08-16-2019, 11:53 AM
(08-16-2019, 09:46 AM)ChadR Wrote: Fenders, thanks for the on the floor insights. Being a customer, I had noticed a few of those things, but had discounted them as our store being in a poorer neighborhood, going at the wrong time of the day, etc. I mainly noticed the lack of cashiers. Which is why we always go through lawn and garden. Don't have to attempt to self check any large/bulky items that I bought that trip. If I was a contractor, the lack of floor staff would really bother me. Since I only go there about once a quarter (unless I've got some big house project that I'm working on), the lack of floor staff isn't really noticeable.
I'm certain the individual store manager decides how to employ his staffing. It's sales vs manhours at the end of the week. Checkout time is definitely measured and seems more than acceptable at my store. You just have to get to that point before you are angry.
Our local competitors are MUCH worse at manning cash registers so you just have to suck less maybe? Seriously, maybe that is true from a stockholders perspective? HD corporate has a metric for almost everything. Nothing wrong with that at all. And they try to adjust for the season and weekly sales trends as well. Nothing wrong with that either. It's just interesting to watch them very clearly push their luck on customer service. Not selling my shares yet, but I'm not doubling down either as I had planned. Seriously considered a position in LOW, but I won't be doing that either.