Any senior execs from The Home Depot among our readers? I have a complaint.

Just recently I have been visiting my local branch of your store a lot.

Since the last time I was a frequent shopper they have instituted a new

policy of CLOSING DOWN AISLES when they are stacking shelves. The put a

fancy little telescoping orange barrier at each end of the aisle, with a

sign that says something condescending like “For your own safety, this aisle

is closed.” Of course, the aisle that’s closed is always the one you

particularly need. Furthermore, I have seen a couple of closed aisles with

NOBODY IN THEM. This is really, really stupid policy. You never used to do

it. Is this the result of some ukase from the Trial Lawyers Association?

If so, I suppose there’s no help for it — they run the country, after all.

But even so, you might tell your employees to do whatever they have to do in

these closed-off aisles with a little dispatch, or at the very least to

actually BE IN THE AISLE LOOKING LIKE THEY ARE DOING SOMETHING.

Next time I encounter one of these closed-off aisles with no Home Depot

employees in sight, I shall take it upon myself to open the barrier. I urge

other Corner readers to do the same. If they can make a nuisance of

themselves to us, we can make a nuisance of ourselves to them.