So I ordered some compost from Home Depot using their should–be-handy and safe curbside pickup option. They text that it’s ready two days after I ordered it. It generally takes Target about an hour to get a similar order ready and it meant that gardening last weekend was out of the question but I looked forward to planting my tomatoes and some other items this weekend at least. I’ve got time over the long weekend.
I get a text that my order is ready. I can click on a link to “Learn more,” about what I can only assume is about curbside pickup. It just tells me that Home Depot offers curbside pickup (duh!), which is available until 6 PM. That’s fine. I can get to the store before 6:00.
I show up at the store. The parking lot, and presumably the store is mostly empty but there is a line of cars parked on the curb with no drivers. Presumably, all the drivers are inside the store for some reason. Is there a staff person outside that I can tell that I am there for curbside pickup? No. I call the telephone number on the text I received from Home Depot. I can check the status of my order but I already know it’s ready. How do I tell the store I’m ready to pick it up? Apparently, according to the instructions, I have to go in the store and wait in the curstomer service line, next to all the other people who have abandoned their cars in the fire lane for curbside pickup, so I can tell that customer service person that I’m there to get my order. Then, I can only guess that I have to wait around for some other person to actually get my order.
If I have to stand in a line packed with nearly every other customer in store, and then talk to multiple salespeople to get the stuff I already paid for dumped into my trunk, you have simply failed to live up to the intention of curbside pickup. What a damned waste of my time.
Is curbside pickup at all retailers similarly asinine?
The only curbside pickup I’ve done is Beggar’s Pizza, a chain that has pretty good pizza for a chain. They seemed to have their shit together except for one aspect. I still had to hand my card to another person, who ran it and handed it back to me. The rest, they did well. Order by phone or online. Have a number assigned to your order. Drive up to the new tent in the parking lot of the restaurant, and speak your number. Hand over card, receive card back. Be assigned a parking spot- they had signs with numbers at each parking spot. Wait for your order to be brought to you. (I can pop the hatchback from the driver’s seat, and close it that way, too, so there was minimal human to human contact.) I never left my vehicle.
I did Pizza Hut curbside pickup. They seemed really surprised when I called in when arrived, as instructed. Like “hi I’m here for pickup.” “Ok…?” But to be fair the way this Pizza Hut was situated in the plaza the only parking spots visible from inside were handicap spots. They couldn’t see me from where I was parked so maybe the kids didn’t believe I was actually there.
I did a pickup at Jo-Ann’s, and they had a runner simply going from car to car. When I called the number on the email, they asked if I saw then runner, and then suggested that I just wait for that person. It was very organized.
At Lowes (I get military discount when ordering online), they never answered the phone published that the numbered spot I was at. I flagged down the gal running out the orders, and she was awesome: I gave her my phone number, and she called me from inside, and we got the transaction taken care of. Lowe’s kind of sucks in this regard, except they hired a truly awesome employee I regret not being able to give management kudos to.
Meijer’s is odd. They’re reverting to store employee pickup which I’ve used many times pre-COVID, but they still have Shipt as temporary help. Ordering online from their website, you never know which you’re going to get, which is frustrating because the Shipt guys will fetch alcohol and the store employees won’t, which is doubly strange because pre-COVID, alcohol was no problem (Kroger, though, still does alcohol, so despite the shame, I’ve had some 100% alcohol orders at Kroger).
Are you guys tipping for curbside pickup? My first pickup I did was at Home Depot and it was snowing so I felt obliged to give the kid $2. Since then I’ve always gone into stores, except once for pizza where I tipped again.
I feel like if you’re doing some physical work on my behalf beyond what you were originally hired to do, I should tip you.
Pickup from local Bunnings (which is Australian and similar to Home Depot) Park out in front, phone in, they bring it to the car.
Bunnings has generally been very good on the whole thing. They don’t have splash guards, but they have benches in front of the register physically enforcing distancing, they limited the number of people in store, they labeled and blocked their aisles to prevent crowding, they cleared the aisles to prevent crowding, they have floor markings. After I’d seen inside, I didn’t bother about kerb pickup.
Everything that my local supermarket did not do, my local hardware and garden shop did do.
Local breweries and food trucks are doing a fantastic job of curbside pickup around here. Most have set up Square accounts. You place your order and state a pickup time. You give a description of the vehicle (white Jeep Wrangler with handsome driver wearing a mask is my go-to).
At your designated time you pull up to the designated curb and someone brings out your stuff. With repeat orders I’ve been getting “thank yous”, like the unseasoned chicken wing wrapped in foil with a “for Rocco” sticker ( they knew my bird from Facebook). Yes, I tip well for my beer and food, I really appreciate this service.
I wonder if the next thing in car design is a compartment with an outside door and a warming tray for contact-less pickup of too go food.
Fast food drive-thrus seem to be a crapshoot. Taco Bell has you insert your own card into their reader and the employees wear those cloth masks (for whatever good they do) and seem to be instructed not to talk to you at the window unless necessary. Wendy’s and Arby’s they don’t wear masks and seem to be fond of leaning over and getting into your face so I don’t go there any more.
Maybe the next thing in fast food design will be double “automat” style pickup windows with card readers at the ordering board?
I expected something like this and was seriously disappointed. This is my third entirely different bad Home Depot experience in a row and I’m done with them for a while. Too bad for them because I’ll be dropping a few thousand on new appliances in the next year or so.
Honestly, the thought didn’t cross my mind but now that the suggestion has been raised, I will. Those people are taking a risk so I don’t have to. That’s worth a reward.
For me, Home Depot’s curbside pickup has solidly competent. They have a dozen designated parking spots and a concierge who comes over to you to get your info then they radio the runners. Other than the occasional mask-muffled communication hiccup, they’re doing fine. They’re also pretty quick at the order picking.
Lowe’s has been an utter fail and suckfest. Tried them twice, and both times, ended up going inside and waiting in line at the customer service desk because the mailbox for whatever number they say to call was full.
Walmart was another dud. Designated parking spots are fine, but go inside and wait is not fine.
The only rockstar I’ve found so far is Target. Quick with the order picking, and then once I get the message my order is ready, I tap “On my way” and then when I arrive, they’re using GPS/geolocation with my phone, so by the time I get parked and turn off the engine, they’re coming out with my stuff.
Here, minimum wage is about $15, and being on your feet and schlepping stuff is a core job duty in retail, so the idea of tipping them never entered my mind.
Home Depot was one of the first stores around here to implement social distancing inside the building - limiting the number of people, markings of the floor for social distancing in lines (both inside and while waiting to enter), plexiglass shields at registers and customer service. I also notice that while they don’t require masks, a much higher percentage of customers are masked vs. the local grocery stores.
I have not used curbside pickup, but I have seen their setup and it looks much like others have posted - dedicated area of the parking lot, staff stationed under a canopy handling pickups.
Also, very early on Home Depot announced an extended paid time off policy:
So in general I have been pretty impressed with how Home Depot is handling the situation.
I don’t think Home Depot understands any of their own policies.
We went to our local HD two weeks ago. All employees are to wear masks. Several had them below their noses and most, when talking to someone whether it was a customer or a colleague, would lower their mask to expose their mouths.
It was a shit show.
Something happened at Home Depot here over the weekend. Last week, not too many noses were visible, but two days ago, I was suddenly in the masked minority. This county “strongly recommends” masks but it’s up to businesses to decide if they want to require them.