Home Depot: Do It Yourself Made Hard

Full disclosure #1: I go to Home Depot all the time.

Full disclosure #2: I have spent the last seven years renovating the old house that I live in so I’ve had plenty of opportunities to be proven wrong, but I’ve always felt that HD cared more about its male contractors and weekend warrior husbands than women like me who just needed a little  info in order to successfully tackle fix-its and renovation projects around the house. I much prefer Lowe’s , where women are welcomed with open arms and no one treats you like you’ve inadvertently walked into the Men’s Room.

I guess Home Depot figured this out, too, because I received an email this week announcing the Home Improver Club at Home Depot. This is a new “sign-up and we’ll send you emails about workshops, coupons, and weekly home improvement tips” loyalty program. And there, right in front of my eyes, was something called DO IT HERSELF WORKSHOPS.

OK, a little patronizing but a step in the right direction — workshops that I could sign-up for at my local HD on topics such as “Tiling Your Shower” or “Fixing a Running Toilet.” Be still, my heart.

All I have to do is to join the club–you know, email address, choose username and password. My fingers fly across the keyboard, et voila!

But as soon as I try to enter the magic kingdom, I am asked for my username and password. Incorrect! I try again. Incorrect. I try to go to another part of the site. Again, asked for my info–this time, I get in! But each time I try to go to another page, I have to sign-in.

This is tougher to get into than my online bank account! Would someone please tell me why anyone would want to steal the color palette for my bedroom?

This is wayyyyy too much heavy lifting. Thanks anyway, Home Depot. I’m going back to Lowe’s.