Home Depot Rant

[MemphisTiger]

I recently purchased a new faucet from my local Home Depot. After installing the spout and valves for the handles, I realize that a piece is missing that connects the handles to the valves. Not wanting to remove what took me an hour to install I called my local Home Depot from where I purchased said faucet to ask if I can just bring in my box and reciept and get the missing pieces from another box on the shelf.

Seems simple enough. If I it were me, it would be a no-brainer. To my surprise, I have to bring the entire faucet back in the box so I can get a new box because it has to be sent to the manufacturer. Fair enough. I say take out the two pieces and send the box from the shelf back. No dice. I must bring the one half assembled on my sink back in. I suggest that if I bring it back in, I will have my money returned to me so that I can go to my local Lowe's store to buy the same faucet, which is about the same distance. He still says no dice. I ask if I can speak to his manager in hopes of someone with more authority authorizing such and easy request. He is the manager, he tells me. I alert him to the fact that I have many "expensive" home renovation project that are coming up and if I must return the entire faucet, all the items will be bought at the Lowes's store. He said that I must still bring the whole thing in. Thank you Home Depot manager, you have made a Lowe's customer for life.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, etc.

[texpatriot2004]

1. What is it with stupid managers and their insistence on bad

customer service and zero common sense. How frustrating for you.

[question everything]

2. That's because Home Depot is in business of screwing the customers

while paying millions to their CEO, including his taxes.

See http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5667843

[One_of_8]

38. Home Depot is evil

I foolishly got one of their store cards earlier this year, because I wanted to take advantage of a rug sale. The second month's billing, I was one day late, on a balance of $75.00. They charged me a $25 late fee! I put the damn card through the shredder, paid the bill in full, and I'll never shop there again.

Bad news is, they bought out a local hardware store, Yardbirds, so now there's one less place to get decent service.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

51. Same thing happened to me after I had a couple of thousand

bucks carpeting installed at the resort I manage. They received the bill (payed in full) one day late, and I got a $25 late fee. I called them and simply told them that I didn't appreciate the late fee and I didn't think I should pay it. The girl said, "Yes ma'am, I am removing it from your account. We appreciate your business." So maybe you should have hollered too.

[Blue_Tires]

50. and Tony Stewart is a piece of shit as well

not on topic, i know, but it still has to be said

[Warpy]

3. Make sure you don't buy their store brand, either

because the stem valves can't be replaced, thus rendering what should be a decent faucet a useless piece of junk within about 5 years in any area with hard water.

Returning stuff to those guys SUCKS. Their service SUCKS. And in the one near me, their selection is starting to SUCK because they're not restocking.

[politicat]

53. Agreed....

Over DH's objections, we use Lowe's exclusively now, because they don't hassle me about returns. At all.

(DH doesn't like the fact that Lowe's tends to be clean, tidy, with swept, sealed floors and good lighting. He thinks all hardware stores should have sawdust on the floors and look like the ones he remembers from childhood.... Sweet thing he is, but rational... well... no. He could give a rat's ass about policies, who they donate to, how they deal with their workers... it's all about the appearance of the place.... )

[Loonman]

4. Nothin' for nothin'

But whenever I do a home improvement project, be it installing a doorbell or assembling a cabinet, I always make sure I have all parts accounted for via the assembly manual before I do anything else.

[MemphisTiger]

6. Typically I do that, but failed to to that on this project

I guess it bit me in the a$$ on this one.

[lpbk2713]

22. And be sure you have all the tools that are required for the project too.

It can be real annoying having to make two or three trips to the store before a relatively simple project is finished.

[SpiralHawk]

28. Mr. Natural always says

"Get the right tool for the job."

[MemphisTiger]

31. That part is taken care of

good tip nonetheless

[SW FL Dem]

5. Sorry to hear that, The same thing happened to me last summer

I had purchased the faucet at Lowe's and had a plumber at my house to install it when we discovered a piece was missing from the box. I called the manufacturer and was told the part was backordered. I called my local Lowe's and they did exactly what you asked for, they opened a box on the shelf and gave me the missing part - NO hassle, it took a few minutes. It is a no-brainer and the manager at your local Home Depot blew it. If I were you, I would send a nice email to corporate HQ.

[MemphisTiger]

7. I intend to do that after I get the new one installed

I'll probably send one to several of their VP's as well.

[Ursus Rex]

35. Hell, Lowe's did it for me on something I just asked about

I needed a new fan shroud to go with the fan I was buying, but not the whole cover (this was a very big attic fan, with a cover that is integral to my 1950's house, plus I didn't want to have to rip the old one out of the roof, etc etc); fan = $30, assembly = ~$150(+/-)

the guy on the floor was going to GIVE me one, but a manager came up, so they just sold me the whole assembly for the price of the fan, and they even let me open the box and take out just the parts I needed

my local Home Depot is far too concerned with selling bulk quantities of low-grade, drywall and rough-carpentry supplies to unlicensed contractors (who have to shop there, since they have no business license to qualify for wholesale prices) to keep up with the other stuff, which they prevent local stores from selling by driving them out of business in the first place (and yes, the Lowe's opened YEARS after the HD had done that groundwork - I'd still rather go to local-owned store, but given the choice of what I have ...)

[newyawker99]

40. Hi web-abbadon!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[EC]

8. What I normally do and get great results with

is look up the CEO's name and address and write them. They don't want to deal with it, so they tell their secretary to handle it...I've always gotten the problem taken care of plus additional, like with Eddie Bauer it was 2 left slippers, couldn't get a right from local store, wouldn't even exchange them, so I wrote CEO and for some reason, they couldn't figure out which slipper it was from the stock number, so they sent me 2 different pairs, plus a pair of boots and hoped that took care of the problem...I thought to myself yep, over $100. worth of merchandise for two lefts that were $9.00 or so, I'll take that....

[napi21]

9. I know it's a real PIA, but the reason they insisted on you bringing

the whole thing back is because that's what they need to get a arefund from their supplier.

I'd be surprised if any other store would have done any differently.

I hate to tell you this, but the easiest way for you to fix this is to just go to the HD, snatch the missing part from another box and go back home. That very well may be why the one you bought had that part missing in the first place.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

12. Nah. I ran a warehouse for a few years...

a missing part is a missing part. Much easier to give the customer what they need out of stock and send that one back. You get your credit from the manufacturer, and you keep your customer.

This Home Depot manager should lose his job, or get knocked down to stockboy, but I won't hold my breath.

[jobycom]

17. That's not right

There's no reason they can't pull the part out of another box off the shelf and send THAT box back. Every retailer in the world does it that way, and I've worked retail for many years.

Bad manager. Write to owner. I've never had that problem with Home Depot before. The OP's response was the right one. Don't shop at that Home Depot until you see the "Under New Management" banner flapping in the breeze.

[MemphisTiger]

33. That is what I suggested to the guy

when I worked retail that's what I did, but I was just a sales associate not a manager.

[shanti]

48. snatch the missing part from the box??

that's called SHOPLIFTING where i come from! :eyes:

[NV Whino]

10. We could have an entire forum on Home Depot rants n/t

[skipos]

11. How about a mom & pop hardware store instead of HD OR Lowes? nt

[Warpy]

14. Because they were driven out of business in this town

[MemphisTiger]

34. Driven out of business already by the big guys

That would be a good option if it were possible

[lonestarnot]

13. Some x employee drove their car through the Chandler AZ

paint dept here either early this week or late last week LOL

[TheCowsCameHome]

15. There's an 800 customer service/complaint number, which I have used

At least I could unload on a human. I had an unpleasant incident in the nearest HD and had to get it off my chest. I essentially told them Lowes was going to be my source of home improvement stuff from now on. Also, their register receipts have that sweepstakes feature where you can do a five minute survey and rate their stores - a good chance to vent about your dislikes.

Those assholes in supervision should know you never win an argument with a customer.

[Catherine Vincent]

16. Are you sure Lowes doesn't have that same policy?

:)

[EFerrari]

24. Lowe's is more user friendly. I'm remodeling a property.

Home Depot: Nearly impossible to order on line.
Lowe's: No problem.

Home Depot: Delivers to the curb!
Lowe's: Sends a crew who will deliver inside the dwelling.

[jmowreader]

47. Delivery depends on the driver

My driver won't bring the stuff inside, but, within reason, he'll drop it where you want it. He's got a Moffett and he knows how to use it, man, I have seen him go up hills to take your stuff to the back yard. Other drivers will drop your stuff at curbside, which is all we're really required to do.

Some customers get stupid about this shit, though...we had a guy call us up and tell us that he PAID FOR A DELIVERY AND YOUR DRIVER WOULDN'T PUT IT WHERE I WANTED IT SO I REJECTED THE DELIVERY AND YOU PEOPLE CAN EITHER DELIVER MY STUFF TODAY OR I'LL CANCEL MY ORDER AND SUE YOU!!! (My ears are still ringing from that one.)

So I got the Load & Go, put the guy's order in it, grabbed two other associates and drove to the customer's house. Well...there's no wonder why my driver wouldn't "put it where I wanted it"...the customer wanted it at the bottom of a 20-foot hill, and the only way to get the shit down there was to carry it down a staircase. Which we did. Three fucking hours later, we had the order down there...and what's the first thing the dude does? Jumps in MY shit because he wanted to start building his project this morning and YOUR DRIVER WOULDN'T PUT IT DOWN THERE so his shed wouldn't be done this weekend. I mean, come on. I tell people that our driver will make reasonable efforts to put the order where you want it...but the only way to "reasonably" get that order down there in a safe, efficient manner is with a helicopter.

Now, as for the Lowe's in town...I had to buy some gray Ondura roofing from Lowe's. The guy delivered it and ran over my mailbox post. Snapped it clean off. The driver looked over and said "you know, we sell those." I said they bring 'em out free when their forklift drivers run over them, too. (They did.)

[MissB]

37. We had a similar faucet problem

(faucet purchased at Lowes) and while we had to go through the manager to get the problem fixed, we didn't have to un-install the faucet to get the part.

[benddem]

18. this happened to me too but it was a door opener

I insisted on them giving me the correct part. Wouldn't move. They finally gave in. On your receipt is a url for giving customer comments. I didn't hear back. I gave them hell on everything. Do it. It will make you feel somewhat better.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

19. oddly enough, I have never had a problem

when a place like HD takes a return from a customer, in many cases there are parts left out of the return, hence NEVER buy anything that has obviously been returned (taped up box, etc). We recently bought an under sink water filtration unit that was missing a couple of items. I went back to the store of purchase (I brought the receipt but not the box or parts or anything) and the customer server rep took me back to the place where those filters were, we opened the box, identified the parts I needed, she pulled them out and took the box up to the front to be returned to the manufacturer.

Sounds like you got a Scrooge or a Grinch. I am not sure this is 'corporate' policy.

subjectProdigal

[TheCowsCameHome]

23. It takes just one idiot supervisor/manager to ruin a store's reputation

If they don't monitor them and weed them out that's their problem. I'm done with doing business with outfits that treat customers shabbily. My money will be spent where I am treated fairly.

[EFerrari]

20. I just switched to Lowe's too. Home Depot isn't what is was

five years ago.

The last time I tried to place an order, I HAD TO LEND THEM MY TAPE MEASURE!

Don't get me started.

[stanwyck]

21. Bet he's a Republican

seriously. The two brothers who own the small business where I work (34 employees) prefer liberals. Really. They're fiscal conservatives who are socially liberal. And they've joked before about how they like to hire liberals. Why? Because we can think on our feet and make decisions. We're less fear based people. We solve problems. We're not "ducks". We're eagles. We think in 3D.
We've had a few wingnut employees. And that didn't end well.
This guy is a robot who probably listens to Rush. He can't think. He can't act. He's immobilized by his insecurities.
Sorry you had this experience. Home Depot's CEO is a big Bushie who held fund raisers in his mansion for Bush.
No surprise his employees are limited intellectually.

[AlCzervik]

25. I worked for them and Expo design center for 7 years and once upon a

time they were a good company that actually paid a good wage to professionals, we used to have licensed electricians and plumbers working those departments. Well Bernie and Arthur left and Bob Nardelli from GE was brought in and he ruined it, he cut back on full time employees and now staffs each store with at least 60% part time lower paid people. I am so glad i got out of there when i did.

[yellowcanine]

26. You COULD take the box off the shelf, find the two pieces and slip them

into your pocket. Then mark on the box with a sharpie, "missing pieces" and put it back on the shelf. Do this while no one is watching, of course.

[TheCowsCameHome]

27. I wouldn't recommend that method for one minute.

HD has become notorious (at least in our area) for security. They took a 50-something contractor customer out in cuffs when some yahoo security employee remembered he had borrowed a store pencil to calculate his lumber purchase needs and didn't return it. Big news in Boston suburbs a month or two ago. There was another similar story but I forget the particulars of that incident.

HD relented after it hit the newspapers, but the guy told the store to stuff the apologies up their ass, - the ultimate do-it-yourself idea.

I wouldn't try any swapping at HD if I were you.

[rd_kent]

29. You should have bought a new faucet

Used the pieces you needed, then taken it back and asked for a refund.

[MissB]

30. We went through this with Lowes recently

and we *really* didn't want to take apart the whole faucet just for one little piece.

We had to go through the manager, but the point was made and they just grabbed another box to retrieve the part (it was a broken part in our case).

[Vodid]

32. The easiest way...

I've been through this before. Buy the identical faucet, making sure it has all the parts. Take it home and remove the parts you need, then return it for a refund because it is incomplete. You've got the parts, you didn't have to do anything that would be interpreted as shoplifting inside the store, and you didn't have to remove the faucet you spent an hour installing. Just because the manager has no imagination, doesn't mean you have to have no imagination. Good luck.

[kath]

36. Home Despot is a HUGE Bush supporter. Mucho Repug donations, and big

funder of the Florida recount.

Lowe's may be red, but I don't think they are nearly as bad as Home Despot.

[politicat]

54. Lowes is effectively neutral.

They donated something like $64K in 2004, mostly to the Lowes PAC, which gave less than $20K in donations.

In other words, the money went nowhere.

[MindPilot]

39. Go to Lowes

I had a similar issue with a bathroom vent/heater that burned out a heating element a couple weeks after I installed it. I went to the Lowes service counter just to ask what the process would be; I figured I would have to special order the heater part. The lady behind the counter told me to go find a new one on the shelf, remove the part I needed and bring the remains to her. I told her I didn't have the old one with me; she said bring it back on your next trip and she never even asked to see a reciept.

Home Depot, they almost never have what I need anyway so I never go there.

[TheCowsCameHome]

41. Their lumber is great for curved-shaped projects.

Really. Nothing like 70 degree store heat to warp wet wood.

[Raine]

42. I had that same thing happen

about 3 years ago with a faucet from Home Depot but they were really good about it, they took the missing parts out of another box and it was no problem. It might vary from store to store depending on the management.

[ObaMania]

43. I had an incident there two weeks ago.

Bought a flourescent bulb set and one of them was burnt out. Took it back and waited 1 hour in the return lane while the 1 person in front of me was being helped. Seems the almost non-English speaking Nigerian cheap labor that is indiginous to Northern VA Home Depots royally messed up their special order and it was taking him forever to resolve it with no help from his manager. After an hour I asked to speak to the manager. When I spoke to manager "Billy" I asked if there was anyone else in the store qualified to make my exchange and he said no I that I needed to wait. Becoming agitated, I said that all I want to do is take the lamps I purchased to one of the registers and make an even swap for the same item and leave. "Billy" threatened me by saying if I did that that I wouldn't make it out the front door.

I asked for his last name and his District Manager's number. He refused to give me his last name and just directed me to a customer care 800#. Stupid procrastinating me never called, but your post is a reminder and just thinking about it is getting me pissed about it again. I think I'll call and try to get that filthy blanco basura shit-canned.

I should'a learned the first couple of times I had to take shit back to them. They are famous for reshelving stuff that's returned. See, I am finishing my basement currently and buying alot of contractor supplies. Because the state of our construction industry is such that they pay Latino day laborers to work for them, send them to get supplies, they get the wrong stuff, and are sent back to return them. Usually with missing parts. The last 4 out of five times I've been to the "Depot" I've had to return items for missing parts.

Just another day in mediocre 'Murka.

[jmowreader]

44. This is weird!

Here's how it's supposed to work:

We are, contrary to popular belief, in the business of satisfying customers. If you would have come to my Home Depot and purchased a faucet that was missing a part, we would have either (1) marked down a whole faucet and given it to you, (2) given you the piece out of a faucet on the shelf then done a RTV (return to vendor) on the faucet we had in the building or (3) if we'd have had the piece on the shelf as a replacement part (in your case, we wouldn't have), we'd just give you that.

Every Home Depot has an RTV clerk whose whole job is to ship shit back to the manufacturer. There are three classes of RTV:

RTV Red: file a claim with the manufacturer for the product, throw the product away and the manufacturer credits us for it. Needless to say, RTV Red items are very small.

RTV Yellow: send the product back to the manufacturer, who credits us for it. Most RTV Yellow items are disassembled at the manufacturer and the usable parts are recovered.

RTV Green: send the product back to the manufacturer, who fixes it and sends it back to us. If you've ever gone to the HD paint desk and seen all the reconditioned paint sprayers, or the lawn mowers in the garden department, you've seen RTV Green in action. This is a bit like Soylent Green, but you don't have to wait for Tuesday to get it.

But making you return a faucet that you've got half installed? That's just plain stupid.

[EFerrari]

49. There's something seriously wrong with HD lately.

Growing pains, who knows. I know my Mom and I have gone to HD together more often than to any girly store by a factor of five because we have real estate investments that require constant maintenance. And something has seriously changed, at least out here in our district. Nobody seems trained, the first word out of their mouth is always "no", just doing the simplest transaction becomes a two hour nightmare. I hope they get over their "hump"

[lumberjack_jeff]

45. Buy another and return it because it has missing parts. QED.

[AnnieBW]

46. Their CEO Is A Jerk, Too

Saw this in CNN - he's getting the company to pay his taxes for him!

http://money.cnn.com/2005/12/22/news/fortune500/ceo_taxes/index.htm

[walldude]

52. I won't shop Lowes or Home Depot

I like to be able to find shit when I go in a store. I use a small local Ace Hardware store. Pay a little more but I spend alot less time finding what I need. I guess I'm lucky to have that option...