Home Depot

So we went and sat down with one of their ‘Window Experts’, let’s call him Joshua. I told Joshua that I had seen these ‘retro-fit’ windows by Milgard online. They are called Bar something windows and are specifically made for doing replacements on a stucco sided house with aluminum existing windows without having to bust out all the stucco. He told us he knew exactly what we needed and we proceeded to get down to the particulars. Dimensions, style, color, glass type, screens, etc… He showed us pictures of the moulding styles and we choose one. Brick Mould I think they called it. During this process Joshua and I discussed the installation process and the fact that when I had seen the video online I was quite positive that I could do the install myself since it looked so easy. (I have some skills) So when we were done Joshua had us look over the dimensions and sign that these were proper and copasetic. We were told that it would take 4 to 6 weeks and they would be delivered to our home.
Fast forward almost 8 weeks later they finally are delivered and my wife sends me a picture saying the windows are here and I see nailing fins on them! I ask here to take more pictures close up since these look nothing like the Z-Bar windows from the videos and she does and my worst fears are confirmed… these are not the correct windows. I have her call the store to speak with someone about them and a MOD, let’s call him Matt, says that all she has to do is cut the nailing fins off and they will install like the retrofit windows. REALLY? My wife and I go to Home Depot when I get off work and speak with Matt directly and he tells me the same thing. I ask him to provide manufactures suggested methods of installation that clearly depict this process. He tries, but is unable to get the files. Assures me he can do it tomorrow after speaking with the manufacture directly. And at the same time says, “Well you signed the order so I don’t think there is much we can do about it.” You have got to be kidding me? How am I to know that your ‘window expert’ input the wrong SKU code for the window(s) that I requested?
I am contacted by another MOD, let’s call him Ceaser, who tells me to go to the Milgard website and download the AAMA 2400-10 “Standard Practice for Installation of Windows with a mounting Flange in Open Stud Frame construction…” I of course had already been researching the net, speaking with the manufacture and so on and knew this was not going to show the proper procedure. I asked Ceaser to speak with his store manager about getting us the proper windows like we had come in to the store to buy. He says he will pass that information along.
I get a call back from the manufacture and the rep tells me that the windows we were given are the wrong type for our application and that we should get Home Depot to make it right by exchanging them for the right windows.
I then get a call from the store manager whom is out of town at the time, we will call him Johnny, He wants to hear the story since his corporate office has emailed him about my complaint. He listens and then asks if the manufacture said they were going to give me new windows. I said “No, they did not say that. They said they would speak with the dealer, Home Depot, about making this right since the windows I was sold were incorrect for our application.” Johnny goes on to say that most likely the manufacture will not be able to follow thru with their promise of making it right. And repeats to a certain extent what MOD Matt said. We signed the order. AGAIN!? Let’s be real. I trust in the professionalism and expertise of your designated representative to fill out the order correctly. Myself being the customer and not familiar with your SKU numbers and proper terminology would not be able to recognize that he did not give us the Z-Bar retrofit windows like we had requested. But in fact ordered us new construction type windows.
Come on Home Depot, accept responsibility for your employee’s learning curve and do the right thing. Replace these windows with the proper Milgard Z-bar type window and show me that you want to keep my and other homeowner’s business.

Now Johnny the store manager is saying that he will take the windows back in exchange for new windows if I pay a restocking fee. This is ridiculous! Why am I being charged for your employees mistake?

Store #622
Agreement # 365595

This is a story of how the failure to listen costs a business its customer's trust.

I custom-ordered a window at the Home Depot on Capitol Expressway in San Jose, CA on November 12, 2007. I fully paid for it at the time of the order. On November 25, 2007, the store called me and said that my window was ready for me to pick up. I came on the same day. The store clerk went in a restricted area, pulled out a window, handed it to me, stating that it was my window, and asked me to sign a piece of paper acknowledging my receipt of the window before I could take the window out of the store. I signed as requested and transported the window home.

The next day, Monday, November 26, 2007, someone named Scott called me and said that they had given me a wrong window and that they needed that window back. It turned out that the wrong window, which appeared similar to what I ordered, did not have the exact dimensions as stated in my order. Scott said that the window I ordered had been broken in the store's warehouse and a replacement order had been placed. The estimated time of arrival on the new order was December 10, 2007. In the mean time, Scott added, Home Depot wanted the wrong window back. I said that Home Depot could send someone to pick up the wrong window before they delivered the right window to me. I simply requested a written assurance that they would deliver the right window free of charge when it became available. I had already transported the wrong window at my expense. Scott said that he would need to check with his manager about my request and would call me back right away. No one called me back.

A few hours later, concerned about the status of my request, I called and spoke to a person named Doug. He agreed that the right window would be delivered to me free of charge. He and I then made an appointment for a Home Depot employee to come to my house the next day between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to pick up the wrong window. I reiterated my request that the driver brought with him the new order for the right window with a note indicating Home Depot's assurance that the right window would be delivered free of charge when it became available.

The next day, Tuesday, November 27, 2007, I took a day off from work and stayed home to wait for the Home Depot truck. Four p.m. came and went. No one from Home Depot showed up or called. That evening, I called Home Depot to inquire about the reason why they missed the appointment. Although Home Depot was still open at that time and they could have sent someone then to pick up the wrong window, a person named Nick called me back and said that the wrong window would be picked up when the right window was to be delivered, which was projected for December 10. I said that would be fine by me.

Almost a week later, on Monday, December 3, 2007, a person named Anthony called and sternly warned that I was holding someone else' window and demanded that I give it back. I expressed my willingness to allow Home Depot again to come and pick up the wrong window and reiterated my request for a written assurance that the right window would be delivered to me free of charge when it became available. Anthony responded that the driver would only give me his business card. I said that I did not need a business card and repeated my request. He said that it would not be possible to give me the written assurance because the note about free delivery was only an 'internal' note. I said that I did not understand and asked why they could not simply use a pen and handwrite the assurance on a piece of paper. Anthony ignored what I said and started rising his voice, repeatedly demanding that I scheduled a time when they could come to pick up the wrong window. I told him that I understood what he wanted and only needed him to listen to my simple request. After eight minutes of back and forth, unable to get him to agree that a written assurance would be given, I asked for his manager. A person named Doug got on the phone and, without listening to a word of what I had to say, began berating me for holding someone else' window, and with the same tone of voice that Anthony had used, demanded the wrong window back. He said that my possession of the window was 'illegal,' insinuating that I had, in effect, stole it from the store. Feeling that the situation was not improving, I asked for the store manager. Doug responded that the store manager, Chris Morrison, was not available, and hung up on me.

Before Doug got on the phone, I was still willing to make another appointment for Home Depot to come and pick up the wrong window, if they gave me the written assurance. I thought that Anthony was just an employee who did not know how to speak to a customer, and talking to a manager would be much better. After all, my request was extremely simple. However, after seeing how Doug immediately sided with Anthony, without even listening, adopting the same tone of voice, and after he hung up on me, I became afraid that Doug and Anthony and maybe others at Home Depot would develop a grudge against me. I became worried that, out of spite, they would purposely delay or make the fulfillment of my order difficult. I decided that the best way to protect myself was to ask that the right window be delivered at the time the wrong window was to be picked up.

In the afternoon of the same day, I was further convinced of the systematic nature of the poor customer service at Home Depot when I received a call from a person named Steve, who said that he was a co-manager of the store. After I expressed my concern about his associates and my wish now that the delivery and pick-up happen at the same time, he said that was unacceptable. He attempted through a rhetorical question to get me to admit that the wrong window in my possession did not belong to me. He said that he would thus report my possession of the wrong window as a 'theft'. He further said that he would charge me at once for the wrong window in addition to what I had already paid when I placed the order. I told him that all I needed was a sincere apology, and accusing me of a crime and threatening me with double charging for my order did not sound like a sincere apology to me. In response, he only said that he was 'sorry that I felt that way.'

Steve added that he had already 'bent over backward' to accommodate me by agreeing to come at a time of my choice to pick up the wrong window and to deliver free of charge the right window when it became available. I told him that none of that was a favor to me. Home Depot is already required under the contract to make the conforming delivery to my house at no additional cost. As for the non-conforming goods in my possession, I have no obligation to spend my own time for a separate scheduled pick-up. Yet, I did Home Depot a favor by staying home for a day to allow them to come and pick up the non-conforming goods before they could give me a conforming replacement. They missed the appointment and wasted my time. If they want to ask me for the favor again, accusations and threats will certainly not do it. In addition, the projected delivery of the right window is only a week away. It only makes sense now that the delivery and the pick-up occur at the same time. I no longer have time for two separate appointments. I hereby again reject the non-conforming delivery and ask that Home Depot promptly make the conforming delivery under the contract. At that time, Home Depot can also take back the non-conforming goods.