Fail At Home Depot Today (Not Me -- The Employee)

[LTC]

so i went to Home Depot today to pick up a utility knife. i went to the tools/hardware section (in the tools section though) and the guy asks me if he can help me, so i told him i was looking for a utility knife that takes snap-off blades.

so he goes, "oh...those are all over in paint. you'll have to go over there for those..."

well. knowing he was wrong, i said, "ok, where are your utility knives?"

he pointed me to them and went to them with me. just about as soon as i got there, i picked one up -- with snap-off blade installed -- and just held it and then looked at him.

he goes, "oh."

then, "well most of them are in paint..." at which time i pointed out five other different models of utility knife with snap-off blades in various sizes and said, "yeah. i guess that's why they're all over here."

this wasn't some kid either...i figured he'd have had the knowledge or experience to know what he has in his department. and i know it was his department because i saw him helping other people (or directing them to go to paint) in his section while i was there.

i mean, i guess it's fine for someone to not know what is in their section and all. but i sort of take exception to have been potentially sent on a wild goose chase because of it. i've worked at lowe's before -- in tools/hardware -- and since i was the one stocking the stuff, i knew where it was, but....i just thought the whole thing was strange. they should do a skit about it on SNL sometime...

[Ed in Tx]

I am not at all surprised by your experience at Home Depot. I retired in 2006 and wanted to work at Home Depot part time for some extra cash. I have done all sorts of work around the house from electrical, plumbing, ceramic tile and a lot of wood working. I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about the tools needed to accomplish most tasks around the house. Well when I applied at HD they wanted the typical background information, I had worked at the same company for 30 years and when I retired I was a manager level with several direct report employees. I included in my resume the fact that I had no desire to manage others and was willing to work in several departments they had listed.

I was told that based on my experience they didn't think I would be satisfied in any of the jobs they had because my background and experience was too much. Based on that brilliant statement I realized why they had some of the people working at Home Depot that had no clue what was going on.

[benlilly1]

Great stories, guys! It must be the same everywhere...few know their job!

[DavidL]

I am not at all surprised by your experience at Home Depot. I retired in 2006 and wanted to work at Home Depot part time for some extra cash. I have done all sorts of work around the house from electrical, plumbing, ceramic tile and a lot of wood working. I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about the tools needed to accomplish most tasks around the house. Well when I applied at HD they wanted the typical background information, I had worked at the same company for 30 years and when I retired I was a manager level with several direct report employees. I included in my resume the fact that I had no desire to manage others and was willing to work in several departments they had listed.

I was told that based on my experience they didn't think I would be satisfied in any of the jobs they had because my background and experience was too much. Based on that brilliant statement I realized why they had some of the people working at Home Depot that had no clue what was going on.

A rumour I hear are cops aren't allowed to have a university degree or higher. This seems like backwards thinking to me. Easier to control I guess.

Most people I find doing part time have no clue other than the repetitive task they need to do. I asked the border service agency agent which company I should look out for so I don't have to deal with going to the headquarters every time I get a parcel to get the handling charges eliminated. She shrugged her shoulders and said she doesn't know even though all day every day thats what she does . All I know is UPS shipping to Canada the fees are ridiculous and Fedex and Purolator are equally as bad. USPS seems like the only option to get shipped into Canada.

I ordered 3 packages at the same time using UPS and got hit 3 times for 50 dollars per parcel. On the fourth delivery the driver told me that its just a scam the company pulls to get more cash and that I could get the paperwork done myself. If only the other drivers would have informed me I wouldn't have spent 100 dollars on nothing. Of course I didn't do my research - you live and learn.

Edited May 7, 2014 by DavidL

[Hi Im Joe]

A rumour I hear are cops aren't allowed to have a university degree or higher. This seems like backwards thinking to me. Easier to control I guess.

Most people I find doing part time have no clue other than the repetitive task they need to do. I asked the border service agency agent which company I should look out for so I don't have to deal with going to the headquarters every time I get a parcel to get the handling charges eliminated. She shrugged her shoulders and said she doesn't know even though all day every day thats what she does . All I know is UPS shipping to Canada the fees are ridiculous and Fedex and Purolator are equally as bad. USPS seems like the only option to get shipped into Canada.

I ordered 3 packages at the same time using UPS and got hit 3 times for 50 dollars per parcel. On the fourth delivery the driver told me that its just a scam the company pulls to get more cash and that I could get the paperwork done myself. If only the other drivers would have informed me I wouldn't have spent 100 dollars on nothing. Of course I didn't do my research - you live and learn.

Cops aren't allowed to have a university degree? Is that in the USA or somewhere else? You realize every major university in the states has a criminal justice program? A lot of graduates go on to become law enforcement of some type. That is one of the dumber things I've heard on here.

[LTC]

yeah, i know their so-called "brokerage fees" are ridiculous.

the cops in my area are actually required to have a college degree. probably just because they have a lot of applicants, so they can be picky i guess.

Ed, that's a shame about how home depot treated you. i sure would rather someone like you had been there to help me today instead of the genius telling me to look for utility knives in paint.

[DavidL]

Cops aren't allowed to have a university degree? Is that in the USA or somewhere else? You realize every major university in the states has a criminal justice program? A lot of graduates go on to become law enforcement of some type. That is one of the dumber things I've heard on here.

It was one of those conspiracy theories that my dad friend believed in. I also think that could be the case. Criminal justice courses are for forensics, crime scene.. ect. College degrees for police academy is how its done in Canada to become a cop. For those kinds of jobs they don't want people that will speak up and are harder to control (especially if you have a MBA or masters of a degree). Or I could just be crazy .

[WyomingSlick]

LOL Ah.....the world is getting more complicated all the time.

Used to be......we went into the store, and there was one kind of Coke, one kind of Pepsi, one kind of Mountain Dew, one kind of Dr.Pepper, 7Up, orange, grape, and root beer.

Today, there may be just that many varieties of Mountain Dew alone. Dunno why. I remember my first bottle of Mt. Dew....... the green one with the hillbillies on it. They got the taste right the first time, and haven't improved on it since.

The story is the same everywhere. The array of consumer products that are available is bewildering. Hell, women need to subscribe to some magazine just to keep abreast of all the new make-up and beauty products that are out there. Hmmm.....6 differant models of snap-off blade knives,........40 differant screwdrivers, 50 kinds of sockets, 25 kinds of drill bits.......etc

The thing is that HD probably has a high rate of turnover in its employees,, and it may well have been that fellow's first week on the job. Hell, he may have been just working there to pay the bills until he gets a position as a rocket scientist for which he has three advanced degrees in.

Yes, it is nice when someone really knows their stuff........but all I expect anymore from retail clerks is a helpful attitude and courtesy.......anything more is a bonus.

[Ed in Tx]

Having 2 sons that are police officers I have some knowledge of what the requirements are. The requirement of a college degree will vary from city to city, around the DFW area the larger cities don't necessarily require a degree and the cities that do require one do not specify as to the major. Some cities may not require a 4 year degree but do require a certain number of college hours in conjunction with other factors such as military service.

A criminal justice degree focuses more on the background of the justice and penal systems, in Texas they also require foreign language courses specifically Spanish (what a shock and also a load of BS). Both of my sons have criminal justice degrees, when they were hired they were also required to attend a 21 week police academy. The police academy focuses on Texas law as well as training the recruits in the techniques of daily police work including use of the vehicle. The vehicle part teaches high speed and low speed maneuvers.

As in any profession there are always going to be good and bad employees, a police department is no different. Unfortunately the media seems to focus on the bad not the good things that police officers do on a daily basis.

[Hi Im Joe]

Having 2 sons that are police officers I have some knowledge of what the requirements are. The requirement of a college degree will vary from city to city, around the DFW area the larger cities don't necessarily require a degree and the cities that do require one do not specify as to the major. Some cities may not require a 4 year degree but do require a certain number of college hours in conjunction with other factors such as military service.

A criminal justice degree focuses more on the background of the justice and penal systems, in Texas they also require foreign language courses specifically Spanish (what a shock and also a load of BS). Both of my sons have criminal justice degrees, when they were hired they were also required to attend a 21 week police academy. The police academy focuses on Texas law as well as training the recruits in the techniques of daily police work including use of the vehicle. The vehicle part teaches high speed and low speed maneuvers.

As in any profession there are always going to be good and bad employees, a police department is no different. Unfortunately the media seems to focus on the bad not the good things that police officers do on a daily basis.

This is a good post. Much better than mine. But to say having a college degree precludes you from being a police officer is asinine.

Sorry for the strong language but I have a lot of friends who are police officers and they are nothing like the stereotype DavidL is portraying in his posts. It irks me.