What's becoming of us?

[Strife]

Few months ago I went to pick up a GFI from a Home Depot (as much as I hate shopping them, they're all over the place and for just one GFI is not worth driving an hr to the supply house). I pick up the first one on the shelf and I open it. I wish I could say "to my surprise", but it wasn't a surprise, so anyway, I open the box and there's an old gfi sitting in there. And I don't mean, installed, taken down and returned. I'm talking something that's been sitting outside for years. Apparently someone went through all the troubles of buying a new one, put the old one in the box and returned it.
This last weekend I decided to get a new battery drill. Had my eyes on an M18 hammer drill by Milwaukee for a while now, so I grab a sealed box, pay the 265, and go home. As I open it something doesn't seem right. It didn't hit me right away, but it feels like the drill is used. I'm not thinking much and I play a little bit with it. Then it hits me, where's the hammer? The $265 drill is a hammer drill, this one doesn't have one. Then I finally realize. Someone returned a 160 dollar drill with a 260 dollar package.

And these are just couple examples.
What's becoming of us?
It's fashionable nowadays to bash the "big" corporations, the 1%.
What about us 99%? What's become of us?
Is this who we are today? cheating, stealing? Does it give us a right to steal because corporations are crooked? or are corporations crooked because of us stealing and cheating?(how much does HD loses every year because things like the above?)
I know what some of you gonna say, some already told me: "It's really home depot's fault" they should check on the returns.
Guess what, those workers at home depot are the 99% too, so furthermore, not only we cheat and steal, but we don't care either.
Someone told me one time:"The thief with one sin, the victim with a thousand"
Been in the trade for 25 years now, I was always optimist, not anymore.
Where are the days of a shake hand being as good as a contract? Nowadays you need a lawyer to draft a $300.00 work order.

 

[Hv&Lv]

Few months ago I went to pick up a GFI from a Home Depot (as much as I hate shopping them, they're all over the place and for just one GFI is not worth driving an hr to the supply house). I pick up the first one on the shelf and I open it. I wish I could say "to my surprise", but it wasn't a surprise, so anyway, I open the box and there's an old gfi sitting in there. And I don't mean, installed, taken down and returned. I'm talking something that's been sitting outside for years. Apparently someone went through all the troubles of buying a new one, put the old one in the box and returned it.
This last weekend I decided to get a new battery drill. Had my eyes on an M18 hammer drill by Milwaukee for a while now, so I grab a sealed box, pay the 265, and go home. As I open it something doesn't seem right. It didn't hit me right away, but it feels like the drill is used. I'm not thinking much and I play a little bit with it. Then it hits me, where's the hammer? The $265 drill is a hammer drill, this one doesn't have one. Then I finally realize. Someone returned a 160 dollar drill with a 260 dollar package.

And these are just couple examples.
What's becoming of us?
It's fashionable nowadays to bash the "big" corporations, the 1%.
What about us 99%? What's become of us?
Is this who we are today? cheating, stealing? Does it give us a right to steal because corporations are crooked? or are corporations crooked because of us stealing and cheating?(how much does HD loses every year because things like the above?)
I know what some of you gonna say, some already told me: "It's really home depot's fault" they should check on the returns.
Guess what, those workers at home depot are the 99% too, so furthermore, not only we cheat and steal, but we don't care either.
Someone told me one time:"The thief with one sin, the victim with a thousand"
Been in the trade for 25 years now, I was always optimist, not anymore.
Where are the days of a shake hand being as good as a contract? Nowadays you need a lawyer to draft a $300.00 work order.

One of the things that continue to surprise me are the people that are well off, fully capable of paying for my services, but won't. Then there are some that look so poor that they couldn't possibly have much money that will make a point to pay as soon as possible, if not in cash immediately.
I have bought items from Lowes that were used 1 time. The associate told me the people will buy tools, use them, then return them. She has no choice but to sell them at a lower price. That said however, I would be furious if I ran into the circumstances you are describing.

 

[Cow]

It is truly amazing the amount of trouble some people go through just to try and save a buck. I'll never understand it. Are they actually saving/making any money in the end? Really?

 

[ceb58]

I have had the same happen at Slowes. Went in to buy a $375.00 submersible pump. The end of the box didn't have the factory looking tape and that little voice said "open the box" sure enough some one had put the old, rusted pump back in the box and returned it. I showed it to the plumbing guy and told him they had been taken again. He just shrugged and said "it happens all the time".
It is frustrating, and it seems the crookeder you are the better off you are. But we all know better. All I can say is when I lay down I can go to sleep with a clean conscience.

 

[marti smith]

Strife, hopefully this will make you feel better: A person in front of me was returning a prybar of some sort, still had the barcode, etc on it. Did you use it? Yes, but I need a larger one. You cannot return it if you've used it. A very disgruntled tradesman sauntered away. I purchased plain ol' spray paint to paint a piece of trim. The returns cleark asked if I had used it- yup, I put some on a piece of paper but it doesn't match and it needs to match ( had 3 swatches I made). You cannot have a refund if you've used it. It says 10.5 ounces and I assure you it is still 10.5 ounces minus one spray. You cannot have a refund if you've used it. I had angry thoughts toward her, but at least someone somewhere is checking. I suspect that with her demeanor she will soon be checking tools and everything else and giving a good dose of medicine to those who deserve it.

 

[cowboyjwc]

The company my wife works for used to be very tough on refunds. They would send you a replacement or or schedule you for a new seminar if you missed the one you were to go to, but very seldom did money go back to the customer. Now suddenly it's whatever it takes to make the customer happy, my wife told them, bad idea. They are now trying to figure out why their profits are down.:dunce:

 

[norcal]

Tossing old "mechandise" into the new packaging & returning it, is just plain THEFT, no matter how it's polished.......

Too many people today just think they are "entitled" to do it.

 

[John120/240]

I have heard of yahoos buying a new washer/dryer or refrigerator, go to the car lot & test

drive a pickup to get the appliance home.

 

[KVA]

One of the things that continue to surprise me are the people that are well off, fully capable of paying for my services, but won't.

These people and i seem to get a lot of these type too won't pay because our trade is not respected. They think any monkey can do what we do because some of the basic electrical stuff is shown on the DIY shows. They think the stuff they watch on those tv shows is simple so they think EVERYTHING else is simple too.

They also have the saying "it worked for 20 years this way without a problem" so they can't justify paying anything.

These same people will drop thousands of dollars on granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, flooring, big screen tvs and keep the FPE stabloc panel even after you tell them how much of a fire hazard they are.

:happysad:

 

[Joethemechanic]

These same people will drop thousands of dollars on granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, flooring, big screen tvs and keep the FPE stabloc panel even after you tell them how much of a fire hazard they are.

:happysad:

Look up the term "Conspicuous Consumption" and "Thorstien Veblen" if you want to better understand this kind of behavior

You might also want to take a look at "Cluster B Personality Disorders" It seems today to be almost epidemic.

 

[handy10]

I bought so many things at HD that were incomplete, used, etc. that the manager told me never to buy anything that had been opened. That is sad because I return quite a number of things, and I would not mind buying returns if they were in first class condition.

 

[K8MHZ]

We got a 100 amp main panel from HD with no breaker. Someone opened the box, took the main out of the panel then returned the panel.

HD made it right with us, but it was still a rather long round trip. Now I inspect everything I get from there. Many times just the colors are wrong, or there will be a 15 A device in a 20 A box, etc., but if it's in a box at HD, I won't buy it without checking it over first. If they don't like it, they won't sell it to me.

 

[renosteinke]

One of my favorite movies, "Goodfellas," explained it best: some folks will take their wife out to a nice restaurant and pay with a stolen credit card, risk getting caught, because .... they live for the thrill of putting something over on the other guy.

One of the big reasons HD had the growth it had was their all-smiles, no questions return/refund policy. Same thing worked for Sears, for years, with their Craftsman tool line. Other places might have had 'guarantees,' but darn few were so cheerful in honoring them.

Then, somehow, more of us became -well, bureaucrats, and suddenly nothing was our fault anymore.

As in, "hey, I followed the rules, I complied with all their rules when I returned the roto-tiller after one use, so I'm not cheating - I'm ENTITLED to that refund." Or, "if they're dumb enough to let me return the paint cans and not check that I had filled them with water, it's they're fault."

I've known many such folks. Folks who were college educated and had professional jobs, folks who were the very picture of 'respectability.' These folks made all of life a game of putting something over on the rest of us. At least Pauli ("Goodfellas") was honest enough to know he was a crook.

I've found HUGE bottles of aspirin in the store, where someone has broken the seal to take a few tablets. I've bought cold medicine where half the contents were missing.

We see the same thing in our trade. Hey, it's not my job to verify a guy is working legally- and if I can get some Mexican who works cheap, I have the advantage. Hey, I can cut that corner- where does the code say I can't? The inspector didn't catch it, so it must be all right. Oh, I don't need to worry about code - there will not be an inspection. Besides, everybody does it.

Well, I can't save the world. Obama doesn't call me for advice on the Israel/Arab issue. So, I might as well focus on what I CAN do.

I can choose to be honest- myself. I can choose not to associate with the crooks and schemers. I can take out my trash, have my yard look good - no matter the neighborhood.

That's where I think the sundry protest types have erred .... sure, bad things happen in high places, but it's been my experience that far more of the bad things happen down here among the grass roots. It's you and I who are making our lives hell - not some anonymous king somewhere. The 'experts' have it exactly backwards: it is crime that causes poverty.

 

[mayanees]

Wow!

Wow!

Thanks for the Home Depot stories. I'll be sure to double check everything!

This reminds me of a recent encounter I had with a guy I hadn't seen in almost 30 years. He was my karate instructor in 1983.

I tried to find him over the years, but it was difficult because he hid from bill collectors, etc. After making contact last year, I drove 8 hours to meet up with him. We talked for a little while, and typical bs led to me using some curse words - at which point he sat me down to tell me that he found Jesus, and began to quote bible verse. I was happy for the guy because he was a real thug in his day, and needed a moral compass, IMO. No problem for me to limit the cussing...
But during the ensuing coversation, he proudly described how he got the payments on his car cut in half.... by somehow falsifying that his car was in a flood, and therefore wasn't worth as much. So I asked, WWJD?????

I have to live with myself so it's easy for me to walk the straight and narrow.

John M

 

[MJW]

When I get something from Home Depot that is broken or missing parts I write "BROKEN" or "PARTS MISSING" in sharpie on the box. This will at least keep some other poor slob from getting the same item. I suspect when they get a return half the time they just put it back on the shelf regardless of what the customer tells them.

 

[cowboyjwc]

I thought about the OP's question a little more and the answer has been talked about for years. the last generation or so we have raised a society that feels it's entitled. I'm not sure to what, but drive faster and cut off the guy in front, because I have more important things to do than you. Cut in line, get impatient if you have to wait more than a couple of minutes, yell at people you don't know just for doing their job, every kid gets a trophy.

I was telling someone yesterday that I coached Little League baseball for 12 years. One day during a game I went out and told my pitcher that if he didn't find the strike zone soon he was coming out. One of the parents aske me if that wasn't a little harsh and I simply told her, "ma'am you can't always pat them on the back and tell them their doing a great job, because sometimes their not."

The people that put the things back in the box, believe that they are simply getting even for all the times that they've been wronged. That they are somehow getting back at those greedy corprate millionaires who are the reason that things cost so much.

We all have that built into us, in 1972 when I made $3000 for the year, I thought I had the world by the short hairs and thought man if I could only make $5000 a year I'd be set, 5 became 10 which became 20 and so on and so on. Here I am clearing over $70,000 a year and between my wife and I were in the $100,000 range and guess what? But I work for my money no body gave it to me. How you act or get what you believe you deserve is what you'll eventually have to answer for.

 

[Dennis Alwon]

That stuff has been going on for years at the DEPOT. It is unfortunate that their workers aren't savy enough to open the boxes and check. I return a 4' flourescent fixture that had a cracked lens. They were out so I waited a week and went back. Guess what was back on the shelf. I called the manager and he was very thankful that I let him know. He can't stop it-- people are what they are and there is not much you can do to change it.

 

[mike7330]

I find the same thing at the electric supply house. You get to the job, open the box with the load center in it. and Suprise half the knock outs are gone.
Or You go to install a dimmer and its been used too. I CHECK EVERYTHING if it looks like it may have been opened. Time is money.

 

[Joethemechanic]

That stuff has been going on for years at the DEPOT. It is unfortunate that their workers aren't savy enough to open the boxes and check. I return a 4' flourescent fixture that had a cracked lens. They were out so I waited a week and went back. Guess what was back on the shelf. I called the manager and he was very thankful that I let him know. He can't stop it-- people are what they are and there is not much you can do to change it.

I was thinking the same thing after reading this thread. I also have seen legitimate returns, defective for whatever reason end up back on the shelf.

It's hard to find competent help when you are paying 20 or 30 an hour, I can't imagine what kind of help they get for whatever they pay

 

[kwired]

Thanks for the Home Depot stories. I'll be sure to double check everything!

This reminds me of a recent encounter I had with a guy I hadn't seen in almost 30 years. He was my karate instructor in 1983.

I tried to find him over the years, but it was difficult because he hid from bill collectors, etc. After making contact last year, I drove 8 hours to meet up with him. We talked for a little while, and typical bs led to me using some curse words - at which point he sat me down to tell me that he found Jesus, and began to quote bible verse. I was happy for the guy because he was a real thug in his day, and needed a moral compass, IMO. No problem for me to limit the cussing...
But during the ensuing coversation, he proudly described how he got the payments on his car cut in half.... by somehow falsifying that his car was in a flood, and therefore wasn't worth as much. So I asked, WWJD?????

I have to live with myself so it's easy for me to walk the straight and narrow.

John M

Some of the people that try very hard to be very Christian like are some of the worst I have ever seen at trying to get things for free, discounts, or whatever, to the point it is almost criminal. People make mistakes but I find this very annoying when they do the same things over and over.

That stuff has been going on for years at the DEPOT. It is unfortunate that their workers aren't savy enough to open the boxes and check. I return a 4' flourescent fixture that had a cracked lens. They were out so I waited a week and went back. Guess what was back on the shelf. I called the manager and he was very thankful that I let him know. He can't stop it-- people are what they are and there is not much you can do to change it.

Who says the manager even addresses the returns people after you call him? They don't want to deal with returning these items or even whatever it takes to replace them - it is easier and more profitable to continue to try to sell it, even if it has to be discounted.

Look at how much the seasonal items close out for so they can make room for next seasonal items. They may be losing a lot on those items yet have already made enough from what they did sell that it is still worth liquidating to just so they have space for the new seasonal items.

HD and others are not there for customer support and things like that - at least not as much as they may claim they are. They are in business to sell as much product as they can, and may even sell some fast moving items at little or no profit just to draw customers there so they will hopefully buy other items that they make great profit on.