The Home Depot

I asked three people where something was at, and I received three different answers. Unfortunately none of them were the correct place. The staff is helpless. I will go to Ace down the street and pay more money, but at least people know what they are talking about.

Due to my musculature, people often mistake me for a former college linebacker turned carpenter, but I really couldn’t hammer a nail through a marshmallow. Thus, I don’t use Home Depot the way many other large and sexy men do. In fact, last winter, when I was assembling an enclosure for my son’s mouthy little hamster, I learned how screws and bolts differed and why you need nuts and washers. In other words, I’m no expert.
But one thing I can say is that this particular Home Depot has a great selection of native Illinois plants, shrubs, and flowers. Every time I’ve gone there to find something, they’ve had it. Today, for instance, I purchased some shastas for my back yard. I had been to several gardening centers which did not have them, but Home Depot did. I am happy to report that when one of the cashiers saw my son and I wandering aimlessly, she hustled over to us to help us find the shastas. I appreciated it.
I am always surprised, given the strength of its gardening section, how weak the birdfeeding section is. I can’t blame this particular store, of course, but I wish they had better birdfeeders and birdseed. Menards, in this respect, is much better.
The parking lot is a little chaotic, given the Target and Portillo’s. So if you are with your kids, be careful. If you have cyborgs (and I wish I did; all my friggin’ kids do is ask for video games and rides to school and sustenance, both physical and spiritual), you can probably just rebuild them, so the parking lot should be less of a concern. Personally, I think having robot overlords would be a good thing. Like with them Google cars and stuff. The future is cool because it’s not here yet but we know it will be, and when it is, we’ll meet it with open arms. I love my country.

Terrible customer service from this location for any specialized questions or orders. We have attempted to get a quote for a kitchen remodel in the past and this weekend tried to get an order placed for blinds. In both instances the store was not staffed for the extra time it takes to create special orders and the associates work so infrequently that you can be assured that the next time you need to check back with them it will be during normal business hours when you are not available.
This weekend we got a quote for blinds where we asked the associate if we could call back to confirm/​change the sizes and pay for the quote over the phone. Of course she says yes as this is the appropriate customer service response. When I called back on Sunday I was transferred multiple times after being told I had to come into the store and the person who transferred me did not tell me why the were transferring my call. After the last person I spoke to told me I would have to call back tomorrow I asked to speak to a manager who of course is able to make the changes I needed but said it would take awhile and would need to call me back. This is all after I have been on hold with the store for 30 minutes. My major frustration has to do with the poor customer service. In college I worked for Home Depot and this behavior would not have been tolerated. It is sad to see the lack of professionalism and dispassionate employees including managers.

I only have three stars because I had split service. Went to Home Depot for a few items. Not sure what her name was but there was a nice middle aged woman with brown hair who helped me find what I was looking for last night. However when I went to check out a young man Christopher was my cashier and could have not been more rude. One of the purchases I making was a very large and expensive and HEAVY $ 300 drill. I lifted it up onto the counter where he rang it up on the register and then put it on the floor! Then he rang up my smaller miscellaneous items and placed them in a plastic bag. When I asked him for a gift receipt he continued to roll his eyes, sigh and say it was too late for a gift receipt now and he could «go back if I want and do it.» Ummm yeah the drills not for me buck-​o! When all is said and done and I have my copies of the receipt he just looks at me. Doesn’t hand me my bag or pick up and hand me the heavy drill he just put on the FLOOR. can you say lazy AND rude? I hope they don’t let this guy answer the phones. So I walked around picked by own bag from the bag rack with my items and got my drill and left. I’m not one to complain but this kid shouldn’t be working with people.

In general I’ve found that the big box DIY hardware stores haven’t been able to approach the level of customer service I used to find at neighborhood True Value or Ace Hardware stores. The trade off is larger stock and variety at places like this. I was able to get some nice garden plants on clearance sale here, but not without some unnecessary inconvenience. In and out is challenging the way they have their parking lot set up, there’s an almost perpetual traffic jam at entrance/​egress. If you pick up a couple of heavy potted plants, you’ll have to struggle a big before you can find a cart. If you make the mistake of heading into the store without the cart, you’ll get a work out walking to check out, and waiting in line. It’s a fairly long wait to get a human being to check out, they seem to favor the self-​service, which I’m never able to use quickly. They seem understaffed, they had a big banner indicating that they are hiring, the banner may have been up for a while. Nobody offered to help me the whole time I was there, it’s really too big a place to go wandering if you’ve got a couple of heavy potted plants in your arms. The location is really good if you’re visiting one of the two cemeteries, Evergreen or St. Mary’s nearby.

The customer service sucks at this location. The only time they will ask if you need help is clearly when you found what you are looking for. If you need couple feet of chain cut forget it. They will speed past to avoid having to do any work. I just looked for help for over half hour. Finally I did the smart thing. Filled my cart with stuff then put it back in wrong spots all over store and then filled my cart to top with more junk and left it in isle. If they won’t work helping a customer then they can work trying to put all that junk back.

Did an order online for a popcorn cart and went right to the online pick up line staff was great and the items are staged right by the register for pickup. In and out in 5 minutes. Super impressed with the setup they have for online orders.

One year I spent 60 k here in supplies. Today I couldn’t get a gift card for $ 500.00 because of some BS. These guys continue to drop the ball. Customer service is weak.
They do not have enough knowledgeable people working here. Min wage for sure. Its always a hassle. You would figure they would want to target their good customers. Home Depot does not get it !!!

I have been at this Home Depot well over 100 times. 99 of those times were an «adventure» but finally I encountered a clerk who was helpful and friendly and even knowledgeable. He was the Tile Guy. He helped choose the tile and grout and accompanying pieces. Since installed, he was spot on. I was genuinely surprised at his willingness to help because in the past 10-​years I would swear they recruit their employees from either a mental institution or a methadone clinic. They have been unilaterally lazy and uninspired. But, it seems things might be changing for the better. I think a store is only as good as your people because if the people are terrible you won’t get to the product, unless you can ignore them and do your own shopping. But that is fine for someone who knows what they are doing. What about the novices? They would be like lost puppies there.
Next … there were so many carts in the lot I thought it was an obstacle course.
And don’t close the aisle I am shopping in so you can play on the forklift. They put up barriers on each end of the aisle and stand there and wait for you to get out of their way. From now on I will just take even more time.
I just get tired of the «clerks» (don’t know what else to refer to them as) who stand around with one another and either chit chat, sing, dance (yes, dance), or walk around with a blank look on their faces. The other day I was looking for something specific and the guy was sitting on the floor, perhaps rearranging. I approached him and he didn’t acknowledge me. I showed him the part and he said, «Aisle nine.» What would have been nicer if he got off his rear and walked me over there because, of course, I couldn’t find the part where it was supposed to be. Do you think it had anything to do with Mr. Sitting on the Floor? Conversely, I was at the Home Depot in Countryside and I was so surprised when I asked about a part and the pleasant fellow said «Follow me» and walked over to exactly where the part was. I was so surprised that I wrote the President of Home Depot in Atlanta and his secretary actually contacted me. I told her the clerk was great, but the Oak Lawn store was dismal.
Well, somebody must have gotten to the people at Oak Lawn because they do say hello to their guests about 50 times (Can get annoying but better than ignoring) and someone went out and hired a real tile man. That is the way the company was founded, but unfortunately went away from it. I say, take more time hiring people, just don’t take any droopy pants goof off the street.
Still, there are quite a few of the derelicts from the past working there. I hope it continues to improve.

Good enough if you know exactly what you want and where to find it. It’s also an excellent store to shop at if you want to be left alone. You’ll pretty much be ignored here. They even have self check out so you could potentially walk in and out of here without one single employee making eye contact with you.

Simply put, I hate that this Home Depot is so close to me. Since this is less than a mile from the house, I constantly need to run here in a pinch. The staff is friendly, but does not have a great knowledge of the store or products. I have used virtually every service at this location including special orders and truck rental and none has ever gone smoothly. I suggest you take a few moments and read my stories and formulate your own opinion.
Episode 1. I rented a truck to take home the skid of concrete I purchased. The whole ordeal of renting a truck from these people is a nightmare. It took me approx 45 min to simply rent the truck and buy a skid of concrete. It took another 30 min of my rental time for the staff to figure out how to load the concrete on the truck just to realize it was over the weight capacity of the truck. The forklift driver simple stated (over the noise of the warning buzzer signaling overweight) that I would be fine. Let me also point out that I had to tell these guys as they were already starting to load, that they had grabbed the wrong skid of material. Unloaded the material at home by hand and returned the truck. I then recognized two frustrated people at the desk as having been there when I first arrived at the store to buy the material approx 1.5 hours prior.
Episode 2. I checked online for a Simpson Strongtie Product which was displayed as «available at my local store.» I went to this store to the area where these products are and could not find them. I requested the help of an assistant manager who also showed they were in stock. We then proceeded to walk back to the area that I had just scoured and I stood next to her as she stared at the products and then called other stores to see if they had any. «Well, I don’t see them and no other stores have them» so she ordered some back to stock which may take up to 5 days to get to the store. 5 DAYS for a stock item. She asked if I wanted to pay now to which I replied, «I hope you understand my concern, but since you can’t find what is supposedly here in the store, I will not pay until something is in my hands.» She understood and gave me my special order ticket and told me I would be contacted. After no call in 5 days I called to check the status of these items. I was told that they had never been ordered since I did not pay in advance. I questioned why I would have to pay in advance for an order that replenishes a stock item (no rational answer). Asked for a manager and none could be found of course. I then called Lowes who had the product I needed for cheaper in stock. My project just took a seat for 5 days.
Also, how does it make sense to have so many self checkouts and no cashiers at a place like this? You cannot scan lumber or materials on a self checkout and that is about 50% of what people come here for. Be careful not to get in an accident in the parking lot.

One extra star is for the one person that did tell me which aisle to find something in, but I had to track her down. Nothing like the other Home Depot I go to by my house.
My visit was a bit after 8 p.m., and I would think there would be some staff around, for instance at least one real cashier. I have no problem with self check for items that can fit into a bag and will gladly use them, however I was buying a 5’x8’ rug that was rolled up, not the easiest thing to put on to that little scanner thing. It also kept setting of the machine, saying something like item out of bagging area as I was trying to scan my other stuff. I guess there’s some magic sensor or something that goes off if you cross over the scanner distance. So the employee manning the self checkouts had to keep coming over to reset the thing.
Me– can’t you just ring me up.
Her — oh no can’t.
Me– Have you done away with real cashiers?
Her– no she’s on break
Me– WTH, you don’t have anyone to cover, this is Home Depot after all.
I know businesses are cutting back, and places like Home Depot have been hit hard, people aren’t fixing things up or doing reno projects. However, one cashier should be on at all times. I’m sure if I had to ring up a 2’x4’ on my own anyone within my path would be in trouble.

I have yet to go to one of these that I like or has people with good info… I grew up in the construction business haven’t met anyone who even knows as much as I do… Let alone more than I do to even advise me!!!