Have you shopped at Sutherlands?

[aem]

Hello -

We are graduate students working on a school project and would be very grateful for the input of some Do-It-Yourself experts. Could you please take a couple of minutes to answer the following questions? Any information that you can provide would be much appreciated.

Thank you very much.

- Stacey, Alex and Amy (Boston University)

1. What would you like to change about your in-store or online home improvement supply shopping experience to make it better?

2. If you are familiar with Sutherlands Lumber & Home Improvement Centers, what do you like or dislike about Sutherlands as compared to Home Depot? As compared to Lowe’s?

[Troy]

It is important to me that the staff at my home improvement store be knowledgable and friendly. I like being able to go in there with an idea and have them help me pick out what I need. That is more important than price to me.

I am happy with my current home improvement stores. I have never shopped at Sutherlands.

[seamlyne]

quote:Originally posted by aem


1. What would you like to change about your in-store or online home improvement supply shopping experience to make it better?

I would provide better training for the salespeople, or require equivalent real-world experience as part of the hiring process. In general, the younger the employee the less help s/he is.

Online is another matter entirely. I'm in the middle of a long-running issue with Lowes Online Customer Support. Their website forces you to choose by zipcode which store you'll be doing business with. If that store doesn't carry what you're looking for, you aren't given the option of finding another store unless you know the zipcode. As an end user, I'd much rather shop from the complete company-wide inventory and be told - while still displaying the product and all its information, mind you - that my local store doesn't have it. A link with "Find all the stores within 50 miles that DO have the product" would make me happy. Their website is pretty, but useless.

And ALL of the DIY stores websites suffer from providing too much information when you search, and they don't allow you to refine your search beyond one or two keywords. Go to Lowes or HD's website and do a search for "drill bit." Now try to find a 3/4" x 18" spiral bit in the TWELVE PAGES of stuff you get back. I don't mind searching for a needle but I'd sure appreciate a smaller haystack.

quote:
2. If you are familiar with Sutherlands Lumber & Home Improvement Centers, what do you like or dislike about Sutherlands as compared to Home Depot? As compared to Lowe's?

I find the staff at the two Sutherland's I have to choose from to be more knowledgeable, but less helpful. Thankfully, I rarely need much help. When I go, I go knowing what I need. I shop at whatever store is closest and has what I need. That's rarely Sutherlands, but that's geography, not branding. I've also never been impressed with Sutherland's lumber - seems to be second-run.

Measure with a micrometer
Mark with a crayon
Cut with an axe.