I've been Borged!

[Tom Henderson2]

Well, the folks in the orange aprons Borged me again.

I decided to buy the Dewalt 618 3-base router kit that the Orange Borg has on sale/clearance for $150.

I had the SKU, so called the local borg. They checked stock... and declared that they had 3 in stock, and confirmed the $150 price.

So after dinner I hoofed my way over. Found the one VERY beat up display model, but none on the shelves. Asked the orange-aproned worker for help.

Imagine my surprise when she said "Oh -- the ony one we have is the one on display"

I told her that when I had called they said there were 3 in stock.

Her response was, basically, that the computer stock count is meaninless and that I should have "asked for a visual" before I drove over.

She seemed quite amused with the entire situation. Ipm glad she enjoyed it; I sure was steamed. I had better things to do than play scavenger hunt at the big box home store on a Saturday evening.

So I asked for a manager. He at least made an effort to look around, but he couldn't find one either.

Gotta love the borgs.

-TH

[Rob Russell]

The computer is only good as the data fed into it. GIGO = Garbage In, Garbage Out.

One reason the big box stores do physical inventory is so they can see how much has been lost or shoplifted.

Your local store may have been just before the inventory.

[Ben Rafael]

The borg by me has them in stock but will not sell them for less than $279

[Matt Meiser]

I wanted some "Special Buy" knobs the blue one had in their ad one time. The computer showed 1000 in stock and they couldn't find them.

I always ask them if they can check, especially when they say it shows they only have a few.

[Lee Koepke]

i feel compelled to offer one "good" story. recently I saw the DW734 on clearance at the blue store. Wife was out shopping in the vicinity and offered to pick it up for me, so I called their store and they had two. I asked they take one off the shelf and hold it at Cust Service for my wife to pick up. they did, AND even loaded in her vehicle.

[Matt Meiser]

Yes, I should add the rest of my story...

These were a brushed metal knob for 99 cents. The manager, who was involved by this point since they couldn't figure out how they lost a case of knobs, asked how many I was looking for and then proceeded to say that I should choose any know they had and he'd have the cashier ring them up for 99 cents. Then he showed me something similar that was normally about $4.

[Pat Germain]

I'm no champion of the BORG, but such a situation can happen at most any retailer these days. My local Woodcraft is great. But last week I went to buy a mobile base. The computer said they had the model I wanted in stock, but they couldn't find it. I ended up getting the floor model; at a discount.

No big. Stuff happens. It's nice when we can breeze into a retailer, find exactly what we want at a great discount, then breeze out. Unfortunately, it usually dosen't work that way.

[Dave Lehnert]

Sad but true, the other two that showed in the computer was most likely stolen. Never went through the register, never subtracted from the inventory. But us as customers are part to blame. We get impatient if we have to wait for a clerk to get the keys to unlock what we need. So stores, to make things more convenient, just put stock out on the shelves.
The price we all pay.

[Robert Conner]

I have found that at any of the BORGS you would be wise to do a search yourself. They seem to lose things on their shelves. I found those Biesemeyer Fences that were on sale last year that way. Unfortunately sometimes that does not help.
I am aware of the problems with Computer input mistakes (GIGO) what I don't understand is that each time a sale is made the computer should be able to update inventory. If an employee mistakenly added too many that should show up as an inventory mistake. If 30 did not enter the store how could they have 30 in the store?, once alerted a physical inventory should show that.
Oftentimes I have been told the reasons they don't have the 7 the Computer said they have is because they were "shop-lifted". I can understand a pair of pliers or even a cordless drill, but 7 110lbs Biesemeyer Fences with tables in 7' x 30" x 8" boxes ( true reply by an Employee)? or even 3 Router Kits. It seems to me there are Problems with their inventory controls. Phantom Inventory?? Employee theft on a Major Scale?
Maybe the Guys at the door who check your $3. receipt against the item in the bag should be checking the Deliveries or the Employees leaving ( not meant as a knock to all BORG Employees)?
Off my Soap Box!
Robert

[Dewey Torres]

Botom line is they lost the sale. Your one sale may be a drop of water in a bucket to HD but compounded (many customers/many years) and this is why HD is struggling. Thanks alot Robert Nardelli! Boy, didn't he do wonders for the BORG
Dewey

http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/03/news...ion=2007010309

[Doug Jones from Oregon]

Not surprising that their inventory counts are off.

My SIL works at one of the borgs in loss prevention. He tells me that when incoming freight comes in, they only verify count the large items, ie, appliances, rolls of carpets, units of board. A mixed pallet of tools would never be verified, just accepted.

Doug

[glenn bradley]

Although they are generally handicapped by their business model, the quality of a BORG can be influenced by the store manger. When I lived in the Sacramento area, my local Lowe's was poor and the HD was great. Where I am now it is the opposite. The HD about 30 miles from here is exceptional for a BORG. Alas, the cost of gas has driven me to my local stinker more often lately.

[David G Baker]

Robert Nardelli had a great impact on his Borgs that lasted about two months. Everything is back to the terrible normal at my local store. I thought he had a good thing going that had a chance of turning things around permanently, should have known better.
CORRECTION: I thought Robert was the new guy, I was wrong. The new guy did the above that only lasted a few months before HD sank back to its old level.

[Kevin Johnson]

I recently went into the pawn shop across the street from a HD near me and they had a large selection of Dewalt and other major brand name tools sitting on their shelves that had never been used. They probably had been stolen across the street and pawned there.

[Paul Girouard]

Botom line is they lost the sale. Your one sale may be a drop of water in a bucket to HD but compounded (many customers/many years) and this is why HD is struggling. Thanks alot Robert Nardelli! Boy, didn't he do wonders for the BORG
Dewey

http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/03/news...ion=2007010309

Was he the ex Army Ranger officer or similar maybe he was a reserve Army officer???? I read a article about him ( if he is the one I'm thinking / remembering ) some years ago at a Doctor's office I think , in "Money" magazine maybe

It the time he was a shinning star, running a big outfit like Home Despot would be a weird job , so may employees , so many managers , etc etc . Yet the BLAME all comes back to the top.

I do agree that the "Top man" can have great impact on any organization , as I've seen that in USN aviation squadrons . But those a "smaller" in scale than a big company like Home despot.