Home Depot's pathetic web site

[Joe]

Before I head off to the big box stores I like to check product availability to avoid futile trips. Last time I needed some molding and trim pieces I checked Lowe's and got a couple pages of details on sizes, shapes, and prices. Thought maybe HD might have something a bit different so went to their web site, typed in molding and came up with nada. Later I went to HD for some shop lights and checked to see if the store carried any moldings...sure enough, they had lots of them. But not on the web site. Today I needed some Type B heater vent, and sure enough, Lowes had a nice tidy listing, very informative, good prices. Checked the Big Orange Store Site and typed in 'heater vent', 'duct work', all kinds of related things and got only 'most popular products' not at all like what I needed. Apparently the web masters at HD think they are working for Macy's or Old Navy. Odds are none of them have ever visited a construction site, sheet metal shop or even their own warehouse. To cap it off, they state that their software only responds to M$ IE or Netscape on PC's only, presumably. IE has been overtaken by better browsers and lost substantial users, and Netscape is back in the dust from what I read. Me? I use Mac Safari. Based on this, IMO, Tony Stewart's sponsor has a seriously out of touch and maybe even incompetent IT department that is succeeding in driving customers away and any eMail complaints or comments are refused by their software. On the positive side, the Lithonia brand shop lights I bought there were first class and well priced. And that's my rant.

Joe

[Doug Miller]

I agree, it *is* pretty lame -- their search function sucks, failing time after time to turn up products that I *know* they sell -- but if you think HD's web site is pathetic, you obviously haven't seen Menards. (For those not familiar with it, Menards is a mostly-Midwest home center chain, 3rd in the US, I think, behind HD and Lowe's.)

Just try and search for a product *there* !!

[hal]

I agree. HD website is horrible. It would be nice if they listed all the products they sell at all stores, at least by region. Then you could at least see many choices and get ideas, even if it turned out your local store didn't have the specific item listed.

Of course what would be really nice is if you could search all stores in your area and the web sites were updated with real time inventory. But we would have to be living in the age of computers and networking for that to work I guess.

[MB]

everything is on there

[buffalobill]

in buffalo ny: instead use their hd supply page and browse thru their catalog online.

you can browse thru deep descriptions of products at:

you can look > Before I head off to the big box stores I like to check product

[kellyj00]

try contractorservices.homedepot.com

[Joe]

Appreciate the tips on HD catalog. Hard to understand why they want this big gulf between contractors and earnest DIY-ers. Logically they should dump the 'civilian' website and maybe send those employees over to Menards to help them get their IT into this millenium. Re: Johnstone Supply, in our locale there is a warehouse but the personnel refuse to have anything to do with anyone not a journeyman plumber or plumbing firm employee. Claim is they are afraid of litlgation. Weird.

Joe

[DT]

Go to the contractor's desk and ask for a copy of their "Worksite CD". It installs on your home computer and links (via the Internet) to Home Depot. All products are on there, listed by what is carried in each actual store. You can change to whatever store you want. Live updates whenever you want to obtain current pricing. You can make up orders with running totals and print up invoices.

[Eigenvector]

Try McClendon Hardware. You can find the stuff on the site okay, but when you go down to the store

"Excuse me, I was loo.." "Hey you look like a shoplifter, GUARDS!!" sound of gunfire and tear gas being released.

[mm]

Yes, they don't seem to understand that I have a car. I would rather drive a few miles than not have what I am trying to buy.

And yes, they often say they don't have things that I just saw there. Once they had no single handle kitchen faucets, when I was there that afternoon and they had 5 or more models, all in stock.

Lowes's is terrible too last time I looked, just a few months ago.

Lowes enables you to order non-store stuff and have it deliverd to the store with no charge for shipping. It's not evident until you are ready to check out.

[Rudy]

But then, as usual, once you got to the store, they'd be "out" of what you need anyway.

[The Streets]

I agree - the Worksite CD *was* really great. I used it for years. BUT, HD dropped support for it last year when they put up the contractor web site. For now at least they still provide the price update feed. But that's about it. I wrote a letter trying to convince them that the CD was a real competitive advantage for them and so much better than the web site; but, no response.

[Nate Nagel]

Either that, or there'd be an empty box on the shelf after some asshole had stolen what you wanted out of the packaging. That's my experience, anyway.

nate