I wish to contribute to your Home Depot installation commentaries. I have obtained quotes from Home Depot for installed sales items on three occasions. In two of the instances, I had Home Depot install the products. They offered to out source the installation each time, subcontracting the work to a local installer.

The first time was to install a storm door. The installer did not secure the door jam plate with the two screws provided, but used one screw in the elongated hole for adjustments. The plate slid during use and on a windy day a week later, the door blew open hard, bent both control bars, and cracked the door jam at both hinges. They came back and bent back the door, but they said the door jam could not be replaced as it was not an easy job to do. This was not Home Depot's direct fault, but that screw was an unfortunate minor detail that cost my new house a door jam.

The second time was to install carpeting. Home Depot had good prices on carpeting but after they added the cost of the outsourced installation, the prices were higher than going directly to the local carpet store, which I ended up doing.

The third time, they had a local plumber install a General Electric 12-year self-cleaning 50-gallon water heater. If you have Home Depot install this product, they extend the warranty on parts and labor to lifetime. I was extremely pleased with the product, the installation, and the lifetime warranty. Even though I am moving to a new house and the warranty is not transferable to the new owners, it was a good purchase and I'm sure I will be doing it again in six years when once again the cheap water heater that comes with new houses ends it short and fuel-inefficient life.

Author's Note: Victor, there is a good chance that Home Depot is aware of data available through the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That data clearly shows that a large percentage of people only live in a particular home for a period of time less than the manufacturer's warranty period of an average water heater. If you are one of these people who moves from time to time just as the NAR data shows, Home Depot's liability ends the moment you move into the new home.

Column HD0002

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.

Thank you
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 14^th, 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 1^st 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 1^st & 2^nd roof.
8. Cleaning my own yard after the 1^st installation.
9. The front porch that leaked because of the poor roofing installation on the 2^nd roof.
10. Drip edge not replaced on 1^st 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

 

 

 

 

 

 

Column HD0001