing all day that doesnt sound bad as ive been sitting in front of a computer everyday for 10 years, change is good right?

[Mike Gager]

Try this question on the ridgid forum. There are some workers there.

thanks i will, im registered over there actually

[Craig Summers]

A friend of mine worked at Lowes (garden section supervisor) a few years back. His main gripe was that Lowes hires "green" store managers, young kids fresh out of school with an MBA, and have to sink or swim. Most had no 'real world' retail experience, and the staff always had to 'educate' the new manager. The better store managers usually took better jobs after a year or two, and the bad ones 'left' after a year of headaches.

So it might be worth your while to size up the local store manager before you put on the Borg vest.

[Jim O'Dell]

I had a customer through the drive a few months ago that was a manager of a Lowes. In conversation, he told us what he bought his department managers for Christmas... (Now mind you, this is what he bought out of his own pocket, not what the company Christmas bonus was)...a $10,000 Rolex each! :eek: Now I don't know how many departments a Lowes has, but I'd say it has to be 6 at least. And I'd say education doesn't have anything to do with working there...he managed to put gasoline in his diesel. :D Jim.

[Peter Stahl]

I had a customer through the drive a few months ago that was a manager of a Lowes. In conversation, he told us what he bought his department managers for Christmas... (Now mind you, this is what he bought out of his own pocket, not what the company Christmas bonus was)...a $10,000 Rolex each! :eek: Now I don't know how many departments a Lowes has, but I'd say it has to be 6 at least. And I'd say education doesn't have anything to do with working there...he managed to put gasoline in his diesel. :D Jim.

Jim,

Did you put too many zero's on that Rolex price. I can't even imagine him giving a $1,000 rolex. Sounds like he's pulling your leg, lol.

[Phil Thien]

Jim,

Did you put too many zero's on that Rolex price. I can't even imagine him giving a $1,000 rolex. Sounds like he's pulling your leg, lol.

One the one hand, that may be the way he recruits new employees, as it makes working for Lowes sounds pretty good.

OTOH, I guess it would be possible. Over ten years ago I was told the manager of a Target/KMart that was doing well would pull down $150,000. I imagine Home Depot could be in the same league. So I suppose if the store had done well and the bonus was good, he could have purchased them each a Rolex.

[Art Mulder]

well my day job is killing me (literally) i HAVE to do something different. i figure if i can get into the tool department or something interesting it would be pretty nice. i can deal with stupid customers. as far as standing all day that doesnt sound bad as ive been sitting in front of a computer everyday for 10 years, change is good right?

Sure, change is good. Is there no chance for a transfer or job change within your own company? That is usually easier -- since they know your abilities -- than going in cold in another place where they don't know you at all.

Networking is also key - ask all your friends/aquaintances for job leads. Someone may know something that is up your alley.

...art

[Joseph N. Myers]

i put in my application to both places today. i was curious how it is to work at either place and what the pay is like.

................................

i go to HD and lowes 2-3 times a week i figure i might as well get a job there

Mike,

If you do get a job at one of those places, here is some advise from Larry the Cable Guy:

http://www.guzer.com/videos/larry_home_depot.php

Regards, Joe

[Mike Gager]

Sure, change is good. Is there no chance for a transfer or job change within your own company? That is usually easier -- since they know your abilities -- than going in cold in another place where they don't know you at all.

Networking is also key - ask all your friends/aquaintances for job leads. Someone may know something that is up your alley.

...art

actually been trying to get into a different division for about 5 years now. i keep getting told i dont have the required experience. the past few months i have been turned down 3 times for this reason. i guess working at a place for 10 years doesnt count as experience :rolleyes:

im too the point i would rather just get out. i have started the process of trying to get on an electrician apprenticeship but there is a long waiting list and it could be a while so i figure thats my current goal. im also considering going back to school in the mean time. i need to look further into that though

[fred marcuson]

humm , ok i did my time at lowes ...
but in a way i had it good :)
worked in receiving , monday through fri 7 to 4 ...
i knew some who closed the store at 10 at night and had to open at 5
only had to deal with the public when we went out on the floor .
but we had to deal with all the managers ...:mad:
some were great , some were total jerks ..
then ya had the newbie managers .....the ones that didn't know crap but thought they did .
after 3 years and hearing the same thing every time raise time came ;" well you are at the top of the rate" ; i said hell with it ..left and the only thing i miss is some of the people i worked with :)

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,

im also considering going back to school in the mean time. i need to look further into that though
I can't urge you strongly enough to hurry up and make up your mind about that.
As I posted earlier - I worked for nearly 20 years before "seeing the light".
When I graudated, I was a few months shy of my 40th birthday.
"Entry level" - anything is tough.
It's several orders of magnitude tougher, the closer you get to the big "four-zero".

- I had a few things going for me - I took time off work and devoted full time to school - the result was a 4.0 average.
I had (at the time) a "10 year younger appearance". I looked like I was in my late 20's, not late 30's.

The old resume though was a dead giveaway, as was the application (year graduated from ____ (fill in the blank).

[Ben Rafael]

I know 2 people who have worked there.
One is a friend of mine who was a dept mgr, he left to take a job as a dept mgr at a large dept store. His complaint was that they were expected to work a minimum of 50 hours per week, were treated poorly and paid poorly. His new position is 40 hours per week for more pay.
The other person worked on the floor. He liked it but left for a better offer at a car dealership.
I spoke to 2 guys at the paint dept at an HD out here, both applied for similar jobs at lowes. They said lowes paid a bit better and had better hours. They were expected to work extra hours if someone didn't make it in the day they were there. They also complained that they were promised pay raises that they never received. I dont know if that's true or not. They seemed like complainers with bad attitudes to me. This was about a year ago, maybe things have changed, maybe it is just that store.
My advice is to go in to an HD and talk to the employees, some of them will talk to you and give you their opinions.

[Harley Reasons]

I've been part time (28 to 38 hrs weekly) since 8/1/07. I work in the Hardware Dept and enjoy the work. I'm retired from the government as a mid level manager so I'm not dependent on the HD salary to pay the bills. That being said, the pay for a part time employee here in Podunk, AL is not bad. I'm paid better than twice the minimum wage so can't gripe too much. As to the other remarks about Dept Heads having to work 50 hrs is not true in our store. Any overtime has to be approved by the store manager and he is constantly harping on them to take longer lunches and leave early to cut their overtime before the end of the week.
Another plus for HD is the benefits package, vacation, sick leave, insurance, etc. Costs are reasonable and it is a good benefits package.
As in all places of business, there are folks that work and folks that work at getting out of work. We have those but everyone knows who they are and ignores them.
In our area HD pays a lot better than Lowes, I've been told at least 2 to 4 dollars more per hour.
Dealing with the public is a trip in it's self. You can get PO'd with some of them for sure but overall it's fun to tell people about the good deals and talk to them about woodworking.
I have a personal goal in that everyday I work at the HD that I try to learn something new, either from one of the managers, another employee or one of the customers. Most days I learn several new things.
My advice, go for it, if you like it you can succeed and move into management and make a lot more money.

[Colin Giersberg]

Harley, what part of 'bama are you from? Just curious.

Regards, Colin, from Athens, Alabama