HOME DEPOT

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I was working on a big project and needed their help. As is typical with homedepot, they usually have everything but finding someone can be difficult to help you in the store. I tend to seek out the older workers as they are usually nicer and more knowledgeable.

The salesman, John came out. (I didn't get his last name, and he had no business card--his name was an illegible scrawl on the estimate.) He was wearing a HD shirt and said he was an employee of HD. He showed me samples and gave me an estimate of $12,000 for new kitchen cabinet doors and a soffit above them. I have a small kitchen. Then he said that he would give me 10 percent off, but I HAD TO SIGN A CONTRACT ON THE SPOT. If I didn't, I wouldn't get the discount. He also said that I had to put 10% down on the spot, and PAY THE ENTIRE BALANCE when the "measurer" came out within three days--but I would not get the cabinets for 6-8 weeks. I told him that I have never paid a contractor in advance for a project, and I didn't plan on starting now. Then he said I could get a HD credit card and put the work on the card, with no interest. Against my better judgement, I said okay. Then his pen stopped working, and he had to borrow one of mine. Then he had to get my credit approved, so he had to call his out-of-state headquarters, but his cell phone died, and he borrowed mine (making a call for which I will be paying). Finally I was approved for the credit card, and he left. The next day, I started doing online research. HD has some poor reviews for contractor installation. In addition, some customers said their prices exceeded that of local people. I called the number on my paperwork and said I wanted to cancel. I was told that I had to fax a letter saying that to them, which was NOT A HD entity. I asked why I couldn't just go to my local HD and cancel, and the person on the line said that while they worked for HD, they were not HD, but HD could fax it for me. So the next morning, I went to HD and the store manager (who was very nice) faxed the cancellation for me. I thought that was the end of it. When I got home, I had a phone call from a Linda Sykes at the installation company. She said she had my cancellation notice, but I had to call her before she'd process it. ??? I called, but instead of getting her, I got some very pushy, rude man who insisted that I was turning down a good deal. I said thanks but no thanks. He asked why I was "being so negative." I told him again that the business of having to sign on contract on the spot to get a discount AND being expected to pay for an entire job up front were poor business practices--as is claiming they are direct employees of HD, which they don't seem to be. He said that if I were dealing with a small company, they could afford to get payment for a job after it was done, but a huge company like HD could not afford to do that. HUH? That's not the way I learned it when I was taking MBA classes. Finally, he said my order was cancelled and I got off the phone with the guy. The company might have done good work, or not. The price might have been right, or not. But my gut told me that any place with bad business practices probably isn't a good company with which to do business.

Bought a stove for my daughter and was very pleased with the helpfulness of the sales person. Ron Reynolds pulled up pricing for every stove we considered and assisted us with making the best choice. He provided details, including the fact that the cord has to be purchased separately, and gave advice on the best products to use to keep the glass top clean. Once we made our choice, he walked with us to the check-out to make sure that the process went smoothly. This was a much better experience than I had with a recent purchase at a local appliance store and I would definitely do business with this Home Depot again.

They don’t stand behind their product and I will not be going back. If I want to exchange something they argue with me about returning it.

We liked that they had a good variety of products. They sent enough people to do the work within three days. They warrantied their work and will honor the warranty with out a hassle.