Here in Boulder we have an excellent hardware store McGuckin. The rule of thumb in Boulder is if McGuckin does not have it, it does not exist. Well this morning they didn't have something so I figured I would try the new Home Depot 2 blocks away. Big mistake.
They had a greeter at the front of the store and I asked her where the window coverings section is. She had to refer to a map because "she had just started and didn't know where anything is." That's brilliant - put someone new up front to give people directions.
I couldn't find it and after finding an employee (very difficult task) they directed me to their home design center on the 2nd floor. The two employees there doing nothing said I had to wait and talk to the one employee helping a customer. Those two went back to talking with each other (I think about Paris Hilton). The one I was waiting on was just starting with a customer on picking out colors for something so I left not wanting to wait 10 minutes to then be told they probably don't have it.
I then went to pick up some emergency lights for the house. After looking in the emergency lighting section and not finding it I asked for help and was directed to another part of the store. Apparently emergency lights are not in the emergency lighting section.
So then I go up to pay. Finally, I'm getting out of there... Not so fast. The self-serve register says the weight is wrong for the emergency light I scanned. The woman running the central unit for the self-serve registers was busy staring off into space. I waited half a minute and then gave up and left.
But our saga does not end here. When I came home I went to their website and entered the above in their register a complaint section. I clicked submit and got a page error. That's right - the Home Depot website throws away complaints.
By this time I was upset. They list a phone number there so I figure I'll call and just let them know that their website doesn't accept complaints. After listening to a menu that was close to 2 minutes long it finally got to the final option - did you wish to tell them about a good or not so good experience at one of the stores. If so press 7.
I pressed 7 and it hung up on me.
Home Depot - they may have crappy service but there are making damn sure that they will never be told so. And they paid some bozo how many hundreds of millions to manage something so dysfunctional? Home Depot reminds me of Chrysler - all these great articles, awards, etc. and underneath it all, a very badly run business going downhill on the fundamentals.
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