At Home — Local services in Hoover

I have never left a negative review of a business, but something needs to be said.

First of all, I at least gave 2 stars for the good credit of this store having a great variety of choices. There are so many things to browse! That's the only reason that I keep going back- when I'm looking for something specific, I know that they have a large section of merchandise.

However, I have never ended up buying anything for one huge reason- there is a severe lack of employee presence and customer service. I have visited the store about 7 times in the last year looking for something specific each time. 6 of those times, I found something that I wanted to likely buy, but I had a question about it or needed assistance getting it (more about that below). Despite being largely pregnant and visibly needing help to carry/move some large items, walking around the store looking for someone to help, and even asking the person at the register for assistance, I never got it. The aisles were void of employees, and the one person I saw with a company logo on deflected eye contact and scurried around a corner and away. So At Home lost my purchases all 6 of those times. I WANTED to buy something, but I couldn't due to lack of support whatsoever.

Another complaint is the rug section. While most other departments do seem to be organized and clean, the rug section is a disaster. On my very first visit after the store opened up, I went to browse, and I was impressed with the awesome selection and the way that the rugs were displayed and organized. It has never been the same since. Over the course of a year after that first visit, I went 4 different times looking for a rug. Hardly any of the display racks were in use, very few prices were visible, and size selections were no longer posted. Moreover, it seems that none of the rugs were grouped anymore, so each pile of rugs were random sizes/styles colors. Since they are laying horizontally, it makes it nearly impossible to move them around and see what is available. The first 3 times I was rug shopping, I left frustrated and empty-handed. This last time, I found a rug that I really liked- I could actually see it because it was half unrolled in the middle of an aisle. It wasn't the size I was looking for, but I loved it. So I decided to TRY and get an employee's help figuring out size availability (see paragraph above). After no luck walking around to find someone, I asked the young guy working the register if he could send someone back. I waited for 15 minutes, and no one came. I was about to leave when the same young man was walking by me on the way to have his break. He asked "did no one ever come to help you?" When I replied no, he said "well that's typical.. Let me see if I can help." When I showed him the rug in question he laughed and said "Oh I know that rug. It's been right there on the floor since I started a few months ago. This is the department from hell." After looking at it, he concluded that there wasn't a way for him to check for a larger size for me, since no sizes were posted, so I again left without purchasing it. At least he tried and was nice about it- the one rare highlight of this store.

Finally, on my last trip, I called ahead of time to ask if the store sold light fixtures. The very polite and cheerful girl on the phone said, "yes, we have lamps, pendants, chandeliers and sconces." So I drove to the store. I found the lamp section, but no electric light fixtures anywhere. I did 3 laps of the store looking with no luck. And of course, I had no help from employees, as none were to be found. So once again, I left frustrated.

All in all, great selection. But I will never go back to this store again until more employees are hired and willing to help, and until things get...

My visit to this store has to be the worst shopping experience I have ever had. I recently moved to the Hoover area and was looking for bathroom decor for my new apartment. I went to this location and found two beautiful plants that I thought would look great in the bathroom, they were they only ones of that kind in the store. Needless to say they did not have a price tag or a scan sticker. When I got to the register, Carol Smith was the most rude sales associate I have ever encountered. She appeared to be training another lady as well at the time. She told me I could not purchase the plants because there was absolutely no way for her to ring it up, and demanded I go back and bring her another plant exactly like it to ring up. I told her there weren't anymore and asked if there was another way. The snapped at me and said that there wasnt and I could not purchase them. I was so offended that I didn't want to buy the other items I had in the cart, and proceeded to walk out. I turned back and asked what her name is, she told me and I responded with a thank you. As I walked to my car, she followed behind me and yelled her name once more from across the street... Carol Smith does not need to deal with clients if she does not have client focused skills. I have worked in retail before and I would not have had that job if I didn't like dealing with people. I really hope her attitude is corrected, but I will let everyone I know about my experience there, and I will no long...

I was in this store yesterday, Feb 25, 2022. We have to come to this area quite often for doc appts, so I love going in to browse and shop while waiting. This particular trip, I am sad to say, was not a good one. I was looking for kitchen org items and when walking through the isles, I could not find ANYTHING, due to the disarray and piles of things on the shelves. I almost walked out. Then down around the corner, I kept hearing someone on the phone very loudly talking and fussing about something personal. Come to find out, it was an employee scanning things and complaining about what she was doing. While I realize and empathize with short staffing and the struggle of companies today, I had no option but to feel the lack of attention given here and the lack of respect to what I would hope to be company policies while working. The store is in need of some very, very strict organization and that takes a Management that has proficient Leadership to get it done. I don’t want to stop shopping here, and I can’t apologize for how I felt in the store. But it would be nice to be able and walk in and find what you need without sifting through piles and piles of items. Hopefully things will change...