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Home Depot Customer Service

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Carl of Paris TX (5/5/04):
On May 5, 2004 I went to The Home Depot to get one sheet of 3/4" plywood. When I got there there was one customer at the checkout stand and nobody else could be found. After waiting for aboutt 30 minuets the supposed-to-be employee finished with the customer he was helping. I found the plywood I needed and it was about 6 feet off of the floor. I asked the supposed-to-be helper if he could help me get the piece down. He told me that there was no one there at the time to run the forklift so I would have to wait.

I know that one piece of plywood is not very much but in the past I have spent several thousand dollars with The Home Depot. I did not say anything to the young man. I just walked out. Since I will have to wait until tomorrow to get to work on my project more I will go to Paris Lumber Company to get all the materials I need for the job and I probably will never go back to the sotore again.

I don't know how the store stays open in Paris because all that I ever hear anyone say about it is that they can not get any service there. I have worked in service departments or had my own business all of my working life (I am retired) and not one of them would accept the kind of service that I have gotten (even in the past) at Home Depot.

Miguel of Atlanta (5/4/04):
I made a purchase on May 01 2004 before the 2:00 p.m. deadline for delivery the next day. Delivery never showed up. Had to call to figure out what had happened. Everbody was rude saying I was wrong with the time and that the order had been set up for May 04 2004. My receipt shows 2:00 p.m. and the salesperson said he would have the materials delivered on Monday the 3rd.

Had the workers all day waiting to install the 600 river red bricks.

Richard of N. Providence RI (4/28/04):
On May 27 of this year I spent 3-1/2 hours in Home Depot. Of this time I spent 3 hours of this time waiting and trying to locate people to help me. I finally left this store with my order of $850.00 of materials. The following day I returned to change my special order for doors.

After waiting for 25 minutes for someone at the special order desk I gave up and asked to see the manager Sean. After waiting for 20 minutes I finnaly gave in and left another $400 in materials at the pro desk. I will never spend another penny at a Home Depot.

Linda of Portland OR (6/1/04):
I had purchased 2 light fixtures for Kitchen/dining area, about 3 years ago. I had them professionally installed. Two months ago the one in the kitchen area fell to the ground without any real cause that was apparent. It put a hole in my hardwood flooring and scared me to death. My handyman put the fixture back in and could not see any true cause.

Last night just after preparing dinner (I was directly under the fixture) it came down again, once more leaving another hole. This appears to be a very dangerous fixture and could have actually killed me.

I returned it today and upon speaking with the 1st customer service agent she instructed me to go get a new one and she would scan that box. I did and when I returned there was now a new very young person who wasn't helpful in the least and gave me a most difficult time not wanting to exchange the fixture. I asked for her manager who was a toothless person who told me that my electrician must have sawed off the end of the attachement that goes into the base. You can clearly see that it add not been sawed.

When I suggested they may have modified the fixture of the past 3 years, he said they "never do that". How could I keep from laughing...crying or yelling. I then asked for his boss, now the new fixture has been completely dismantled, he removed the fiber glass and it went everwhere ... his boss hears the story and told them to just box up the new one for me.

Now why couldn't they have just done this in the beginning rather than waste 1/2 hour and treat me so poorly?

My floor now has 2 holes from the fixture falling, I am only grateful that it didn't hit me, the last fall was a near miss. My flooring is a swedish hardwood made for commerical dance floors and can take a great deal of abuse.

Imelda of Chihuahua, Mexico, was unhappy when a Home Depot employee suggested an off-the-books transaction (5/22/01):

Yesterday, an employee at the Lee Trevino St. store in El Paso, TX, tried to sell me a product at a cheaper cost. This person just took the product out of the store and tried to charge me for it without paying at the cashier. I could not believe my eyes of what was happening and made him turn the product back to the store to be paid. When this happened, I was in a hurry to go back to Chihuahua, so I did not report him to the manager, but I feel it is my obligation to report it some way. Home Depot's own employees are taking products and selling them outside the store without any type of hesitation.

Gareth of Stanford, CA, writes:
On May 22, 2001 at approximately 6pm, I went to the Home Depot to buy a 6'x8' piece of carpet padding. After finally locating a sales associate (Nancy) in the carpet department, I told her what I needed and she proceeded to get a 6' wide roll and cut an 8' piece of the roll. She then wrote up the sales slip which said it was for 10.5+ square yards. When I questioned the math, Nancy proceeded to get very surly and said she got the figures off "the chart" and they were correct.

I told her there was no way that a 6'x8' piece of anything was 10.5+ square yards. She then asked if I wanted to speak to the Manager, which I did. We then went to the "Service Desk" to see the Manager, who was summoned from another part of the store. While we waited for him (Billy, Assistant Store Manager), I tried to explain to her that it was just a simple math problem. She then informed me that she no longer wanted to discuss the matter with me and I could "leave the store", which I refused to do.

When Mr. Kibbe arrived, he took Nancy into a back office. When he came out and approached me, he told me that he didn't accept anyone who "berated" his employees. When asked what he meant, he said that Nancy told him that I'd "called her every name in the book". When I told him that none of that had transpired, he told me he "did not need my business." When I explained to him that, over the years, I have spent many thousands of dollars at his store, and didn't feel that his comment was proper, he informed me that "I don't care if you've spent a million dollars in this store, I don't need your business".

Billy rewrote the sales slip for the correct square yardage with no appology for either his or Ms. Straight's behavior. This type of treatment in a retail store which purports to have "great customer service" is baffling. I will now tell everyone who asks me my opinion of the Home Depot exactly what I think of them and their "customer service".

James of Lake Grove, NY, writes (3/24/01):
Three months ago I purchased some power tools at Home Depot. One of the tools I bought was a porter cable jigsaw. I needed this item for a big job that started 01/10/01. The first time I used this tool it was not working correctly. So I went to the Home Depot in Setauket, New York on 01/13/01 to return it or get an even exchange. I had my original receipt, and in addition I had my ID card and my Home Depot commercial charge card.

I was told by a return personnel employee named Katy that she couldn't do anything because the tool wasn't under warranty. She said the tool was two years old. I didn't understand; I had just bought this tool three months earlier. I asked her if I could speak to a manager. "What don't you understand," she asked me. "There is nothing we can do." I asked once more to speak with a manager. She told me I was wasting her time and ordered me to leave the store. She then took my tool and threw it off her counter.

I asked another worker to get me a manager. The manager, Steve, came over to me and I told him what had happened. He replied, "Sir, I really don't think she would throw your tool. Maybe she lightly dropped it by accident." I then showed him the tool and receipt. He looked at it and laughed at me and said, "What is this, stolen?" He said this to me in front of other customers. He stated that he wouldn't take it back. I asked him why and his response was simply, "Because I don't feel like it." I told him that I didn't like the way he was speaking to me, and he told me to "take the tool and get out."

I was disrespected, humiliated, and embarrassed in front of customers. I also have other tools that have been sold to me "no longer under warranty." I would appreciate any help you can give me.

Rodney of Irvington, NJ, writes (1/16/01):
Here is a copy of the letter I sent Home Depot. My name is Rodney and I am a manager with Verizon in the Residential Sales and Service Center. I want to relate to you one of the most demoralizing, dehumanizing, and abusive situations I have ever experienced. Sounds like I've just been released from a foriegn prison? This actually happened at a Home Depot Store located in Bloomfield, New Jersey. I will try to be as brief as possible. I am currently working on the nursery for my child due in March. I have been buying all the materials from your store. Fortunately, I have always had the good fortune not to ever have to return anything up until Thursday January 11th. Under the advice of one of your representatives, I purchased some material on the above mentioned evening but as fate would have it turn out, it was the wrong item. About twenty minutes later, I returned to the store undaunted, thinking that I could still wrap this project up that evening. I asked the woman at the counter to allow me to exchange the item as opposed to returning it, because I had used my debit card to make the purchase and did not want the funds held up on my account up to five business days. She flatly stated that this was impossible to do. After several minutes of me trying to convey to her that these funds being held may hinder my purchasing more, she finally called a manager who in the span of thirty seconds, advised her to send me to get the items I required, which would have added up to more than my previous purchase, and then I would pay the difference then. Fine. I then proceeded to the department to get the item I needed. I asked a young lady could she help me find it. She was a very pleasant young lady. Unfortunately, she couldn't help me but got on the loudspeaker to call someone for me. I stood by the desk in the department and asked each employee that walked by were they there to help me and each responded no and went on their way. This went on for a total of fifteen minutes before the above mentioned young lady returned and asked had they helped me yet. I responded no and she got on the "horn" once again and called for someone again. I waited for another ten to fifteen minutes until she returned again and said she would help me. She tried but couldn't and we proceeded together to find someone who could. To my relief, we found someone two aisles over but to my disappointment, he never looked up to acknowledge us and simply stated "What's there is there." I am finished because at this point, I have spent almost forty five minutes in this location with no satisfaction. I resigned myself to the idea that I would not finish the project that night and I would just get my money back and try my luck at a more "customer friendly" location. I went back up front to the woman and said to her that I would require a refund because after all the time I spent in the store, no one had helped me and to be perfectly honest, had not earned the money that Home Depot had of mine. She began to process the return. I had a sales receipt. The cashier who rung me up was a few feet away. This woman asked me for ID. I am astonished that after being inconvenienced by all the above mentioned items, they now want me to prove I am who I'm supposed to be? In haste to get back to the store, I took the contractor's truck and forgot my drivers license. I was informed that it is impossible to process a return without it. Impossible? To quote the cashier, "We cant just return anything to just anybody!" I again related my experience in this torture chamber and a manager was called. I told him my dilemma and he stated also that it was impossible. Impossible? He then asked me if I had a military ID. I told him no. "What about a state ID like welfare or something?" he asks. I am now a little upset and rightfully so. I told him I had my work ID, the Debit Card the purchase was made on and my Corporate Card. "No good" he said. "Cant be done." I am now standing in the front of Home Depot begging for my hard-earned (and totally unearned by Home Depot) money back. I even called an acquaintance of mine who is a manager at another one of your locations to vouch for me. After my buddy spoke to the manager on duty, he then comes back to me and says "can't be done." Keep in mind we are talking about only ninety-two dollars. Nevertheless, its my ninety-two dollars. I left. All the way home, I thought about how the manager had spoken to me. He was condescending and made it obvious that I was beneath him. Welfare ID? I don't think so. I returned with the contractor and had to have him fill out the document and use his Drivers License to get my money back. My money!? I stated that it was my belief that if I was "white" that I would not have had to spend my whole evening begging for my money back. At that time a male worker walked around the counter, pushed me out of the way, and left the area. I didn't say anything to him because here I am, a black man, with dirty work clothes on surrounded by a group of people who have shown nothing but contempt for me. I have been in touch with my attorney as I will be filing a suit against Home Depot for violation of both my Human and Civil Rights. Keep in mind that this document does not contain "all" details. However, they will be outlined in my complaint against your company. I will be forwarding a copy of this letter to the Reverend Al Sharpton. This type of treatment cannot and will not be tolerated by anyone again. Here is your return policy copied verbatim off of your web site to remind your associates. "The Home Depot stands behind every product we sell. If for any reason you're not 100% satisfied with any purchase, return it for a full refund or exchange. No questions asked." "Gift Cards purchased on-line at homedepot.com may be returned for a full refund at any Home Depot store, EXPO Design Center, or Villager's Hardware store. To locate a store nearest you, use our on-line store locator." "Because your satisfaction is so important to us, we work hard to offer you the best service everyday. If you'd like to learn more about our guaranteed low prices, special orders, free potting, and more, visit our everyday services page." Thank you for your time.

Jacqueline of Bronx, NY, writes (11/17/00)
I called Home Depot on 11/16/00 to see if my Armstrong commercial tiles came in that I purchased on 11/11/00. During the phone conversation a customer service person informed that my merchandise was not pay for. In order to get special color tiles you must pay when you place your order. This customer service person then told me that I never paid to have my tiles delivered which, in fact, I did 11/11/00.

I then got into my car and drove to Home Depot in Yonkers. I saw the salesman in flooring who helped me and explained to him what happened. The salesman stated that the customer service lady had looked on the wrong screen on the computer, that my order was paid for.

I than asked the salesman about the delivery of my tiles. He spoke with the assistant manger whose name is Ed from flooring. This assistant manger did not take the time to look on the computer screen to see that I had paid for delivery before he stated so rudely that I did not pay for delivery. Then he stated that I could not get delivery until sometime on Saturday between the hours of 7am and 2pm.

I asked could he give me a window time and once again he displayed a very nasty dispostion towards me. I asked to speak with another manager and he stated he is the manager and there was no one else who could help me. I feel that it is very disturbing that it this big store there was only one nasty manager who talks like he had no upbringing. It makes me wonder if I was a different color would he have talk to me in the same manner.

I don't I would want to shop at Home Depot any more after I was treated in such a way.

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