OT: BORG Never Sleeps

[mttt]

Snippets from

The Associated Press Updated: 11:24 a.m. ET Jan.

"The Home Depot said Friday it will spend $3.7 billion in 2004 to modernize its stores, upgrade technology and open 175 new stores...

...plans to branch out and improve efforts such as at-home services, tool rental centers and the company Web site...

... 'The Home Depot is creating dynamic stores through our offering of innovative and distinctive products, store modernization efforts and investments in technology and store associates' "...

[Wes Stewart]

|Snippets from | |The Associated Press |Updated: 11:24 a.m. ET Jan. | |"The Home Depot said Friday it will spend $3.7 billion in 2004 to modernize |its stores, upgrade technology and open 175 new stores... | |...plans to branch out and improve efforts such as at-home services, tool |rental centers and the company Web site... | |... 'The Home Depot is creating dynamic stores through our offering of |innovative and distinctive products, store modernization efforts and |investments in technology and store associates' "...

Until fairly recently the Borg had a monopoly so to speak here in Tucson.

Then there was the anouncement that Lowes was opening a store in a defunct Monkey-Wards building (a mile or so from a Borg).

Not long after, I noted a distinct change in the service at "my" Borg (not the one close to Lowes). I couldn't walk anywhere in the store without being greeted by an employee offering to help or just saying Hi.

Now, Lowes is remodeling a defunct Super K Mart about 1/2 mile from "my" Borg, and suddenly the Borg is doing some remodeling. Funny how that works.

|

[BRuce]

one of the newer HD here has a large rental area. prices slightly higher than some of the rental shops but closer. Haven't rented anything yet, probably a power auger next weekend. Will have to see how the service is.

BRuce

mttt wrote:

[Rod]

The HD by me has a tool rental... I've rented several things from there... namely a sewer auger and a wet saw... both in excellent condition and competively priced...

[Preston Andreas]

You can also pick up some good buys from the rental store.

Preston

[Jim Wilson]

The orange Borg.

The blue Borg.

Wish that had happened at the Oracle location (the one near the Lowe's). They just seemed to cut back the staff to match the reduction in business. That place used to be packed all the time, but for a year now (already?!) it's been a veritable graveyard each time I've stopped in. The Lowe's is much nicer and cleaner, and the service *is* better. It's still a Borg, though. I hear the Home Depot is going move down the street

a bit to a pretty new building, yet to be built.

So that's what they're putting in there...

Cheers!

Jim

[ATP]

I got a deep Milwaukee Porta-band saw for $125, original price 338. It was in nice shape, definitely better than the ones I've seen on ebay for more. Other prices didn't look that great, though.

[Wes Stewart]

|Wes Stewart wrote... | |> Until fairly recently the Borg had a monopoly so to speak here in |> Tucson. | |The orange Borg.

Right | |> Then there was the anouncement that Lowes was opening a store in a |> defunct Monkey-Wards building (a mile or so from a Borg). | |The blue Borg.

Yep | |> Not long after, I noted a distinct change in the service at "my" Borg |> (not the one close to Lowes). I couldn't walk anywhere in the store |> without being greeted by an employee offering to help or just saying |> Hi. | |Wish that had happened at the Oracle location (the one near the Lowe's). |They just seemed to cut back the staff to match the reduction in |business. That place used to be packed all the time, but for a year now |(already?!) it's been a veritable graveyard each time I've stopped in. |The Lowe's is much nicer and cleaner, and the service *is* better. It's |still a Borg, though. I hear the Home Depot is going move down the street |a bit to a pretty new building, yet to be built.

Either place is too damn hard to get in and out of. I think these companies do a survey and find that 50,000 cars go by each day so it must be a good location. Krispy Kreme built near there (I own stock in them and since that store opened the stock keeps going down [g]).

The operative words are the cars *go by*; it doesn't mean that they can actually navigate into the parking lot.

"Course if you really want lousy service, shop the Orange Borg at I-19 & Irvington without knowing how to speak Spanish. But don't stay inside too long or your car will be in Mexico before you come out. I go to code "Orange" and use my concealed carry permit when I shop there.

| |> Now, Lowes is remodeling a defunct Super K Mart about 1/2 mile from |> "my" Borg, and suddenly the Borg is doing some remodeling. Funny how |> that works. | |So that's what they're putting in there...

Yep. Right on my way to the Orange Borg and lots of parking. And if they don't put in a "Self Checkout line", they'll get all of my business. I'm retired and if I wanted a job as a cashier at a home center (or a supermarket) I'd put in an application.

Regards,

Wes

[Mark & Juanita]

... snip

The Orange Borg was earlier successful in preventing the Blue Borg from building a new (and its first Tucson) building before they bought the Monkey Wards. Don't recall the original location under consideration, may have been Ina and LaCholla, but HD certainly helped stir up the locals about not wanting "another big box".

I never noticed that. I still have to hunt for help.

Hey, that's the Borg I use also.

>

[Mark & Juanita]

... snip

I think the Lowes had some fairly heavy restrictions put on them, regarding how traffic could ingress and egress. What I really don't understand is the parking lot striping; one would generally assume that people visiting a home improvement center are going to be driving vehicles of sufficient size to carry stuff like sheet goods and other large items, yet they striped the parking lot for compacts.

Fortunately, the stock started going down before I decided to buy (so this time, it wasn't my fault)

... snip

I've stopped by there a time or two to and from work, never have found what I went in for.

LOL. If they keep the parking lot the way it was, this has the chance of being a pretty decent location. I've really reduced the amount of business I've been doing with the Borgs lately. I've started buying both lumber and sheet goods from McEwen, most of my fasteners by mail- order from McFeeley's, and a combination of WWS and Lee Valley for most tools and hardware.

[Wes Stewart]

[snip] | I've stopped by there a time or two to and from work, never have found |what I went in for.

Where's work?

[Tim Douglass]

Seems to be some sort of conspiracy. I drive either a crew cab pickup or 15 passenger van, neither one of which really qualifies as a compact. Try getting one of those puppies in or out of your typical Borg parking spot! Fortunately I don't mind walking, so I just park on the far side of the lot.

Good news here in Central Oregon is that Lowes started moving dirt for their Bend store. By summer the Orange Borg will have some competition. The two stores will be literally back to back - kinda weird.

Tim Douglass

[Robert Bonomi]

Betcha there's a local ordinance that specifies the minimum number of 'cars' that they have to provide parking for, based on the square-footage of the store. And that said calculated requirement is 'excessive' to actual needs.

[John Crea]

Not so odd, the Orange Borg came to town a few years ago, built right across the street from Lowes

John

[Wood Butcher]

In Hillsboro OR, Blue built right door to Orange and they share a parking lot. Very convient for the price matching game.

Art

[Mark & Juanita]

Raytheon airport site.

[Brian Elfert]

Rental prices at the local HD are the same or lower as any local rental place.

Brian Elfert

[Brian Elfert]

Why the aversion to "Self Checkout". Any store that puts in one of these will get more of my business.

I can usually get out of the store far faster with Self Checkout than having to wait in line for a cashier. I don't usually buy enough at a supermarket to need a regular cashier.

Brian Elfert

[mttt]

I did my first "Self Checkout @ The Grocery Store Whilst Buying Produce" experience. The cashier is much faster when you have to buy bananas, apples and grapes. Using the Self Checkout was a real PITA.

[Robert Bonomi]

The town I grew up in had a string of grocery stores that, as of early 2000, had -not- put in 'scanners' at the check-out registers. They had 'evaluated' the technology, every few years since the mid '80s, and found it to be 'counter-productive' in _their_ environment. i.e. *slower* than a regular cashier.

Admittedly, these stores were _unique_ operation -- they hired only *good* people, and paid quite well. (when the founder of the stores retired, he 'sold out' _to_the_employees_, it's an 'employee-owned' chain nowadays.) People routinely made a career out of working there. They had comparatively _stable_ prices, and cashiers who'd been there for 'a while' had pricing for the entire inventory _memorized_. Thus, they could shovel stuff down the conveyer with the left hand, operating the register 'by touch' with their right hand, *without* having to look for price stickers on the individual items. It was simply _amazing_ how fast they could ring up a cart-load of stuff.

One other thing, the cashiers knew the 'regular' customers. not just a few, but 'nearly all'. Not uncommon for the cashier to be greeting 80+% of them by name as the came through the line -- and exchanging gossip about the rest of the family.

One can understand why their _smallest_ store did nearly twice the sales volume of the next-largest grocery store in town.

Finally, in summer 2000, they _did_ put in scanners at the registers. In at least one store, they installed three extra check-out lanes, to be able to continue to handle the peak loads with similar timeliness. It's still people-driven, not self-check-out.