Thoughts on Home Depot STX

Surprising. I know several people who now are hourly employees at Home Depot and they have nothing but good things to say about it. And these are good, solid workers. Please give us some specifics regarding his concerns.

Complete baloney. Home Depot is making every other STX retail operation look bad, and this sort of obscure attack is proof of the good they are doing. Raise the bar, HD!

SunnyCaribe, I can't disagree with the portion of your comment "making every other retailer look bad". There's something to be said for good competition and lower prices.

On the other hand, there are two sides to every story, and in this story I must support my friend's perspective. (That's what friends do.)

I will still make my weekly trips to HD, but I will be paying more attention to the actions & demeanor of the employees.

Your "friend" is you, and we understand that............ Duh! Stop trying to start revolutions and WORK! WORK MY FRIEND, WORK! Yes, it is hard if you are not used to WORKING, but suck it up and WORK! MAN, lame post! Bro you would survive 10 minutes working in Cleveland, Detroit, or the mines of West Virginia! IT'S CALLED WORK! DO IT! IT'S NOT SLAVERY! DUH!!!!! GET OVER THAT AND WORK!!!! WORK MON, WORK!!!

I have some thoughts, not related to OP or his friend ...

My biggest problem with HD right now is that they are making it more and more difficult by the day to shop there, especially for big ticket items. So many big ticket items either: don't have floor samples (only in boxes), have floor samples with no boxes (none in stock), or have floor samples with no prices posted anywhere near the floor samples. They are really having growing pains regarding their supply chain. I have had more than one experience where I want to buy a big ticket item and their computer tells their associate they have well into the double digits of quantity in stock, but no one at the store can actually seem to find where any of their supposed stock is located. I also had a real horrible experience a couple of weeks ago trying to buy something they had on sale in their circular. They simply didn't have what they had in the circular in stock for an entire week. They are very strict about one thing, however: no rainchecks.

Don't get me wrong, I still go there weekly, if not multiple times per week and the prices are truly spectacular (hope they stay that way), but the joy I felt when I first shopped there has turned to frustration over their supply chain issues.

Home Depot is still great!Not because they do things wrong or half ass like most places on island .Structure for some is hard to deal with.Your friend probably hasn't had to go without meals or loose his house yet.So how is he strong for quitting?.I'll never forget when I was much younger when an employer told me "either you'll do it or I'll get someone who will".You want a job....you'll do it.You may think he was a hero,to his coworkers, when in fact he was weak.

The only issue I have with Home Depot is the varied shifts. One week I open at 5 am for two days then start at 9 am then two close shifts. This didn't allow my body to get in sink.The starting pay is $2.00 lower than the states.With the cost of living here it should be $2.00 more.As per the upper management, it's a corporation not a warm and fuzzy play ground.There are opportunities for advancement if you like the corporate gig.

I am thankful Home Depot is here. Glad for the low prices. I saw on another 'militant' blog HD was accused of 'not fitting in with their surroundings' .... It's offensive, like the OP statement 'management brought here has no roots and can leave the island without looking back'

Really?? So what if they brought in people that know the job already and want to run an efficient, effective business, and teach others ? And you know everyone's story and they can just move back if they want? Please. I was in HD recently and noticed some boxes on a high shelf stacked poorly and about to fall . I pointed it out to two local employees. They advised a supervisor, then one made a big deal about how she had to block the aisle off (that's great if that is safety protocol) and kept joking to the supervisor that came to fix the boxes that 'this is unacceptable- that's what you tell us." Then she said I should let the box fall on me and get money, then said to the supervisor ( who was up there doing everything) ' oh, are you getting loud with me?'. I really couldn't believe it. Sorry your friend couldn't drop the hammer on people when needed. Maybe these were two of his employees. Structure and professionalism is difficult, but needed.

If you want to see a supplier who comes in and makes landmark changes in the business landscape, watch what happens if WalMart ever comes to the VI... It's business, all business folks. Oh wait, the VI probably doesn't even wiggle their "interest meter" due to low population and high supply chain costs.

I agree Saucey, it's a real shame that HD expects it supervisors to to work hard and expect their employees to work hard and be nice to the customer. OMG what is next? Coming to work on time? Working a full day?? Coming to work everyday??? This has to stop!!!!

NOT!!!

I have only been in HD twice so far but thought it was the best service I have received anywhere on island in a retail store.
Whatever they are doing I hope it catches on with others but probably won't will the attitudes of people like your friend!
The supervisor who had the surly employee that mminstx talks about should have the authority to fire her a** on the spot. But with the labor board so supportive on non-workers who are being paid to take up space, this probably won't happen.

As far as 'big corporate' employers go, I would take Home Depot and their off-island ethic ANY DAY over the Hovensa on-island shark-tank mentality. I understand that it won't be a perfect fit for everyone...the island ethic which I love so much depends on self-sufficiency and ingenuity and this doesn't always easily mesh with the corporate team dynamic. But Crucians deserve good service and quality merchandise at fair prices, so hopefully they will appreciate the new standard.

NB: Now do you see why WAPA is sooooo scared of outside influence and competition??

unrelated to the particulars, but what do you all go to HD for on a weekly/biweekly basis for? i am still trying to figure out the best prices for things and would appreciate this info. thanks.

A member of my household works at HD and with some exceptions, overall has had a positive experience. I've learned that HD Is a surprisingly complex operation with ambitious goals. They have had some growing pains in part due to new staff and a mixing of cultures, expectations and work ethics. Some who came to open the store have left after realizing this aint paradise, -especially on a HD salary. Some locals can't handle the pace, while others are flourishing.

Given the large number of employees, some are bound to be discontent right or wrong. They could use a few more staff from what I've been told and seen, yet I suppose most of us would rather have low prices rather than service, -a sign of the times.

unrelated to the particulars, but what do you all go to HD for on a weekly/biweekly basis for? i am still trying to figure out the best prices for things and would appreciate this info. thanks.

Cleaning supplies, paper towels and plastic bags, bottled water, insect repellant ... Then there is always the little things that pop up from time to time and are significantly cheaper than Gallows Bay. Also, I have bought tile, paint, a freezer, a grill at HD and the prices have been great. Just took a little extra effort to get everything I wanted.

Plants, seeds, dirt, more plants, screws, acid, more plants, glue, paint, bleach, bug stuff, more plants, toilet repair stuff...

I hope they find the right "mix" between corporate & local culture.

I buy general household cleaning supplies and detergent, handsoap, batteries, lightbulbs, small electrical products like coffeemakers, and the outside patio furniture is great with a big selection.

called them yesterday to see if they had any galvanized wire mesh to repair the cat pens at the STX Animal Shelter.
got placed on hold......for 5 minutes....not impressed.

Went to STX Trading for treated 2x4's, took 3 minutes, will be delivered today.
Went to GB Hardware for the galvanized wire mesh....had 2 guys who knew what they were doing help me right away.

called them yesterday to see if they had any galvanized wire mesh to repair the cat pens at the STX Animal Shelter.
got placed on hold......for 5 minutes....not impressed.

Went to STX Trading for treated 2x4's, took 3 minutes, will be delivered today.
Went to GB Hardware for the galvanized wire mesh....had 2 guys who knew what they were doing help me right away.

"Calling" puts you in line like everyone else. "Went to" is always faster, --if they got it. Too bad they don't have a calling center operator who could immediately answer, look up the inventory and tell you right away.

No doubt the GB staff is more experienced. It's just that you pay a premium on many items for such convenience. The way I look at it, HomeDepot is mostly for those who know what they're coming to get and want price. Hopefully HD will help create competitive prices across the island. Any sense of that happening yet??

The other advantage HD has going for it is location, location, location. For those of us not living out east, it's an easy jump on the highway. Prior to that, it was a 20-25 minute hike through Csted into Gallows Bay.

On several occasions, without my asking, the STX Home Depot staff have walked me to the items I was looking for, and it was not always a short walk.

One of the reasons I moved down here was the lack of Big Box Stores, so I doubt you'll find me there.

It might as well be Walmart, just another faceless corporation that will soak up the money, that usually goes to mom and pop stores and locals and sends it right to the top where you'll never see a penny of it in your local community. Then the local businesses will close up, prices will rise and everybody will complain how HD is evil and screwed them over and take no responsibility for themselves actually being the ones who closed the stores of the folks who live here.

Thanks God Home Depot is here. After being price gouged for the past 2 decades, its about time we had some choice. The assumption that local businesses are somehow inherently better than a big box store is patently false. Let's play a game - name the local hardware store that raised prices on large propane tanks by $1000 after hurricane Omar? Anyone ... anyone?

The right "Mix" is Home Depot and "local jobs".It's amazing to me how often that Gift horse gets kicked in the mouth around here.Count the customers going in and out and tell me what a disservice they are doing to the island .Geeeezzz:S

I remember talking to some of the guys that built this home depot. That's all they do go around and build home depots. When I found out what they did, I told them how glad we were that they were here. They said they got that response constantly while on island and it was one of the few places they ever had. 🙂

Very glad they are here, the local hardware store gouge on most of their inventory. Places like gallow bay hardware may have some knowledgeable staff, but home depot does require their staff to go to training and constantly learn about their department. So all throughout the year they will receive training. This is something that big corporations usually do well. So they may not be as knowledgeable as some hardware stores now but they will in the future.

Frankly it was very hard for me to get help at gbh until I made some friends out of the employees, haven't had that problem at home depot at all. And I do like the people at gbh, it just the prices are so high. I don't have a problem with anyone making a profit but if I can order and ship it myself and still save quite a bit of money, your prices are TOO high!

HD STT had some early growing pains as well.Actually after the first couple years, service and supply went downhill. then they must have brought in some new people because in the past year or so, the store is much, much better. On par with stateside except for about 30% of the surly staff who hate you, for various reasons (never been trained about customer service, don't want to work, nasty personalities, hate white people, hate everybody)....but since that figure is about 20% stateside, the differential is not so severe. I suspect it is less of an issue on STX as the people are nicer there or don't automatically hate non-islanders.

In any case, they are providing a much needed service to customers on the islands. Interesting how competition has reacted here...some hardware stores have gone out of business while others, like Sea Chest, have SIGNIFICANTLY improved customer service to compete.

It's business, bottom line, and if smaller establishments have been gliding along fat dumb and happy, and don' figure a way to compete, then they deserve the end result. life is not a vacation, and big is not bad. neither is making money. Put up or shut up. Stop the whining. Work hard and compete. Bottom line is the customer will get a better overall experience at HD (price, service, quality) or they won't survive.

And saucey, sometimes it is best to give friends a dose of the truth rather than just support them blindly. not easy, but that is what being a friend is all about. sometimes the truth hurts. but it is the best medicine.

....my opinion