I love Home Depot......really, I do...honest...the staff is so knowledgable and helpful...
Had a 4 pack of Home Depot fluorescent faux flolodlights for interior cans. Bought back in 2004. Six year guarantee on pakaging. Still had receipt stapled to pakaging with last bulb. Bulb 3 from pack was installed in a can in the kitchen March 23, 2007. Wrote date on bulb side part when installing.
Bulb flickered ever since install. Loosened, retightned it, swapped it out with other bulbs from other can. No joy, fickered wherever it was installed.
Put it back in original can, figured what the heck, its one bulb of 8 in the kitchen I can live with it.
May 25, bulb fails totally. Take it out, put last bulb from 4 pack in can and bulb 4 works fine, as are bulbs 1 and 2.
Look at HD receipt stapled to package. Paid $ 13.97 for 4 bulbs, figure I am owed either a new bulb or $ 3.50 for the six year guaranteed bulb that lasted 62 entire days.
Look closely at package for maufacturer name. Ain't none. Sole name on it is HD's (Custom manufactured for and exclusively distributed by Home Depot" Georgia address.) Does say "Made in China" but not by whom nor where in that country. DEcide its HD's problem to resolve.
So, various errands on Sunday, HD type stuff on shopping list, toss dead bulb, package and receipt in car and proceed on errands and eventually get to BORG central in Tigard, OR. Have one other return as well (1 'PVC pipe Ts, bought too many for bulding vege garden trllis to have pea plants climb on. Sure, I've got the receipt or those, too.)
Get to HD. Looong line at returns, two counters working. Get to front of line, present the two Ts and the receipt, and present the dead bulb, its package and the receipt.
Gum chewing, nose pierced with stud teenaged girl tells me that HD has nothing to do with bulbs, that I have to contact manufacturer. Tell girl I am contacting the manufacturer, HD, exactly as listed on package, and that I want either $ 3.50 for bulb or replacement bulb. Girl asks if I am too old or stupid to understand her, but HD doesn't take back bulbs , I have to contact manufacturer.
I say I may be older than she, but I can actually read the package. Only company on it is HD, and I have a receipt and I have a product from HD that didn't live up to guaranty on package. Invite her to read package. She refuses. I ask her to get her store manager. Says she won't. She demands I leave her register. At this point I still don't have the refund or he PVC Ts, or, of ourse the bulb. I decline, saying Im not going anywhere unil she gets her manager.
Goes from bad to worse.
Some manager type eventually shows up. I explain situation. Woman in line behind me, complete stranger, pipes up to manager type that the cashier was the single worst retail clerk the woman had ever see.
Manager sends clerk, "Danielle" off for a "break".
I wind up, at no charge, with four 2 packs, 8 bulbs total of something called N:Vision 65 nominal watt floods in return for the one dead bulb that had lasted 62 whole day. Seven year guaranty on these.
Oh yeah, I got a receipt too. Taped to the bulb packaging, sitting on the bulb storage shelf.
I don't think Ive paid for a compact fluorescnt bulb in 10 years.
I love Home Depot......really, I do...honest...the staff is so knowledgable and helpful...
And they keep giving me free stuff...