WHAT'S THE DEAL?: Big Boxes

The editors of Lawn & Landscape and Commercial Dealer magazines believe ongoing dialogue between contractors and commercial dealers is essential. Each month, one contractor and one commercial dealer will address a
question or issue posed by the editors.

This month’s question: Is there value in shopping at big-box stores?

From Alan Worcester, general manager, Worcester’s, North Ridgeville, Ohio:

“There is an old saying that goes something like this, ‘You get what you pay for.’ This saying no longer applies to shopping at a big-box store – at least, not when it comes to lawn and landscape power equipment. When you consider buying equipment from a dealer, you get the following advantages:

 1.  Knowledgeable sales people to help you choose the right product the first time;
 2.  Product support after the sale;
 3.  A large stock of parts and accessories;
 4.  Factory trained service technicians;
 5.  Fast service;
 6.  Loaner equipment while your unit is in for service.

“In reality, when you buy from a big-box store you do not get what you pay for. In many cases, you get less than what you paid for since you receive none of these advantages. With the above advantages you would think the big-box stores would be considerably lower in price. However, in most cases the independent dealer sells at the same price as the box store. So why would you buy any product from a box store that you depend on. Would you buy your work trucks from a store that had no parts, knowledgeable employees or service support? The answer is a definite no.
 
“Choice, or rather lack of choice, is another issue customers will encounter at the big-box stores. They carry select models as compared to a full line. And many times the models they carry are of reduced quality and durability. As well, the brands they carry are not the top-quality commercial brands most contractors want. It’s all about quality. If quality and value are important to you, you need to shop where you can get the complete package. In most cases, that will be at your lawn and landscape power equipment dealer.”

From Rob Brown, president and co-owner of Agave Environmental Contracting, Glendale, Ariz.:

“We rely on big-box stores only in times of emergencies or as a last resort. For small stuff, such as trimmers or materials, we might use Home Depot, where we have an account. In some remote areas, we may have an account at a hardware store or two that aren’t a national or regional chain.
 
“But as far as the big-box stores, Home Depot is the main one we shop at. I’d hate to tell you what we spend at Home Depot – it’s way too much,” he says, chuckling. “We try to get most of our materials shipped to our job locations by the suppliers unless there’s some type of emergency, which is usually because somebody forgot something.
 
“We don’t pick up much of our plant material at all at big-box stores. That allows us to save on transportation costs.
 
“Unfortunately, shopping at Home Depot tends to become a habit for employees who like to leave the jobsite and go there. There’s an attraction there. Our job is to try to make sure they don’t do it very much.”

Say what's on your mind. If you’d like to say what’s on your mind for future issues, please e-mail Mark Phillips at mphillips@gie.net.