Do Inventory at Night, Home Depot

I used to work at a Lowes in Indiana. That being said, we did stock
during the day, but these were small palette items that were placed
there during the morning or night before we opened and could be easily
stocked by one person on a slow day-shift without the use of forklifts
and cherry-pickers. Now, we did sell a LOT of items to contractors
and it wasn't infrequent to have to retrieve said item from top
shelves using heavy lifting. These were items such as saw-tables and
similar equipment that too big to leave on the floor (or items too
heavy or big to be placed on carts) and were retrieved when a sale was
made. That was the solution for limited floor-space. I think it's
likely the employees in question were retrieving an item for a
customer, probably not seeking to block off the aisle for an extended
period. I've never worked at a Home Depo, but I would pat that
employee on the back for probably saving you from injury or worse.
Most of the hauling equipment completely blocks vision and the driver
might have NEVER seen you.

There is the possibility that things on higher shelves shifted in some
way, making the aisle dangerous until it could be fixed.

Also, the aisles are blocked off for your safety. I can't imagine the
idiocy that induces people to dance merrily into restricted areas as
if the sign/blocks apply to everyone but them. Employees were
probably raising their voices because you were in a DANGER AREA and
could have gotten hurt. Imagine.

Walmart does seems to do this too, not that late into the night.
Sometimes when I am shopping at 8pm they have boxes lined up
everywhere where you need to pull you buggy down one end of the store
to come around the other end because they have boxes everywhere!

First of all, dittos to what most everyone has already said...
however, also a suggestion. If you know what you want to buy, why not
get the nearest employee and have them go into the blocked off area to
grab it for you? That way you aren't sneaking in to an area where you
might get "yelled at" and you'll still get the items that you need.

Crosswalks shouuld only work at night too. I mean, really, who has
time to wait for the "Walk" sign to light up when it's so busy! I
needed something right away from the other side. I tried walking in a
crosswalk when "Don't walk" was lit, and someone had the nerve to pull
me off the busy street with oncoming traffic. What is this world
coming to!?

;)

As far as the blocked isles, perhaps they're moving something from the
top shelf in the next isle over, therefor the possibility of an item
falling off onto your head is very real.

Have you learned anything from all the letters the people on here have
written for you?

I'm sorry to hear that Home Depot had the temerity to pull you out of
the way of oncoming heavy machinery. Here's hoping Lowe's will just
leave you be.

I completely get what you are saying, it annoys the crap out of me to
make the much dreaded trek to Home Depot, to spend an hour either
trying to find an employee that knows something, or what I came for in
the first place, only to find that the aisle that I need is blocked
off. I dont know if its just the Flagstaff store or if its endemic of
the whole company, but it is not unusual to find an aisle blocked off,
and not an employee in sight. Of course, not finding an employee at
all is pretty common, but thats another letter. I understand the need
for safety, and with the way they stack things to the ceiling, they
have to block the backside of the shelf as well, but they could, in
most instances, wait for a better time to do it than rush hour on the
weekend. Order-pullers work during the day, filling orders for
customers who couldnt be bothered to come into the store, why couldnt
they work at night? I have seen them loading entire bunks of wood onto
a cart, only to shrink wrap it, label it and set it aside, never even
thinking about the customers actually in the store wanting to purchase
things down the aisle.
Home Depot could really use some better planning strategies when it
comes to customer service.

Home Depot and Lowes, use the barriers to block off aisles when the
forklift is in the aisle. This is for the safety of the customer. An
item could fall or be pushed off the other side and injure or kill
someone. Do you want that someone to be you or your wife? I didn't
think so.
"There was a forklift moving our way but nothing life threatening.
No warning was given, just a quick pull." How do you know it was not
life threatening? Those employees are held to strict safety
guidelines. Perhaps there wasn't time to say, "Pardon me Sir, would
you move out from under that 2,000 pound pallet of ceramic tile?".
Warehouse stores use forklifts to move ceramic tile, wood flooring
and other heavy items. Inventory has nothing to do with it. If a
customer "with money to spend" wants it, they drop it.
Go to Lowes. Home Depot will be happy to let you go there.

Do you think they put those orange barriers there to decorate the
place? What makes you special enough to enter an aisle they've
obviously closed off for security reasons?

Secondly, someone else already mentioned this but what makes you think
they were stocking? One of my roommates works at Home Depot, and they
DO complete their stocking on the overnight shift. That's what he
does. They were probably taking care of something that could NOT wait
until close. Would you rather the employee just let a two-by-four
knock you in the head? He probably would, in retrospect. Poor
customer service indeed.

Anyways, you're an entitlement whore, and I'm sure Lowes is going to
piss you off soon enough anyways, if normal warehouse safety makes you
that indignant.

Ben P.,
Simmer down there.
You were about to enter an area that you might have been hurt in.
Had that happened Mrs. Ben P. would have been writing a different
letter about how her husband who is accustomed to getting his way got
hurt.......
I serioulsy doubt you will find things any different at Lowes.
Hopefully they too will keep you out of areas even your money won't
allow access to.
BillR.

They're not doing inventory -- they're restocking shelves and moving
merchandise around. Let me guess -- if you couldn't get the item you
wanted, you would be writing a letter complaining that the shelves
weren't stocked on a busy shopping weekend.

And you went into an aisle that was closed for the safety of the
customers, and you complain about that?

You're one piece of work. Poor Lowe's.

Just so you know, i YELL at people that drive around Do not Enter
signs, or Police Tape, or danger flooding ahead signs. Why? Because
if you do it anyway your stupid and deserved to be yelled at. Clearly
you saw the orange barriers placed around you. You deserved to be
yelled at for going in there anyway. As for the forklifts, most of
them have alarms on them. I'm guessing, since you clearly ignore
warning signs, that you ignored those as well, and an employee, really
did not want to file the paper work, after you get run over, so they
"pulled" you out of the way. I'm glad your shopping at Lowe's now,
because then I wont have to see you at Home Depot!

Since you are going to be shopping at Lowe's from now on, what
difference does it make to you when Home Depot does their inventory?
Also, you must not spend much time in home improvement stores because
what you are describing doesn't sound like they were taking inventory
- - it sounds more like they were just conducting business in their
usual manner which involves forklifts to move around larges items.
And what part of an aisle being blocked off by orange barriers did you
not understand?

What you are describing is not "poor customer service" - - it's just
the way it is in home improvement stores.

You seem to be always in the wrong place at the wrong time. LOL It
CAN be dangerous in a store like this and it's possible he is used to
yelling over the sound of the forklifts which run on and off. When
they block off an area it's normally temporary and it was for you also
as you say it was for 15 minutes.

I understand not being comfortable with being grabbed unexpectedly, it
can be rattling to you but he had jumped to get you to safety. I don't
think I would like being grabbed or yelled at either and maybe they
could have done it then just said "Oh I'm sorry sir but we need you to
be safe".

This is how both Home Depot AND Lowe's works. "Inventory" is done
yearly and doesn't have a thing to do with forklifts. In that case,
you would see a bunch of employees with black scan guns in their hands
and on ladders.
During the daytime shopping hours, the only time a forklift would be
used is during these three situations...
(1) Like Harleycat was saying, to get something off a higher
shelf/heavy item like a grill off a middle shelf or higher.

(2) In the lumber department carrying an excessive amount of material
for mostly contractors (we are talking about 100 4x8's.), although
that wouldn't be on a Saturday most likely.

(3) To downstock items very early in the morning for their
replenishment process to make room for other items.

Forklifts are used 90% of the time when the store is closed
anyway...this is when the selected stores employs an overnight crew,
depending on yearly sales and budget.

Blockers are typically set in the aisle that the item is being pulled
out of, along with the aisle next to it. There is also an employee who
"spots" outside the blockers as well. You were pulled out of the way
for your SAFETY, not to inconvenience you. What if you wondered into
the next aisle and the big appliance or grill happened to slip off of
the pallet and fall on your head? You would probably sue, along with a
lot of other people. If you go to Lowe's, they may not grab you, but
you will see the same procedures being done. It's your choice.

You have money to spend...duh...do does everyone else. What do you
think they are doing? Get over yourself.

"I am a customer and I have money to spend."

Oh, I see. And THAT'S what makes you so special.
All of those other folks in the store must just be loitering.

Now if they stop yelling at you, pulling you out of the way, and let
you into the area with the cones and you ended up getting hurt, then
you would be on here complaining that no one let you know anything and
you got hurt being where you shouldn't have been.

I would rather have someone pull me out of the way physically than let
something fall on my head.

Ok there is nothing in your letter to make anyone think they were
doing inventory. Also, you mentioned you got yelled at because you
went beyong the orange barriers. They put those there for a reason.
Did you think you were special?? If you needed to get something when
it was blocked off.. just ask them.

This, more than likely, has nothing to do with inventory. When they
need to pull stock on a large item, such as a bathtub, they need a
forklift and have to block off the aisle. They did it when we bought
our tub. As you said, it's the busiest day of the week and many
people can only go on Sat or Sun to get those items.

Are you sure they were doing inventory? I once went to Home Depot to
purchase some lattice that was located on the top shelf, and they
asked that I please step out of the aisle while they blocked it off to
use a forklift. Maybe a customer was purchasing something on the top
shelf?

This is how all Home Depot stores work. It is a frigging warehouse.
They block their aisles occasionally for safety, whether you think it
is necessary or not. It isn't a grocery store.

If you don't like how the store operates, shop elsewhere. If you
insist on challenging how they operate and refusing their instruction
to get your butt out of the way, they will continue to yell at you and
push you around. It is your choice.