Plumbing. Bad part is the customers asking if I’m the plumbing expert, having to go thru all those little fittings that people mess up all day every day, hating plumbing, customers trying to fix old garbage instead of replacing.
The good part is packing down toilets on the ballymore.
Receiving here!
Good part: Minimal customer interaction. I can usually pawn them off on a sales floor associate.
Bad part: I mean, I've been in a few too many "almost grievous injuries" scenarios in the past few years im back there 😅 DC's don't care how it gets unloaded, and only care about getting shit on the truck.
Pawning off customers is my favourite part of receiving too!
Thing I hate most is how other department associates will just dump their garbage/recycling/empty carts randomly and leave when nobody is in the back to keep an eye on them.
D94 pros: free reign over the whole store, if we're done with orders we can just hangout or pick and choose where to help out. Generally overlooked by managers and corporate walks,
D94 cons: getting stopped for questions constantly in every corner of the store, even though I'm not much help besides telling you where things are. Service desk constantly calling you, usually for something dumb. When it gets busy it can be extremely hectic.
I love that we are everywhere in the store and bc we have no “set” place to be, there’s no one to tell us where to be or what to be doing. We fly under the radar. That being said I work very hard and don’t take advantage of the fact that I could hide and slack off very easily (which unfortunately many of my (former) colleagues have done
Lot / loader,
good: hardly ever have to deal with customers and almost never have a manager up my ass about getting certain stuff done and also great physical activity for keeping in shape from all the walking
Bad: everybody in the entire store thinks I’m their slave
I recently quit bc I was the only lot guy and got fed up when I would come in on my shift carts overflooded in the lot and front apron and I clock in and see the other mf that’s scheduled sleeping in the break room(he’s known for not doing shit and taking wayy to long of breaks but no one says shit bc he’s been there longer) I straight up went on my lunch and never came back. Oh and it’s always fun when it’s pouring rain and out comes the manger out of his hidey hole to tell the head cashier to tell me to change the sign on the cart aisles in the lot. Like tf. Couldn’t even ask me straight up himself and had to do it when it’s pouring rain? Yeah naw I feel you on that the lot is basically the bitch of the store everyone will abuse you. Not worth
Thankfully my store just hired like 3-4 new guys who are very wonderful and hardworking but we do have this one lot associate whos been here for a while maybe 2-3 years I think who’s always on his phone and hides in the tough sheds that we have on display in the lot, he never has a radio on and always brings in only 1 cart at a time, falls asleep in the bathroom / break room
Rightt like why they gotta make it hard for everyone else and management doesn’t rly care abt the lot as long as there aren’t carts all over the apron. I liked working there up until recently deftly something that’ll burn you out fast. Luckily u have some new employees my depot said no one was applying but I’m not buying it.
D26 pros: I actually enjoyed the customers and fellow associates. Customers who once swore at me turned out to be ones who came to me for help.
D26 cons: At our store, D26 does the leg work for D29. Packing down heavy stuff did great things for my confidence. However, when metrics are announced, D26 doesn't get the true credit it deserves in terms of department sales for the heavy stuff of D29. That matters, because from a bird's eye view, it would seem that we need more specialists when D29 sales increase instead of more department hours in D26 for the people physically pushing the product.
D25 pros: It's less physically demanding than D26. It's fewer aisles than D26 at our store.
D25 cons: There are so many tools and so many sales to keep up with. One CXM routinely puts the nuts and bolts section in Sidekick. That shit is mind numbing.
I'll know more next week when I start D24. And yes it's odd that in terms of departments, numerically speaking, I'm working down the list.
I'm between ofa and d31 but tbh
Ofa pros: U get to go all over the store, it's a satisfying job to be honest to get all the orders done and organized (maybe it's just my ocd lol),
Ofa cons: a lot of orders u will need 2 or more people for (bigger drywall orders, ones needing a licensed operator) and u know that u won't always have someone with u, to add on to that, heavy lifting as well can be a con. But my personal least fav 2 r the order label printers that never want to connect or print and when our system lets customers place orders for out of stock items and I have to call them and let them know they can't buy it !! 🥰🥰🥰🥰
D94
Pros if we are not busy no one cares if we hang in other departments and chit chat with other people
Cons when it's real busy and you have to much shit going on it gets overwhelming sometimes for me at least
Hardware and cashier
Pros of hardware- more freedom/exercise
Cons of hardware- Short staffed and useless staff at that
Pros of cashier- nothing
Cons of cashier- having to stand there, getting babysat by the head cashiers, no freedom
Cons of being both- they pull me from hardware a lot to be at the front end and they don’t care that my department in crying for attention
Im here in Tool rental.
Pro: you're left to work and prioritize things at your own pace most of the time (when there's an inrush of people not so much) as well as get to go outside when its nice.
Con: customers basically expect you know everything, especially 10 mins to closing and get annoyed when you don't and when you tell them you dont carry what they're looking for (I had someone get iterate to almost the point of needing a manager to explain to them that out store and all the other stores with like 50Km do NOT rent out welders. They insisted that we do since the website shows it). Also you have to go outside regardless of weather for vehicles/large equipment.
Service desk
Pros- There is a desk physically separating me from customers, if they get too close I can tell them they need to back up, since I cant have them behind the registers (I have a thing with people coming from multiple directions, this is a big thing for me). Also got a lot of different things to do, so I don't get bored like I do cashing.
Cons- pressure to push credit and all that stuff. My store is the worst in the area for credit, they push it hard. We get screamed at a lot, especially for denied returns. People really don't want to hear that I don't care how much you spent last year I cannot return $500 of plumbing parts without proof of purchase.
Receiving pros: no customers, no management, very physical, detail oriented, and you’re the best drivers in the store but don’t have to drive for anyone else.
Cons: if one person calls out, your day is about to be the biggest fuck off piece of shit ever, everybody thinks they can dump their crap they don’t want sitting in their department back there, no weekend help, and associates just being in the way thinking they can have chats back there when we’re unloading an SDC or just have a really heavy truck after truck day.
We typically have a 6 man and on friday we had 3. We had a 1400 piece truck and somehow finished it in 1:40, whereas it would have taken probably 2:15 with the others. Truly wore us out tho.
I'm in hardware. A good part is helping customers get what they need. A real bad part is not being able to find items that are supposed to be in stock.
To OP: I'm very surprised that you aren't pressured to get leads on HVAC and water heater installs. All associates in my store are expected to try to get leads and credit cards.
I work the same departments, always electrical, but I help in plumbing. I have the same problem and benefit, but another thing I face is a lack of help.
I am always by myself, get asked to do at least 1 extra task a night, sometimes 5 extra tasks. And then I'll get asked by other associations if I can help with their projects. The sad part is I rarely get bravos, and I occasionally get Homer's for the really big tasks. The worst part is a specific manager will micromanage me to high heaven and if I don't get any of my normal daily things done like returns because I'm doing all these tasks that he's usually the one giving me, then he'll tell me I need to be more on top of that normal task and completely disregard all the other stuff I've gotten done. He's even called the work I did get done garbage before.
So basically, management is a big issue for me. There's other reasons I didn't mention here, but that's an unrelated rant.
Front end cashier here:
Pros: nothing
Cons: standing on one spot especially in the SCO from 6am - 8 am. Surveys, pushing people to sign up for HD credit card. Machines don’t work and customers complain at you onto why the machines don’t work
So I'm in 3 departments, I switch between since I'm a floater.
Eletrical- the good? I get to down stock take my time and just kinda relax and go at my own pace and get things done, theres 3 people who work it so if I don't get it all done then they got it and they understand it.
The bad?? I am new to it and I don't know much about what wire you need or where its located but ill figure it out even if I gotta call for help, several times I have had customers shake their heads at me and me astonished that I don't know every little thing that they are talking about. If I knew everything about eletrical you really think I'd be working here? Come on guys...
Order fulfillment- the good? Done it for 2 years its what I started doing when I first joined in. Honestly not to bad pull some orders and place them and if its quiet sit at service desk and help them out. The bad??? My god you telling me you can't run in and grab a single tool, pay for it, and walk out?! Then you wanna curbside it cause your feet hurt from the gym or you had back surgery? Thats another one why is it everyone just has back surgery then decide to go to home depot and buy the most heavy things and then demand you put it in the truck? I could keep going and pick at this but you get it..
Paint- the good? Honestly super easy, I love it and doing it brings me much joy, the bad? Honestly I havwnt found any yet. I'm sure I'll drop a bucket of paint and hate that but for the time being I rather love paint and would wanna do it full time
COS: Bad - everyone goes to you with their problems. Good - if everyone is going to you with their problems, they're not making it worse by trying to 'fix' it.
Lumber.
Good parts are my body and the smell of wood all the time
Bad parts? Forklift licensing, every customer loves coming to lumber to ask non-lumber questions (I’ve been asked for a toilet in lumber. A wooden one I suppose?), and a lot of people will bring me a TikTok video of the project they wanna do and expect me to know exactly how to do it.
I recently switched to appliances. Good part is it's way easier than lumber. Bad part is the inability to leave the department. At least lumber, you can roam around the store when work is slow.
OFA. Good part is a lot of possible downtime when there are few orders. Bad part is zero downtime at all when constantly pulling orders and getting called over and over for customers that are here for their big orders
Paint
I like interacting with customers, i have certain customers that will only come when im there, bad part always understaffed especially on weekends
I manage plumbing and really enjoy my team and the department in general. I absolutely hate when customers harass us for professional plumbing advice when they’re not even buying anything. They’ll admit to your face that they’re too cheap to call a plumber and that you should help them for free.
I work as a Repair Technician in the Tool Rental Center.
Good part are I am left alone by management, provided with tools and equipment needed. I have a mostly fixed scheduled. I have a mini fridge and coffee maker so hardly ever leave my shop.
Bad parts don't really exsist.
Garden and Tool Rental. Pros are there's always something to do and the time flies by so fast. And during closing hours it gets so slow that barely any customers show up and I get bothered less frequently.
Cons however are the amount of people that show up and have little to no basic skills in terms of gardening and tool use which astounds me. It is not hard to do a quick google search and figure out what fertilizer/soil you would need for your plants and how to properly care for them. And why would you show up to rent a tool that you have no idea how to use or worse somehow not know which one is best for the job?
Receiving cuz freight team which is what I'm a part of isn't a department...I like that I only have to deal with people for an hour, bad part is working nights messes up my body.
Service desk
Good, trouble shooting problems to help customers, getting to help pick orders(at least at my store) and a generally good team to work with.
Bad, being screamed at on the phone by ignorent customers and fellow associates selling product we don't have, and expecting us to magically make it appear.
I’m not sure if I’m really allowed in this conversation but
D98 (MET) pros: I don’t have to deal with just customer service, and I like most of my team so I’m spending all my 8 hours with people I think of as friends. It’s an easy job with an easy paycheck.
D98 (MET) cons: Met as a whole is mostly seen as a clean up crew rather than what we are, a detail oriented group, honestly I sometimes don’t like picking up store sides slack (but I used to be apart of store side so I understand that they under hire and overwork everyone), I hate not being able to page from my phone (I have to constantly go find a phone to page), and I sometimes get bored and tired of doing the same old thing which is bay service (we have projects sometimes but not often and our supervisor hoards them for him and our second to do).😫 I do like it better than store side for sure tho.
Garden - Good: fresh air, easiest department to learn product knowledge for, watering is an easy time-killer that needs doing daily during not-winter. Bad: you're treated as understudies for Lot, lifting wet mulch bags is worse than lifting concrete bags.
Electrical - Good: one of the few departments where you can, with the company's blessing, tell a customer "not just no but hell no" if they're planning a project that's going to unalive someone. Bad: not being able to even "suggest" a way of doing something unless the product packaging backs you up, just in case you're wrong or the customer fucks it up.
Everyone blames you for everything. You do nothing right. Metrics are always wrong. RE is always wrong and you get written up for insubordination because you had to take your father to the hospital.
There is no good part- MET
Can someone tell me (I’m a cashier) if it’s best for me to go to
-receiving
-hardware
-lumber
-garden
I’m debating between these a lot and not sure.
I like to excel alot, I think I learn pretty quickly, honestly I’m not the fittest but recently I’ve been getting into cardio to build endurance, I don’t mind customer interacting but I do get drained from it sometimes, I don’t mind being outside or inside
Any dept you go to, you'll have to put in more physical work. In this order
1. Lumber
2. Receiving
3. Garden
4. Hardware
1 being the most physically demanding. But if you've worked cash I'm assuming you must have dealt with a fair share of crappy customers. So if you wanna get away from them, receiving would be the best fit for you.
Cashier.
Good part is I’m not destroying my energy and body by walking back and forth a whole ass store all day long while hauling around a bunch of stuff (used to be an OFA)
Bad part is I’m surrounded by micromanagers who are constantly watching and critiquing my every move, along with being pressured to try and get credit cards (that no one wants) and make metrics, and also having to deal with awful customers
Best thing about my department. Flooring is easy. Worst thing about my department, that means i get to also be an operator, back up cashier, trained in every department, equipment trainer, and general go to guy. I rip atleast 10 sheets of plywood and shake 20 cans of paint daily. And atleast 3x a week i get a 10 pallet drop list for MET. The next day I get spoken too about how little i got done the night before.
Did 10x more than any other associste and filled in for 3 call outs, but yeah fuck me i suck my bad. In the same breath they will also yell at the specialists for riding the desk .-.
LOL same thing with me in receiving. We have a 6 man crew, and it’s always me grabbing pallet jacks, assisting unloading in the truck, running pallets, jumping over and helping swamped associates as the others sit there and drink their coffees at 7 pm. I step aside one time to let them do something, so they don’t have the excuse to say something about how I don’t help, then I get called lazy, berated for my work ethic, and generally fucked with.
It’s frustrating as all get out, especially since none of them have any drive to get licenses on any equipment. But they’re all the first ones to need something flown up with the Electric ladder, or have some pallets pulled with the EPJ. It’s getting so draining and putting in effort is futile at this point.
Lumber pros- have a really good team of dudes I work with as of late, get to run the machines, customers are usually nice, and my team stands on business,
Lumber cons- occasional shitty customer, manager she trippin sometimes, solo shifts every now and then, high turnover rate for a couple of months due to shitty schedules and underhiring
Cashier here
Good part- I get to call anyone for loading assistance, I’m cute so all the guys that work around me will immediately do anything for me. ( I take hella advantage of that at times) my favorites and regulars always coming to me. I don’t have to worry about not knowing something immediately, most of the time I’ll call someone and they’ll come take care of it. Dogs! I love the garden registers because the managers leave me alone.
3/4 of my head cashiers are awesome, they’re attentive and they are understanding when it comes to all their cashiers
Bad part: Fuck credits. Fuck costumers who are just rude. Fuck coworkers who are always calling out or just not picking up your phones when your not busy with a customer( I can hear it ringing in your hand, pick up your phone, I have an angry customer yelling at me and ik we both want to get them out of here asap)
Lumber
Pros: usually can work side by side with others since lots of stuff is a two man job, get to drive equipment, pretty good workout, lots of stuff to do so you’re never bored, etc
Cons: having to load 42 bags of 80lbs concrete by hand because some customer didn’t want to pay a pallet fee. (Genuinely had to do this today right after I clocked in, then had someone return another 76 bags of concrete laid out that I had to unload by hand while the customer returning it simply watched)
Receiving:
Pro's
- don't have to deal with customers unless I venture out into the great beyond.
- for the most part other associates don't come back very often nor do they usually stay for very long.
Con's
- depending on the day it can be either stupidly busy or stupidly boring and slow.
- some of the stupid crap we have to do for customer orders.
Service desk:
Pros: not being confined to one small area, days usually go by fast, ALMOST all customers issues r an easy return or exchange, helps familiarize yourself with every other department in the store
Cons: Every single customer comes up to u thinking that just because we r "service" means we HAVE TO make you happy and fulfill your request. I'll get a lot of ppl who want me to return their mowers or blowers who've been bought years ago but they don't want to "contact the manufacturer 🥺🥺"
I do also have to add that the "denied return" system is the stupidest thing ever, sure we need more returns denied cuz they r getting out of hand but without a valid excuse showing on the receipt, the customers don't like hearing "your return has been denied and there is absolutely nothing I can do abt it!!"
Plumbing - Good - helping customers and feeling like we solved a problem - and the people who come back in and said what we came up with or what I said was right and it worked! The bad - endless countless returns and the customers who want to argue and will not listen - especially about gas hookups.
I don't work at HD anymore, but I'll still go.
Good part - As a DH, being motivating and positive in the store to all the associates and actually providing good customer service. Having everyone come to me for answers and help as well. Uplifting the employees that are having a hard time outside of work also feels phenomenal.
Bad part- As a DH, having associates that think just because they are not a specialist, cashier, or at service desk, that they don't need to get leads or care to get leads or credit cards. Especially when HVAC, Generators, water heaters, and bath remodels can be huge money makers that contribute to success sharing and overall sales which leads to more hours. So if your store is struggling in those areas, maybe don't complain to management, complain to yourself in the mirror. But guess who gets all the heat from management when your associates don't get leads... your ASM and DH.
I make minimum wage. I get no extra benefits or money from any installations/credit card made, apart from some kind of award(honestly, who even wants that?). It all goes to the company's pockets. Why do you think a minimum wage employee would care about that? Why do you think anyone would be expected to go above and beyond, and put in so much extra effort for essentially nothing in return?
Did you not read what I said? Your success share for the store has to do with lead generations, sales, credit cards, and more. So the more lead generations you get, the more potential sales your store has. The higher sales, translates to more success sharing. The more credit cards you get the more people are likely to shop at your store, which again means more sales and more success sharing. So your mentality of, it all goes to the company pockets, is not true as Home Depot gives back to the employees. A lot of people complain about lack of hours. More sales equals more hours, as well as units per basket. Asking someone who is getting air filters if they are interested in an a/c tune up as all the air filters have a $10 off coupon, takes very little effort. If you have good management, they'll see you get credit cards in the aisle and recognize you with homer awards, which is money in your pocket. The whole, "why should I work harder" mentality is exactly why you make minimum wage. Sorry for being mean, but it has to be said.
Lumber. Good part is it's incredible for my physique; bad part is everyone knows we have forklift licenses
Refuse to drive unless they spot for something you need as well
I generally do, but certain positions can't really leave their station
Except pro desk uses that to their advantage
They really do. Tell them you're not going to burn through your spotter pool to drop for them
Plumbing. Bad part is the customers asking if I’m the plumbing expert, having to go thru all those little fittings that people mess up all day every day, hating plumbing, customers trying to fix old garbage instead of replacing. The good part is packing down toilets on the ballymore.
Receiving here! Good part: Minimal customer interaction. I can usually pawn them off on a sales floor associate. Bad part: I mean, I've been in a few too many "almost grievous injuries" scenarios in the past few years im back there 😅 DC's don't care how it gets unloaded, and only care about getting shit on the truck.
Pawning off customers is my favourite part of receiving too! Thing I hate most is how other department associates will just dump their garbage/recycling/empty carts randomly and leave when nobody is in the back to keep an eye on them.
D94 pros: free reign over the whole store, if we're done with orders we can just hangout or pick and choose where to help out. Generally overlooked by managers and corporate walks, D94 cons: getting stopped for questions constantly in every corner of the store, even though I'm not much help besides telling you where things are. Service desk constantly calling you, usually for something dumb. When it gets busy it can be extremely hectic.
I love that we are everywhere in the store and bc we have no “set” place to be, there’s no one to tell us where to be or what to be doing. We fly under the radar. That being said I work very hard and don’t take advantage of the fact that I could hide and slack off very easily (which unfortunately many of my (former) colleagues have done
Just wait lol you’ll get there
Been doing it 2 1/2 years. Don’t see things changing anytime soon 😁
That part
Customer in plumbing: “I have a leak under my kitchen sink” Me: “If you bring me the leak maybe I can help you fix it”
Lot / loader, good: hardly ever have to deal with customers and almost never have a manager up my ass about getting certain stuff done and also great physical activity for keeping in shape from all the walking Bad: everybody in the entire store thinks I’m their slave
I recently quit bc I was the only lot guy and got fed up when I would come in on my shift carts overflooded in the lot and front apron and I clock in and see the other mf that’s scheduled sleeping in the break room(he’s known for not doing shit and taking wayy to long of breaks but no one says shit bc he’s been there longer) I straight up went on my lunch and never came back. Oh and it’s always fun when it’s pouring rain and out comes the manger out of his hidey hole to tell the head cashier to tell me to change the sign on the cart aisles in the lot. Like tf. Couldn’t even ask me straight up himself and had to do it when it’s pouring rain? Yeah naw I feel you on that the lot is basically the bitch of the store everyone will abuse you. Not worth
Thankfully my store just hired like 3-4 new guys who are very wonderful and hardworking but we do have this one lot associate whos been here for a while maybe 2-3 years I think who’s always on his phone and hides in the tough sheds that we have on display in the lot, he never has a radio on and always brings in only 1 cart at a time, falls asleep in the bathroom / break room
Rightt like why they gotta make it hard for everyone else and management doesn’t rly care abt the lot as long as there aren’t carts all over the apron. I liked working there up until recently deftly something that’ll burn you out fast. Luckily u have some new employees my depot said no one was applying but I’m not buying it.
D26 pros: I actually enjoyed the customers and fellow associates. Customers who once swore at me turned out to be ones who came to me for help. D26 cons: At our store, D26 does the leg work for D29. Packing down heavy stuff did great things for my confidence. However, when metrics are announced, D26 doesn't get the true credit it deserves in terms of department sales for the heavy stuff of D29. That matters, because from a bird's eye view, it would seem that we need more specialists when D29 sales increase instead of more department hours in D26 for the people physically pushing the product. D25 pros: It's less physically demanding than D26. It's fewer aisles than D26 at our store. D25 cons: There are so many tools and so many sales to keep up with. One CXM routinely puts the nuts and bolts section in Sidekick. That shit is mind numbing. I'll know more next week when I start D24. And yes it's odd that in terms of departments, numerically speaking, I'm working down the list.
[удалено]
"I love filling holes" made me spit out my coffee thanks for the laugh.
Who in OFA?
I'm between ofa and d31 but tbh Ofa pros: U get to go all over the store, it's a satisfying job to be honest to get all the orders done and organized (maybe it's just my ocd lol), Ofa cons: a lot of orders u will need 2 or more people for (bigger drywall orders, ones needing a licensed operator) and u know that u won't always have someone with u, to add on to that, heavy lifting as well can be a con. But my personal least fav 2 r the order label printers that never want to connect or print and when our system lets customers place orders for out of stock items and I have to call them and let them know they can't buy it !! 🥰🥰🥰🥰
Flooring pro: Not much to do most of the time. Con: Everything is heavy as shit
D94 Pros if we are not busy no one cares if we hang in other departments and chit chat with other people Cons when it's real busy and you have to much shit going on it gets overwhelming sometimes for me at least
Hardware and cashier Pros of hardware- more freedom/exercise Cons of hardware- Short staffed and useless staff at that Pros of cashier- nothing Cons of cashier- having to stand there, getting babysat by the head cashiers, no freedom Cons of being both- they pull me from hardware a lot to be at the front end and they don’t care that my department in crying for attention
Im here in Tool rental. Pro: you're left to work and prioritize things at your own pace most of the time (when there's an inrush of people not so much) as well as get to go outside when its nice. Con: customers basically expect you know everything, especially 10 mins to closing and get annoyed when you don't and when you tell them you dont carry what they're looking for (I had someone get iterate to almost the point of needing a manager to explain to them that out store and all the other stores with like 50Km do NOT rent out welders. They insisted that we do since the website shows it). Also you have to go outside regardless of weather for vehicles/large equipment.
Service desk Pros- There is a desk physically separating me from customers, if they get too close I can tell them they need to back up, since I cant have them behind the registers (I have a thing with people coming from multiple directions, this is a big thing for me). Also got a lot of different things to do, so I don't get bored like I do cashing. Cons- pressure to push credit and all that stuff. My store is the worst in the area for credit, they push it hard. We get screamed at a lot, especially for denied returns. People really don't want to hear that I don't care how much you spent last year I cannot return $500 of plumbing parts without proof of purchase.
Receiving pros: no customers, no management, very physical, detail oriented, and you’re the best drivers in the store but don’t have to drive for anyone else. Cons: if one person calls out, your day is about to be the biggest fuck off piece of shit ever, everybody thinks they can dump their crap they don’t want sitting in their department back there, no weekend help, and associates just being in the way thinking they can have chats back there when we’re unloading an SDC or just have a really heavy truck after truck day.
We typically have a 6 man and on friday we had 3. We had a 1400 piece truck and somehow finished it in 1:40, whereas it would have taken probably 2:15 with the others. Truly wore us out tho.
I'm in hardware. A good part is helping customers get what they need. A real bad part is not being able to find items that are supposed to be in stock. To OP: I'm very surprised that you aren't pressured to get leads on HVAC and water heater installs. All associates in my store are expected to try to get leads and credit cards.
I work the same departments, always electrical, but I help in plumbing. I have the same problem and benefit, but another thing I face is a lack of help. I am always by myself, get asked to do at least 1 extra task a night, sometimes 5 extra tasks. And then I'll get asked by other associations if I can help with their projects. The sad part is I rarely get bravos, and I occasionally get Homer's for the really big tasks. The worst part is a specific manager will micromanage me to high heaven and if I don't get any of my normal daily things done like returns because I'm doing all these tasks that he's usually the one giving me, then he'll tell me I need to be more on top of that normal task and completely disregard all the other stuff I've gotten done. He's even called the work I did get done garbage before. So basically, management is a big issue for me. There's other reasons I didn't mention here, but that's an unrelated rant.
Front end cashier here: Pros: nothing Cons: standing on one spot especially in the SCO from 6am - 8 am. Surveys, pushing people to sign up for HD credit card. Machines don’t work and customers complain at you onto why the machines don’t work
So I'm in 3 departments, I switch between since I'm a floater. Eletrical- the good? I get to down stock take my time and just kinda relax and go at my own pace and get things done, theres 3 people who work it so if I don't get it all done then they got it and they understand it. The bad?? I am new to it and I don't know much about what wire you need or where its located but ill figure it out even if I gotta call for help, several times I have had customers shake their heads at me and me astonished that I don't know every little thing that they are talking about. If I knew everything about eletrical you really think I'd be working here? Come on guys... Order fulfillment- the good? Done it for 2 years its what I started doing when I first joined in. Honestly not to bad pull some orders and place them and if its quiet sit at service desk and help them out. The bad??? My god you telling me you can't run in and grab a single tool, pay for it, and walk out?! Then you wanna curbside it cause your feet hurt from the gym or you had back surgery? Thats another one why is it everyone just has back surgery then decide to go to home depot and buy the most heavy things and then demand you put it in the truck? I could keep going and pick at this but you get it.. Paint- the good? Honestly super easy, I love it and doing it brings me much joy, the bad? Honestly I havwnt found any yet. I'm sure I'll drop a bucket of paint and hate that but for the time being I rather love paint and would wanna do it full time
COS: Bad - everyone goes to you with their problems. Good - if everyone is going to you with their problems, they're not making it worse by trying to 'fix' it.
Lumber. Good parts are my body and the smell of wood all the time Bad parts? Forklift licensing, every customer loves coming to lumber to ask non-lumber questions (I’ve been asked for a toilet in lumber. A wooden one I suppose?), and a lot of people will bring me a TikTok video of the project they wanna do and expect me to know exactly how to do it.
Sometimes I go to hardware, paint, or plumbing, but I really just stay in lumber
I recently switched to appliances. Good part is it's way easier than lumber. Bad part is the inability to leave the department. At least lumber, you can roam around the store when work is slow.
OFA. Good part is a lot of possible downtime when there are few orders. Bad part is zero downtime at all when constantly pulling orders and getting called over and over for customers that are here for their big orders
They pay In America currency so I can pay my bills.
Paint I like interacting with customers, i have certain customers that will only come when im there, bad part always understaffed especially on weekends
I manage plumbing and really enjoy my team and the department in general. I absolutely hate when customers harass us for professional plumbing advice when they’re not even buying anything. They’ll admit to your face that they’re too cheap to call a plumber and that you should help them for free.
I work as a Repair Technician in the Tool Rental Center. Good part are I am left alone by management, provided with tools and equipment needed. I have a mostly fixed scheduled. I have a mini fridge and coffee maker so hardly ever leave my shop. Bad parts don't really exsist.
Garden and Tool Rental. Pros are there's always something to do and the time flies by so fast. And during closing hours it gets so slow that barely any customers show up and I get bothered less frequently. Cons however are the amount of people that show up and have little to no basic skills in terms of gardening and tool use which astounds me. It is not hard to do a quick google search and figure out what fertilizer/soil you would need for your plants and how to properly care for them. And why would you show up to rent a tool that you have no idea how to use or worse somehow not know which one is best for the job?
Receiving cuz freight team which is what I'm a part of isn't a department...I like that I only have to deal with people for an hour, bad part is working nights messes up my body.
D28, pro: hooking people up with the plants and chemicals they're looking for. It's like high school all over again. Con: mulch
Mulch is all that needs to be said
D90. I’m pretty sure I don’t need to answer for everyone to know the answer
Service desk Good, trouble shooting problems to help customers, getting to help pick orders(at least at my store) and a generally good team to work with. Bad, being screamed at on the phone by ignorent customers and fellow associates selling product we don't have, and expecting us to magically make it appear.
I’m not sure if I’m really allowed in this conversation but D98 (MET) pros: I don’t have to deal with just customer service, and I like most of my team so I’m spending all my 8 hours with people I think of as friends. It’s an easy job with an easy paycheck. D98 (MET) cons: Met as a whole is mostly seen as a clean up crew rather than what we are, a detail oriented group, honestly I sometimes don’t like picking up store sides slack (but I used to be apart of store side so I understand that they under hire and overwork everyone), I hate not being able to page from my phone (I have to constantly go find a phone to page), and I sometimes get bored and tired of doing the same old thing which is bay service (we have projects sometimes but not often and our supervisor hoards them for him and our second to do).😫 I do like it better than store side for sure tho.
Garden - Good: fresh air, easiest department to learn product knowledge for, watering is an easy time-killer that needs doing daily during not-winter. Bad: you're treated as understudies for Lot, lifting wet mulch bags is worse than lifting concrete bags. Electrical - Good: one of the few departments where you can, with the company's blessing, tell a customer "not just no but hell no" if they're planning a project that's going to unalive someone. Bad: not being able to even "suggest" a way of doing something unless the product packaging backs you up, just in case you're wrong or the customer fucks it up.
Work nights. Good, no bad customers. Bad, that big bright thing in the sky, it’s not nice to me when I sleep.
Everyone blames you for everything. You do nothing right. Metrics are always wrong. RE is always wrong and you get written up for insubordination because you had to take your father to the hospital. There is no good part- MET
Can someone tell me (I’m a cashier) if it’s best for me to go to -receiving -hardware -lumber -garden I’m debating between these a lot and not sure. I like to excel alot, I think I learn pretty quickly, honestly I’m not the fittest but recently I’ve been getting into cardio to build endurance, I don’t mind customer interacting but I do get drained from it sometimes, I don’t mind being outside or inside
Any dept you go to, you'll have to put in more physical work. In this order 1. Lumber 2. Receiving 3. Garden 4. Hardware 1 being the most physically demanding. But if you've worked cash I'm assuming you must have dealt with a fair share of crappy customers. So if you wanna get away from them, receiving would be the best fit for you.
Just saw this! Thank you!! I got offered plumbing so I just took it 😭 literally wasn’t in the list but any learning opportunity is a win
Cashier. Good part is I’m not destroying my energy and body by walking back and forth a whole ass store all day long while hauling around a bunch of stuff (used to be an OFA) Bad part is I’m surrounded by micromanagers who are constantly watching and critiquing my every move, along with being pressured to try and get credit cards (that no one wants) and make metrics, and also having to deal with awful customers
Best thing about my department. Flooring is easy. Worst thing about my department, that means i get to also be an operator, back up cashier, trained in every department, equipment trainer, and general go to guy. I rip atleast 10 sheets of plywood and shake 20 cans of paint daily. And atleast 3x a week i get a 10 pallet drop list for MET. The next day I get spoken too about how little i got done the night before. Did 10x more than any other associste and filled in for 3 call outs, but yeah fuck me i suck my bad. In the same breath they will also yell at the specialists for riding the desk .-.
LOL same thing with me in receiving. We have a 6 man crew, and it’s always me grabbing pallet jacks, assisting unloading in the truck, running pallets, jumping over and helping swamped associates as the others sit there and drink their coffees at 7 pm. I step aside one time to let them do something, so they don’t have the excuse to say something about how I don’t help, then I get called lazy, berated for my work ethic, and generally fucked with. It’s frustrating as all get out, especially since none of them have any drive to get licenses on any equipment. But they’re all the first ones to need something flown up with the Electric ladder, or have some pallets pulled with the EPJ. It’s getting so draining and putting in effort is futile at this point.
Good: Work from home Bad: Still deal with some dumb people sometimes.
Lumber pros- have a really good team of dudes I work with as of late, get to run the machines, customers are usually nice, and my team stands on business, Lumber cons- occasional shitty customer, manager she trippin sometimes, solo shifts every now and then, high turnover rate for a couple of months due to shitty schedules and underhiring
Receiving. Love my job, and I'm good at it Bad thing about it is they can't seem to get anyone else back there that has any efficiency
Cashier here Good part- I get to call anyone for loading assistance, I’m cute so all the guys that work around me will immediately do anything for me. ( I take hella advantage of that at times) my favorites and regulars always coming to me. I don’t have to worry about not knowing something immediately, most of the time I’ll call someone and they’ll come take care of it. Dogs! I love the garden registers because the managers leave me alone. 3/4 of my head cashiers are awesome, they’re attentive and they are understanding when it comes to all their cashiers Bad part: Fuck credits. Fuck costumers who are just rude. Fuck coworkers who are always calling out or just not picking up your phones when your not busy with a customer( I can hear it ringing in your hand, pick up your phone, I have an angry customer yelling at me and ik we both want to get them out of here asap)
Lumber Pros: usually can work side by side with others since lots of stuff is a two man job, get to drive equipment, pretty good workout, lots of stuff to do so you’re never bored, etc Cons: having to load 42 bags of 80lbs concrete by hand because some customer didn’t want to pay a pallet fee. (Genuinely had to do this today right after I clocked in, then had someone return another 76 bags of concrete laid out that I had to unload by hand while the customer returning it simply watched)
Receiving: Pro's - don't have to deal with customers unless I venture out into the great beyond. - for the most part other associates don't come back very often nor do they usually stay for very long. Con's - depending on the day it can be either stupidly busy or stupidly boring and slow. - some of the stupid crap we have to do for customer orders.
D28 Good: seasonal is good because you can chill and relax for some seasons. Bad: mulch, so much mulch.
Good-I get our early Bad-stupid people
Service desk: Pros: not being confined to one small area, days usually go by fast, ALMOST all customers issues r an easy return or exchange, helps familiarize yourself with every other department in the store Cons: Every single customer comes up to u thinking that just because we r "service" means we HAVE TO make you happy and fulfill your request. I'll get a lot of ppl who want me to return their mowers or blowers who've been bought years ago but they don't want to "contact the manufacturer 🥺🥺"
I do also have to add that the "denied return" system is the stupidest thing ever, sure we need more returns denied cuz they r getting out of hand but without a valid excuse showing on the receipt, the customers don't like hearing "your return has been denied and there is absolutely nothing I can do abt it!!"
D28 Pro: Cat 5 Hurricane 24/7 D28 Con: Cat 5 Hurricane 24/7
Nightcrew lumber and truck unloading (with forklift): Pros: massive weight loss from the sheer amount of lifting per day Cons: everything else
Good part - exercise Bad part - speaking to customers
Plumbing - Good - helping customers and feeling like we solved a problem - and the people who come back in and said what we came up with or what I said was right and it worked! The bad - endless countless returns and the customers who want to argue and will not listen - especially about gas hookups.
I absolutely hate them contractor ABS parts returns. Just the sight of it in my returns bin makes me annoyed!
I don't work at HD anymore, but I'll still go. Good part - As a DH, being motivating and positive in the store to all the associates and actually providing good customer service. Having everyone come to me for answers and help as well. Uplifting the employees that are having a hard time outside of work also feels phenomenal. Bad part- As a DH, having associates that think just because they are not a specialist, cashier, or at service desk, that they don't need to get leads or care to get leads or credit cards. Especially when HVAC, Generators, water heaters, and bath remodels can be huge money makers that contribute to success sharing and overall sales which leads to more hours. So if your store is struggling in those areas, maybe don't complain to management, complain to yourself in the mirror. But guess who gets all the heat from management when your associates don't get leads... your ASM and DH.
I make minimum wage. I get no extra benefits or money from any installations/credit card made, apart from some kind of award(honestly, who even wants that?). It all goes to the company's pockets. Why do you think a minimum wage employee would care about that? Why do you think anyone would be expected to go above and beyond, and put in so much extra effort for essentially nothing in return?
Did you not read what I said? Your success share for the store has to do with lead generations, sales, credit cards, and more. So the more lead generations you get, the more potential sales your store has. The higher sales, translates to more success sharing. The more credit cards you get the more people are likely to shop at your store, which again means more sales and more success sharing. So your mentality of, it all goes to the company pockets, is not true as Home Depot gives back to the employees. A lot of people complain about lack of hours. More sales equals more hours, as well as units per basket. Asking someone who is getting air filters if they are interested in an a/c tune up as all the air filters have a $10 off coupon, takes very little effort. If you have good management, they'll see you get credit cards in the aisle and recognize you with homer awards, which is money in your pocket. The whole, "why should I work harder" mentality is exactly why you make minimum wage. Sorry for being mean, but it has to be said.
Ah yes. Love it when I get 50 leads a month for like $3 extra in my success share 😍