Home Depot fails again

Where to begin? First we ordered patio furniture from Home Depot and it was delayed in delivery due to the really bad freight company they use. I personally had to go out and find the driver to get him to our home. When it finally arrived, it was delivered damaged. The top furniture piece was crushed beyond use and the wicker broken. To add insult to injury, the freight company left a pallet which they refused to keep and we had to dispose of it. (no, we don't have a fireplace to burn it in) Home Depot agreed to have the damaged piece picked up and replaced, and the pickup was very prompt, within 24 hours. Home Depot agreed to refund the purchase price and re-order but insisted on only crediting the price after an adjustment was made due to the delay. I argued that the adjustment was for us having to wait a week for the furniture, when they promised two days, not for the damage, but the phone agent argues otherwise. Oh well, what the hell, just lets get on with this.

The replacement took another week (HD didn't ship it for 4 days) and the freight company, USF Reddaway, failed to load it on the truck so we sat around yet another day for a delivery that never happened. They tried to blame the driver but the drivers do not load their own trucks! It finally arrived. Then we had to deal with yet another box (thankfully no pallet this time) and were able to piece together the new item. Success finally.

Then we purchased a fountain from HD and it starts disintegration, smelling like vinegar. Crusty places start to form and the crust smells like vinegar. It can be wiped off and spray wax applied to make it look better but it then will start the process all over. Agghh, yet another HD fail.

So, as much as I do like Home Depot, we will only purchase from the what we can carry out of a store with our two hands or a cart. Nothing that requires shipping and certainly not another fountain that acquires a special unwanted patina although it is resin!

Home Depot Comes Through in the Clinch!

First off, we had nine vinyl replacement windows windows installed by Home Depot's THD at Home Services. Five of the nine windows were wrong. The installation was beautiful...the windows themselves were made wrong; wrong glass, wrong coating, etc. Visually and cosmetically, the windows were beautiful. Functionally, they worked well; just that they did not meet the specifications of the original contract, nor did they meet the IRS Tax Credit program.

THD at Home Services offered to make nine all new windows, but my spouse was adamant that the east side of our home was not going to be pulled apart again. The windows on that side did meet the energy standards, just not the glass coating we expected to receive. I acceded to her wishes and those four windows remained in place.

Home Depot ordered new windows to replace the other five windows. And ordered them again, and again; the windows that came in still were wrong. Finally, the fifth set of windows, counting the ones already in place, met the requirements and were ready for installation.

The same crew came out and tore out the existing new windows and installed the correct ones. Excellent workmanship again. I have to say that Home Depot has high quality personnel on their subcontractor crews and although this was the first crew we dealt with, we were to be pleasantly surprised again in the future, with additional THD work.

We had discussed purchasing two sliding patio doors and THD offered to discount the doors in return for all the trouble and problems we had with the windows. We chose the French Style doors with the wide frames and internal grids, or mullions, to match the windows in the house, and they turned out perfect. In addition, the installation crew, a different one than did the windows, did an excellent installation job on the doors as well.

So, Home Depot truly stepped up to the plate, and made a significant effort to make things right. It gives a very positive impression of their ability to cut through the red tape and get things done. Sure, it took some time. Yes, we did complain. Yes, we did make inquiries to the manufacturer of the glass and the windows. But actually, in essence, the real culprit in making the windows wrong lies with the manufacturer, since Home Depot sells them and installs them, counting on the manufacturer to make the windows and doors that meet their specifications. If any blame for the original windows and doors lies with THD, it was not checking them before they were even brought to us for installation.

Does the salesman "puff" the product a bit? Maybe? Are the brochures out of date, and do the brochures confuse the buyer some? Maybe. But in the final analysis, did Home Depot make it right? Absolutely!