I laughed when I recently read The 10 Best (and 10 Worst) Companies for Customer Service. Number four on the list of worst companies was The Home Depot.
I also had a recent poor customer service experience at the Idaho Falls Home Depot store. Please keep in mind that I spend lots of money at home improvement stores. A buddy of mine that works at one of these places says the corporations estimate young guys like me will spend about $80,000 on home improvement tools and supplies over our lifetimes, so customer service is supposedly important to them.
One policy I really like is that you don’t need a receipt to make returns or exchanges. Sure you get a store credit instead of cash, but I usually don’t care because I know I always need more tools or supplies.
I bought eight blank interior doors last spring, and have been installing them slowly since then. The last one was the bathroom door, and after chiseling the hinge slots and test-hanging it to determine where the door hole should be bored, I discovered the door was warped. I confirmed with a straightedge that the door was warped and not the frame.
This door blank is a manufactured product. I can understand checking raw wood for warpage, but not a manufactured product. It was a rare product defect occurrence, so I don’t judge all their products by this mistake.
Unfortunately, the cashier got all hissy with me over the hinge slots being chiseled out, and called someone from the back. When the guy finally got there ten minutes later, he claimed he couldn’t see the warp at first. When he finally recognized the problem, he chewed me out for chiseling the hinge slots. I pointed out door warpage is so uncommon that nobody checks for it, and there was no way to see the warp until it was hung. I also pointed out the doorknob hole had not been bored yet and the door was unpainted, so it was not like I was trying to scam a new door.
He walked away without a response, and I had to wait for the cashier to call him again in the back to see if he would accept it. He said he would give a credit, but not a straight product exchange, and he had to get another scolding statement in to me. The credit was for the lowest price in the last 90 days, so I got less than I paid for the door. Now I have to wait for the doors to go on sale again because I don’t want to pay the extra difference for Home Depot’s product defect mistake.
I’ll be shopping at Lowe’s while I wait for The Home Depot door blanks to go on sale again.
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Gato got runned over by Marcus many moons ago. Be ye daft, 2486? 
Let's have a new poll, alright, Joe?
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So, if you got such crummy customer service at Home Depot, why are you going to to back at all? Even if the door blanks go on sale there again, how much will you save? Is it worth compromising your principles?
If this had happened to me, I think Home Depot could say goodbye to me for good.
Excellent point.
Because I didn’t have the receipt, I had to take store credit which can only be spent at The Home Depot.
Normally I return things I actually didn’t need and just buy different things. I really don’t return things that often anyways and haven’t thought much about it, but I’ve probably been getting hosed on that ‘lowest price in the last 90 days’ policy.
I suppose I could just buy other items and look at Lowe’s for my door and be done with the project and The Home Depot.
Are you planning on spending all your $80K there? How about a locally owned store?
I would love to spend my home improvement money at local stores, but I find they have little inventory and shockingly higher prices.
I’ve been disappointed too many times at Rocknacks with their selection that I only both to go there now if I need a bolt or washer, something simple I know they will carry.
The first and last time I went to BMC was for a preframed door. I spoke with the guy on the phone for 20 minutes about an issue and communicated the size several times. I arrived and asked for the order that guy did and spoke the size, got charged, went to the warehouse and had to help the kid their find my door, got stopped at the gate and was told I had been charged for a size smaller than the one I had/needed. Three BMC employees screwed up the order. I put the door back and got a refund. I was only saving $5 from Home Depot’s price and their doors were not pre-primed (so no savings at all).
So for me it’s either Lowe’s or Home Depot. and until Lowe’s makes me mad again (which shouldn’t be too long) I’ll go with them because of Home Depot’s mishandling of that door exchange.
I’ve always had good luck at Lowe’s. They matched the price on a dishwasher compared to the Home Depot Price. Then they gave me an additional 10%. It was great. BMC seems more geared to the commercial builder market now, and I agree that local stores have a tough time competing on the price and selection level.
Joe I know just how you feel about the Depot. I went in there for a few feet of speaker wire and couldn’t find any help for over thirty minutes. Every time I saw somebody they hurried and ran off. Never been back since.
I had to go to a different Home Depot yesterday, but must admit that I thought of you, Joe, in the check out line.
I totally hear you about the cost of locally owned vs. what the chains can purchase. I wonder if there is a sub-sector of the population, that Rocknack’s tries to serve, vs. younger families or those who do their own home improvements? In other words, I guess I’m wondering if Rocknack’s and others (what about the Jolley Brothers in Shelley, or whatever it is called – how are their prices?), try to serve a different segment of the market. And that segment would be those who aren’t physically as able to do as much themselves, too busy, or have the dispossible income to have someone else do those jobs for them?
It would be interesting to know where the big contractors go.
I’m probably still contractually bound to not say much, given that I worked for a company that provided a service for The Home Depot. That being said, I can honestly say most Home Depot employees are really frustrated throughout the U.S., for various reasons.
Maybe what I can say is this: I’m surprised any time I get any service at any Home Depot. I personally prefer Lowe’s for many reasons.
Jolley Brothers in Shelley was recently sold to BMC West.
I have always had a good experience at Lowes. The service people there are always very helpful and are quick in finding someone else if they can’t answer my questions. Unfortunately, I need a lot of help in one of those places. At Home Depot I have several times gotten the feeling that I am putting them out by asking for help. IMO, Lowes puts service first — I’m not sure where it is on Home Depot’s list.
Okay, different Home Depot, but similar experience: I wanted to purchase an over-the-stove microwave (the big kind, with its own cabinet). Saw the one I wanted, teetering on a high shelf. Finally flagged someone down to help me, after about 20 minutes of “Excuse me? Can you help me?” “Sorry, not my department”….
Anyway, this guy gets a ladder, much sighing and drama (he was very annoyed with me), lugs down the giant, heavy microwave, balances it precariously on top of my cart, gives it a pat and says, “Good luck”. Then walks away. I had to slooowwwwllllyyy maneuver it to the checkout and then load it in my minivan, which was parked quite a ways away, without even the offer of assistance.
Goodness, at Lowe’s, (or Jerry’s where I live), you have to beat the employees back with a stick…they are all trying to help you to your car, help you through the register, etc.
Totally agree with all those frustrated with Home Depot….get this one…Our son, who lives 2000 miles from us and is currently serving overseas,purchased a $500.00 gift cert. from H. D. for us last summer. He was trying to provide us with an air conditioner and felt a gift cert. would be the quickest method. We visited the I F H. D> and found because of our unuasully warm summer, they had none in stock and were told they would not get any and could not special order us one. I then tried ordering one online and was informed they DO NOT ACCEPT THEIR OWN GIFT CERT. ONLINE! i ASKED THEY SEND IT TO THE STORE. I then asked they ship one to the IF store so I could pick it up there and use my gift cert. in the stor…..NO way would they do that either. Too embarrased to tell our son we never were able to purchase the gift he so thoughtfully arranged.
I have to disagree with the positive comments about Lowe’s in IF. They seem to have gone downhill rapidly the last 6 months. We shop there 3-4 times per month or more, and spend thousands of dollars each year. That being said, we deal with employees almost every time we go in. The last 6 months there seems to be a decline in helpfulness, friendliness, and knowledge about the products. Last Friday it seemed to be an employee sit around and joke day, they helped no one that we could see. We know of people looking for employment with Lowe’s (good, responsible types) and they get the run around and mixed messages from the manger and HRO for no apparent reason. (The Pocatello store heads are much nicer but we’ve heard they’ve had to lay off and freeze employment recently.)
The head company may need to come in and do some major training and revamping of employees from the top down. We have also shopped at Lowe’s across the West and do not usually find this caliber of behavior and poor attitudes. Of course there are some exceptions here who should not be grouped with the rest. Lately we’ve gone to Home Depot just to get customer service in a more timely, helpful and friendly manner.
And no, I’m not a plant from Home Depot. Ha ha. We are regular residents who just need to purchase a lot of home improvement products.
I had an awful and great experience at Lowe’s all within 15 minutes. I saw the ad in the Post Register for their Saturday kid friendly building events…i.e. building bird feeders and other items. The PR ad said to call the store and reserve a space. I did so. Heather at Lowes told me they don’t take reservations just show up! So, on Saturday I took my child to Lowes.
Guess what? They told me there was no class to be held…it was a misprint. My child was really upset. I asked them if I could get one of the kits so we could go home and build it. The guy was put off about this and was trying to get rid of me. I asked him to call his manager. He called the manager. The manager told him he couldn’t help.
I then asked him to have the manager come speak to me in person and I went down to customer service to wait for him. After standing around for 5 minutes an assistant manager, Chris, came up and asked if I had been helped. I explained the situation and how the manager was being unreasonable. Chris said he wanted to help make it right. He went to the stock room and brought out 4 different kits. He gave all of them to us. (The manager never made it out to speak with me) We had a great day building on Saturday.
I sent Lowes corporate an e-mail about the experience. I hope the manager got nailed for being a jerk. Thank goodness somebody there felt like being kind that day. Otherwise, Lowes would have lost a customer for life.
I had a “above and beyond” experience with Lowe’s a couple of months ago. We bought a new Frigidaire fridge at Lowe’s in January, but didn’t get the extended warranty which proved to be a mistake. Shortly after setting things up, the defrost mechanism went out. I called Frigidaire because it was still under the manufacturer’s warranty, and after spending $125 in long distant phone calls, the company sent us some wires and gismo’s and instructions on how to change it out. Needless to say, not being electricians or repairmen, the fridge was worse off than before. My husband called the manager at Lowe’s and explained the situation. Hoping, but not really expecting that anything could be done for us, The manager listened and let us exchange the fridge for a completely different brand.
Lowe’s was willing to rectify a situation that they were not obligated to. We will be forever customers of Lowe’s.
Home Depots $300 extended warranty states in print that pick up and delivery is provided for warranty service on select items(ie: $1,500 snowblowers) begining date of purchase. But when my machine broke, the warranty service refused to honor it, saying I was on my own to transport it until the factory warranty expires in 3 years. There is a website for a class action suit re: Home Depot warranty investigation.
Re: I think Lisa’s exaggerating a bit with her comment about her spending 125 dollars in long distance calls, Number 1. ALL customer service and warranty related phone numbers are toll free. ALL of them.
And number 2. Every cell phone company in the nation now offers free long distance.
So if you had to pay 125 dollars in long distance fees, that was totally and completely your fault. Where were you calling, Bejing China? I doubt it!
But hey, at least you got a new fridge out of the deal huh?
As a manager for The Home Depot, I find it a bit upsetting that so many would begin to leave us behind. As for the store credit without reciept, it is still a better return policy then most retailers. Most will not even think of returning merchandise without a reciept; i.e. Target. Second, Local shops typically have to charge you higher prices because they cannot compete with the amount of sales and price negotiations we are able to make with the direct manufactuer. As for not taking the door back, as stated they were purchased last spring, and then slowly installed. If not stored properly warping and other blemishes can become an issue; most retailers whether it was Lowes or the local shop very easily could have refused the return of the door just as well; especially after the door was partially installed. I do disagree and would have offered an even exchange but that is just my own personal opininon. As for an easier way to get around holding on to reciepts, if a purchase is made on a credit card, all you would need to return the item is the credit card and the item up to 90 days after purchase. The entire return policy is available at the returns desk on a pamphlet. As for Lowe’s failing to take part in the Kids Friendly Event, The Home Depot offers a Children’s Workshop the first Saturday of every month, Sign up starts one week before the scheduled event.
I haven’t had too many issues with Home Depot or Lowe’s and I’ve returned a LOT of merchandise for various reasons. I even had a manager at HD offer a partial refund for some expensive specialty paint we bought that was next to impossible to apply correctly. The floor help at both stores could use a little more training. I’ve encountered many of the staff who were really clueless about their own departments. This seems to be improving somewhat compared to the past couple of years.
ditto to Cafe’s comment regarding the help on the floor. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone into both HD & Lowes and the employees walking the floor have no clue where items are or any other general information they SHOULD know about their place of employment. Much work is needed in this area.
Hey, I want to give Home Depot a good rep. First off, I’ve been a HD shopper since several thousand yeas ago (at least in dog years!).
I continue to have great HD experiences. Yeah, sometimes, maybe they ain’t so great. But, if I step back and look at what is actually going on, I realize that I–ME, Myself & I–had unrealistic expectations.
This weekend–AKA: the last few days–we had a tremendous HD experience. It was so danged good, I could write an essay about it. I won’t bore you with the details. (Disclaimer: My wife and I have served as Secret Shoppers for 7 years.) Anyway, the experience was so danged good it was freaking uncanny.
The Idaho Falls HD is doing a great job. We are very impressed with their CSQ: Customer Service Quotient. Yeah, I know certain people have problems with Corporate America. What else is new? It goes with the turf.
But HD is doing a tremendous job in the CSQ Department. We salute them and we say this, “As career Secret Shoppers, we find your CSQ to rate at least an 8.5 or better and we personally enjoy shopping in your Idaho Falls establishment. Thank you for running a tight, well run ship!”
Cheers, Monte
As a secret shopper, are you supposed to let a business know that you were there, and that you liked the service? ‘cuz that seems a little odd…
I think Home Depot bites one out of six visits something goes wrong with customer service, in a small area management surly and just doesn’t get the basics. Customer retention is key but this individual didn’t get it.
Waiting to have a piece of wire cut is a long wait, or waiting to have a piece of wood cut is a long wait, waiting to have a check cut is a long wait. Home Depot’s spirit in Lebanon NH is lacking. Wal-Mart across the street treats customer’s better.
Upon writing Customer Service, they asked me to see a manager. I had stated in my letter that I already had. Day four over a simple matter and HD is sleeping at the helm, not unusual.
I hate home depot’s service too, BUT….Theres no way you can state with any certainty that they gave you a warped door. If you waited sooooo long to install it, you could have warped it yourself. You should’ve checked it sooner or installed it sooner. Be reasonable!! You are at fault here too.
Anyway, yeah, Home depot is unbelievably bad. unfortunately for me its the only game in town. I’m a contractor and I’ll only buy things that are in stock, low priced commodities like 2×4s and drywall. Anything that requires intelligence or special service, or technology, or undamaged handling – forget it!
Mike
is this….THE Mike? can’t tell from this politically-neutral comment tee hee.
If so, glad to see your name here again.
If not, glad to see a new name here.
LOL Easterner…..I was thinking the same thing!
One of the main problems with HD is the turnover. They cannot seem to keep reliable employees, let alone management. If you have a problem in the store, frequently the Manager is not available. If you call the store or ask for the Corporate Number for Customer Service, plan on extending you cellular phone plan, they will have to search for it.
Once you do get the corporate number, they say that they will have a representative call you back in 48-72 hours. In my experience this never did happen and I called back to indicate that after assurances from Corporate that the local manager or zone manager did not call back to inquire as to the problem that had we had encountered.
I agree with the majority of posters that HD has lost the basics when it comes to customer service. If you truly are interested in keeping customers HD might want to take a look from the outside-in and see how customers are frustrated with the lack of customer service.
Just a quick line to “Orange Apron” ….
I return things to Target without a receipt on a regular basis, because kids won’t sit still to try 20 things on.
Nice try though.
I’ve worked at Target and shop there all the time and I can tell you Target will NOT refund money or even do an exchange without a receipt.
Bummer for you anonalog. I just exchanged a defective cd without a receipt a month ago, for a completely different one, and exchnage things all the time without a receipt…returns are sometimes a little more difficult but I usually know when I bought it and what other items were with it, and when you are persistent they will look up your purchase if you have that information.
The problem for a lot of people is they are afraid to speak up and they will let it drop rather than spend the necessary time. And at Christmas time I have gotten cash refunds without a receipt when I’ve had the other info needed.
guess you have an “in” at your Target, mom….enjoy it!! Sounds like you return stuff a lot.
oops I forgot this, to show you how lucky you are:
from: http://www.target.com :
“Receipt Required for All Returns
Please note that ALL returns to Target must include either the original receipt or a Gift Receipt.”
Wal Mart used to accept returns without a receipt all the time as long as they carried the product and said product wasn’t opened. Not anymore though, at least not for a few years. Evidently a lot of stolen merchandise was being returned for cash. I think they’ll still accept some things, but they’ll give you a gift card to use for more Wal Mart merchandise instead of cash. Which is only fair imo.
Without a receipt I would never expect more than a gift card. I’d be glad to get the gift card, even.
With purchases come some responsibility if you want to take it back, and a merchant has the right to protect themselves. Although a gift card certainly spends like cash, even with returned stolen merchandise, at least it spends there.