Wayne02
Member
I have recently been doing some home repair/improvement projects and have made so many trips to the local home depot that I might as well have been living there.
I've noticed a marked improvement in customer service from the employees at the store. The level of employee knowledge is significantly improved over a year or two ago. It used to be that I had to know exactly what it was I needed down to the specific part level in order to get the right thing because the best the employees could do is point me to the "plumbing aisle".
Now I can walk up to the plumbing guy and tell him I'm installing a dishwasher into an existing opening with cabinet layout of X, a water supply configuration of Y, electrical configuration of X, drain configuration of Z, and I need supply line, drain line, and electrical components to make the new washer work with all that. In a matter of 5 minutes this guy has walked the aisle, pulled all the various parts, and explained to me how they connect, including leaving his plumbing area to walk to the electrical area to find the particular strap clamps I wanted to use on the drain line. I'm in and out in 7-10 minutes tops.
These guys and gals have obviously been there and done that, and as such can explain a lot of the little nuances of the various projects you might be working on. I've also found that most of the people on the night shift are equally knowledgeable as well. Further, their "pro desk" is now staffed with contractors who have been there and done that and as such can offer some really useful advice compared to the people they had working that desk in the past.
While this improved customer service is a good thing for home depot shoppers, I don't think it is a good thing overall. While I don't know this for certain, my guess is these folks used to work in the industry, some of them likely for many years, and are now forced to work at places like HD out of economic necessity. I doubt their pay at HD is anywhere near what they made in industry either.
I did notice that one of the HD employees lives in a motorhome with their spouse and they move amongst the parking lots near the store. In fact I have noticed a number of suburban "campers" in the parking lots around here over the last year or so. Most of them are pretty good about moving enough so as not to draw attention but if you know RV's and pay attention you can spot the ones who are living in their RV's.
How about you, have you noticed any improvements in customer service lately??
I've noticed a marked improvement in customer service from the employees at the store. The level of employee knowledge is significantly improved over a year or two ago. It used to be that I had to know exactly what it was I needed down to the specific part level in order to get the right thing because the best the employees could do is point me to the "plumbing aisle".
Now I can walk up to the plumbing guy and tell him I'm installing a dishwasher into an existing opening with cabinet layout of X, a water supply configuration of Y, electrical configuration of X, drain configuration of Z, and I need supply line, drain line, and electrical components to make the new washer work with all that. In a matter of 5 minutes this guy has walked the aisle, pulled all the various parts, and explained to me how they connect, including leaving his plumbing area to walk to the electrical area to find the particular strap clamps I wanted to use on the drain line. I'm in and out in 7-10 minutes tops.
These guys and gals have obviously been there and done that, and as such can explain a lot of the little nuances of the various projects you might be working on. I've also found that most of the people on the night shift are equally knowledgeable as well. Further, their "pro desk" is now staffed with contractors who have been there and done that and as such can offer some really useful advice compared to the people they had working that desk in the past.
While this improved customer service is a good thing for home depot shoppers, I don't think it is a good thing overall. While I don't know this for certain, my guess is these folks used to work in the industry, some of them likely for many years, and are now forced to work at places like HD out of economic necessity. I doubt their pay at HD is anywhere near what they made in industry either.
I did notice that one of the HD employees lives in a motorhome with their spouse and they move amongst the parking lots near the store. In fact I have noticed a number of suburban "campers" in the parking lots around here over the last year or so. Most of them are pretty good about moving enough so as not to draw attention but if you know RV's and pay attention you can spot the ones who are living in their RV's.
How about you, have you noticed any improvements in customer service lately??
