Sometimes it pays to complain!

KE2KB

Hi all;
Last week, I went to my local Home Depot store and purchased two vanity lights for my bathroom. I noticed some rattling in one of the boxes, more so than the other, but thought it was the hardware floating around inside.

When I got the lamps home, I found that the glass mirrored panels in both lamps to be broken. One was completely shattered, the other was cracked completely across.

I went right back to the store, and returned the lamps, then purchased two different ones, without the glass. I figured that if two out of two had been broken, I didn't want to chance picking up two more from the shelf.

The new ones were fine, and I installed them.
Then I went online to Home Depot's web site, and wrote an e-mail to let them know that something is wrong with either the shipping system (from mfr or warehouse to the store), or the handling of items in the store.
I didn't really expect much, but knew I would get at least a reply.

I received an e-mail within hours. They decided to send me a $50 gift certificate. I guess HD really takes customer satisfaction seriously.
I received the gift certificate today, and plan to use it very soon.

I have been shopping a lot at Home Depot, and was curious as to whether they have access to that information. Then, on the other hand, while I do shop there a lot, I don't usually spend a lot of money. So it probably has nothing at all to do with the frequency at which I shop there.

A happy customer is one who will return, and refer others to the store.

AllanJ

Did the boxes show any sign of crushing or mishandling?

Sometimes I will open the box and inspect the contents in the store. I am fully prepared to say to an inquisitive clerk, "Exactly one of these two sentences is true: 'I will buy it' and two, 'It is defective'. "

__________________
The average homeowner who lost his house in the Oklahoma tornadoes should move for good and not rebuild. Too much complexity watchdogging the contractor. Too much a chance to be defrauded.

gma2rjc

I was at the Home Depot Saturday evening. I needed some foam and caulk that are fireproof or at least will block a fire from entering the attic once I fill all of the penetrations into the attic. I found the 'Great Stuff' fireblock foam easily enough and didn't have any questions about it. An employee directed me to the paint department for the fire barrier caulk. An employee showed me the 4 caulks they had for this. I was barely able to reach them, they were up on the highest shelf. I read the info on each tube, but couldn't find what I needed to know. When an employee came over and asked if I needed any help, I asked him 6 or 8 questions and he looked for the answers on the tubes. I had no clue as to which tube to buy, so I got the most expensive one thinking it probably has something going for it if it's twice as much as the cheapest one. Just a guess.

I thought my questions were pretty basic: What do all these letters and numbers mean (CP 25WB+ and different letters/numbers on the other tubes), can this be used in an attic when the temperature is below freezing, will it set-up properly in low temps, what does 'Intumescent' mean, is this for interior or exterior use, the tube says it's used for 'HVAC duct penetrations' - what is the temperature range of the ducts I can use it on, how wide of a gap can I use it on, etc. The poor guy didn't have one answer for me. I told him (nicely) that I'd call 3M on Monday to ask them my questions. But, doesn't it seem like the employee should have been able to answer at least a few of the questions? Maybe I'll shoot for the $50 gift card too . Well, I won't do that, but it makes sense to e-mail HD to comment about the lack of information I needed to be able to know which tube to buy. I wouldn't say anything to get the employee in trouble but it wouldn't hurt HD to think about educating their employees about the products they sell .

Termite

The last thing you should ever do is go to a box store looking for advice from the employees. I don't mean to bag on them, but they are certainly not usually building professionals of any sort. That little "I help in all departments" writing on their orange aprons pretty much ensures that they'll help you reach things in high places, but doesn't mean they're experts in anything. Quite the contrary. I've overheard a number of conversations between customers and electrical aisle store employees that spooked me so bad that I approached the customer after the employee left to correct the bad advice that the employee gave them. My wife hates it when I do that.

ratherbefishin'

Yup, it helps to know exactly what you need in those places. Needed a T8 ballast last week and went to Lowe's (closest place). Had to ask where they were, couldn't see them buried behind a pallet of fixtures in the aisle. Had the old one with me, quickly matched it up, and the store "expert" started arguing with me that it wouldn't work because the red wire exited the ballast in a different place. Didn't matter to him that the specs and wiring diagrams on both ballasts matched. Followed me all the way to the checkout telling me how the store wouldn't be responsible when I burned my house down......

gma2rjc

At the very least, you've saved the customers from having to make a trip back to the store to get the right parts. But you never know, you may have prevented a few house fires too.

So, what's worse? Someone who doesn't know, or someone who doesn't know that he doesn't know? The sad thing about it is that people like me, who don't know the first thing about electrical, trust those employees to give the advice we need. I always thought employees in those departments knew their stuff.

Blondesense

I don't work for Lowes or Home Depot, but I do work for a major retailer. One day I had a customer come up to me with a can of flea powder and ask me if it had sulfides in it. ???? I took a moment to glance around and just from where we were standing in our store I could see thousands of different items.

Considering these are hourly employees working for retail wages, I think expecting that in depth knowledge of everything in the store (or even their own department) is unrealistic. Personally, I am happy if an employee will find me the correct aisle.

Sorry, off my soapbox now.

johnnydanger

I'm a big fan of Home Depot. I'm kinda like a kid in a candy store.

I try my best to research a project before I go get the materials. Most the time I'm prepared to go in there on my own. But when I'm impulse shopping I sometimes run into a situation where I need help.

One of my projects was to get crack sealer for my fireplace. I wanted something that I could apply with a caulk gun because it was an overhead crack and it wasn't that big. No one could help me figure out what would work for my application. Needless to say that project is on hold until I do some more research.

KE2KB

That's the strange part. There was no visible damage to either carton.
I should have suspected something when I heard all that rattling inside the one, but I think I had forgotton for the moment about the glass part.

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KE2KB

I have found that there are certain "times" when I should or should not go to Home Depot.
I often become so overwhelmed there, that I come out in a fog. There is something about the vastness of the store that intimidates me.
I need to limit my visits to when I am fully awake (had my java), know exactly what I need (after searching online), and don't try to ask any questions of the employees there.

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micromind

I have to agree with Blondesense above. I've been an electrician for 18 years now, and I still learn new things about the trade. To expect a store employee to possess enough knowledge to give advice to a DIYer is simply asking too much.

To me, a retail store is in business to sell things. I realize that having knowledgeable employees is certainly part of marketing, but it seems to me that the limit of this should be knowledge of the product, not knowledge of installation.

On the other hand, a DIYer with minimal knowledge would listen to just about anyone who appears to know something. I guess the key here is 'appears to know'. Unfortunately we as a society have been taught since birth to unquestioningly obey those in authority. A vest and nametag are usually considered authority........ Equally unfortunate is the teaching of the person wearing the vest and nametag that 'I don't know' is not an appropriate response.

Electrical is probably the worst offender here, there is so much mysticism in this trade it's pathetic. Usually along the lines of 'it has to be done like this', or 'that isn't code', or 'you can't do that'. Most of it is valid, some of it is pure garbage. How is your average DIYer supposed to know the difference? I don't have the answer, though a website like this is certainly a step in the right direction.

Rob