Here’s my wish list. When I visit a web site, I would like to see the following:
- Location. List the address of all your showrooms.
- Map. Link your address to an online mapping service, such as Google Maps. Not sure why people still link to Mapquest. Google Maps just kicks butt because I can slide the map over with my mouse. Once you’ve experienced that, clicking on the N/S/E/W arrows to page the map over one screen feels downright antiquated.
- Store Hours. Why would a store not post their hours on their web site? This one I don’t understand. Why should I call in to ask someone when your are open. I’m only griping about this one because I see it a lot. Just a few clicks of the keyboard saves me from calling you, and saves you from answering my phone call.
- Inventory. Word-of-mouth business is huge here. Most of the stores I go to were either recommended by a family member, friend or contractor. However, sometimes they can’t tell me exactly the products that you carry. So, introduce yourself. You don’t have to list every single product. Just list the product lines you carry. Better yet, just list the top five most popular items in each product category.
- Pricing. Always love to shop around.
#1–3 are essential and easy to implement. #4–5 would be great. Of course, any photos to inspire the remodeler in all our hearts would be appreciated.
Wanted to get some pricing from Home Depot, but their web site is down. Tell me this, who takes down their web site a week and a half before Christmas? Better yet, let me know what you mean by “We’ll be back online shortly.” Do I check back in an hour, tomorrow morning, or next week? I’ve seen web site updates that all of a sudden stretch out for a few days. (And, I’m talking about Gap, from earlier this year.) Risky, very risky. Oh, in Internet time, I think shortly means by the time I click my browser’s reload button. Nothing is happening. Not short enough.
Home Depot is ubiquitous. They have quite a few stores near where I live and work, so I’ve probably been inside four of their big box stores within the past year—five if you count their EXPO design center. Generally, each store carries a broad range of building supplies. I rarely find that they don’t have an item I need in stock. So, I’ve never really had the need to stop into Lowe’s, until recently.
I was looking for an exterior fluorescent lamp—the cheaper the better. And, I couldn’t find one at Home Depot. So, I popped into Lowe’s and wow! At least in terms of exterior lighting, they had a wider selection than Home Depot. They also had someone physically manning a station in the lighting section. No searching down each aisle looking for someone with an orange apron. This was the real deal.
The other thing I noticed was the check registers. They had a lot of check registers open. At Home Depot, I’ve usually seen 1 manned register open along with four self-serve registers. More than once, I’ve been stuck waiting a long time in line. No three’s a crowd. No opening a new register. I really don’t understand this. When you have someone already in line, ready to hand over their money, why hassle them? If I have to wait in a long time, I occasionally will just leave and come back during an off hour to complete my purchase.
I’ll still be going back on Home Depot just because their locations are more convenient. Can’t wait until Lowe’s builds out more stores to give Home Depot a run for their money. Competition is always good for the consumer, and Home Depot has been unchallenged for quite some time now.
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