challagan

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com....aspx?GT1=9215


Corey

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Mike

This article is interesting. The idea that lack of staff means fewer people shop there does not fly with me. The big box stores with their perceived lower prices drove many of the small full service lumber yards out of business. The "fad" of fixing it yourself quickly lost luster for people who found out that carpenters, plumbers, drywallers, masons and electricians earn their pay with skill and sweat. A big problem is the lack of quality in the lumber products they sell. If you really want to buy wood you have to go to a real lumber yard. The high quality yards are still around. To be able to compete they are now larger and far between. You wont find pink tools or plastic step stools there either. One look at the difference in quality of the "premium" oak veneered plywood at a big box store and the cabinet grade at a real lumber yard is enough to make you laugh. The "fad" is over and lets hope the real lumber yards take over these box stores as satellite locations with quality products in our neighborhoods again.

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challagan

I agree on the quality of some of the merchandise, especially plywoods and materials like that. On top of alot of it being poor quality, it is stored improperly and much of there stock is unusable. Have you ever seen the plywood goods stored on top of shelves that have 4 x 4's underneath them across the stack? That is meant for 2 X and 4 x storage and not sheet goods. The stock is then worth nothing but they sell it. Wavier than a flag! I do notice however that they really do have few employees...very few and it is difficult to find help there.
There are 2 types of home remodelers, those that can get in and knock down the walls and put in new cabinets and install a tile floor and those that consider remodelling to be painting the room the latest color and hanging new photos. There will always be both, problem is there is just to much competition. We have a Menards and a Home Depot across the street from each other. Across the river there are at least 20 different Home Depots,Menards and Lowes stores. Just not enough business to go around. They just plain have overbuilt. Anyway, Home Depot never did get a piece of the pie in our town, they were just to late. Again, poor demographics etc.

Corey

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My Carving Website: The Iowa Woodcarver
http://iowacarver.tripod.com/

My Shop Website - Woodshop 51503
http://woodshop51503.tripod.com/

curiousgeorge

Since I am an EX-employee, I can speak first hand about the problems with Home Depot. After retiring, I worked there for one year part-time and then went full time for another year. Things got so bad I walked out mid-shift telling them "I don't need this job and I'm tired of working with and for idiots" (My actual words). That was four years ago and things have gotten a lot worse there since then. At least I got to do what a lot of people have dreamed of... "Take this job and shove it".
I guess being retired has some perks.

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