The Home Depot’s J.T. Rieves talks about the state of the construction industry and how his company is adapting to meet the needs of today’s contractors
During the 2013 International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas, I had the chance to sit with a group of Fine Homebuilding editors and J.T. Rieves, The Home Depot’s vice president for pro business. Rieves proved a good sport as we peppered him with questions about the current business climate, and he offered a profile of The Home Depot’s pro sales. I also learned about a series of online (or at the store) tools that The Home Depot offers as a value-added service to its contractors; some may blow you away. Read on, or page down to read about The Home Depot’s free online estimating program and aerial job-site maps, sort of a Google Earth for roofers.
The Home Depot economic report
We all know things have improved in the housing sector, although Rieves says the store’s larger clients are feeling it first. The mom and pop operators (or “Chuck in a truck,” as we are known in The Home Depot’s terminology) is still suffering from a recession hangover. The expectation, though, is that a rising tide lifts all ships and that everyone will be enjoying a better business climate soon.
About 35% of the retail giant’s in-store volume comes from contractors, and the segment is growing. The Home Depot has focused resources on its pro business after a careful study of how contractors use the stores. According to Rieves, The Home Depot acknowledges that most large contractors use the store for incidental purchases, not as a primary supplier, a role still held by the lumberyard and wholesale material suppliers. “We know we’re the 7-Eleven of building materials,” said Rieves, and just as a convenience store, they have geared up to service rush-hour traffic better, tripling the Pro Desk and drive-through lumber staff to focus on getting contractors loaded and out the door as quickly as possible from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m. You may already have noticed the difference.
Where ethnic minorities dominate the trades, such as Polish, Russian or Mexican contractors in different regions, the Pro Desk strives to employ at least three people that speak the language, with the intention of engaging customers in their preferred mode of communication. Surprisingly, this also means The Home Depot may revamp its glossy catalogs, as contractors still by and large eschew online services and apps in favor of phone calls and catalogs.
But the most exciting part of the interview with Rieves came at the very end, when we briefly discussed The Home Depot’s free online services loaded with value for contractors. I was genuinely impressed by what they offer. The Home Depot will provide you with a complete estimating system that can generate by-the-SKU-number pricing, include your labor rate, and then print a generic estimate and contract on your personalized letterhead. There’s more: The company will also provide you with discounted EagleView, a highly accurate, satellite-based roof measuring (or site-mapping) system accurate enough for purchase-order-ready material breakdowns. I have used the system and paid dearly for it because I didn’t know the Eagleview fee is reduced if you go through The Home Depot. The fee is based on the size of the roof, typically ranging between $20 to $75. They are testing additional discounts and free options for our Pro customers, so stay tuned. It works so well that at first it seems impossibly far-fetched — until you try it. Then you’ll never have to climb to measure a roof again.
Here’s a breakdown of services you may not have known were available right now at The Home Depot online or at a terminal at the store. You will be not only pleased but also amazed.
Estimator
The Home Depot’s free online and in-store Estimator for Pros (powered by EagleView) facilitates job estimates by factoring in building costs, labor, size, and scope of the job. The Home Depot Estimator is available for 37 construction categories including sitework, roofing, windows, siding, demolition, and more. Pros also can prepare, email, and print proposals directly from the Estimator as well as send their orders to their closest Home Depot store. The estimator is available at homedepotestimator.com.
Aerial job-site maps
The Home Depot offers use of EagleView aerial job-site views for pros. Using EagleView, accessible at homedepotestimator.com, you can identify, scout, and print job-site map views, all with their branded logo and business name.
FIRST for Pro
The Home Depot’s FIRST for Pro is a program specially designed to meet the specific needs of the pro customer in each store location. Whether they are small-business contractors or large-volume customers, pro customers have four basic needs when they visit The Home Depot:
- Fast in and out: Time is money for the pro customer. The FIRST for Pro program includes features such as dedicated pro parking, and pro loaders and pro cashiers to help customers find the items they need and get back to the job site quickly.
- In-store assistance: The Home Depot has dedicated pro associates that the company says will recognize you by name, and become familiar with your projects and the products you’ll need to complete the job. These experts can be found at the Pro Desk and throughout the store at all times to address the requests and inquiries of pros.
- Large quantities in stock: The Home Depot stocks job-lot quantities to ensure that pro customers have easy access to items necessary for job completion.
- Great prices: We know that The Home Depot’s pricing has changed the marketplace, providing close-to-wholesale pricing to the general public, but they now also offer volume pricing for large purchases.
Key elements of the FIRST for Pro program include:
• Dedicated pro cashiers on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Dedicated pro loader from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. (weekdays only; extended hours available at select locations)
• Designated pro parking in all stores (as allowed by local ordinances)
• FIRST Phone: Dedicated phone at the Pro Desk during Pro Power Hours to address questions and requests
• Will-call commitment: Phone orders available and ready for pickup in two hours
Fine Homebuilding Recommended Products
Fine Homebuilding receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
Handy Heat Gun
Reliable Crimp Connectors
8067 All-Weather Flashing Tape
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The Home Depot offers use of EagleView aerial job-site views for pros planning their projects. Using EagleView accessible from homedepotestimator.com, you can identify, scout, and print job-site map views, all with their branded logo and business name. Check out the "What's EagleView?" video: Click here.
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View Comments
ok, so when I walked up to the pro desk and said, "you guys don't stock the Simpson LCE4 connectors, they are on your website for $4.95 ea., can you tell me when can I get them and is there an additional charge if I pick them up at the store?". I should have received an answer, right? Well, not only couldn't he find them on the website, two weeks later I haven't received a phone call. I'll stick to my lumber yard-for everything, thanks.
It all boils down to the people.
Before I started out on my own I was trained to stay away from the box stores, then after started out I tried that method but was confronted with arrogance at the local lumber yards. I didn't have an account at any local yards and I usually only needed a couple of items at a time. In return I received little to no service.
I can vividly recall standing and waiting at the counter of a local lumber yard one day; literally the one and only customer in the store while two salesmen were talking about their weekend right in front of me. After standing there for way too long, one of them broke from his story just long enough to say "Someone will be with you shortly". I waited a few more minutes while they took their conversation into an office and then I walked out decided to try the HomeDepot. When I got to the Depot I walked up to the pro desk and was helped immediately.
That HD salesman who helped me all those years ago is still the one who helps me now. Even if I don't go to the desk, he almost aways notices me on my way in and greets me respectfully like a friend. He knows the instore stock and most prices by heart and will tell me how or where to get a better deal when he can. I really feel like he's working for me and not just for HomeDepot.
Now days I tend to regret when I am unable to buy through the Depot. Such was the case recently when I needed about 1000 LF of cedar for exterior trim (my HD doesn't carry 16 foot 1x cedar) so I went to a local lumber yard. I was treated fine at the desk but in the yard they didn't want to wait or just leave me alone to let me choose my lumber so they rushed to chuck a bunch of what ended up being a lot of garbage into my truck. There wasn't time to make another run for replacements so split 16's had to be cut down to 14's adding unnecessary joints and grains couldn't be properly matched at most of the joints. The job ended up being a rather shameful compromise.
Sure, results may vary but in my case the HomeDepot seems to be the best choice.
DC
They're improving at HD and have plenty of good people and can't be beat for convenience, but the biggest issue we contractors have with them is the quality of the goods. They sell second-rate stuff and I wonder how long they can keep doing it with public awareness increasing. The AZEK trim boards and Trex deck boards are not the same as what you get through a lumberyard. Too much of the lumber in the racks is cheap grade junk. The power tools are often not of the same caliber as the exact same brand/model purchased from a tool vendor. The faucets are made of plastic instead of metal. The John Deere tractor may look like a Deere and carry the name, but it comes from MTD and your John Deere dealer will laugh at you when you come looking to service it. The list goes on. They're trying, but my local lumber yard gives me terrific service, better pricing on many items and better quality of material.