Any experiences working AS a contractor/installer for Home Depot or Lowes?

Question

Good or bad? What can we expect?Any advice?

Answer 1

A friend of mine does work for Home Depot, and says it is going okay. I'm still leery of it because of their terms- the whole 'you don't pay 'til your satisfied' thing for customers, and that it has morphed (the exterior part at least) from the Diamond Exteriors that was doing all of Sears' work. Before we all started our own companies, we all worked for a company that did Sears' work. It was 50/50 between good and nightmare, and the salespeople had no clue about how things actually get installed.

I have been looking at Lowe's myself, and from what I can see so far, it doesn't appear to be near as rigid terms wise as Home Depot. But again, will the pimple faced 17yo kid or the retiree behind the counter actually know what they are selling or what it takes to install it properly? If you are installing after another trade, will the guy before you do a competent job, or will you spend double the time repairing their mess?

I know it's a soft economy for us trade contractors, especially in the upper Midwest. But, sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures. It can be nice to have an outside sales source- if they know what they are doing. Just be sure to read through all the agreement information; to minimize getting burned. And, be sure that you can be compensated for things that will inevitably be missed in their contracts and pricing.

Hope it works out.

Answer 2

No.....Never...Their reputation precedes them.