Not only is this rooting against the home team, but the Spanish-only signs smack of subterfuge. It's an added stink on top of an already questionable story.
Well frequent commenter Burt contacted their Marketing Droids with a Whiskey Tango Foxtrot email, and got this reply:
Dear Burt,Translation: shut up, you're making it harder for us to hire low-wage/low-skill sales droids.
Thank you for contacting The Home Depot Customer Care.
We apologize you feel this way, however, at The Home Depot we believe that diversity is the catalyst for innovative thinking, entrepreneurial spirit and new ways of building our communities. The greater the diversity of our people, the greater our ability to serve our customers and communities.
This partnership will help further The Home Depot's ongoing commitment to create a high-performing, diverse workforce that meets the growing needs of its customers, partners and neighbors in communities across the country.
We look forward to your continued patronage and assisting you with all of your home improvement needs.
Sincerely,
Novel
Customer Care Research
Fail. I eagerly await the signs rooting the New York Yankees on towards a World Series Victory up here in Red Sox country.
If anyone wants to get the message to the Home Depot marketing team, you can contact them at consumeraffairs@homedepot.com. Polite inquiries may get more attention than flames, but maybe not.
As for me, I'll keep shopping at Lowe's. While they too may want to hire low-wage/low-skill sales droids, they don't think I'm stupid enough that a Spanish-only sign will be too much for my widdle brain to comprehend. Or that some lame "diversity" excuse will work.
I don't have a problem with this. In fact, this is a perfect example of how the free market should work. Home Depot feels that from a profit/sales standpoint catering to Hispanic customers is a good move. You, OTOH, feel that it's a non starter and are going to vote with your wallet.
ReplyDeleteIf enough people agree with you, then HD will change the strategy. If not, they won't.
This is how for profit companies should be able to operate in a free market system. Which I think is what Rand Paul was trying to say in his inarticulate way. Hopefully, I'm less inept.
OTOH, the I don't think that the government, at any level, should provide any official services in any language by English. It's the language of this country and has been since before it's founding. If I could, I'd make proficiency in speaking English a requirement for citizenship. I'd excluded reading and writing since all too many native born Americans aren't all that proficient with those skills.
I contacted them a few days ago pointing out that Lowes was right across the street. I never got anything but the autoreply. Lowes is still across the street and a better store.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to my world. I live in Central Florida, where in my county, the population is 54% Spanish, and billboards and street signs are frequently in Spanish.
ReplyDeleteThere are times when you can't order food at McDonald's unless the spanish speaking employee taking your order goes to get an employee that speaks english to translate. People who call 911 get irate if the people who respond do not speak spanish.
Most jobs in the area require that you be "bilingual," which is really a code word for "Hispanic." It is almost time to leave here.
Speaking of bilingual issues, I really have to bite my tongue at work when someone calls expecting to be able to speak with a Spanish speaking Officer. Some of them get really put out if you don't have someone immediately available to translate.
ReplyDeleteMost of my phone work is done in the field via cellphone. On a typical day I'll talk to 30 or 40 citizens requesting info or assistance. I do this in between calls while driving around town. Any time I have to provide a translator, I have to drop everything and go back into the office and hunt someone down over in Engineering or Permitting to act as a go between. PITA.
I see I'm far from the only one who has noticed Lowes seems to enjoy building its stores right across the street from Home Depot. Perhaps they're also taking note of the reasons people cross the street, and avoid those reasons.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that the sales staff at our nearest HD suddenly became extremely friendly, their attention suddenly very easy to attract, while the Lowes was under construction. That was pretty clearly the work of a local incentive program. Maybe the national management will get smarter before they go the way of Home Quarters (remember them?)
Then again, maybe not.
I like Lowes a lot better than Home Depot. The only reason I go to HD is that there is one five minutes from my house and it's easy to get to. Lowes is about ten minutes, but much of that time difference is in the lousy location (former HQ) that they picked. There is another one about 15 minutes from my house that is larger, cleaner, and has a whole lot more stock than either nearby store.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason I go to Home Depot is that Lowe's doesn't carry Ryobi stuff.
ReplyDelete