So in my 30s, something has happened and made me into a gardener. Since we moved into our new house I built two garden boxes so Shannon and I can grow tomatoes, peppers, other veggies, etc. One of the things that I take pride in is planting without the use of a lot of chemicals and the such. I’ve developed the soil mix, added my own compost comprised of our family scraps, added manure as needed, etc.
This spring, I went to the local Home Depot to purchase soil, peat moss, manure, etc. to thow down on the garden so it could soak in the recent rains. Much to my surprise, Home Depot had a very limited selection of soils that were not pre-fertilized with Miracle-Gro or some other Scott’s product. There was no Peat Moss without it. Last year the Miracle-Gro products were in the minority.
The Home Depot employees told me that pre-fertilized soil was the norm this year and that I was out of luck if I wanted local or just normal soil. I asked them to let their manager know I was unhappy and would like the normal soil to be restocked, and they told me it was a purely central office decision. So, I wrote Home Depot with my request. Here is the lame response they sent me:
Thank you for contacting The Home Depot Customer Care.
As the world’s largest home improvement retailer, and an industry leader
on the environment, providing non-toxic, organic land care product is
something The Home Depot takes very seriously.We are committed to working with our vendors to conserve and preserve
natural resources.We take consumer concerns about non–toxic products very seriously and
continue to review the situation with industry and state.We look forward to your continued patronage and assisting you with all
of your home improvement needs.Sincerely,
Dharmendra
Customer Care
All I can say is, what a lame response. I can understand wanting to offer Miracle-Gro products at a higher price/profit margin, but to not offer low-priced local soil and peat moss that contains no additives is just silly. And then to claim that they offer a wide variety of organic products seems like they think I’m stupid. So, I’m done with Home Depot. No more plants, soils, veggies, etc. I may also consider not shopping there for the new grill I want to buy, the yard tools I need from time-to-time, the filters for my furnace, lumber, shelving materials, etc. As a consumer, I’m insulted.
7 responses so far ↓
Bruce A. // May 12, 2008 at 6:21 am |
Go to your local Independant Garden Center and purchase Fafard or another regional supplier for soils and peat moss.
Um // August 10, 2008 at 7:25 pm |
Remember corporate America sells what the consumer (by consumer I mean the average of all consumers that purchased the last buying season) wants. Unfortunately by the law of averages what you wanted was not wanted by the majority last year.
So it seems to me last year you were not a big enough advocate in your area for green products, or your audience did not listen. So in cases like this when you are in the minority you should shop somewhere where you are in the majority. Keep in mind that places that serve buying minorities are generally more expensive.
dylan555 // August 11, 2008 at 2:38 pm |
Actually, in my area I’m in more of the majority. And trust me, this was a move by Home Depot to rake in revenues.
Mike // February 3, 2009 at 3:41 pm |
I think the HD you visited was just temporarily out of the things you wanted. I shop at HD and Lowes frequently to get my soils. I usually mix my own from the things they have. They sell 2 or 3 soils that don’t have any fertilizer, which are made by a less known company. They sell these large white cubes of spagnum peat moss, and of course they sell sand. All of these things aren’t fertilized. I mix the soil, sand and moss in a wheel barrow for a nice mixture.
dylan555 // February 3, 2009 at 5:33 pm |
I thought the same thing too, but the one I go to is likely less busy (it’s kind of in the middle of nowhere). I find that overall, I’m getting better selection and prices at the local guys. The last time I went to HD for something that wasn’t soil it was a pain. I’m sticking to the local guys now.
Margaret bickerton // April 27, 2009 at 12:08 pm |
I just have to let you know about one of your employee at the Setauket(1265).His Name was Shawn and he was a trendous help when we could not find anyone willing to come out of there comfort zone.Many of your emlpyees were walking around looking like they had nothing to do all the while pasing us (hushand and myself) by while not even acknowleging us. We were interested in buying a patio set.We went to custumer sevice with the stock # (because no body respnded to a page )to find out if the patio was in stock&yes it was there were 4 in stock.That was the begging of the journey.Once we found out there was stock and I wasn’t wasting my time this is when Shawn came in the picture.After waiting 20 min to find out there was a set in stock NOW we had to find them.Out of Four that the computer said you had there was none to be found .With the stock # in hand Shawn & I and two other employees walk up & down each aisle looking on top off all the top overhead shelves after another 15 min we still cannot find one of the four .PS there are zero in stock.
I asked Shawn if we could buy the display(he check with management) and yes we did buy it. He help pack and load the car but refused my $5 tip. He was a get help and sould be regonised foe outstand custumer service.
Jim // September 2, 2009 at 7:34 pm |
Wow dude, get a life….