Solution for Home Depot Stuff On Upper Rack

[uscarry45]

Hey, I aint gonna ring it up myself, I don't work there..

Pretty soon we will be stocking the shelves and sweeping the floor

 

[dchawk81]

I take my own tall rolling ladder in so they can't stop me.

 

[ItsNemo]

I have been known to call the store from inside and tell the operator "there is a Handicapped and Disabled Veteran in Aisle (fill in the blank) looking for assistance". If help does not rapidly appear, I call again and ask to speak with the Store Manager.

I sure as **** hope you aren't pretending to be disabled veteran to get assistance.

Of course, if you are a disabled veteran, thank you for your service and sacrafice.

 

[dchawk81]

I sure as **** hope you aren't pretending to be disabled veteran to get assistance.

Of course, if you are a disabled veteran, thank you for your service and sacrafice.

Normally this would bother me too but this is a big box store and just trying to conjure up some notoriously sparse retail assistance.

It's not bucking for a home remodel from a charity or a parking placard.

 

[dchawk81]

If I go into Home Depot in my work clothes I just walk over to the nearest forklift and ask the person if they are using the lift and usually they say no you can use it and I just get the pallet down and take my item off of the pallet

It's amazing what you can get into with an ANSI 3 shirt and work boots.

 

[danski0224]

I understand the problem, but that doesn't change the fact that stuff is not there for customers to buy. It would be interesting to know how many people come into the store to pick up a product and then leave without buying anything, simply because the product was not in its "home" as you put it.

Bottom line is that HD and other such stores exist to sell stuff to their customers. Making that stuff available to customers in a self-service retail environment should be Job 1. It is not, though. Unfortunately, there is often not someone on the floor available to assist a customer who finds an empty space where a product should be. So, a sale is lost.

Frankly, that's one reason I buy at HD, Lowe's, and other big box retailers only as a last resort. I shop online most of the time. If I decide I need something right now, I look up its availability on the specific website, with a particular store selected. I appreciate that the website has the information for aisle and bin, but don't appreciate when I see that there is stock online, but do not find it when I go to the store. Yes, it's probably up there, but I can't get to it. If there's nobody in the vicinity who can, I'm out of there, real-quick-like.

And I'm not alone in feeling that way. Every customer who walks out of the store empty-handed is a lost opportunity. I've done that more times than I can count. That's why I shop online, unless I have an urgent need for something.

Brick and mortar retail fails to satisfy far too often. There is a reason for that.

Being "in stock" was a problem long before Charlie-19'er.

It basically comes down to the unwillingness of the higher ups to actually staff the store with enough people to do whatever it takes.

Customer service, downstocking, whatever.

When I started at the orange box, it was fairly common to have at least 2 people in each department, sometimes 3. Yeah, there was a period of time at opening and closing where there was only one.

There was also a pretty good percentage of full time employees with benefits.

That all went away with Nardelli and it never came back.

"They" promised "more aprons on the floor" when the installed services program was announced. Didn't see any changes.

Same schtick when the self checkouts arrived... "more aprons on the floor".

Um. Nope.

Certainly didn't see any changes. But honestly, 2 full timers would be 80 hours a week, and that would be hard to see outside of the people doing the schedule or seeing the hours reports. A medium sized store can have 120 employees.

Probably a big benefit to the bone-uses for those above the store manager level though.

I do see many departments with no one staffing them, or one person "manning" 2 or more departments.

I also see stores with nothing but self checkout open and maybe the Pro Checkout, which is always at the opposite end of the store.

 

[fourjeepin]

At the local Lowes, their tactic for keeping the general public off the rolling ladders is to lock & chain the ladder to the rack upright, having the chain also span between the handrails of the ladder. The one time I needed an associate to retrieve an item from an upper shelf (a Shop-vac nozzle), the person was unable to find the key for the lock.

They sell bolt cutters

 

[1320]

A few years ago, I was after the new Milwaukee M18 rear handle Circular saw. A local, but not my usual, Home Depot showed stock online and so off I went. There was no display model and none on the shelves the customers can reach. This is before everything was locked up.

I looked above and managed to find what I was looking for on the upper, staircase reachable shelves of another aisle. Noting I was on aisle 24 (or whatever), I found an employee that seemed to work in the power tools area and said I needed help getting a particular Milwaukee Circular saw down from above on aisle 24, as there was not one with the others where you'd expect it.

He asks me which saw I'm after and I say it's the new rear handle M18 Fuel one. "Oh, we definitely don't have that one." I say there are at least a few on aisle 24, in the overhead. Instead of going there, we go to the Milwaukee area of the Power tool aisle and he asks me to point out among the display models which one I'm after. I say "It's not here, or below, but there are some on aisle 24 in the overhead."

If it's not here, we don't have it, he says and asks me if I know the model number so he can look it up on the scanner/tablet thing they have. I know the P/N and he says the store shows 0 stock. I say the HD website pointed me to this location and said there were 4 here and that I've found them on aisle 24, in the overhead. "The website is often wrong about stock numbers and I'm just not seeing any here..." No problem, I say, there are several in the overhead on aisle 24. I follow him to the next aisle over and he points out to me that there are no red boxes above in this whole aisle. I agree, "but this is aisle 22, and what I want is on aisle 24, in the overhead." So we finally get to aisle 24 and he has to get a staircase to get my item from the overhead.

One of the things that I can perhaps at least empathize with is that there are probably more customers that come to employees with claims like mine that are false rather than true. But it's still annoying when you did the "legwork," provided the necessary information and then still had to fight to get the chance to pay for your item.

 

[gatewaysysop]

Or just ask someone to get it for you. If they refuse, I'll go somewhere else to buy.

Only problem I have had with this approach is it took more time to find someone (who then had to find someone else) than it would have taken to drive to the next nearest store.

On no less than three occasions, I have been told that the person who normally stocks the section in question is "out with a family emergency," and that's the reason for bare shelves with an embarrassment of inventory riches just out of reach above. I actually told the manager the last time that his crew must be the most unlucky red vested muppets in existence if they keep having this many 'emergencies.'

 

[AJHD]

I understand the problem, but that doesn't change the fact that stuff is not there for customers to buy. It would be interesting to know how many people come into the store to pick up a product and then leave without buying anything, simply because the product was not in its "home" as you put it.

Bottom line is that HD and other such stores exist to sell stuff to their customers. Making that stuff available to customers in a self-service retail environment should be Job 1. It is not, though. Unfortunately, there is often not someone on the floor available to assist a customer who finds an empty space where a product should be. So, a sale is lost.

Frankly, that's one reason I buy at HD, Lowe's, and other big box retailers only as a last resort. I shop online most of the time. If I decide I need something right now, I look up its availability on the specific website, with a particular store selected. I appreciate that the website has the information for aisle and bin, but don't appreciate when I see that there is stock online, but do not find it when I go to the store. Yes, it's probably up there, but I can't get to it. If there's nobody in the vicinity who can, I'm out of there, real-quick-like.

And I'm not alone in feeling that way. Every customer who walks out of the store empty-handed is a lost opportunity. I've done that more times than I can count. That's why I shop online, unless I have an urgent need for something.

Brick and mortar retail fails to satisfy far too often. There is a reason for that.

Again, you're absolutely not wrong. I always said we can't sell product if it's not on the shelf.
Every upset customer or lost sale for whatever reason is important, but it really doesn't matter to management when Home Depot pulled in a record $151+ billion dollars in sales in 2021. Only a handful of companies like Amazon and Wal-Mart made more.
My store for example pulls in almost $100 million in sales every year by itself and averaged $2.5 million in sales every week. To put that in perspective, all of those numbers are more than double that of Lowes.

Despite that, stores generally still can't and/or won't hire enough people. It's also difficult to retain people, my store averaged over 200 employees at any given time. But even with 200+ employees, it's impossible to do everything that needs to be done on a daily basis. Combine that with the fact most people hate their jobs, don't give a ****, don't try and there are constantly new people.

I also don't recommend relying on the app for checking inventory availability. The inventory system at Depot *****. When I left, just from memory we were literally missing an entire pallet of salt, something like 100 10'foot sections of 2" ABS pipe and dozens of garbage disposals, etc... Lots of inventory gets misplaced and mislabeled, and there is also no actual physical check of inventory as it unloaded. I know for a fact there were lots of inventory the system said we got, but we never actually received.

 

[Garcky]

Again, you're absolutely not wrong. I always said we can't sell product if it's not on the shelf.
Every upset customer or lost sale for whatever reason is important, but it really doesn't matter to management when Home Depot pulled in a record $151+ billion dollars in sales in 2021. Only a handful of companies like Amazon and Wal-Mart made more.
My store for example pulls in almost $100 million in sales every year by itself and averaged $2.5 million in sales every week. To put that in perspective, all of those numbers are more than double that of Lowes.

Despite that, stores generally still can't and/or won't hire enough people. It's also difficult to retain people, my store averaged over 200 employees at any given time. But even with 200+ employees, it's impossible to do everything that needs to be done on a daily basis. Combine that with the fact most people hate their jobs, don't give a ****, don't try and there are constantly new people.

I also don't recommend relying on the app for checking inventory availability. The inventory system at Depot *****. When I left, just from memory we were literally missing an entire pallet of salt, something like 100 10'foot sections of 2" ABS pipe and dozens of garbage disposals, etc... Lots of inventory gets misplaced and mislabeled, and there is also no actual physical check of inventory as it unloaded. I know for a fact there were lots of inventory the system said we got, but we never actually received.

Thanks for those first-hand insights. I realize what a complex thing a store like that is. I sure wouldn't want to be responsible for a Home Depot store. But, I'm just a sometimes customer, so I generally don't think like that when I go in there for something. That's probably typical.

As far as the online inventory checks are concerned, that's really the only thing customers have to use. If they're inaccurate, then there's more disappointment if what they think is there isn't there. As you say, though, sales are high, regardless of all that. So, there's little incentive to fix what doesn't work.

 

[Wiz02]

I was working at Depot 2019-2020 and came back again 2021-2022. I was working there before, during and "after" Covid.

Like everything else, the environment definitely changed, and by that I mean it got worse.

Let me tell you, Covid restrictions pissed people off like I've never seen. I was getting yelled at and called all kind of names my entire shift at one point during those restrictions.

My store even had to hire a security guard after multiple negative customer interactions. Not that their presence changed anything.

It was a miserable experience working an "essential" and customer service oriented job. My store was and still is the busiest in the district.

But overall people have just become more impatient, more entitled, more ignorant and more willing to treat you like absolute ****, over the last nearly 3 years now. Almost 2023 now and I don't think it's improved much, if at all.

@AJHD, sorry to hear about your experience, I too saw that people "forgot" how to behave in public during Covid, but around here in PA, I am seeing signs of civility and courtesy returning. I make it a point to be polite, corteous and above all patient when I am out running errands and it seems to be working.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

Only problem I have had with this approach is it took more time to find someone (who then had to find someone else) than it would have taken to drive to the next nearest store.

On no less than three occasions, I have been told that the person who normally stocks the section in question is "out with a family emergency," and that's the reason for bare shelves with an embarrassment of inventory riches just out of reach above. I actually told the manager the last time that his crew must be the most unlucky red vested muppets in existence if they keep having this many 'emergencies.'

The managers do like to keep the stores minimally staffed, that's for sure. When I was there it wasn't uncommon for me to be the only one running 1/3 of the store on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Expected to cut wire, carpet, work 3 desks, load appliances, etc. And then they're shocked that they can't keep employees there.

 

[plinker]

I understand the problem, but that doesn't change the fact that stuff is not there for customers to buy. It would be interesting to know how many people come into the store to pick up a product and then leave without buying anything, simply because the product was not in its "home" as you put it.

Bottom line is that HD and other such stores exist to sell stuff to their customers. Making that stuff available to customers in a self-service retail environment should be Job 1. It is not, though. Unfortunately, there is often not someone on the floor available to assist a customer who finds an empty space where a product should be. So, a sale is lost.

Frankly, that's one reason I buy at HD, Lowe's, and other big box retailers only as a last resort. I shop online most of the time. If I decide I need something right now, I look up its availability on the specific website, with a particular store selected. I appreciate that the website has the information for aisle and bin, but don't appreciate when I see that there is stock online, but do not find it when I go to the store. Yes, it's probably up there, but I can't get to it. If there's nobody in the vicinity who can, I'm out of there, real-quick-like.

And I'm not alone in feeling that way. Every customer who walks out of the store empty-handed is a lost opportunity. I've done that more times than I can count. That's why I shop online, unless I have an urgent need for something.

Brick and mortar retail fails to satisfy far too often. There is a reason for that.

This is the thing I run into at many stores, they dont appear to have it, or it's not on the shelf. I find it more of a hassle to track down someone to see if they do have whatever it is.

What I've been doing is the "buy online, pick up in store" thing, at Fleet farm in particular. It saves a lot of time/trouble for me. Where that goes awry is when something gets canceled off the order, sometimes they have it on the shelf, sometimes not. (typically I order the previous day to pick up). Or where something shows out of stock/not available and you go in store and they have a pallet of the dog food or whatever item(s).

 

[JRC3]

I'm so glad I have all 3 box stores within 10 minutes of my house. Lowes and HD have lost 90% of my business to Menards. Better pricing, fully stocked shelves, drive in lumber yard and 3x the customer service.

Looks like I have the best solution to to the 'stuff on the HD upper rack' problem.

Menards bashing in 3...2...1... LOL

 

[Big Bad Dad]

Here's my solution.





I order what I need on-line or on the phone App.
If it's on the upper rack, they retrieve it.
If not in stock, they'll order it in.
I receive a message when the items are ready for pick up.
I drive to the store and park in a reserved sport for on-line order customers.
Through the App, I let the store know which spot I'm parked in.
They bring it out to my vehicle.

I tried that once. During the height of the Covid social distance/lockdown ****.. Waited a long time in the parking space, and no one ever came out with my order. I finally walked into the store. The people that were responsible for taking care of the pickups were standing in one end of the customer service section, just shooting the breeze and screwing off. The cell phone that was trying to notify them of customers waiting was on a desk about 30 feet away. They had not heard the ring or whatever it used to notify them that customers were waiting..... I won't try that again.

 

[Jmellc]

I have been known to call the store from inside and tell the operator "there is a Handicapped and Disabled Veteran in Aisle (fill in the blank) looking for assistance". If help does not rapidly appear, I call again and ask to speak with the Store Manager.

I did that once at Wal-Mart, at the ammunition counter. I had pressed service button and asked a few passing clerks to send the right clerk over. 20 minutes later I called the store. Took awhile to get a manager. Someone finally showed up.

I remember doing a service call to a Wal-Mart. Our service manager had forgotten to get a name. No one at the desk knew who ordered this, so they called first manager who would answer. Went through 4 managers I think, before the right one showed up. The larger the business, the more important to get the caller's name and title. I had a serious talk with the service manager later.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

When I worked at Lowes or Depot, I witnessed customers on the ladders a few times. I just walked away and if they tried to ask me something after that I just ignored them.

 

[cjarvis]

We've all been there. You go in to buy a bathroom medicine cabinet. You look on the shelves in the aisle where the HD website says the thing is. Empty space. So, you look up for that item with that model number. Yup, there is a stack of them up there. So, you look around for an HD person to get it for you. They've all disappeared. What to do?

Here's the answer: Find one of those rolling ladder platforms. There will be one nearby, usually. No HD employees, but the rolling ladder thing will be there. Start pushing that ladder toward the aisle where the thing you want is. I guarantee that some HD person will show up almost instantly to keep you from pushing that ladder over there and climbing up it to retrieve the product you want to buy.

Problem solved.

I do that myself when I encounter the same problem and can’t find a “schmuck-in-a-smock” to get it for me. They do get a little cranky when they catch me though.

 

[AldeanFan]

It’s very rare to find an employee who is available and willing to help.
Maybe they are all in the back cleaning hair out of shopping cart wheels?

This is why I love my local hardware store. There are always employees willing to help, but if you say you know what you’re looking for they’ll leave you alone. And they don’t have carts so no hair to remove.

 

[Jarhead0408]

I carry a Pocket Parachute just in case I’m caught and need to escape from Aisle 3 to Aisle 4; I haven’t had to use it yet, but they stop climbing the ladder when I say “Stop or I’ll jump!”

 

[ybnormal]

My store for example pulls in almost $100 million in sales every year by itself and averaged $2.5 million in sales every week. To put that in perspective, all of those numbers are more than double that of Lowes.

your math is a bit off....

 

[ybnormal]

someone commented about more aprons on the floor and Nardelli.

I actually worked in the Austin Data Center for almost 2 years and I'd be hard-pressed to find a more incompetent support desk or technology department.
-they decided to standardize on network switches that were already EOL (End of Life). told their suppliers to go find more.
-they decided to install Call buttons for customers to get assistance in the stores. couple years later they took them out because customers were using them all the time to ask for "assistance in Aisle <x>".
-they decided that it would be easier to hire people with no technical background and train them in tech support rather than actually hire people with technical backgrounds
-they were amazed that I as a regular (underemployed, overqualified) desktop support tech told them the solution to the problem on their Unix servers slowing down ("gee, why don't you try killing all the Java ghost pids to claim back all those memory resources?") . not a single "thank you" or "good idea"
-or that they would expand their Pro Desk in the stores, which meant adding EP outlets (Emergency Power, colored Red). except that either they would NOT be attached to an EP circuit or they would overload the circuit with too much equipment). ...brilliant
-and last but not least, let's not forget that credit card info was not encrypted on the registers when the network went down, but the registers did not go down during a store power outage because "people want to buy stuff!"

 

[Wyoming09]

I'm so glad I have all 3 box stores within 10 minutes of my house. Lowes and HD have lost 90% of my business to Menards. Better pricing, fully stocked shelves, drive in lumber yard and 3x the customer service.

Looks like I have the best solution to to the 'stuff on the HD upper rack' problem.

Menards bashing in 3...2...1... LOL

Same here. Much easier to find help. Menards employees are all over the place. My big ***** with Menards is ordering online for in-store pickup. You have to traipse all the was to the back of the store to get your items. Takes way longer than it should

 

[AJHD]

your math is a bit off....

Indeed it is. I should have said "over $100 million" (instead of almost)...

 

[Al Borland]

The employees also "hide" some clearance or hard to find items way up by the ceiling so they can buy them later.

 

[Aileron]

When I worked at Lowes or Depot, I witnessed customers on the ladders a few times. I just walked away and if they tried to ask me something after that I just ignored them.

Did you ignore them before they went up on the ladder? Maybe that's the problem.Put the ladder in the back out of the isles and out of peoples way, problem solved.

 

[danski0224]

The employees also "hide" some clearance or hard to find items way up by the ceiling so they can buy them later.

When I worked there, this was a terminable offense.

There is written policy on these clearance items. They have to be out on the sales floor for 24 hours for regular customers before an employee is allowed to buy it.

The manager at the store I worked at really didn't want employees buying clearance items.

Yes, there are always ways around "the rules", and a lot of it depends on store management. It was taken pretty seriously when I was working there.

 

[oldmachinenut]

The store employees are also less than amused when you grab a 10 foot stick of emt and poke the item on the top shelf then catch it on the way down. Yes I did

 

[lolaetype]

Same here. Much easier to find help. Menards employees are all over the place. My big ***** with Menards is ordering online for in-store pickup. You have to traipse all the was to the back of the store to get your items. Takes way longer than it should

There is probably a reason for that; impulse buying. Something is likely to catch your eye on the way to the back of the store.

 

[JRC3]

There is probably a reason for that; impulse buying. Something is likely to catch your eye on the way to the back of the store.

I drive through the gate for pick ups.

 

[Wyoming09]

There is probably a reason for that; impulse buying. Something is likely to catch your eye on the way to the back of the store.

Yeah, I get it. But it's the main reason I do much more on-line in-store pick-up at HD.