Out of Order

When dealing with plywood, it’s helpful to have a truck. You’re working with 8’x4′ boards, and it’s more or less impossible to transport those boards with something with a truckbed.

What I’ve found is that I can accommodate smaller pieces inside our car (but the 4′ width is a challenge).

For some of our remaining office floor work, we needed some additional plywood. As much as I wanted a full 8′ board, I figured out it would be easier to have two 3’x4′ pieces.

So this morning, I trekked out to Home Depot (the South Loop location, in downtown Chicago).

Worth noting: last night I called this Home Depot location, and asked if the panel saw was working. The person I spoke with said yes, it was working.

On arriving, I saw this.

I walked over to Customer Service, and found out that yes, the panel saw was out of order. And to add to that, it had been broken since Friday. So I’m not sure who I spoke with, but they clearly either didn’t know or just didn’t care and lied. I’m positive I asked to speak with someone in lumber.

I expressed my frustration to the manager, but there was nothing to be done. I woke up early so I could get this material… and I didn’t have enough time to trek out to another HD location. Luckily, I was also picking up some 2x4s, so the trip wasn’t a complete waste.

But I’m aggravated. I’ve been burned before by this issue (showing up, to find the panel saw not working). So I know enough to call ahead of time to verify. And even with me trying to take this extra step, it felt like a waste of my time.

To add insult to injury, there were two Asian guys hanging out by the panel saw, looking to cut some plywood as well. I had to explain to them that it wasn’t working, and tried to give them some advice on another nearby HD location. My Mandarin was really rough, so we mostly used Google Translate to talk.

So I’m doubly irked. Not only did Home Depot waste my time, I ended up helping some of their other customers… explaining why things weren’t working at this store. I feel at this point, I do deserve some kind of honorary Home Depot apron.

Related:
A Very Custom Cut
Office Floor Work, Continued
Adding Plywood to the Basement Walls
Last Plywood and Visqueen in the Back Basement
Lost in Translation: Home Depot Edition