Home Depot and Don Wenzel Oxford Michigan

By Tim Carter
©1993-2009 Tim Carter

Summary: Home Depot contracted to install a roof on Mr. Wenzel's house in Oxford, Michigan. But the day the shingles were delivered, problems started. Mr. Wenzel had to even go buy more shingles and nails using his own money to finish the job.

Important Note: Numerous photos of the roofing job are at the bottom of this column.

On September 14, 2005, Don Wenzel of Oxford, Michigan received a quote for a new roof from Home Depot. The Home Depot quote was one of four, the other three quotes coming from traditional roofing companies. The three roofing companies produced bids of $5,160.00, $5,545.00 and $5,900.00. Home Depot's quote was for $7,465.00.

Mr. Wenzel selected Home Depot's higher bid to achieve peace of mind since he had "...heard a lot of horror stories of bad roof jobs." Even though the quote produced by Home Depot's Roofing Consultant Mr. Justin Parker was $2,305.00 higher than the lowest quote, Mr. Wenzel signed a contract with Home Depot on September 21, 2005. "Mr. Parker told me that a project manager is assigned to each project and that I would not have any problems because the project manager takes care of everything. Wow, it would be worth it," said Mr. Wenzel.

On page one of the contract, among other things, it clearly states: ".....("Home Depot") to furnish, deliver and arrange for the installation of all materials....."

The problems started on October 25, 2005 when the materials for the job were delivered. Evidently the crew that operated the boom conveyor truck damaged Mr. Wenzel's front gutter. Mr. Wenzel immediately placed a call to Ms. Amanda Park, the Home Depot coordinator assigned to the Wenzel job. Ms. Park never returned the phone call.

On October 28, 2005, the roof work started. At the end of the second day of work, October 29, 2005, the installation crew informed Mr. Wenzel that they were short 22 bundles of shingles and asked Mr. Wenzel to call the local Home Depot store to see if the shingles were in stock. The shingles were in stock and the crew asked Mr. Wenzel to help pick them up.

Once at the Home Depot store, no prior arrangements had been made for the payment of these extra materials. To make matters worse, while at the Home Depot store Mr. Wenzel received a phone call from his wife who was still at home. The installer needed more nails and if the shingles and nails were not brought back, the job could not be completed that night.

Mr. Wenzel was forced to pay for the materials using his own Home Depot charge card. The materials cost an extra $407.44. The first roof job was completed on October 31, 2005. Yes, I said "first", because Mr. Wenzel eventually had two roofs installed on his house.

The following day, November 1, 2005, Mr. Wenzel called Mr. Jim Johnson at Home Depot. Mr. Johnson was now the new project manager for the Wenzel job. The call concerned a list of problems with the job including, but not limited to:

  • the appearance of the ridge vent
  • silicone caulk on flashings and shingles
  • damaged shingles
  • shingles placed in Mr. Wenzel's garbage even though the Home Depot contract clearly states Home Depot will take away all debris to an approved disposal facility

On Saturday November 5, 2005, workers were scheduled to come out and repair some of the problems with the roof. Mr. Wenzel stayed home all day and no one showed up. Even though the contract with Home Depot stated that the installation crew would provide continuous cleanup, magnetically sweep the job site for nails and other metal, clean out the gutters and haul away all job-related debris to an approved disposal facility, Mr. Wenzel cleaned up nails, paper, staples and glass left behind by the installation crew. He did this while he waited for the repair crew that never arrived.

The following Monday, November 7, 2005, Mr. Wenzel tried to call Mr. Johnson at the beginning of the workday and got no answer. He then called Home Depot's National Customer Care Center at 888-681-7221 and spoke with Eileen. After speaking with Eileen, Mr. Johnson called Mr. Wenzel and said someone would be at his home between 11:00 a.m. and Noon to begin the repairs. Mr. Wenzel left work to come and meet the workers. By 3:30 p.m. no one had shown up.

Mr. Wenzel got on the phone and spoke with yet another person at Home Depot named Sherry. She informed Mr. Wenzel that no one would be out today as they did not have the needed materials for the repairs. Mr. Wenzel call the Home Depot National Customer Care Center once more on or about 3:45 p.m to complain.

On November 9, 2005, Home Depot assigned a third project manager to the Wenzel job, a Mr. John Roberts. Mr. Roberts talked with Mr. Wenzel and said a new crew was coming out to install new flashing, drip edge and a new roof.

Two days later on November 11, 2005, a second crew arrived and installed all new flashing, drip edge and shingles. Although it took the first crew four days to complete the job, this new crew was able to do all of the work in one day.

Mr. Wenzel looked at the work from the ground late in the day after he got home from work and all appeared to look fine. But the following day, he got up on the roof and discovered three pieces of cracked and broken vinyl siding. Some of the siding had holes in it exposing the wood sheathing to the elements.

Mr. Wenzel then discovered holes in window screens and tar marks on windows. On November 16, 2005 Mr. Wenzel then discovered a shingle in his front yard. Mr. Wenzel made repeated phone calls to try to get the mistakes repaired and was told that on November 25, 2005 the work would be completed and all damaged items repaired.

Mr. Wenzel told the Home Depot representatives that he would be out of town that day and the individual said it made no difference since the workers would be outdoors and would not need access to the inside of the house.

When Mr. Wenzel returned home on November 28, 2005, no repair work had been started.

On December 1, 2005, someone arrived and replaced the missing shingle that had dropped to the ground.

Mr. Wenzel originally had square, static exhaust vents on his old roof. These were removed and replaced with ridge ventilation. But he discovered after looking in the attic, that the holes in the wood roof sheathing were not repaired. The installation crews had simply installed large pieces of metal over the holes and nailed shingles into the metal.

Mr. Wenzel also was told he needed five, new soffit vents, but these were not installed by either of the two roofing crews.

On December 13, 2005, Mr. Wenzel sent to Home Depot's corporate headquarters, via certified mail, a complete journal of events, receipts, copies of all documents, etc. He also hand delivered the same materials to the original Home Depot store near his home on December 13, 2005. The day before, on December 12, 2005, Mr. Wenzel faxed the identical documents to Rick Lewis, a Home Depot branch manager in Taylor, Michigan.

Mr. Wenzel contacted me on January 18, 2006 having not heard anything from Home Depot since the middle of December when the documents were mailed and delivered to Home Depot. I reviewed his documents and photographs and talked with him on the phone several times to ask questions.

At 10:45 a.m. Eastern Time on February 8, 2006, I sent the following email to Home Depot via an email link I discovered in the media section of their website:

Dear Public Relations Department:

I am getting ready to publish a story concerning a significant customer complaint that has been brought to my attention. It is my intention to include in the story an official statement from Home Depot about this situation.

The story concerns Mr. Donald Wenzel, Oxford, Michigan 48371.

He contracted with you months ago to have a new roof installed via your Installed Sales division. Documentation in my possession clearly shows he had numerous problems with the job. Furthermore, there are still unresolved issues.

Mr. Wenzel hand delivered a letter and journal of events on December 13, 2005 to Dan the Assistant Manager at your store located at:

4150 Joslyn Road
Auburn Hills, MI 48326

He also faxed a copy of the same documents to Rick Lewis, 25911 Northline Commerce Dr., Taylor, MI 48180 on December 12, 2005.

In addition, he sent a copy of the documents to your corporate headquarters on December 13, 2005 via certified mail. I have a copy of all documents, photographs and a copy of the certified mail receipt in my possession.

I would like to get an official response from you concerning the status of this complaint. I would also like to know why more than seven weeks has gone by and Mr. Wenzel has yet to hear from your corporate headquarters.

Time is of the essence.

You can call me if you like, but I would prefer a written response.

At 2:39 p.m. on February 8, 2006, Mr. Yancey Casey from Home Depot left a message on my voice mail. He identified himself as the head of public relations for Home Depot's northern division.

An hour later, we spoke after I returned his call. I explained that I was writing this story and asked for their cooperation. Mr. Casey indicated that my email was the first he had heard about any problem with Mr. Wenzel. I made it very clear that I did not want to publish the story until I had an official response from Home Depot. Mr. Casey said they sincerely appreciated that and unfortunately some publishers do not contact them before going to press. I asked him how long it would take before I got a response and he said two days which meant on or before February 10, 2006.

On February 9, 2006, I received a follow-up phone call from Mr. Casey telling me that a project manager met with Mr. Wenzel today (February 9, 2006) to review the issues and create a punch list. Mr. Wenzel evidently signed a document that said the satisfactory completion of the punch list items will resolve the quality issues (see below for a correction of this statement).

The project manager also assured Mr. Wenzel that the timing of the repairs would be decided upon no later than February 10, 2006. Home Depot also processed a credit to Mr. Wenzel's credit card for the amount of $407.44 to repay him for the materials he had purchased three months ago on October 29, 2005.

I have since talked with Mr. Wenzel and told him that he needs to inspect the roof himself or hire a professional inspector to ensure that the roof was installed in accordance with all of the conditions and promises made in the original Home Depot contract and in accordance with all of the written installation instructions provided by the different manufacturers of the products used on Mr. Wenzel's home. He told me he would make sure that would happen.

Mr. Wenzel emailed me on February 12, 2006 with these comments:

"My wife met with Jim Johnson & John Roberts on February 9, 2006. She signed a punch list of items they could see from the ground and attic. Because of the ice & snow on the roof, they said they will return on Wednesday to complete the punch list. Of course this can only happen if they can safely get on the roof. I asked my wife if she had made a copy of the list she signed and she did not. Cherokee from the Home Depot is mailing me a copy of the punch list. I did not sign a document that the satisfactory completion of the punch list items will resolve the quality issues."

This story will continue to be updated as more details from either Mr. Wenzel or Home Depot become available.

The things on my personal punch list for this situation are the following:

  • I await the written answer from Home Depot as to why Mr. Wenzel heard no response until I finally emailed Home Depot. Had I not emailed Home Depot, would they have responded to Mr. Wenzel? If so, when?
  • Was the second roof installed by Home Depot done correctly and in accordance with all codes, industry standards and written manufacturers' instructions?
  • Will all punch list items be completed in a timely manner, weather permitting?

August 1, 2006:

Don Wenzel

946 Crestmoor

Oxford, Michigan

August 1, 2006

 

Rick Lewis

Branch Manager

THD At Home Services

25911 Northline Commerce Drive

Taylor, Mi 48180

 

Dear Rick Lewis:

I am writing to express my continuing dissatisfaction with Home Depot's poor customer service, the quality of service, slow response, broken promises and character of the employees. 

Below is a copy and paste of your email from 06/20/06. 

Mr. Wenzel

Your claim # 20060638203 you should be contacted shortly.
I spoke to the DM about the compensation he is offering 5% of the
contract price ($352.87) again Mr. Wenzel this is something we don't do,
I will need a settlement letter signed by you. This is something we can
do via mail if that is agreeable to you. Please just let me know.

Thankyou
Rick Lewis
Branch Manager Detroit

What is your definition of shortly? Two more days will be six weeks and I have not received any information about claim # 20060638203 from Sedgwick Insurance. When I emailed Sedgwick Insurance they could not release any information because it is confidential. My ceiling was damaged on 3-29-06 it has been over four months and my ceiling still is not repaired.

I will not sign anything until I am 150% satisfied with my Home Depot roofing project.  When you presented the 5% compensation (Our total bill is $7,465.00) to your District Manager did you refresh his memory of all the problems this project has had since September 14th, 2005?

  1. Three roofs
  2. Over $1000.00 in damage to my house:
    • gutter damage
    • screen damage
    • siding damage
    • cracked ceiling
  3. $407.44 over for extra material to complete the 1st roof that took many phone calls and a several months to resolve to finally get it taken off my billing.
  4. Improper soffit installation.
  5. Gutters not cleaned out after 3 roofing installations.
  6. Roof vents not repaired properly.
  7. Flashing not replaced on 1st & 2nd roof.
  8. Cleaning my own yard after the 1st installation.
  9. The front porch that leaked because of the poor roofing installation on the 2nd roof.
  10. Drip edge not replaced on 1st roof.
  11. I was told my roof would be done in one day and now after ten months the project still is not complete.

 

Below is a copy and paste from your web site:

A Complete Solution for Your Peace of Mind

Professional installation
The Home Depot's authorized and insured installation professionals meet or exceed the most stringent standards in the industry to ensure a proper and complete installation.

Your Home depot truck states, " Expert Installation ".

Justin Parker, our sale's representative, stated a Project manager (Don Jacob) would be assigned to our project and I "wouldn't have to do a thing".  Your quote was $2,305.00 more than my lowest proposal.  I felt it would be worth it for having a Project manager take care of everything.  I don't feel like I got $2,305.00 worth of services from Home Depot.  I've spent numerous hours letter writing, setting up appointments, and time in phone conversations.

This is from one of your Home Depot GAF Documents:

FINAL INSPECTION - Performed by GAF's factory inspection team after the job has been completed-for the ultimate peace of mind!

I question if the GAF inspector is employed by Home Depot?  The quality of my second roof was so poor that during the winter months I had water coming through my front porch light and down my porch walls.  See the photo to show that GAF Weather Watch was not put on the deck and you could see the bare wood.  None of the flashing was replaced, the roof vent holes were covered with aluminum instead of wood (for the second time).  On November 15, 2005, my second roof was GAF approved.  On April 6, 2006 my third roof was approved by the same GAF inspector.  Do I have "Peace of Mind"?

 

Total project management
A dedicated team of professionals will manage your job every step of the way to ensure a professional and complete installation. From your in-home consultation to the completed installation, we'll handle all the details
.

 

This statement is false.  Phone calls were not returned, appointments were set up and no one showed up or called to let me know they were not coming.  In November 2005 my Project Manager, Jim Johnson told me I would be financially compensated.  During our March 2006 conference call with three Home Depot employees, I asked about financial compensation and was told we could not talk about it until the project was complete.  The project is near completion, except for the latest event of a cracked ceiling.  A 5% compensation was offered.  I expect to be compensated for - (1) The days of work I took off to meet with a Home Depot employee and they never showed up for the appointment. (2) The time it took to write letters. (3) The time for phone calls to Home Depot "Customer Care". I feel this was the job of the so called "Project Manager". I feel I managed my own roofing project to try and get that "complete solution for my peace of mind" you promised in your ads.

An unsatisfied Home Depot customer,

Don Wenzel

Allowing heavy trucks like this on a residential concrete driveway is dangerous. The enormous weight on the rear wheels can crack concrete or blacktop drives like a dry twig. PHOTO CREDIT:  Don Wenzel
Allowing heavy trucks like this on a residential concrete driveway is dangerous. The enormous weight on the rear wheels can crack concrete or blacktop drives like a dry twig. PHOTO CREDIT: Don Wenzel

Caulk is not needed on a roof that is properly installed. Properly designed and fitted flashings will stop leaks. PHOTO CREDIT:  Don Wenzel
Caulk is not needed on a roof that is properly installed. Properly designed and fitted flashings will stop leaks. PHOTO CREDIT: Don Wenzel

This nail popped back up through a shingle. That is a sign of poor workmanship. PHOTO CREDIT:  Don Wenzel
This nail popped back up through a shingle. That is a sign of poor workmanship. PHOTO CREDIT: Don Wenzel

Shingle manufactureres have strict locations for where nails should be driven in shingles. They must never be exposed to the weather like this. PHOTO CREDIT:  Don Wenzel
Shingle manufactureres have strict locations for where nails should be driven in shingles. They must never be exposed to the weather like this. PHOTO CREDIT: Don Wenzel

This caulk is unacceptable. The detail could have been easily flashed with 40-pound tin or copper. PHOTO CREDIT:  Don Wenzel
This caulk is unacceptable. The detail could have been easily flashed with 40-pound tin or copper. PHOTO CREDIT: Don Wenzel

The hole in the oriented strand board (OSB) roof sheathing should have been repaired with 2x4 blocking and a new piece of OSB cut to fit the hole. You can see a nail from a shingle through the metal in the one corner. PHOTO CREDIT:  Don Wenzel
The hole in the oriented strand board (OSB) roof sheathing should have been repaired with 2x4 blocking and a new piece of OSB cut to fit the hole. You can see a nail from a shingle through the metal in the one corner. PHOTO CREDIT: Don Wenzel

Accidents happen. Great contractors repair the damge immediately or at the very least report the damage to the owner. PHOTO CREDIT:  Don Wenzel
Accidents happen. Great contractors repair the damge immediately or at the very least report the damage to the owner. PHOTO CREDIT: Don Wenzel



Comments:

FM
04 Jan 2008, 07:39
I remember the day the first Home Depot opened. Curious and knowledgeable local employees warmed their customers who patronized Depots' business. The subcontractors of Home Depot were generally local residents who knew the areas weathers quirks. West of Lake Michigan gets a lot less rain & water vapor than the east side even though it's the same latitude. Again only the local resident laborers know best how to confront the issues.

20 plus years later Home Depot has signs of ageing, and rather ungracefully I must say. Dusty & dirty shelves, dusty merchandise employees who know nothing about the stocked merchandise. Generally it's out of town kids first job & they know nearly nothing about the building industry. Basically, they're there to stock shelves. Now days it's immigrant employees who are roaming there establishment. TOTALLY dumbfounded to Americas ways & materials. They're there as cheep labor. (grrRRrrrrr)

I'm a general contractor who does the purchasing & installing for my customers. Home Depot has become a real irritant in there stocked materials and employees knowledge. Thirteen of the last fifteen visits Home Depot DID NOT HAVE what I needed for the local residents homes... PATHETIC! Menards has kept pace over the decades & I find what I need there almost 100% of the time. Loews is coming soon to our area but after visiting several stores I am not impressed. Their merchandise is a bit different than Menards & Depots and generally a little of lesser quality. But one has to understand the quirks and quality of any item it install it correctly.

I truly feel for Mr. Wenzel, I repair many-many-MANY homes after botched jobs of Depots' and the out-of-area subcontractors mistakes and of uncaring work. I hope you get your just rewards PLUS desserts for your troubles.
JS
14 Feb 2008, 15:38
Has Mr. Wenzel had all of the problems resolved? Was he compensated for all of his extra expenses/damages? The last update I see is from Aug. 1st 2006.
AsktheBuilder
15 Feb 2008, 15:55
JS,
It is my understanding that the issue was resolved, but at a huge emotional and possible equity loss with the home as the subroof may have been compromised with all of the abuse it took.
LCWaters
18 Mar 2008, 20:45
NOTE: This customer had a new second Roof installed free and all his money refunded. And is still protecting his home with a Home Depot Roof
AsktheBuilder
21 Mar 2008, 07:46
LC,
You forgot to mention that he *might* also have lost five years off his life from all of the stress.......
Alejandra Varela
28 Jun 2008, 13:05
The following is to share another unfortunate problem we have been having with Home Depot after they were contracted for the installation of three doors. We ordered 3 doors from Home Depot on January, 20th, 2008 and contracted their installation services as well. The doors were supposed to be installed within 3 weeks, and they were installed on 3/13/08, five weeks more from what they had told us. The day of the installation, the three doors were damaged/defective, and yet, against our wishes, the installers proceeded to install two of the doors, the third one (a security door) was not installed because it was broken in several pieces. The installers cracked the wall around the perimeter of the inside front door and left the installation of the front door and side door incomplete, wood exposed without capping, sealing or caulking. Since the front door was defective because the bolt and door handle were ridiculously low, they were supposed to come back to replace it and finish the installation within a week, that was 4 months ago. Since then, we have been trying to get Home Depot to honor their "customer for life" mantra but to this day continue to struggle with incompetent customer service and managers who flat out refuse to help us.
The day the installation was being done we contacted “Gary” the manager in charge of Millwork at the Home Depot Clifton Store and told him that there were problems with the doors and the installation, to this he said that the door had to be installed and they would later “fix the problem.” After getting no resolution from Gary for weeks, on 4/17/08 we contacted Home Depot Customer Service and were referred to Dennis Beavers whom assured us he would resolve this situation promptly. Dennis Beaver had a District Service Manager, Bob Rosso come to the house on 4/21/08 to assess the extent of the damages and complains and proceeded to assert that we will be getting a new front door. On 4/24/08 Mr. Rosso called us to tell us that we needed to come to the Home Depot store in Clifton to pick out a door. While in the store, without our knowledge, we were brought into a meeting room with 3 different managers. The store manager Mark Scalfani, belittle, and bullying us throughout the meeting, saying: that “I looked at your file, and we have had problems with you before,” which is completely incorrect. Mark Scalfani was resistant to getting us a new front door, resistant to capping the door which had been an eye-sore for 4 weeks. It was explained that all 3 doors were defective, workmanship was unsatisfactory by any standards. The manager remained resistant to working with us, saying that another door would be more expensive and he wasn’t going to “eat it,” and that any new door would take 4-6 weeks. Bob said that that was too long, especially since we had already patiently waited 4 weeks, and it was the front door. The meeting concluded with Bob Rosso telling the manager that we will be picking out another door, for which we gave specific measurements in order to avoid any further complications. Bob and another rep asked us to lift a credit dispute that I had unwittingly put on the account. I did not immediately do this, and HD installers came to install the security, with Bob looking over their shoulder, after this door was installed we proceeded to remove the credit hold. When the installers came, they were told to park in the driveway for their convenience, rather than on the street. When Alejandra arrived home, she saw their truck in the street. She also noticed a crushed solar lamp. The installers were asked if they damaged it, and they denied it, however, tire tracks were visible in the grass and dirt, which proved that they had broken it and lacked the integrity to admit it. Bob said that we would be reimbursed for that with $100.

On May 8th, 2008 Alejandra received a called from the installers, she proceeded to confirm the door measurements and they were incorrect! On May 17th Alejandra sent Mr. Rosso an e-mail advising him that the measurements were incorrect and to please look into the matter. On May 20th Alejandra finally heard from Dennis Beaver and he proceeded to ask her questions about the measurements that had been originally given to the home depot employee. She gave him the measurements again and he proceeded to assert that the door we had ordered was “not custom made” as a result, the measurements could not be made exactly to what we wanted. AT THIS POINT, I SAID TO HIM THAT THIS WAS IN CONTRADICTION TO WHAT WE HAD BEEN TOLD THE DAY OF THE MEETING AT HOME DEPOT. I SAID TO DENNIS THAT THIS IS A RECURRENT PROBLEM AND THAT WE ARE DEALING WITH THE SAME PROBLEM WE INITALLY HAD WITH THE FRONT DOOR. AFTER GOING BACK AND FORTH FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES ABOUT THE SITUATION, DENNIS SAID THAT HE NEEDED TO FURTHER INVESITIGATE WHY FRANK (the home deport employee who placed the ordered) HAD TAKEN THOSE MEASUREMENTS FROM US, AND WHAT HE HAD DONE WITH THEM. He then proceeded to ask whether “we could live with the door that had been ordered the second time?–the one with 641/2 peephole, 39” and 49.” Then he proceeded to say that “at this point there are three ways we could go, keep the door you have, take the door that was ordered the second time, or place a custom order, but that this would increase the value of the door”–implying that this would be OUR expense. During this conversation Dennis did not say that he would find a better way to resolve this problem. At the end of the conversation, he said he would be talking to me that week. At this point we proceeded to put a credit hold on the account for the amount of the door and the installation which was about $1,200.

If is obvious that now at Home Depot cares to resolve this matter, no one is acting responsibly, but continue to blame the customer when we have being waiting since 1/20/08 for the successful installation of our front door. Representatives say one thing and then deny it the following week, and/or need to check with another representative, and nothing is ever resolved and no apologies or courtesies are extended.

Most recently on 6/2/08 my husband called Home Depot cust svc and explained that we had a longstanding fiasco and were not receiving good customer support. The representative put him on hold and spoke to Dennis! Representative Abdi ((800-553-3199 x41553) came back and said that the matter had been resolved, that the installers are ready to install door with the correct measurements. Indeed the installation for the door was scheduled for June 23rd. But on June 16,2008 Alejandra received an e-mail from Mr. Rosso telling her that the installation would not be done until the credit hold was removed.

After, this we told home depot that we knew that they could do the installation with the credit hold on, (this had been confirmed by HD credit services), to this we got a call back on June 20th, 2008 from Dennis Beaver with Mr. Rosso on the other line, saying that they were not going to require us to remove the credit hold but that we had to sign a “Settlement and Release” form before they could do any work on our house. In other words, Home Depot wants us to release them of any future responsibility for work that has not yet been done?

So, we’re back at square one. We do not have the door we ordered, and what stands is not properly installed. No caulking was ever done, our wall remains damaged, and they are trying to force us to pay for a product and a service we have not received.

As a matter of courtesy to a customer who has been patiently waiting for 6 months and dealing with their foot-dragging and unethical tactics, they should be motivated to behave professionally and service the customer. After all, this total order is $3412, and we have spent over $15,000 at this Home Depot store the past 3 years. My wife and I have endured repeated and prolonged back and forth changing of stories and game playing. This is appalling, unprofessional, and disappointing from a retailer who enjoys the public’s trust.

The front door that was placed on 3/13/08 remains untouched! It remains because Home Depot’s installers refused to bring it back to the store and put our original door back on when they were told to do so (by store manager Gary) on 3/13/08. Gary did not come out to inspect the situation within 6 days, as he said he would. In fact, neither he nor anyone called or came to the house, except for Mr. Rosso. We have had to advocate for ourselves after weeks of inactivity on Home Depot’s part. Nothing has been done to rectify this situation. And all we have asked for is a door with doorknobs and a peephole where they are supposed to be.
This is the Home Depot at Clifton, NJ --
Richard
28 Jun 2008, 14:45
Regarding the above story about the debacle with the doors that my wife described, it could be said that the case is beyond absurd, Home Depot's representatives (store reps, customer service, and management) are a combination of incompetent and negligent, disrespectful, obnoxious, and unethical, who engage in, among other things, silly manipulation. They're trying to save about $300 by resisting, but they're obviously not smart enough to know they have already lost much much more than that in lost business by us and everyone we'll tell, as well as whatever bad word of mouth continues in the future. I will advise everyone I know to not shop at Home Depot unless they need an emergency piece of sandpaper.

Home Depot no longer deserves the public's trust.
John
18 Aug 2008, 13:05
Did anyone notice the ABC Supply employee riding up the conveyor. That is not safe.
me
23 Aug 2008, 01:09
Wow, I was a project coordinator for this Home Depot in Taylor a little while back and it was complete HORROR. The management was completely incompetent. You want to know what some of the issues? That Charokee woman you spoke with is a huge bully, and she refuses to let anyone else learn. The place is complete chaos to work at. Charokee's idea of training someone is to give them a book to read for a MONTH. When I tried to ask for more work she simply sighed and complained how busy she was and didn't have time to train. Uh, isn't that why I was hired? To help with the workload? Heaven forbid anyone help her and steal her glory! Heaven forbid the work gets done right-it's far more important for her to complain about all the "stupid customers" complaining about not getting what they were promised! When I tried to tell the equally awful manager above her, Tony, he claimed I was being passive aggressive by coming to him with what I noticed to be a big problem in the office-yet the crazy thing was in the break room it said if you are having issues with a coworker to come speak with him-and he even signed it!!! I tried calling the Human Resources since he wouldn't listen to me-but they didn't care. Sigh. I wanted to work hard and make a difference but they clearly don't care about their employees or about doing things right or ethical-I wouldn't have been a good fit there anyways. Firing me was the best thing they ever did-I now work for a company that respects my hard work and creativity, ability to make things work, and communication skills-making $75 an hour-compared to Home Depot's lowly $14 an hour! Anyways, long story short-sorry about what you went through! Just know their employee's who care so little about you live pretty miserable lives anyways-they are getting the payback for the bad karma they cause so many customers by having to work at that pitiful job!!
Suzanne Morrison
05 Oct 2008, 09:48
And the problems continue. This time with a fence. DO NOT EVER CONTRACT WITH HOME DEPOT. They do not follow the letter or the spirit of the contract you sign. We had to pay up front to install a fence. Should have known better. But we thought, Hey it's Home Depot and we can trust them. We thought, what do we know about local, smaller contractor's. We despite providing Home Depot with a survey of our plot (with measurements, DUH) they installed the fence on our neighbor's property. Wow, blocking sprinkler heads and all. Home Depot tells us to deal with Ultimate Installation, Ultimate Installation tells us they'll fix the situation (SEVENTEEN CALLS ALTOGETHER SO FAR!!!) and nothing provided but LIES!! Especially one from "Brian Smith" of Ultimate Installation. We have him on a voice mail message he left stating: "I've had a project manager come out and double check and the fence is on you're property" He said he'd even provide us with documentation. BULLPUCKY! I'm so fed up I've filed a complaint with Consumers Affairs and on Monday I'm going to start sharing my experience with the local news stations and radio stations. I'm so mad that I'm ready to make this my new hobby until Home Depot makes good on the contract.

     View all comments
*Name:
Email:
Notify me about new comments on this page
Hide my email
*Text:
Security Image:

Visual CAPTCHA


 
Contact us to Advertise on this site.
Have a Suggestion?

Ask the Builder Comment Help

Helpful Comment Tips: If you need help with a problem, please try these things now before you type in a comment. You could discover your answer in just minutes.
Don't show this alert again.