The Home Depot

These places make me miss the neighborhood True Value or Ace Hardware stores, sort of like hearing an Ohio Players song makes me miss weighing only 140 lbs and being able to dance. Oddly, they play 70’s dance music here. Compared to the neighborhood hardware store, these places deserve no stars, there’s no one here with helpful experience or that sense of ownership and community. Compared to the other big box hardware-​appliance stores around here, well this one still falls a little short. The only person I could catch to give me the simplest of directions walked with a limp, the others moved too quickly away from me. If you want to find something, don’t have that look on your face, it’s how the workers know to avoid you. You really have to do your research before you get here, know exactly what it is you need, compare and contrast (no, that’s an essay assignment I just gave, just compare) products using customer reviews online first. Twice now I haven’t done that and walked out of here with an inferior product or not exactly what I needed, that I could have gotten cheaper on line anyway.

Customer service is a joke!
I have been to Home Depot twice in the last two days and needed to order blinds. There are so many associates in the store, walking around or sitting on the floor talking to each other. I ask for assistance and someone is always being paged, but nobody shows up. Do the associates keep paging a black hole? I still have yet to order my blinds…
What a waste of time. I used to enjoy going there but not anymore!

What a waste of time. From the person staring at the floor when you walk in, to everyone who scurries in the other direction when you are looking to ask a question. The store has no «press for help» buttons in spots where every other DIY store has them, and that’s probably because there is no useful help there. It obviously has a serious management problem. I’ll just go to the Home Depot on Holt Ave, which is night and day better than this one.

Years ago, Home Depot was the undisputed champ of the home improvement business. Menards, a few doors down, operated what could only be described as a crowded, messy dump of a store, and there were no other real options.
Today, Menards has a nice new store across the way, and Lowes is just down the block. Both have somewhat better access to the constantly busy 27^th Street than Home Depot, which is tucked back behind a small strip mall and an empty restaurant. There’s no main exit for HD, but the one that’s most obvious conveniently sports a «Right Turn Only» sign. Bah.
Despite that, I kind of like Home Depot. It’s well organized and well maintained, obviously some talent goes into their stores. I wish they’d stop shooting themselves in the foot though. Every now and then I hear dumb things («guy accidentally pockets pencil from counter, charged with shoplifting and banned for life») or see things that just make no sense (like the Basement Watchdog battery sump for $ 239 that Ace sells, under an Ace brand, for $ 169).
Still, this store does have proximity to Menards, Lowes, True Value, and Farm and Fleet, which means that when I’m looking for some particular thing, it’s right where I’d like it to be. I’m in it at least once a month, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
Wish I could give like 2.5 stars.