Home Depot Apologizes to Pencil Thief

[sanant0n]

November 21, 2005 Home Depot Apologizes to Pencil Thief

METHUEN, Mass. (AP) -- Home Depot Inc. apologized to a carpenter who was banned by the chain worldwide after he absent-mindedly pocketed a pencil he had used up to do some quick math.

Michael Panorelli, 51, of Lawrence, was accused of shoplifting from the Methuen store last Thursday and banned from Home Depots.

Panorelli was with a client and had just bought some lumber when the client picked up the pencil sitting next to a cash register for Panorelli to use. Panorelli pocketed the pencil and was met in the parking lot by a worker who asked for identification.

The worker presented Panorelli with one letter saying he was banned from Home Depot, and another advising that he would be hearing from the company's lawyers.

Panorelli took his story to the Eagle-Tribune newspaper in Lawrence, which published it over the weekend.

On Sunday, Atlanta-based Home Depot issued a written apology, saying the incident was prompted by a narrow interpretation of its shoplifting-prevention rules.

"We will not be pursuing any claims against Mr. Panorelli for this incident," the statement said. "We welcome Mr. Panorelli back as a customer in our stores at any time."

But the carpenter said he had no intention of doing business there again, adding, "Why should I put money in someone's pocket when they treat me like this?"

[PipeDown]

He can say that all he wants (to a newspaper) but is he going to drive further to pay more for the same thing. Maybe once or twice but he will be back.

I'm not hot on HD contractor services or special order stuff but a box of nails is a box of nails no matter where you buy it and contractors only make money by not spending too much or going too far to get it.

[Eric Houkal]

That is very true, but around here every Home Depot has a Menards or a Lowes locate within a block or two, and I will (and do ) go that far to avoid them. You have to wonder what the marketing people are thinking- they spend millions on advertising to get you into the store, and then hire the cheapest people they can get to chase you out.

[darkon]

[snip]

That's my experience as well. There's a local mom-and-pop hardware store about a mile from my house, with a Home Depot a block or so away. I would prefer to go to the mom-and-pop store, but they close at 5:00pm on weekdays, noon or 1:00pm (I think) on Saturdays, and are closed on Sundays. In other words, whenever I'm indulging my hobby or doing home repairs they're almost always closed.

It's a shame, because I can walk in the mom-and-pop store with only a vague idea of what I need, describe my problem, and they'll say, "Oh yes, we have that right here" and lead me straight to it.

My usual (but not invariable) experience with the large chain stores is that I can walk in knowing exactly what I want, ask a store employee where it is, and they don't even know what I mean. "I don't think we carry that...."

Sometimes I am certain that they do indeed carry such an item, so I spend too much time searching until I find the paint scrapers with the doors, or the 1.25" dowels (minus 0.02" or more) right next to the toilets.

[Duane Bozarth]

And if the latter, if they didn't keep the cutout, they'd simply charge an equivalently higher cost/sq ft so OP would come out the same on a per sq ft basis...

[SteveB]

Going to Home Depot for a granite job, and then letting their wannabe derelict contract installers do the job ................

What's wrong with this picture?

WAIT, WAIT, I KNOW THE ANSWER TO THIS ONE!

Steve

[Doug Kanter]

Factory town, maybe? Rochester NY used to have lots of businesses that closed too early, thinking that everyone worked shifts at Kodak and got out at 4:00. Not very smart. Even Boy Scout and sports leagues used to start activities at 5:30 or 6:00, not giving 9-5 workers time to get home and eat. Tell the mom & pop that 6:00 on weekdays would be a smart move.

[Mark Lloyd]

When I needed a part for a toilet, I went to the local hardware store (at about 430PM), and found an interesting combination of signs:

"we have what you need when you need it"

and

"closed"

That sounds like the "give and take" common in advertising, where the first part tells you something good then the second part denies some or most of it, Like the ads saying "30% off everything in the store", then "except [LOOOONG list here]").

BTW, this was before there was a Lowe's here.

[darkon]

I live in northern Kentucky, basically a suburb of Cincinnati, so yes, your guess of a factory town is pretty good, although it's not as true as it used to be decades ago.

[Mark Lloyd]

There's a city (Longview TX) near here where there's a Lowe's next to a Home Depot. Maybe they get a lot of people who can't find what they're looking for and try the other store.

[Mark Lloyd]

We got a Lowe's (opened late July) about a mile from where I live. There's a local hardware store (farther) where I used to go when I needed help finding some little thing (like a nut to fit a particular bolt). I wonder if that small store will still be there next time I need that.

Lowe's is good when you already know what you need and can find it.

[Banty]

Our biggest business around here is IBM, but there are a lot of other things, universities, etc. The old fasioned hardware stores tend to close at 6:00, Boy Scouts and stuff like that tend to 7:00. I don't know if that's your Kodak Park effect shifted by an hour,though..

Banty (former daughter of Great Yellow Father)

[Doug Kanter]

It takes forever to change. I don't expect my local hardware store to be open till 9 every night, but they received applause when they changed from

5:30 to 6:30 on weeknights. I thanked them and the owner said "Yeah....everyone's telling us that".

[JasmynJade]

If you are speaking of the one in Florence, Ky....and I assume you are...Lowe's is less than 1/4 mile from there. Did they apologize to your satisfaction...if not, you know our newspapers around here are more than happy to slander any business that screws over the customer....contact Howard Ain or Michelle Hopkins.

[Doug Kanter]

Well, like I said, it's changing here. Kid activities, especially, took a long time because so often, they're run by little committees (and I say that with the utmost in derogatory intent). We had a Boy Scout troop run by women who thought "everyone should be able to get here by 5:00 if they're really committed". Nonsense. When hardly anyone showed up, they interpreted it to mean nobody was interested. When they moved the hours later, the meetings were packed, which they interpreted as unrelated to the time change. Duh. :-) These ladies were later made to go away and never come back, except to drop off and pick up their kids.

[Banty]

Yep, we have a few of those type organizers too. The "everyone in the troop/pack must (in the head of the organizer) go by my family's work schedule, and they must all (again in the head of the organizer) belong to the same parish too". So, they'll insist that xxx time is the *only* time things can happen, this weekend in May can't have plans because of their confirmations (and insist on a date which coflicts with another parish's confirmations).

But we've had various luck as far as making them go away :)

Banty

[Don]

"darkon"> wrote

LOL, ain't that the truth? I think I know the inventory at the Borgs better than the employees, including the managers!

[Charles Spitzer]

actually, it will do a great job cutting it. i cut small granite pieces with a tile saw frequently. the problem is the size of the table. the machine to cut these large slabs starts around $2 million, and they're about as large as a 3 car garage.

[tiny dancer]

I can't recall exactly what was priced what, but I remember we started around the 40 some dollar price range and went all the way up to around 90 bucks a square foot. The granite being the most expensive and I want to say quartz came in second to the top in pricing. All the other choices were grouped between those two price ranges. They may advertise a certain price, although I've never seen granite advertised at $49, but once you start giving them measurements and deciding on the type of finished edge you want, everything starts going up in price per square foot. Granted, the salesman did say that the granite I chose was their most expensive style. I believe it was called Blue Pearl. It also comes in a black pearl. Sales guy said those two particular colors were the most expensive granite they carried. Of course I didn't know that when I chose the color. They were all just grouped there together, and that was my color choice out of all the granite they had.

td

[tiny dancer]

I was leaning towards a porcelan sink but everyone is trying to talk me out of it because it might chip. I have stainless now, double sink, but I really don't like the look of the stainless. My cabinets will be a bright white, the countertop if I go with the granite I chose, would be very dark shades of blue. We are putting hardwoods on the floor and I want white appliances. I just don't care for the stainless look. Seems like with the appliances especially, they would be harder to keep clean what with kids and dogs.

td

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