Poor Ridgid displays at Home Depot

[MarkAllan]

Has anyone noticed that the Ridgid displays at Home Depot have gotten really bad. The Home Depot I shop at used to have the Ridgid tools all spread out and fully set up. Now they have them all shoved together in a space about 8' by 8'. Some of the tools are missing parts and or don't have prices attached. Everything is covered in a thick layer of dust.
They have also started to get rid of several Ridgid accessories. I heard this is because they are being offered through the website, but the website prices are full retail and the store was always cheaper.
I think Home Depot is dropping the ball on Ridgid. I hope Emerson uses this as leverage to start offering Ridgid products everywhere. The success of Ridgid is currently reliant on the support from Home Depot.
I bring this all up because I am interested in purchasing the 13" planer, but the lifetime warranty is no good if Ridgid goes under because of Home Depots crappy marketing.

[cwmoser]

The HD store I frequent has a pretty impressive setup of Ridgid tools. They are bunched together in the tool area and some along the main aisle in the store.

But, the Table Saw I hope to soon buy, the display's fence is broken as it won't lock down. I agree with you about HD on one thing i that Ridgid products, along with everything else at HD, is not being agressively promoted.

[RGad]

The Home Depot I frequent (my wife would say "live at") used to have a nice display of Ridgid shop tools in the covered way at the entrance. All of the tools were assembled and clean and one could futz around to one's heart's delight. A month or so that display was taken down. Now you have to search around, and what you find is sometimes helpful (the MS was fully set up in the tools seciont) and sometimes not (the two TSs were half assembled, dirty, and lacking in any info re: features.

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[Hergy]

I'll second what's been said in the previous posts. A TS2424 sat upside down on a cart partially assembled for about a month, covered with dust. Now the saw is setting upright and the top is all rusty and mobile base not installed. Ridgid tools jammed in a too small area. This is pretty much true of all tools, however. I downloaded instruction manual for 2424 before I bought and examined the carcass of what was on display at HD. No price tag on saw. they had to go lookl it up on computer before they could tell me price. It's a fairly new store and perhaps help is hard to find, but after waiting for a HD to open in our area I'm getting more and more discouraged. Shopped at a Lowe's in another cit.....was impressed.

[J J]

You guys are worrying me! I'm going to have to ask my friendly tool man at HD if anything is going on with this. I hope there's nothing to it as I'm a fairly new owner of a Ridgid TS2424 (not even together yet) and kind of liked the idea of Home Depot & Ridgid together. http://www.ridgid.com/ubb/frown.gif

[cwmoser]

Did you get a good price on your 2424 Table Saw? Has not been a sell here for some time.

[DCH]

Same problem appears to be happing to our store. Several items are presently on closeout, and the display area is not what it used to be. According to the store all items will still be availble through HD but will be a special order item. They are only closing out the slow movers. Guess we'll see.

[J J]

I have to tell you that I've checked my local Home Depot out and the Ridgid display is looking good as always. Must be an individual store thing.

******
cwmoser

The TS was a birthday gift from my wife but, yes, she got a good deal. That was around the holidays however. Some health issues have kept me from setting it up....hopefully soon.

JJ

[danomal]

I've noticed the same kind of problems at one of the Home Depot in my area. At the other store the Ridgid display area is better,but it not as nice as it was a year ago. I have a feeling about this. I work for a major grocery store chain. You'll see stores at look real nice with displays of major brands that are full, neat and clean. Then other stores in the same chain that are dirty with junkey looking displays. It all comes down to the store manager staff. It does'nt matter to them how the store looks. I'm hoping htis is the problem with some of the Home Depots. I also hope that the suits at Ridgid see these posts and look in to the problem. I know that Ridgid pays good money to Home Depot in order for them to carry there product line, it sound like they are not getting their money's worth. How it's time for some at Ridgid to replay. Let all of your Ridgid Power Tool owener that all is well with the company and that someone will be looking in to this problem. I'll be happy to let them know what stores are in my area.
Regards Daniel J. Maloney

[cwmoser]

Dainiel -- Evidentally, Ridgid does care. Someone from Ridgid has already sent me email that they are concerned about the presentation of their products. Don't be surprised if Ridgid contacts you too.

[sandy]

I have two Home Depots within driving distance. At one the Ridgid display is a mess. At the other it is neat,clean,well lit and everything works.A little qc is in order!

[robertm]

Maybe this is why Lowes is kicking HD pants every time I go in there. HD has much to offer but they are a mess. Can't get help, poor displays, equipment left to get torn to hell, etc. They are living on their reputation and it is going to back fire on them. I wish Lowes carried Ridgid.
:rolleyes:

[Jimbo]

Very interesting comments and I concur. I am getting quite frustrated in my quest to research and purchase a new TS (leaning towards the TS2424 due to comments read here). Poor displays and poor sales staff make spending the money all the harder. I must say that discovering this page and forum has been more help than the countless hours and drive time to differnt HD's to "look and touch". It's a shame that the customers on this forum are not getting credit for the "sale".

[ssg57]

I am also disapointed in the way Home Depot handling the Ridgid line. Frankly the only reason I go into Home Depot anymore is to check out the Ridgid tools. I wish others would carry Ridgid so us consummers would have more choices to who we trade with.

This weekend I went to HD and they was having a sale on thier Ridgid Dust Collectors and Air Filtration Systems....the guy said they don't sell many of them and they was going to discontinue them. I bought me the last Dust Collector DC2000 they had as a display. Regular price was $249 sale price $149 and $20 off because of display model for $129

[Pepaw of VA]

I would think after all these negative post about the poor displays of Ridgid Power tools at The Home Depot. That some kind of action would have been taken. But from the looks of thing at The Home Depot in Newport News VA. Home Depot is still doing a poor job. The display area is dirty, parts are missing from some of the tools. And they have a display of the Ridgid Lathe that has the same peice of wood on it it's had for at least 10 month. In short if The Home Depot is trying to sell Ridgid tools to those who dont know just how good the are, are not going about it the right way. Are you listening Powers That Be. The Home Depot is not giving Ridgid the quality dispalys it should. Would you try to sell a top of the line car that was covered with dirt and had parts missing. If I could I would take some pictures or video to show just how bad it is. Like most of those who own Ridgid Power tools go to The Home Depot for that reason. And when Im shopping there and see someone looking at the Ridgid Tools I tell them that I own them and just how good they are. If someone at Ridgid could tell me what I could do to halp change thing at The Home Depot I would. Just Email me. I'll give you my home phone and address. But please lets do something soon.
Dan :(

[JSchnarre]

Dan,

I am passing this on to our rep group. Matter of fact I try to pass any complaints of store displays on to our reps in the field. We also try whenever we can to communicate these complaints to Home Depot. We are always interested in making the display look as good as possible and we realize having a poor store display is like going to a car dealership where the only car you can look at is missing a wheel and has a couple large dents.

To those of you who browse lots of woodworking message boards, can I ask a favor? If at anytime you see a complaint on the condition of the RIDGID display at a Home Depot store please let contact me via e-mail at jacob.schnarre@emersontool.com . Also if you have been in a store that needs attention please pass it on to me.

Thanks
Jake

[Pepaw of VA]

Well at least one Home Depot has cleaned up their act. The store in Hampton VA. Display of Ridgid Tools is looking much better. They have a neat area and all the tools on display have all their parts. The Only negitive note is that the TS-2424 on display is an older model with otu the Herc-U-Lift. Other then that it looks good. Let hope the store that dont have good dispalys follow the Hampton VA. stores lead.
Dan smile.gif

[Billiam]

I to have noticed the slow decay of the Rigid and Tool Corral in general at my HD. I really hate to go to Lowes But I must admitt sometimes I do because their choice of other tools and displays are much better. I also have to admitt that the new HD across town (1yr) display is much better but still could use some improvement. Enough of that I am a new TS2424-1 owner and a 13" Planner owner ( sorry don't know the model # off hand) as of about 3 days and I'm excited about using them very soon.
:( :confused:

[ 06-27-2001: Message edited by: Billiam ]

[George]

It is just a store thing. I think as a store is around for a while, with the same employees, they start to get lazy. Their attitude is "Hey! It's just a job! Right?". Plus, I see a lot of kids working in some of these places and they do not know anything and don't care.

Our HDs here in Huntsville, Alabama area are great. We had one store that relocated to the West side of town and they built another on the East side of town. The one on the West side is almost next door to Lowe's. The Lowe's store has been there a while and is a mess! They hardly ever have anything in stock. Their main power tools (such as table saws) are Delta. And THEIR displays are crap at that store. Saws missing parts, rusty, etc.

By contrast, the 1 and 1/2 year old HD next door is fantastic. Great displays. Clean and organized.

[Hergy]

Back in early April I posted here that the HD in my area (Omaha) had a lousy Ridgid tool display. I gave them the benefit of the doubt, however, as this was a fairly new store and they were obviously having trouble getting help.

Since that time 2 more HD's have opened and a Lowes will be opening soon (my aren't we getting cosmopolitan :D ). I haven't visited any of the new HD as they are too far away. If Ridgid would send me a check (or free tools) for consulting fees, I would be happy to go and inspect them, however. :D

I'm pleased to report that the HD I complained about has cleaned up their act. Display is much better arranged. Tools are still a little dirty and missing a few parts, but it's come a long way from where it was. Now have price tags etc. It's still pretty obvious that the people (clerks) in the tool area don't know which end of a hammer to use but there is hope. ;)

[baupaw]

Well I guess you can add the HD's at Lewisville and Mesquite Texas too! They don't seem to care. I buy a lot from them but they tell me it is a corporate decision NOT to spend a great deal of effort on the displays and their areas. Seems they are too busy training their EXPERTS and with employee turnover. Duh!
I have spoken with the Managers, district reps, & Dallas home office. The general attitude is Oh Well!
Ridgi has been in production for a long time. Too bad they can't defeat apathy within the ranks of ther retailers. :mad:

[whiffus]

question, if they can't manage these displays, would anybody actually buy a grill that's preassembled at HD. I can just picture the guy throwing away the "extra parts" that didn't quite make it into the final assembly.

Happy grilling.

[Andy B.]

Home Depot#3846 is a big mess tools on the ground, parts missing, can't get in the back to look at dust collector,band saw or jonter. The hole store needs cleaning.

[rstephens]

I have noticed at the HD close to me that the displays vary from time to time. They didn't have the jointer there for some time but last week there was another one set up. I was there purchasing the 13" surface planer which I just set up. I had thought they quit handling the jointer but am glad that they haven't because that is next on my list to purchase. I hope HD and Ridgid stay together.

[shift]

I was not impressed today when a "sales associate" at HD reached across the 13" planer I was about to purchase and pulled the sale price off. $30 added to the price convinced me the Delta at another store marked $120 less is the machine for me. Sorry Ridgid and HD.

[Big Johnson]

Hello,
I just wanted to say that I just bought the TS2424LS that I mentioned in another posting a day ago from the new Home Depot in Lincoln, Ne. I relied on the clerks to load the saw on the cart for me and get it to the front check out while I grabbed a few other goods. After traveling a 100 miles back home and assembling the saw yesterday I noticed the fence rails package was not included. I called and they are going to be sent but I think the clerks should be trained better on what goes with what. I am pretty savvy on tools and didn't rely on them much in my decision on the product but was a bit frustrated when I had to stop my assembly because they didn't give it all to me. I run into this frequently at my local Menards store.
Question for Jake,
Do you run a training course for HD employees on your products? I worked for a farm supply retailer at one time and they trained us for just a day every month on a product line and it helped a bunch... Sales went through the roof... We knew all about what we were selling and most of the time the customer walked out the door with the good we were promoting. The thing is we were interested in what we were selling. Many times customers would comb the store to find you and ask questions on return visits because they knew they would get answers… Customers like to be sold too. Sometime it may take 5 min. or 5 visits but the product can’t always sell it self. Companies that rely on products selling them self usually lose. Ridgid should put 1 Ridgid employee in each HD to maintain product and promote??? Bet he would pay for himself. Maybe a Ridgid employee maintains a couple stores in a region. This comment is based on what I have read from other postings in this topic…
Anyway the new Lincoln store looked good but it is only days old... I hope to buy more Ridgid products there in the future but will double check the carton quantity before leaving the store next time...

[zapj]

I could not let this go by without a post. I made the same complaint months ago on Ridgid forums and others. The HD in Gainesville, Florida is a joke. Their displays and stock have only gotten worse since I was attempting to purchase a thickness planer. I recently wanted to purchase a DP but the only one they had was a display model. The display was not set up properly and was non-operative. It looked so bad and cheap I requested opinions from Wood Smith Forums. The responses where positive and that is what will sell the product...NOT HD. I already have to drive 50 miles round trip and don't want to drive further only to find another store as inadequate. :mad:

[RGad]

Well, someone has to come to HD's defense, and since I've posted a negative observation or two up to this point, I guess I should report that, with respect to the HD in Waltham, Massachusetts, someone has been listening. The RIDGID tools have been moved out of the pile they were in in the tool corral, to a display area that is fairly large. The tools are fairly well set up, and there is sufficient room to peek and poke around, and the display is (by HD standards) pretty clean. I was actually able to show my wife why the 2424 is different from the 2412 (and what I want). Jake, if you've had anything to do with passing along these observations, you should take comfort from knowing that it is doing some good.

[DaveM]

For what it's worth, the Gurnee, IL HD has improved their tool display as well. The Ridgid line is in it's own coral and pretty well set-up. I also notice that just about everything in their tool area was in better shape. Not sure if HD if improving things in general or if it's because of the holidays. :confused:

[George]

It has been almost 6 months since I posted my comment on this discussion. Home Depot is still great and Lowe's still aint! Few people at that Lowe's know what they are talking about or want to help. In contrast, the Home Depot continues to be quite friendly, knowledgeable and helpful.

[Tim Pavuk]

I want to thank everyone who has posted on this topic for being involved in the Ridgid brand identity. Brand loyalty is important to me and I'm sure it is to most of you as well. This is evident in the brands I use in my shop: Ridgid stationary tools, Delta table top tools, Porter Cable routers and sanders etc...I'm concerned because I want Ridgid to be around for my future needs and it makes me feel great to hear so many of US getting involved. In my opinion its this ear to the consumer that will pay big dividends in the future for Emerson Tool Co. You don't see that at Delta or Jet (great tools nonetheless). This is just one more reason added to the long list of why I buy Ridgid. I should know what I'm talking about, I have almost all their tools :D

[Andy B.]

Here is what I think we shoild do about this. Let's send them a petition to Ridgid about these problems. I will not make the petition.

[tplank]

The Joliet, Il. has cleanned up since I posted about a month ago, but the other day I was looking at a table saw in the Ridgid display and could not believe that Ridgid would put out this piece of junk. I just happened to glance down and catch the Ryobi logo on it. Now, why would anyone leave this pile of scrap metal in the Ridgid diplay?

[zipk]

We have several HD stores around the Portland, OR area and each store is quite different in its priorities. Haven't seen all the problems others have but one store has the tools out and hooked up with dust collection and has regularly scheduled woodworking classes, all using just Rigid tools. Everyone there can answer or refer your questions for quick and accurate answers.
Another store 1/2 hour away from the above store is on and off again about its Rigid displays, and very few know more about the tools than I do when I'm shopping (not saying much about me, just how little they know).
If I'm going to drive 1-1/2 hours to get to a HD store in Portland, its an easy guess which one I will choose to go to. I really find it is the individualstore, not the chain.

[Giles]

Was in the Orlando (Hiawasee Ave.) HD store today. The nice (at least exclusive) enclosure that initally was to display only Ridgid tools has now ben transformed into a display of inexpensive homeowner tools. Ridgid tools scattered throughout the area.

Don't know what kind of deal Ridgid had with HD but it has obviously terminated or fallen apart. :(

[The Original Bart]

Sounds like Ridgid needs to jack Home Depot up & while they have them jacked up jerk the carpet out from under them.

HOME DEPOT HAS DONE JUST THAT GONE TO DE-POT!