I am a Home Depot shareholder. I own it for its strong financial performance and growing dividend. However, after my experience last night I am seriously considering unloading my shares.
It was probably the worst shopping experience I have ever had. I went in for one particular item that was featured in their weekly flyer. You would think that if it was in the flyer that had just come out the store would be prepared to sell it and make it relatively easy to find. 20 minutes later and 4 sales associates later the item was finally tracked down. I grabbed 6 of the items and headed to the check out. The 2 staffed lanes and the 2 self-checkout that were open (the other 3 were ‘down’) were about 10 people deep each. Already delayed with a wife waiting for me to pick up dinner I said to hell with it and left. I was fuming.
All the way home I thought about selling my shares. No matter how strong a performer a company has been, if this is the way they are running their stores now then I believe an investor must seriously think about holding on. Performance like this drives customers away. However, before I act I am going to visit the store a few more times to see if this is consistent. If it is, I will sell.
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