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OK, everyone is angry at Home Depot (HD, news, msgs). That's message No. 1 from the 6,000-odd communications on the MSN Money message boards.
But there is a broader message as well. Note the suggestions of other no-service/disservice companies, and it isn't difficult to imagine a kind of buyer's revolt:
Companies that needlessly waste our time will be shunned.
For most of us, the long-awaited Age of Leisure has yet to arrive. Instead, we live in a 24/7 world that has us putting in more hours at work, not fewer, as we hope to make more money, keep up with inflation or just remain employed. That's the way it is.
So if we're working longer hours, the hours that aren't devoted to work are more precious than ever. We need retailers, bankers and service providers to understand this. They need to act as though our time is scarce and valuable. We can't survive in a business world that operates like the court system does for jury duty -- assuming that all potential jurors are blessed with unlimited free time.
We need to avoid businesses that waste our time.
So let's help each other out. Just as Fortune magazine annually names the Most Admired Companies, let's collaborate to produce a corporate list fit for any post office wall.
I call it the 10 Least Wanted list.
Yes, I know the list is way too short. But the idea here isn't to pillory every company that has ever annoyed us. It is to identify the companies that have wasted the most of our time and don't show any signs of giving a damn.
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Let's try to be reasonable in our expectations. Here's an example: I'm a member of Sam's Club. I joined because it often has good buys on wine, so I go there a few times a year and stock up. I don't go there in expectation of long discussions with a wine steward. I go there for large quantities at low prices. So even though I hate the depressing gulag atmosphere of the long checkout lines at Sam's Club, it won't be one of my nominations.
On the other hand, there are stores that actually make it difficult to spend money. There are department stores where a terrorist bomb would kill only customers because employees are never in evidence. Except for the odd body part and lost inventory, management would never know.
Those are the time wasters we want to post on our list.
So here's how to do it.
Post a comment on this message board. Identify the company first. Then provide an anecdote. A sentence will do. If you want, add a few lines telling how your time was abused -- or stolen.
We'll tally your responses and come back in April with a final list of the 10 Least Wanted. Maybe MSN Money's Jim Jubak can cull it for some stocks to bet against.
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