Wal-Mart How 'bout Home Depot?

ernie_3

While eveyones complaining about Wal-Mart, how about the Cheapo Depot? Do people know they dumbed down the specs of most all their tools? They go to Dewalt and say We want
5 million 18v drills. Our engineers dumbed down the specs, and we'll eat the warranty.....well it's a no-brainer for the tool mfg....5 million pieces w' no mfg warranty, I'm in! I refuse to buy any tool from them. Now they're selling Trane A/C systems. They've solicited me as a licensed installer. NO WAY!!!!

Dave Bush

You trying to jack up my blood pressure?:)

Walmart might suck, but Home Depot is just plain ridiculous.

I see lots of home builder trucks in their lot. A lot of the same guys I hear cursing them out. Pretty silly, but, then again, they have one thing over our wholesalers that I wish we could change, and that is hours of operation. It's a shame, but rather than call a guy to open a wholesaler for a part or fitting, or wire, or whatever, on a late svc. call. I, too, am guilty of going to the orange gates of hell to see if they might have it at 7pm...

Bless me Father, for I have sinned...

ernie_3

Hey Dave.....

Hardware is acceptable, especially after hours.....
Go forth and sin no more

Dave Bush

WHEW.

I can unload the revolver!:)

Has anyone ever tried to do an entire boiler install with fittings from the orange gates of hell? Half the 90's I see there look more like 75's or 110's...

ernie_3

fasteners

Bout all I buy from them are drywall screws and gloves.
For home I do buy shovels and other lawn implements.
I feel they are a threat to small business' and I try to limit what I buy there. I've overheard some very erroneous advice from their 'professionals'. VERY SCARY & dangerous...

Weezbo

Here Here!

i bought some abs fittings yesterday and nearly had to call in the television station and radio stations to get out of the place!...

Joe_51

I'm not a wethead but an electrician so I know the in and outs of supply houses.....I can't get on board with the Home Depot bashing thing. Here's why: in the last 14 month's I've taken on the task(from hell) to build our new family house from the ground up.I've use ALL kinds of part/material venders.From LOCAL supply house,internet sites, and the HOME DEPOT. out of all my experiences...the local supply houses have been the biggest letdowns....from the lazy counterguy to the empty shelves.or...we can get it here in 5-10 working days. I'm building from the seat of my pants, I need parts now..Don't get me wrong....I NEVER ask for advice in HD....I see the people there as being no more than stockpeople drones.....but the people in the tool rental department have been so good to me that they have even called around if they didn't have what I was looking for.....all brand new equiptment too. Now that crappy junk you would rent at TAYLOR rental....I rarely ever meet someone there with a bad attatude. Can we say the same at the local supply houses ????? I just get tired of getting out the phone book and calling around looking for parts......I have been just going to HD and get the stuff I need. I understand what happens when BIG stores like HD and WM move into an area.If local smaller supply houses want my bussiness their going to have to address my above concerns. I spent 30K with HD in the last year. Next house I build,....I might even buy my lumber,windows, and other big ticket items from them. Enjoy the rainy weekend.

Lurker_2

re:

I had a whole rant going and somehow melted IE

Short version is local supply house designer bath showroom is an undisguised used car lot full of unpriced[and overpriced] plumbing fixtures. We likely would have bought something[we did buy on pedestal sink, 550 bucks] but ended up at home depot after the single worst shopping experience of my life.
Segue to HD, yes two clones were helpless but found a lovely young lady who was on the ball, sold us a bunch of special order stuff 100 bucks off list, then we had to go to the front desk to ring up [over 4k] and she asks " do you have one of those coupons?" She looks around and finds a coupon for 10 percent off the entire order. How can you beat that?

THe moral is we tried to buy from the supply house, and would have if they had 1] posted prices so we could compare reletively one to the other[you are talking 50 shower set ups here] and 2] didn't treat us like cheapskates

We spent over 4k, which was probably close to 6k list for fixtures for 2 bathrooms. I don't think that qualifies as cheap

Oh, I went ot my local lumberyard to buy some 2x8's, some of the wormiest rotten lumber I have EVER seen. Why was I shopping there?

If I were in your trade, I would start lobbying HD to carry some of the real plumbing supplies you need to do your job, becuse they are going to put your supply house right the hell out of business.

Joe_51

not to keep ranting or anything.......we went to a local lumber yard right down the street from our shop a few years ago to get some 6x6 PT to set a condenser unit on........ they only had two badly warped busted pieces left...we took them anyway thinking they wouldn't charge us FULL PRICE for them.....no one in their right might would. They rand them up full price and when I asked about a price break because of the condition........they said NO PRICE BREAK. Hell..I bet if we didn't take them they would have ended up in the dumpster later that day.......Thank God HD opened up a few blocks away a year or so later. NEVER went to that lumber yard again and thankfully that 70+ year old family owned and operated bussiness bit the dust.

Joe_51

another thing that bugs the heck out of me about some local supply houses is the fact that they only sell to "contractors" What's up with that ?????? I can understand counter guys not wanting to "babysit" harry homeowners who have no idea what they are doing,...but when someone (like me) calls up and gives them a part number and wants to know cost and availability. First question...are you a contractor ?????? no.... We only sell to contractors.......click. I guess my cash is not as good as some deadbeat contractor who works out of his beatup pickup truck would couldn't pay 90 days net if his life depended on it. And the ones who will sell to you want to gouge you to death. How can a local supply house look me straight in the eye and say "that tekmar 361 you want is 680.00 ,,,,,,,,I bought it online for 260.00 and it wasn't ebay. I think local supply house getter get there act together real soon. Don't get me wrong, I don't see RE Micheals closing their doors. By the way, they have treated me real well and will deal with them in the future.

J.C.A._3

Hey Joey,

Sign up for an account, and Viola,your a contractor. My supply houses sell to most of the electricians in the area, but they DO have accounts with them. If you're not self employed, get the company to sign up.

My take on this is....If you want to get hydronic/boiler controls, how many electrical supply houses are going to be stocking them, or knowing what they're for , to begin with?
Think about it. Chris

Joe_51

Chris, I may have confused you. I wan't looking for hydronic controls at electrical supply houses. I have no accounts where I live now. I don't even have a job. I relocated 700 miles from where I used to live and have been building our home. It was far cheaper for us to do it ourselves than for me to work and pay others to do it. In the place I relocated from I never had an issue with material, I ran the electrical end of on of the bigger referigeration companies in the area. We had accounts everywhere. I'm still using the re Micheal account but the closest one is still 2+ hours away. I hope this clears up my "point of reference" IMHO spending 100k on materials for personal uses puts me in a good position to weight out the pros and cons of buying from HD or any one else. Has it stopped raining yet !!!!

Paul Rohrs

I feel your pain....

Joe_51

Chris, I may have confused you. I wan't looking for hydronic controls at electrical supply houses. I have no accounts where I live now. I don't even have a job. I relocated 700 miles from where I used to live and have been building our home. It was far cheaper for us to do it ourselves than for me to work and pay others to do it. In the place I relocated from I never had an issue with material, I ran the electrical end of on of the bigger referigeration companies in the area. We had accounts everywhere. I'm still using the re Micheal account but the closest one is still 2+ hours away. I hope this clears up my "point of reference" IMHO spending 100k on materials for personal uses puts me in a good position to weight out the pros and cons of buying from HD or any one else. Has it stopped raining yet !!!!

J.C.A._3

Joey,

Walk into the supply houses nearby, and show them any licences you now hold, explain to them your situation, and if they have any brains in their heads, they'll sign you up as a contractor.

The business they provide to you, be it good OR bad, will be passed on to you, or your next employer, right?

I know you'll probably have to be licenced in the new state, (unless you've moved from somewhere in the "square states, theres not more than 700 miles between most!), and the suppliers SHOULD treat you like an account.Hell, fill out a credit app.. If you end up finding it worth working for yourself, you've got a head start, as long as the bills are paid.

If they are hesitant, explain to them your past record, and give them some references, and if they're worth their weight in....., your in. Best of luck, but please give the local guy a chance before condenming them.(I work for a heating company,and find the big boxes to be as obnoxious as you're finding the locals. The difference being, when you show the locals your qualified, the folks working there get to know YOU, the big box weenies will have fired the guy who waited on you last week and replaced him/her with a "team player"(Read:puppet....) in the same timeframe. JMHO. Chris

Joe_51

Chris, that is a good suggestion. Hind site being 20/20 I should have done that in the beginning of the move/build. Relocating to a strange land and building a house took/takes on a life of it's own,doesn't leave much time to do anything.And yes I agree, when a supply house gets to know you and the company you work for or own it's a whole different ball game

Jeff Lawrence_24

mistake

I called a HD about a new shower for my parents a few years ago. Fortunately, it was during the week and the clerk/drone asked me the dimensions and said he'd call Apex and call me back.

Apex? I have an account with them.

The drone called back with a price and a 2-3 week lead time. I called the Apex I bought stuff from, got a chaeper price and picked it up the next day.



To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

tommyoil

I work more hours and save longer just so I can shop at a place, be it a plumbing supply, electrical, paint, lumber, or whatever to support either a Mom and Pop place and/or the local economy. Might sound stupid or even unbelievable to some but its true. Think about it the next time you see your local whatever it might be shop, put up the going out of business sign. Big fish eats the little fish. Thats why so many people are struggling to make ends meet. I support them (the locals) because I would hope that they would try to support me. If they don't, I still did my part. And let me just create another subject altogether here, I wouldn't sell or install anything from boiler to fittings on any job unless it says U.S.A. (with all due respect to the folks here who do by installing "superior" products from Germany, Italy, or wherever) I don't fault them and its not a slap in the face. I just dont do it. I want my next door neighbor to flourish. Not the labor force in another country where we have exported even more American jobs. I don't consider my reputation at stake by installing American made products. Smell the coffee Guys. Our neighbors are struggling and we're shipping jobs overseas and standing by watching. I avoid places like Depot, Walmart( especially walmart)Lowes or wherever because the probability is they put someone nearby out of business. Unfortunately, somethings cannot be domestically produced so we are forced to go overseas. But I will ALWAYS try to find it here before I send my money to some sweat shop owner on the other side of the world. BE AMERICAN...BUY AMERICAN !!!

tommyoil

You gotta be kidding me Joey !

You're shopping at all the wrong places then. I have just the opposite. PRAISE for my local vendors. They always have what I need. I usually know what I have to special order and do so in advance. They stock stuff that they know I use with any regularity so its on the shelf when I get there. Its amazing what Mr. Local will do IF YOU ONLY ASK. Try getting the depot to put cast iron fittings on the shelf. FAT CHANCE!!!! And if they do "special order" its usully made in China,Taiwan or some other import. It may be cheaper initially to shop at your beloved Depot, that may be true. But when your and my tax bill keeps going up because of unemployment to pay for your out of work neighbors because their job is now in Japan, you can send the thank you note to the depot. The tax increase goes to uncle sam. I'm sure you wouldn't mind working an extra six weeks a year to pay that freight. And the "crappy junk" from Taylor, or wherever, isn't crappy, its just dirty from being used. It doesn't have to be new to work. I work with lots of old guys who I wouldn't trade in for newer models. They have all the experience and work just fine.Think about the big picture. Maybe you will when it affects you directly and god forbid you or someone you know is struggling because their job or business is in jeopardy. Choice is what makes this place great. Choose local labor and American made material. All of our livelihoods here depend on it.

DaveC

Funny how you guys...

never take this a step further and consider the chain restuarants vs. the individually owned places that are closing down or constantly changing hands. It might be outside of our trade, but it bugs me.

tommyoil

Keep shopping at home depot. Maybe single handedly you can drive all your local suppliers out of business too. Think about it, no more local places to shop,monopolized supply houses, neighbors out of work, no more having to look at any local storefronts, higher taxes due to unemployment. Sounds like that would be quite a place. Not quite my idea of a great place to live. And now that you have thanked God for Home Depot and for driving the Mom and Pop shop out after 70+ years, who do you think those people ( Mom and Pop) should thank. They I'm sure are praying to the same God to help them make it through the day that you just thanked for driving them into bankruptcy. Sad situation.

tommyoil

On the contrary.

Won't catch me at Applebees. This is a lifestyle. I always try to support a local vendor. Be it boilers or burgers my mindset is the same.

DaveC

Good for you, then!

Yes, we will never meet at Crapplebees. I tried to order a beer there, and the girl said "I'm not 21, so I can't serve you that, how about a lemonade?" The manager had to come to the table to handle my "special order" - unreal!