The Home Depot

I’m gonna start this off with a disclaimer that I used to work for Home Depot (a million years ago). It was back when the only two stores in the area were the Catonsville, and Glen Burnie ones– right after Heckingers closed. It was a great time to work for the company; Arthur and Bernie (the original Home Depot co-​founders) were still running it with their own hands, profit sharing was huge, the benefits and pay scale attracted a real honest-​to-​goodness experienced staff, and customer service was a number one priority. Remember those days? They’re gone. Long gone. A review of this Home Depot is like reviewing ALL Home Depots… which is to say they have fallen from grace.
The company itself remains large-​and-​in-​charge financially, but it has done so at the expense of its own core values. The biggest core value compromise was customer service. Home Depot trained employees to «never point– always walk» to a section with a customer, greet everyone, and go out of your way to build lasting relationships with customers. They were trained in peaceful conflict resolution, product knowledge, and store operations. Another important core value was fostering «entreprenureal sprit». Team members were encouraged to treat his/​her part of the store like their very own business, and take pride in what they did.
Slowly, this began to change as the company handed over operations to a long chain of slime ball CEO’s. Profits went up, and everything else went down. Many of those core values are clearly no longer a high priority at Home Depot, as is evidenced by the Ellicott City store operations.
I remember when this store opened. It was a GREAT Home Depot! Employees were happy to work there, and the customers were happy, too. It was always clean, stocked, and friendly. People went out of their own neighborhoods to come to the Ellicott City store, because it was one of the best in the region. It’s a far cry from that store today. Very few team members actually WORK. They seem depressed. Most of them don’t wish to be bothered by customers. Some members are ghetto minded, and others are just plain rude. I’m rarely greeted, even after spending tens of thousands of dollars there over the past 5 years– I’m still a stranger to the changing faces. The store always seems to be out of stock on critical items. The selection dwindles. Cross merchandising is sad. Lumber is a crapshoot– depending on if anyone decided to move all the bent pieces out of the way so real contractors can get what they need in a hurry. The back isles in lumber/​building materials are flooded with merchandise on carts and pallets that haven’t been stocked– almost EVERY DAY (and I’m not talking about the special order carts)! The back isles in garden are similar, and during grill assembly season, they can be a hazard to navigate (pray that the fire alarm never goes off!). Floor and Wall often has drink cups and food items left on shelves, Décor is unorganized and the pricing always seems to be wrong. Overall, this store has messed up every single special order I have placed, and the «time warp» that is going-​there-​to-​fix-​it has become such a hassle. Easy stuff, mind you! They get my deliveries (dates/​items) wrong.
They mess up the billing, and payment details (like when I want a large order on a financing offer, they need five managers and the pope to get it done). It’s always an affair for something that should be streamlined. They have two (count em) people that «know how to do everything» at customer service, and I have literally been told to come back on another day when one of them was scheduled to work. Really?
The impression you get is that the store is always a bit behind, and people are unhappy with their jobs. It’s as if they can’t wait to clock out and go home, and it shows. Home Depot doesn’t just treat CUSTOMERS with less importance than they used to, they treat their own EMPLOYEES with less importance than they used to, so what do you expect? What type of workforce (mentality) will that attract? Look no further than the Ellicott City Home Depot for a sampling. Granted, it’s not just THIS store… but THIS store fell so far from a good thing that the changes are more glaring.
The REAL reason for this change? Us. We did this. As consumers, we demand less. The box stores aren’t the only ones to figure this out. So, congrats Ellicott City– you have a store that reflects your demands: low.
I could take my business elsewhere, and *hope* for a better experience, but that would only contribute to a growing problem. I prefer to be a more demanding consumer, and I ask you to do the same. Politely insist they perform better! Complain! Fix this store. It’s where we live. You’re not being rude; you’re doing a public service, and I thank you in advance. More importantly, if someone IS doing a great job– tell a manager. They deserve the extra attention. Maybe it will lead to a pay raise, and increased benefits (sorry, sick joke…).

Maybe customer service is a thing of the past and I should not expect it. Unfortunately I listened to incorrect information from a staff member who actally had no idea what they were talking about. This experience is one of several bad ones I have had with home depot.

Stopped in to buy a tropical plant and I encountered the most inept and rude check out attendant. She said she couldn’t scan the plant because she didn’t have a gun and she turned the entire four foot plant over, spilling dirt everywhere trying to locate the bar code on the item. She handed me the other items small items she scanned without bagging them. Then she informed us that we shouldn’t have come in her line in the first place. Wow! Frustrating experience all around!

Do not go through the flooring department through home depot for carpet or hardwood. After spending two hours with a new and untrained flooring department associate to explain the carpet location the estimate was wrong each time. After complaining to the store manager the flooring manager called and apologized and went through the order. I told them 3 times we need baseboards for the whole basement after getting carpet. We were told we had to pick up the baseboards from the store. Why wouldn’t the carpet installer bring it! The carpet was finally installed and the baseboard person had to come another day. The amount of baseboard we picked up was not enough. We called home depot and corporate and they claimed we only wanted the basement living room carpeted… WHY would we only want one room done if it all got carpeted??? In the end home depot claimed we owe them another $ 287 for the baseboards even though they messed up. This place is horribly run and customer service means nothing to them. DO NOT SHOP HERE!

Highly advise avoiding this place. Been trying to get carpet and baseboard in my basement for almost a month. Just trying to get the carpet sale finalized was a nightmare, it took over 3 hours and multiple trips to the store. Wish I would ended the process here. Carpet install was good, baseboard installers never showed on install day. Baseboard installers returned few times. Postponed one day due to rain and lack of baseboard. 3^rd time they never brought the baseboard. Now in dispute with home depot, claiming I told them the wrong amount of feet required. They performed the measurement and I stated the whole basement needed to be done. 2 days of vacation wasted, basement is still not completed.
I contacted corporate which was another waste of time. They pretty told me more material is required and I have pay for their mistake.
Avoid getting any flooring done through this store. They will waste your time and money. Avoid this place and save your sanity.

This review is for the garden department, but I have had similar experiences throughout this store. Employees that actually want to help are hard to find. On 3 separate occasions, I have been at the outside garden struggling to pick up a heavy item with 1 – 2 employees within 5 feet. Not one employee ever offered to help. One time, 2 employees were actually sitting on the curb next to the plant I was trying to pick up! I am referring to 50+ pound plants, not just a 5 gallon plant.
Tonight, when I asked for help, an employee told me he worked for the plant company and was not allowed to pick it up. He kindly agreed to place it in my cart, after watching me struggle. At check out, I asked for help getting it in the car. The man who showed up literally dropped it in my car so it was half on its side. He didn’t put down any paper and cracked the branches while splattering dirt all over my car. When I asked him to sit it upright, he pushed it and walked away. It was still lying sideways and 2 bags of heavy soil were still in my car.
Drive a little further to the Eldersburg Home Depot — they are friendly and helpful!

Worked around the area for a few days and had to make stops to this Home Depot. Didn’t really have much items stocked on their shelves. Seems to be the norm these days for most depots, but for the most part they had what I was looking for. What makes them not receive 5stars from me is the ability not to stay on top of their inventory

It’s close to my home. I love the Behr paint, the paint dept. man Calvin knows his stuff. They are lacking in numbers of employees. Their plant dept. and outside nursery are good.

Let me preface by saying that I have killed more plants (indoor and outdoor) than I care to share…
I stopped in here Saturday afternoon to pick up some plants for our balcony garden. Given the beautiful weather it was truly madness in the garden section. What stood out to me about this place, is that it seemed to have much better stock than any other Home Depot in the area (Columbia, College Park, and Laurel locations I’m looking at you.) Most of the plants looked fairly healthy and there was plenty of items to choose from; including some I have not seen at other locations. I ran into Mrs. Z, a Home Depot employee working in the Garden section, who must’ve read my overwhelmed face. She not only made me laugh, but was able to put me on the right track on what I needed.
Mrs. Z was awesome, and I will definitely return. This Home Depot is sooooo much better than the one in Columbia.

Its summertime so its fix’er up time!
I was re-​seeding my entire back yard when I decided to drive to this Home Depot to pick up supplies and equipment. First off, there is a Home Depot 5 mins away from my house in Columbia, but this Home Depot is much bigger and offers more products and services, such as equipment rental. I was in need of an aerator and this Home Depot has 10 of them… 10! Lol So figured why not pick up the aerator and all the other supplies, about 140 dollars’ worth, all from the same place. Again I found this Home Depot to be huge, and there were actually even people working there where you could ask questions and get help. This is very different when compared to Lowes or the smaller Home Depots. You can never find someone who isn’t already helping someone else. My only two negatives, and not huge ones, were that 1. Half the employees when you did ask had no idea or pointed you in the wrong direction and 2. Some of the employees could have cared less when they spoke to you. I do believe this is not a store wide thing mainly an ind. Employee thing. When I originally spoke to the equipment rental dept, they were very helpful about helping me and making sure I understand all the in’s and outs. When I arrived at the store, I got a totally different person and totally different feel. The employee could have not cared and basically only helped when I asked questions, which thankfully the previous employee had given me enough information.
Again overall, great Home Depot, large store, plenty of people to ask for help, just watch out for some of their directions and attitude… other than that, I’ll be back!
So measure twice and cut once and good luck with your projects.

Appliance floormodel clearances

I had purchased 3 patio doors and a doggy door to go into one. When the installers arrived with the doors they discovered that the doggy door wouldn’t fit. Which meant another would have to be ordered and installed on a later date. This meant another day out of work for me. The next installation date was a waste also since the installers said the doggy door wasn’t in. It was at Home Depot, but not entered into their inventory. No one called me to tell me they weren’t coming. Once that was straightened out a third installation date was scheduled, on a Saturday. The installers arrived with the patio door and I discovered some serious defects in the door. This meant they had to order another one. So, another wasted day for me. Finally, on the fourth time it was installed. I then received a call from a guy named Nick from the Home Depot store who said they would knock off $ 150 for the aggravation I experienced. I missed 3 extra days of pay and this hardly was any consolation. The doors cost about $ 3,500. I accepted this and wanted to just move on. Then Nick told me I had to come into the store and give him a check. This I didn’t understand since I put the whole thing on the Home Depot Credit card. Nick still insisted I had to come in and give him a check. I told him one of the installed doors was dragging and that needed to be fixed before anything gets paid. Nick still insisted that I come into the store to drop him off a check because the work had been done and I would need to call the installers to have it fixed. I hung up and ended up calling customer service for Home Depot. They sent out someone with the head of the installation company. The things they tried didn’t not fix it. I had to take another 2 days off for them to look at it and for the installers to come back with some ordered parts. This did not fix it. Meanwhile, Home Depot customer service still could not tell me why I had to go in and give Nick a check. Then, Home Depot tells me I have to call Andersen Windows. So, another day off for this Rep. to come with some other guys who say it’s the frame’s fault. Another day out of work and my door still drags. I tell everyone I know not to go into this Home Depot store.