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Shopping at Home Depot is so demoralizing

Let me start by saying: “Giant stores suck!” and giant hardware stores suck the most.

Recently, I was in the cavernous Home Depot on 23rd Street to buy some clay pots for some of my houseplants, (The little Ace Hardware store on 14th sold out of the size pots I wanted, so I had no choice but to head up to 23rd.)

They had pots of all shapes, sizes and prices. I grabbed my booty and headed upstairs to pay.

That’s when I exited this world and entered the mega-store parallel universe in the Twilight Zone.

Standing on line I waited with about twenty demoralized shoppers, like refugees from some extra pointless and destructive conflict. Ahead of me I saw at least fifteen registers, only two of which were manned.

There certainly were enough employees to man them. I counted at least six standing in groups of two chatting away like it was a high school cafeteria. I noticed one employee busy stuffing plastic bags underneath the empty register counters. (When she was done, she thumbed through the pages of Church Supper Magazine – I kid you not, this magazine does exist.)

As the line grew and my patience withered to barely recognizable levels, an aspiring assistant to the assistant manager materialized to ask “if anyone might be paying with a credit card today.”

“You’ve got to be kidding!” I growled.

It was $10 worth of clay pots, and my last stop of the day. I just wanted outta-there, but I’ve got credit card spending rules. I do not charge cups of coffee, sticks of gum or three f**cking clay pots. Fortunately, a cash-accepting register opened up two minutes after the “Credit cards only” announcement and three minutes before my brains would have exploded.

This speaks to the mind-numbing managerial style practiced by companies like Home Depot and Wal-Mart. Their stores contain thousands of items scattered across acres of poorly marked aisles that end up bewildering customers while providing ample hiding places for poorly trained and demoralized employees.

I think that it is the top down, highly centralized structure of these insanely large companies that causes such dismal experiences for both customers and employees alike. The stores are designed to be the same so that they are easier and cheaper to plant from one coast to the other. It also seems that a sad and dysfunctional relationship exists between the customer, the store and the employees. The customers can, if they have the patience, find everything they need at the lowest prices – supposedly – so they put up with the dismal service. For the employees, what is the difference where they work? All of these companies suck royally and they need the job.

I think that the few bucks that might be saved is insufficient compensation for the stripping of one’s dignity. But, that is just my opinion.

© 2008 Splendid Marbles.