Read this before you do ANYTHING - Design/Sales Consultant The Home Depot Employee Review

1.0
Jun 13, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Cult-like corporate culture if you're into that sort of thing.

Cons

Here's the deal: This is like a lottery ticket. Can you make good money as an Home Depot Interiors Sales Consultant (otherwise known as a Design Consultant)? Yes, however the odds are WAY against you. The "national average" wage for this position is roughly $75,000/year. This is because each office has a couple really great salespeople that are making $100,000+/year and they are used to sucker new employees into thinking that it's possible to do the same thing. It's not. BELIEVE ME IT'S NOT. In my instance, I spoke with a hiring manager who told me that the "lowest earner in our office made $50,000/year". This was a complete fabrication since I came to quickly discover that the lowest earner was actually making about $16,000/year. The second lowest earner was making about $25,000/year and the "$50k" earner actually made about $45,000. Total bait and switch. Here's the bottom line: These are SALESPEOPLE. Even the supervisors and hiring managers - they all worked their way up from sales. Salespeople are dishonest. There's no way around it. You CANNOT do this job if you're not willing to lie at least a little bit. They will sell you on the virtues of the job, tell you all kinds of lovely stories and give a lot of hope but, the reality is, only about 8% of of HDI salespeople make the really big, six-figure income. Another 10% make good money and then the rest of them are genuinely struggling. The services you offer are mediocre at best for a premium level price. A customer who spends $25,000 with HDI can, almost certainly, get the exact same kitchen (or an even better one) for $10,000 less somewhere else. Do yourself a favor and ask yourself if you're a seasoned salesman who doesn't mind lying a little bit and who can afford to barely make any money at all for a few months while you're learning the ropes. If you've said "yes", then by all means, go ahead. If you're not sure though, stop right there and find a different job. Trust me, it's not worth it. They will tell you anything you want to hear in the interview and then have "no idea what's going on" when you're not making any real money. Oh, lets not forget, if you under sell a job - meaning, you sold cabinets and countertops to a customer and you measured incorrectly or any number of mistakes you can make (which happens to EVERY SINGLE SALESPERSON, don't kid yourself that you're going to be perfect) you will have to pay the difference from your commission. Sometimes that means that you might think your going to receive an $800 check for a job you sold and, whoops! you wrote a 3 instead of an 8, or you measured a little off or forgot to check a box on the list of 600 different complex "menu" items you're required to know and your $800 check is now a $100 check. Sorry, you're out of luck. There are other places to work. You're thinking to yourself right now "but I'll be different! I'll sell a lot of things because I've sold things before!" and you'd be wrong about 85% of the time. Work somewhere else.

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Jun 6, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

culture, work life balance, benefits offered to employees

Cons

working from office 5 days a week!

5.0
Apr 24, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The Home Depot has a solid moral compass. They aren't about sacrificing their ethics for the sake of a sale, which I love. They also hire a diverse group of people and give a lot back to the community. They offer a lot of benefits and little treats for their employees. Although they push their associates to meet quota, they're realistic about what can and can't be accomplished.

Cons

Home Depot has two different sides to it. Store associates and those of us considered "store support" who are payed by the vendors but work in the stores 100% of the time. I constantly hear about how store associates are stressed out by management and their hours are being rearranged a lot, cut, and they often are stretched thin due to lack of full staffing. "Store support" associates who do merchandising have it better than those who work in specific departments. However, you never really gain knowledge unless you have the time to look things up and read packaging.

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The Home Depot Response
10y
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. From the top down, the key to business at The Home Depot is our commitment to not only customer service, but to our associates. Because taking care of associates is one of our core values, we’re always looking for ways to ensure our associates have equal access to growth and development opportunities. We strive to provide an environment where associates feel they’re valued, treated fairly and respected.
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