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Rating: 
Summary: You'll be Bleeding Orange After Reading 2 Chapters...
Review: "Built From Scratch", the Home Depot Story, is an incredible, uplifting story told by the creators themselves. Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blanks tell this story as if they are sitting beside you in a bar. Their story is told from the heart!Inside you'll find how Ross Perot let this retailing giant slip away because one of the cofounders drove a Cadillac and how he admits his igorance later on. This book explains the unbridaled lengths that The Home Depot associates will go to to please a customer and gain their respect and trust. You'll learn how The Home Depot associates were right there when hurrican Andrew wiped Homestead, Florida off of the map and other ways the Big Orange gives back to the communities that support their 1000 and growing stores. I especially enjoyed reading about Pat Farrah, the flambouyant, mechandising genious that shaped the way Home Depots are molded today. In the early days Pat was the first to down a six pack, eat a pizza and spend the whole night restocking shelves only to return refreshed and ready to go the next morning on 3 hours sleep. Bernie and Arthur are two down to earth guys that saw a dream and used their retailing influence to build America's Home Improvement Warehouse. There were some rough spots on their road to success and you'll read about every pot hole. I do not read often, but I conquered this 315 page masterpiece in 4 sittings. If you start reading, plan at least an hour or two to get lost in what I found to be great reading. I found this book to be so uplifting, energizing and inspiring that I took a reduced role in my current job, applied for a full time possition in the kitchen and bath department and was hired on the spot. No Kidding!!!
Rating:
Summary: A great story...
Review: and very well told, which really makes this book a fast read (I had a hard time putting it down). Provides, IMO, valuable information that will be useful for any business owner. I am glad these guys took the time to share their story, and I hope I get to meet them one day. What a great way to spend a rainy weekend. You'll love it as it reads like a novel. And you'll never look at Home Depot the same way.
Rating: 
Summary: Full of Lies
Review: Let's face facts: home depot is known for abysmal service and really, really shoddy haphazard installations. They probably spend more on defending lawsuits than on store development. This book makes them look like such wizards, such brilliant and benevelont businessmen, when in fact they have done studies to see what the minimum level of customer service they can get away with is - and then tried to stretch that envelope. I am sure Ken Lay could write books full of accolades to Enron. It would be just as true, and just as much a waste of time and money to read.
Rating: 
Summary: COUPLE OF REGULAR GUYS -- Yeah Right!
Review: The most horrific thing about this book is its title. My assumption in reading the reviews for this book (and reading its title) was that it would tell how some regular guys built the Home Depot from scratch, starting with an idea and building it into an empire. Instead what you get is the CEO and CFO of another home improvement company starting Home Depot along with an investment banking friend that lands them in front of a potential investor that happens to be a billionaire (Ross Perot). Somehow they don't seem like just regular guys anymore. The information in the book is okay, but it was really hard for me to get past this outrageous title that is nothing more than a lie. There are better business books out there on how to start a successful company from scratch. Try Sandra Kurtzig's CEO: How to Build a $200 Million Company from the Ground Up.
Rating: 
Summary: Really good book
Review: This entire book is a self-serving description of how good the Home Depot is and how smart the founders (the authors of this book) of the company are in conducting business. Sure customer satisfaction is important to the success of any business but it would have been much more helpful to detail how this function was promoted, implemented, and monitored during Home Depot's tremendous growth stage. Rather, the reader is offered selected stories of how an associate in a store did something incredible for a customer. Additionally, the authors appear concerned with offering excuses for past instances when the company did something poorly (e.g., lawsuits, acquisitions). This book had all the ingredients for a good story; unfortunately the authors appeared more concerned with their own legacies rather than a true discussion of Home Depot's history and present functional strategies.
Rating:
Summary: The real home depot
Review: This is a great book for home depot associates. Every employee should read it. It shows how the home depot it SUPPOSE to run. It basically just tells of how home depot started and grew to where it is now. For a business background, it doesn't offer much.
Rating:
Summary: The real home depot
Review: This is a great book for home depot associates. Every employee should read it. It shows how the home depot it SUPPOSE to run. It basically just tells of how home depot started and grew to where it is now. For a business background, it doesn't offer much.
Rating:
Summary: I'm rich. I started a company. I wrote a book.
Review: What a laugh. Yes you!!! The average American with your wealthy silent investor in your pocket. You too can open a store.
Home Depot has spent a good deal of money trying to improve its image; including writing these books. HD has serious problems with women suing them.If you tell the customer that you are serving them well, and beat them over the head that they are receiving top notch lip service, then eventually some will believe it.
HD has spent millions improving their stores by widening ailses and better lighting. They claim to be industry leaders yet can't seem to shake Lowes from opening stores all around HD stores and even in HD's home Atlanta market.
They are very aggressive and drive their employees to bring shareholder value. They do offer products for less and have had great financial backing.
They also control costs by "Rifting" which means they fire people that start earning enough money that it becomes cheaper to train someone else.
Its one thing to write a book to laud yourself. Why not write about all the dirty tricks you pulled to get there.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: yeekaamamadoo! dat meens hewo obby kadoobee! doo u undrstandd mee! dis bok iz bad! bad bad bad iz dis bok!
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