Home Depot added feature I just noticed today

[TomHoffman]

In the winter time in Yuma AZ, the Home Depot is wall to wall shoppers and the parking lot is always full of snow birds.

The Lowe's lot looks abandoned with weeds growing up through the cracks. I personally like Home Depot in Waterloo Ia as it is easy to find stuff and there is help if you need it. Waterloo Menards I can't stand ever since they sent my wife back home with a treated 2X6 4' for a sill that was so bowed and crooked that if it was an arrow, it would have come home like a boomerang. It was personally selected for her by the helpful staff.

I personally took it back and raised Holly Hell with the manager as I had a door out and it was raining and snowing in October. I was not a happy camper, so Menards is a no go for me ever since then.

[jsburger]

I do like the location feature on HD website. It lists the store quantity on hand and only the main location an item is supposed to be. The employees have alternate display locations listed on their equipment. I have wished other stores also listed location not just how many are on hand.

I do not mind self check out but I need a cashier to enter my military discount. HD made software arrangements to allow it to be entered by an employee at their self checkouts, Lowes originally did not. I have not been back through self checkout at Lowes since I had to have a transaction suspended and go to a different checkout to get my discount.

Thunderbird, is that like in the USAF Thunderbirds?

Yes you can go through the self check out at HD, show the attendant your military ID and they can give you the discount any time during checkout. At Lowes you can still go through the self checkout but the attendant has to scan the items at their station to be able to apply the military discount. It can not be done at one of the self checkout stations.

HD has always been great. Last year we had a fire in one of our rental properties in Sacramento. We ordered a lot of the repair items here in Utah to be picked up and paid for in Sacramento by the contractor because he had the insurance money. We were able to get the military discount because of the great HD employees. The employees here verified our military ID and via telephone had the Sacramento store apply it to the bill the contractor paid.

[jsburger]

I'd be willing to bet that they spoke "Spanish".

Or maybe Spanglish. I know a few phrases, like "dos cervezas por favor", followed about an hour later with, "excuse me where is the restroom?".

[jsburger]

I like self check out.
Fast and exact
Our Home Depots are usually manned by well trained people. Walk in ask where something is and they take you to it and they usually answer most questions about it. Only problem is tools, each seem to have their favorite manufacture so their opinion is usually tainted in that direction.

Absolutely my experience here also.

[ERLover]

I like self check out.
Fast and exact
Our Home Depots are usually manned by well trained people. Walk in ask where something is and they take you to it and they usually answer most questions about it. Only problem is tools, each seem to have their favorite manufacture so their opinion is usually tainted in that direction.

Absolutely my experience here also.

In the Milwaukee HD stores I have been to just the opposite until this last visit, then it was like being in a Best Buy, every associate you walk past, "'can I help you"? And they were everywhere, maybe because all the customers were across the street at Menards.

[jsburger]

I like self check out.
Fast and exact
Our Home Depots are usually manned by well trained people. Walk in ask where something is and they take you to it and they usually answer most questions about it. Only problem is tools, each seem to have their favorite manufacture so their opinion is usually tainted in that direction.

Absolutely my experience here also.

In the Milwaukee HD stores I have been to just the opposite until this last visit, then it was like being in a Best Buy, every associate you walk past, "'can I help you"? And they were everywhere, maybe because all the customers were across the street at Menards.

I guess Menards is a back east thing. We don't have them out here in the wild west. HD here and Lowes for that matter has a greeter at the door that can direct you to where you need to go. The employees are friendly, knowledgeable and helpful and if they don't know they will get someone that does.

[JPG]

My experience with HD is like playing roulette.

Lowes is a bit better.

The one local HW store's employees(family?)still act like 'clerks' used to. If they have it, they will find it. If not they offer to order it. Pay at pickup.

[ERLover]

Ya Menarnds is a Midwest thing, and going a bit south in the Ohio/Mississippi river valley States. I dont find a good selection of different manifactures of power tools at Lowes here, seems like HD and Menards does but some brands have loyalty rights, sell at one but not the other, I must say HD has more brands then Menards.
True story, driving back to WI from CO had a vehicle problem, has to go to a Dealer in Sioux City IA, Population sign sez 40K, main intersection, on 3 of the 4 corners, a HD, Lowes, and Menards. That was about 10 years ago wonder what the surviver rate was on that.

[thunderbirdbat]

Thunderbird, is that like in the USAF Thunderbirds?

No, it is from a bunch of stuff my great aunt gave me from a collection of Native American art that she had. I was actually a USN sailor.

[TomHoffman]

Ya Menarnds is a Midwest thing, and going a bit south in the Ohio/Mississippi river valley States. I dont find a good selection of different manifactures of power tools at Lowes here, seems like HD and Menards does but some brands have loyalty rights, sell at one but not the other, I must say HD has more brands then Menards.
True story, driving back to WI from CO had a vehicle problem, has to go to a Dealer in Sioux City IA, Population sign sez 40K, main intersection, on 3 of the 4 corners, a HD, Lowes, and Menards. That was about 10 years ago wonder what the surviver rate was on that.

They are all still there, but I don't think they were ever that close together, right next to Menards is KMart and across the street is a United Rental, Lowes is south down around the bypass to Nebraska and Home Depot is downtown close to the old Stock Yards area. I was born and lived there for a lot of years.