Home Depot Woes

RonL · Sep 7, 2005

Went into Home Depot to get some plumbing fittings and a NEMA 14 50P plug for a cord I'm fabbing up. I previously bought a 250 foot roll of 6 guage SOOW at HP. They had the 14 50P plugs on the front of the shelf but there was no stock behind it. There were boxes that contained 5 30P plugs. I asked the clerk if he had any 14 50P plugs in stock. "What do you want it for". "We only stock up to a thirty amp. That plugs into a huge receptacle". " You mean like this 14 50R receptacle that you have here"? "You'll have to get that at an electrical supply house".

I don't know why I bother going to Home Depot.

RonL

slowrev · Sep 7, 2005

Home Depot tries to carry what most homeowners need or purchase most often. They do not carry a full line of anything.
I have to go somewhere else to buy MDO plywood and sheet metal.
HD does however cover most customers needs.

Ben

Bob_Skurka · Sep 7, 2005

(

I don't know why I bother going to Home Depot.

RonL )

Ron, I was walking out of Lowe's empty handed last week. They have a person at the exit door to look for shoplifted items(?) and to say good bye to people. So she asked me "Did you find everything you were looking for?"

I looked at my left hand. I looked at my right hand. I looked at her. I said "Well I guess not, I'm walking out of here empty handed." She sort of looked stunned that I answered her in such a way but it seemed like such a silly question to ask someone who obviously did NOT buy anything!!!

That same day I walked out of Home Depot, Sears Hardware and Menard's empty handed too. Have not made it to the locally owned (but inconveniently located) specialty store yet, I'm sure they will have what I need, they always do.

ronjhall · Sep 7, 2005

" You mean like this 14 50R receptacle that you have here"? "You'll have to get that at an electrical supply house".
We have a new Lowes near my place. They have more stupid answers to my question than I run into anyplace else. Every time I get one of these answer I think "Yesterday they couldn't even spell it. Today they are one." /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
I look for more of these "no stock" items to be on shelves in the near future. As the Katrina area rebuilds.

boustany · Sep 7, 2005

Home Depot.

Sigh. A classic example of the 'cycle of retail' : build a great business on great service and price, then forget how you built the great business and cut back on service and raise prices.

Around here, if it isn't on the shelf don't bother to look for somebody to help you - first you'll spend too much time before you finally find somebody to 'help', then he won't be able to help, especially since its rare they know anything about what it is they are helping you about.

Whenever a clerk at a hardware store asks me 'what do you want it for' my immediate response now is 'how about you let me worry about what I want it for and you concern yourself with whether or not you've got it'.

That shuts them up real quick. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Junkman · Sep 7, 2005

I purchased a 36" fiberglass door from HD and the threshold was defective. Since the part could be ordered, I installed the door in the wall, since the old door was already out of the opening. The defect couldn't be seen until the door was unwrapped and readied for the opening. When I tried to get them to order me the piece, they said to bring back the entire door assembly and they would order another one. I asked what I was supposed to use for a front door in the mean time, and the reply was ..... "cover the opening with plastic". I move the problem to a department manager, who gave me just about the same answer. Then the store manager, then to corporate headquarters... 14 months later the replacement part came by UPS. I even tried to purchase the part from the manufacturer, but they said that the order must come from a authorized dealer only. They don't deal with the public. Now, I will never buy anything there that requires installation or can't be carried back into the store easily.

Farwell · Sep 7, 2005

I have found a way around Home Depot. Generally Home Depot can beat local suppliers and hardware stores prices by a few percentage points. On items like electrical fittings that I use a lot of I buy from a local industrial supplier that usually charges more than HD for the same item if I buy only a couple so I buy those items in bulk or by the case and save as much as 20% over HD's price. The quality is usually better with the industrial supplier. I have also found that HD has trouble with stocking their shelves, if I really need it they will not have it. My local Ace hardware store will give me a 10% discount because I buy quite a bit from them. This ends up being about the same price that HD charges but I only have to drive about 7 miles round trip to Ace where I have to drive 60 miles round trip if I shop at HD, so my savings is in fuel cost. I have never had a problem with special orders at Ace. I have never had a good experience with HD's special orders, they always seem to mess it up some how. It has taken me as long as three months for them to get it right.
Lowes is a 100 mile round trip and I have not yet experienced a problem with their store. I always stop and shop in their store when in the area to buy things that I have trouble getting else where. I also use the Internet quite a bit but the shipping will jack the price up quite a bit in some cases.
Farwell

AntrimMan · Sep 7, 2005

You know I thought these things only happened to me.
I went through exactly the same thing with the same receptacle for my welder. HD has the 50A plug screwed to the front of the shelf. I checked two HD stores in adjacent towns. No 50A receptacles, no one knew why. Apparently it takes a while for the reasoning to filter down into the trenches.
I found what I needed at Lowes, they offered it in two different models, flush mount and box mount.
I would have gone to the local hardware store, they would have it, but they were closed, it was Saturday evening and I didn't want to wait until Sunday morning.
Since then I have found I can't weld for beans.
Before I go to HD again I will look for the item on the web site.
BTW, I won't buy framing lumber from either HD or Lowes. I go to the local lumber yard. It might cost more, I don't compare, but the quality pleases me. So much for the big box convienience.

All the best,
Martin

Varmintmist · Sep 7, 2005

I have had similar trials at Home Dumpster. The only thing I like about them is they carry a bunch of copper fittings bigger than 1/2 inch. I like volume in water pipe so I did some shopping there.

As far as box stores go, B-Lowes is preffered. They actually have a guy whow knows what he is about in the electrical dept. He is a (....) with ears, but he can give you a answer.

Neither has lumber worth beans, but it is there in a pinch. If you get there when it comes in you can pick through it and find enough decent to make the job happen. I did pick some real ugly stuff out to deck my trailer and they discounted it at Lowes.

California · Sep 7, 2005

... And I thought I was the only one that had a problem with Home Depot.

HD provided a title document for a different trailer than the one they helped me hitch up and couldn't locate the proper document. The Contractor Desk said they would call their insider at DMV to help me remedy this.

The DMV 'special cases' desk fudged their registration doc to match the actual trailer serial number but then the DMV vehicle inspector caught it and halted registration until Home Depot provided the correct Certificate of Origin. Catch-22.

The customer of the other trailer who got my paperwork finally surrendered the title doc I needed but that took weeks of waiting while he apparently went through the same process. I didn't get the impression that anyone at HD felt responsible to help either of us.