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  1. Had a kitchen remodel planned by HD (but we were planning to do the installation ourselves). They misread their own drawing and supplied a countertop that was 2 1/2" short. BUT they replaced it very quickly by one the right size, and we got to keep the wrong-size one, which we cut into sections and used in other places.
  2. Ordered a new water heater to be supplied and installed by HD. They delivered the next day, and the installation was quick, but when I looked at it afterwards I could not see how they could possibly have installed it the way they did without heating the plastic dip tube, which I understand is a no-no. But maybe I am misunderstanding what they actually did. We moved away soon afterwards, and there were no problems during the time we were still there.

Perce

Reply to
Percival P. Cassidy

Why are you asking?

Reply to
Lou

It would be a shorter list if I could mention the good experiences at our local HD. Like the time I happened in last year and found the stainless steel BBQ grills on sale half price. :>) And I needed one. So did my son-in-law and a neighbor. We all got good deals that day.

But it is sad. We knew it was going to happen. Don't know how it could have been prevented. HD comes in to town with low, low prices and huge selections, and drives most all the Mom and Pop hardware stores out of business. Then the prices start creeping up and there are no bargains to be found anymore.

Went there yesterday to buy the endcaps for a shower curtain rod. $2.22 each. Most all sizes, $2.22 each. Can't tell me there is $2.22 worth of material, labor, and marketing cost in one end cap. I didn't care what the extra gas cost, but I wasn't going to pay almost $5 for a pair of shower curtain rod end caps. Went to one of the few remaining Mom and Pop hardware stores in the area, which I considered overpriced compared to HD, and found a set (2) for $2.99. Score one for the little guy.

Lena

Reply to
Lena

Went to buy a fan in mid-july. Was told they were out of stock, and they weren't ordering more because it was past the season.

OK, Ok, I'm fibbing a little. This happened at Lowesers, not home despot.

D
Reply to
spamTHISbrp

I have not had a "single" bad experience. But, I have returned items that were of low quality or poorly constructed. Never had a problem returning an item. HD won't "deal" on more expensive items such as a $600 Honda lawn mower and for that I buy elsewhere to save $$$.

Reply to
Phisherman

Chronically being poorly stocked and having to spend Saturday morning driving from one HD to another to find some mundane thing like satin polyurethane.

Shopping carts that invariably have problems with the wheels and make a huge racket on their concrete floors.

I could go on and on about how I hate Home Depot.

Reply to
Buck Turgidson

some seasonal sales people have zip idea what they are doing.

had one jerk blow me off I had the manager called for his attitude/

in general its a good experience, although fortunately theres still one old time hardware store close by...

Reply to
hallerb

Consider yourself lucky that they apparently speak English.

Reply to
Buck Turgidson

formatting link

Reply to
HeatMan

b/c I work PT at one....aspen hill, md

Reply to
SeaKan

I live within walking distance of a Home Depot and a Lowe's, and the Home Depot is a lot better. At Lowe's I've experienced know-nothing employees, like the one who worked in the plumbing dept. since the store opened who asked another employee, "Do we have something called 'copper fittings'?" And when my A/C broke and I needed a window unit, three employees in a row couldn't find a single A/C in the store. The Lowe's store manager is a jerk who only cares about the bottom line (I heard him boast of sales increases when a customer complained).

I've read that Home Depot wants to decrease the amount of employee training. That would be a big mistake.

Reply to
larry moe 'n curly

Went to the plumbing section and asked if they carried PEX materials. The answer I got was "No, they only use that stuff on mobile homes." "Thanks for your support asshole".

I don't shop there unless I can't help it.

Reply to
Eigenvector

"SeaKan" wrote in news:12cuprd3k95vp51 @corp.supernews.com:

Ordered $21,000 worth of their high end cabinets. I had to pay 100% up front, and two of the cabinets were badly damaged in shipping. It took more than 16 weeks for the replacements to come in. Same order, the kitchen designer made a mistake, and two cabinets showed up in the wrong size -- told us that there would be no problem returning them for a credit. After a huge amount of pain and frustrating phone calls, I still have two extra cabinets.

My new rule for HD is: if you can't carry it out with you, don't buy from HD. They just don't have any financial incentive to fix up errors once they have all their money in hand.

Reply to
Murray Peterson

Which seems to be one of the better ones in Montgomery County. The Silver Spring HD, near Cherry Hill Rd., is one of the worst, getting junkier by the day, and one has to be desperate to go to the HD on Shady Grove Rd.. The few Lowes in the area (Gaithersburg, Laurel) are neater and better stocked.

Lena

Reply to
Lena

So you saved 72 cents for an endcap, yet you don't care what the extra gas cost? What about your extra time to drive to the so called "mom and pop" store?

Remind me not to hire you as my controller.

Reply to
Larry Bud

The employee asking for help is a good thing. Better than the employee making shit up, leading you endlessly around the store.

Reply to
Larry Bud

I'm retired. Time isn't that important. And I have principles. I'm not going to buy overpriced garbage at HD. The Mom and Pop store is one mile from my house. The cost of gas is negligible, especially considering it is next to a grocery store, and I had to pick up some food there anyway. But I knew some nitpicker would comment on the added cost, that's why I stated I didn't care about the extra gas to go to another store.

Lena

Reply to
Lena

Let's take a moment to remember how HD was able to get so big so fast. Go back in time ~20 years. You need a special fitting to fasten some piece of your house to some other piece of your house. You go to your local hardware store and head for the counter to talk to the guy who dispenses this stuff. There's no discernible line anywhere at the counter, but it's surrounded by the guy's contractor buddies, who are milling around, smoking cigarettes, and telling dirty jokes among themselves and occasionally transacting some business. The guy at the counter ignores you for as long as he can, but eventually you make a determined effort to make eye contact with him, so he decides everyone would be more comfortable if he gets you out of there.

Counter guy: What do you want? You: Umm. I need a connector for a frammitz device. It's made by Acme inc. The label says it's part number ncc-1701. Counter guy: Is that an inside fitting or an outside fitting? You: Huh? How can I tell? (Contractor buddies all laugh.) Counter guy: Here's the pictures. Which one is it? You: Well, it doesn't look like either of these. It's green, and kind of squarish. (Contractor buddies all laugh.) Counter guy: Must be an outside fitting. They haven't made inside fittings in 30 years. Is it type 31A or ddb lzmdc ouaejk? You: Well... I just know the part number. Counter guy: Listen kid, when you know what you want, come back and we'll be able to help you. (Counter guy and contractor buddies resume what they were doing.)

Consider also what happened when you needed lumber. This time, somehow you are prepared and know what you wanted. You negotiate the deal at the counter and guy tells you to bring your truck out to the yard. You know right away you're going to get laughed at when you show up with a car. The yard man shows up 20 minutes after you pull in. He goes way back in the yard and comes back with the wood. Of course, he selects the pieces and they are all warped and cracked. If you complain, he sneers that that's all they have and you can take it or leave it. Now you have to decide whether to face the counter guy again (and get the same treatment when you try to buy at a different hardware store) or just settle for what he gives you.

Meanwhile, the Home Depot opened up at the other end of town. The contracting business was kind of slow (that's why all those contractors had time to hang out at the counter at the hardware store). Home Depot offered jobs to these contractors. They didn't pay all that well, but it was steady work, indoors, with benefits. All they had to do was be courteous and helpful with the customers. If you weren't sure what you wanted, the clerk would listen to your whole story, tell you what you needed to know to make sure you got the right part, and probably give you loads of advice on the best way to do the job. It didn't take long for the homeowners to decide to take their business to Home Depot.

Over the years, Home Depot became big and prosperous, and the stockholders demanded that they squeeze out more profits, so they had to cut back on expenses, meaning buying cheaper goods and paying the help less. The contracting business picked up, and all the contractors they had hired (the good ones anyway) went back to contracting. The only help left were the losers or the oldtimers and idealists who were still clinging in vain to the dream of a place where customers and staff interacted in harmony. Some of the neighborhood hardware stores eventually got their act together, but performance was inconsistent, so most homeowners just accepted what they got at HD, since by this time, they were conditioned to the Big Box store shopping experience.

Getting back on topic, my worst HD story was almost comical. I needed some gravel to spread around on the ground under my deck. Over the course of several months, I visited various HD stores and for at least 10 consecutive visits, the gravel section was always closed. They always had the forklift or something in there that made it necessary to close it off. Eventually the curse was broken and I got my gravel, but i was starting to wonder if it was a conspiracy.

Reply to
Nick Danger

Mine wasn't at one, but arguing with a customer about an electrical installation. The customer who claimed he was educated by a Home Depot employee who said he was an electrician.

Couldn't believe I had to fight to get the two 'hots' off the same phase, in a multi-conductor circuit. I had to draw two pictures explaining how they could be overloading the neutral and resulting in a fire.

:(

later,

tom

Reply to
Tom The Great

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