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I have to agree with previous posters who stated that annual merit raises are a pittance, even for good or exceptional employees. They are better than a swift kick in the backside, but not enough to make much difference in your life.Unless you are a licensed trades person or a store manager or assistant store manager, your pay at The Home Depot is not going to be enough to support a family, or even to live comfortably unless you have a partner who earns more. After all, it is retail, a sector which rarely pays well. That being said, someone who is outgoing and a conscientious hard worker can rise through the ranks to management and gain valuable experience. I have seen a number of people do this in the past 3 years, but they do put in time as virtual slaves in the process.In my observation, the people who have an option about whether or not they need their job are the ones who are able to leverage decent raises. There are a few of us who have another full time job who choose to work at THD because we like the staff and most customers and because of the active nature of the job, among other factors.I feel a little guilty doing this, since a lot of part timers are struggling to make ends meet, but so far as I understand, the company allows for competitive salaries to be paid to a couple of experts in each department, and the other employees are paid whatever the market bears. If customers often call to check if a specific associate is working before coming in and will spend more when said expert explains why the extra cost is necessary to do a project properly, the company can and should spend more to retain that person. The increased sales driven by such an associate more than cover an extra few dollars per hour that they are paid.However, it takes time to reach this point. Homer awards and mentions on customer comment cards should be noted on your performance reviews if your DS does his or her job well. If you have an inept or overwhelmed or unscrupulous DS, that could be a problem. You will need to learn to toot your own horn a bit.Whenever a customer is appreciative of the service I have provided, I ask them to take a moment to submit a store survey after they check out, and to be sure to select ‘definitely will shop at this store again' which is what management asks us to do, since HO tracks the responses. Often they will check my apron for my name if they haven't caught it previously. I always say that the ‘definitely will shop again' response is more important than mentioning my name. At first, I would say that out of humility, but soon realized saying this makes customers even more likely to single me out. The store manager and Asm's are aware of names that often appear on surveys regardless of whether the DS makes a note of it.I have been offered another job by a customer on 3 occasions, but there has always been a reason that I couldn't accept, or even seriously consider the offer. Most reasons have to do with the fact that my full-time job is really good with excellent benefits and I can't afford to work just in the retail sector. However, I can keep such offers in my back pocket for when I need to talk to HR.Do as much online training as possible and get your product knowledge down pat. I often come in before or after my shift and do extra training on subjects of interest to me; it is well researched and presented and can be useful in real life as well as on the job. Save really useful info in your favorites. Become an expert in your department, and learn how to use store systems--it's not very difficult.Keep an eye on THD website for DIY workshops for your department and offer to present or co-present them. The store has leader guides for many topics, but do your research and come up with additional related materials--even adapt them from videos or materials posted on Thd website and local resources. Just be sure your sources are reputable. If there is a topic that you'd like to do a workshop on which does not have a leader guide, gather the info and make your own brochure, and email it to your DS.Smile. Be pleasant and helpful to all customets and co-workers and treat them how you want to be treated. Stick up for yourself when necessary but keep your emotions in check when responding to inevitable drama. Take a deep breath and ask for help when you're overworked or stressed. Respond to theatro messages immediately whenever possible. Be a team player, who everyone likes to work with, and they will be willing to help you when you need it.If you make yourself an obvious asset to the organization and you approach your supervisor with a quandary where you like your job but need reasons to turn down another opportunity, they can't help but bend over backwards to keep you. Just make sure that you have researched your other opportunity extremely well first, whether or not that opportunity really exists.

At least for me, confidence comes from doing, not thinking, wondering, psyching myself up, from listening to others, etc.By doing, I mean physically accomplishing something, or a series of things. Can be small and simple, or larger and more complex. It can be finally trying something you’ve been putting off, partly out of fear of failing, not doing well enough by your own standards.When I was a teen, like many others, I wanted to be a popular musician (pop music singer and guitar player). I agonized over this for months, and knew my voice didn’t measure up (lead singers had high voices and wide ranges; I was a baratone with no upper register). So I started listening to a few artists I could more or less follow on the radio—Neil Diamond was a voice I could more or less track, and many folk singers. So I bought a guitar and some singles (it was all vinyl back then), and worked hard. I also found a few Beatles (the rage at that time) songs I could mostly copy, and worked on those, plus some Folk musicians (The Journeymen were my Favs, and PP&M). Started playing for family and close friends. One extrovert friend (I was an introvert) joined me and together we did a spot on a high school Talent night (two songs: I Never Will Marry-Journeymen, and Twist and Shout-Beatles). Since both my friend and I had low voices (his lower than mine), we dropped the key way down and sang almost an octive lower than the originals. While we didn’t get any record deals, we did get applause and not dragged by hook off the stage, so I felt something of “Mission Accomplished”.A few years ago I bought a house. Older, 1986 fixer-upper. I was an only dad but had time (between careers) so I dug in to learn all I could from YouTube and product brochures to grow my competence as a do-it-yourselfer (DIY’er). No confidence, afraid I’d waste scarce money and seriously screw up the house. So I started with the “low-hanging fruit” (the easier stuff) by caulking and painting (at least I could make it look good :-)Eventually realized that I had poor attic ventilation (heat buildup in very hot summers) and while talking with neighbors discovered ridge vents (I had none). So I took my 7″ electric circular saw and climbed onto the top of the roof (2-story house), terrified: (1) I might fall and bust my ass; (2) I might totally screw up the roof and have to get it professionally replaced, maybe $10–20K). Nevertheless, I removed the top roof ridge shingles and cut through the wood roof, leaving about a two-inch air gap. I then installed the plastic ridge vent thingies Home Depot sold me, and reattached the shingles on top of those. Fantastic success! Lowered my summer attic temps from 120 degF + to under 95 degF, and it didn’t even leak in heavy rain or storms, all for less than $50!I have many more examples: installing doors and windows and frames in that house, self-taught Pascal programmer, tech manual author, restoring a 1985 Mercerdes 380SL.It’s the stuff you DO that will stick with you, give you tangible confidence that no one else can shake or take away. You DID IT, you know you did it, you have evidence. Build on those things and you willl have unshakable confidence for life. Not the bragging kind, but the practical kind you can live and succeed with.

These are my personal, Deere Customer experience opinions:A. The bottom line financials & shareholder profits dictate quality. The diminishing level of corporate support/customer interface has resulted in increased limitations, marketing-influenced design over solid engineering, and foreign products/plastic substituted for metal that look good but do not last. This is increasingly the order of the day.B. “Commercial prostitution” of the brand; cutting cost of parts / manufacturing / sourcing quality and diluting product quality (hence increasing profit margins) is the focus now to capture consumers through the channel of “big box” stores (I.e. Lowe’s, Home Depot, etc.). JD Green has been slathered all over some real junk. Junk with common opinions of built-in obsolescence. Most dealers hate this.C. Notice that advertising always stresses the Brand Pride of the assembly line workers and the John Deere legacy. The remaining corporate components- marketing, financial, sales etc. seem only to be concerned with the numbers. The soul of this company is disintegrating; there is little if any focus on building spirit, pride, and innovation that once existed.D. I wonder how much true interface Deere has with (knowledgeable) customers as they design their products. Something as simple as an oil change can take a ridiculously long time due to awkward design.E. If you want to experience John Deere Customer Service at the corporate level, call them at 800–537–8233. Ask some questions beyond requesting a brochure. You decide.F. The “Big Box” products (lawn tractors) and even some of the larger Tractors are manufactured in China. You decide.G. As the owner of over $50K of new Deere machines since 2010, in my experience the strongest part of Deere is (some) of the Dealer Network. Some solid products do still exist in the mix. However there isnt much else out there otherwise if you want to (hope) to buy ‘Made in USA’. Do your research thoroughly on specific models and choose accordingly. Don’t take shortcuts in models, buy the best you can afford. THAT will pay off in the long run.