The Quest for the Nest

I've wanted a Nest thermostat for some time now. I'm tired of fighting with hard to program thermostats. The one in the living room isn't too bad, but it has limited programming for the weekends. The one in the studio/playroom is haunted and keeps time with the Twilight Zone.

The Nest thermostat is supposed to be simple to use. As you use it, the thermostat "learns" the setting you like. Simple is good.

Now that the heating season is underway here in Massachusetts, I thought it would be a good time to get the Nest. It's not cheap, but I had saved my pennies.

We decided we would combine grocery shopping as there's a grocery store near the closest Home Depot. Perfect.

At Home Depot, we find the Nest display. You have to take a card to the Customer Service desk in order to purchase the unit. Ok, no problem. There were a couple of people ahead of us returning items, but a service rep took us quickly.She went to the cage where the thermostats were locked away, but none were there. She checked the inventory on her computer and noted there were 4 units left. She called "down back" to have one brought up. So we waited and waited and waited. After 10 minutes, she went down back herself. More waiting. I sent a tweet through Swarm wondering if they were building the unit. After another 10 minutes, another clerk at the service desk told me, they didn't have any units. The ones in stock were older models, but had the same SKU so showed up on the inventory. She offered to order one online. No thanks, we'll head Lowes.

So we skipped grocery shopping at the store next to Home Depot. Took a half hour ride to our nearest Lowes. There were two grocery stores close by. On the way over, I called Lowes. Spoke to the Operator "B". Asked if they carried the Nest and if they had them in store." She said "Yes", but I could tell she didn't check inventory and she didn't connect me to the department that carried the units.

At Lowe's we couldn't find where the Nests were located. Found a very nice clerk who went to get the card needed to purchase the unit. Apparently, Nests are so popular or valuable, they have to be kept locked up. He came back a minute later to say, they had none in stock. I sent out another Tweet.

Very disappointing and a waste of time especially after calling ahead.

Both Home Depot and Lowes responded to my Tweet. Both offered assistance. You know what? I can order a unit myself directly from Nest which is what I should have done from the beginning.

So, Home Depot and Lowe's, how about better training for your personnel. Identifiable SKU numbers to go with proper models instead of one SKU for multiple items a manufacturer makes.. Maybe dedicating clerks for special equipment that is kept under lock and key. Just so somebody knows what is in stock at all times. Operators should be able to search inventory or at the very least, forward calls to the proper department.