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TinksPixieDust
06-14-2012, 02:27 PM
I'm venting... no need to read its rather long....

I bought a Cub Cadet lawn tractor on Monday 6/11/12 at the Nashua, NH store at around 630pm ( so says my receipt) after getting there around 545/550ish. We went to check out to try and find where we should go and they told us we had to go to customer service. So we waited in customer service line and they said they had to call someone from garden to help us…. they were short staffed which was fine so we waited until he came up front we told him the make and model… and then we had to wait 20 minutes for him to go out back and look up the SKU, all the while we rented the delivery truck so we could get it home bc we weren’t so sure my husbands pickup truck would be big enough. so we started the paperwork for that… we went out to the truck to see the mileage and the sku came back and we were rung up by someone else because between walking out to the building and walking back in to ring out it was time for the girls lunch break so she passed us off to someone else.… then they sent us out back where they store the tractors (outside) so it was filthy dirty with pollen and dirt which has been exceptionally bad in the northeast this year. They said that they could hose it down but seeing at they had been moving at snails pace and more concerned talking about their breaks we declined and said we will just wash it when we got home. They checked the oil and then said all we had to do was connect the battery and we were good to go. After taking a short chit chat break with other employees they finally helped my husband ( who did most of the work) load the mower into the rented truck that didn’t have bungee chords or anything to help secure it. Fine. We made it work. We had to drive super slow about 25-30 minutes away so that the tractor wouldn’t come through the back window. We got home and my husband had to bring the truck back right away so we would not be charged for overage bc after 75 minutes you got recharged. so my father in law and I attached the battery and filled the gas then tried to turn it on… nothing…tightened the battery re read the instructions on the machine and in the booklets. Nothing was happening so we figured it was a dead battery. Called my husband who was still up there. He talked to the Customer Service Desk and Garden and they gave him a “new” battery. My husband got home and by this time it was 845pm and dark out. Garden suggested we jump start the battery because the tractors had been sitting out back. We did and the light came on but tractor wouldn’t start. Too late to change the “new” battery without the neighbors wanting to hurt us for starting a tractor at 9pm (which was only an old battery from another mower because it too was covered in pollen.) Pushed the tractor across our whole lawn to get it into the shed so it was inside and out of the rain that was starting. It rained all day pretty heavily Tuesday (6/12/12) We both got home from work and it cleared for a few minutes so we pulled out the tractor and put in the “new” battery. Put the brake on, made sure the transmission was in the right hook, choke was pushed on and tried to start it. This time it turned over but when you went to slide it down to run it completely shut off. WE tried for an hour and half, troubleshot on cub cadet website. Checked for anything else like sparkplugs and loose connections. Nothing. I think that machine was just broken. So we wanted to return it. It was now late and we would not make it up to HD in time to return it so we pushed it back in the shed called Home Depot to tell them we would be there tomorrow to return. Girl at Desk said no problem just drain the gas. So 6/13/12 we get out of work, had my brother in law and his friend help us load it onto a pick up drove to HD and everyone was really helpful. We gave them the paperwork, we didn’t want to exchange we just wanted a refund. The tractor just would not work. A lovely gentleman waited outside with us until his garden counterpart could help us roll it off the back of the truck. THIS is where I have an issue. He knew that the tractor would not start because they called down to him when we first got there and asked when we bought it and what was wrong with it. It took him 20 minutes to come out front to help us. Again, wasn’t took worried about it because I understand people are busy and we needed to wait our turn. BUT the FIRST thing he said to us was “It wont start? That’s funny because it looks like it has been used” I am so angry that he accused us of using a machine and breaking it for SO many reasons. He attacked our credibility. And the REASON it was dirty was because they keep them outside not under covers and we didn’t ask them to clean it because they were taking so long. We also purchased it on Monday NIGHT and it rained ALL day Tuesday and All Wednesday morning so I’m not really sure WHEN he thought we used it. I understand that people cheat the system and they don’t like to get burned but to say that to a customer as soon as you walk out. And he KEPT saying it looks like its been used. Well it looks like its been used… after it was a huge pain to find someone to help us, wait an hour and half to purchase something that we knew what we wanted, drive back and forth when we told HD it wouldn’t start Monday night to have someone jaunt out front and say that. RUDE. Precisely why we did not exchange. We went to store that has always had impeccable customer service and actually STARTED the tractor for us BEFORE it left the store. And it only took us 15 minutes to pick out and purchase the mower and leave the store.


i know its not the worse thing in the world but I was just SO angry when we left. Of course, I didnt say anything to theguy because I hate public confrontations...I just stared at him like REALLY.... my husband got the worst of it. hahaha I went on a rant as soon as we drove away.

And I'm done and feel so much better... Have a happy Flag day!

MNNHFLTX
06-14-2012, 02:40 PM
Wow, that does sound like it was a pain! Sorry for the aggravation. We don't do a lot of shopping at Home Depot anymore because their customer service has gone downhill. Lowe's has too, but not as much.

dnickels
06-14-2012, 03:06 PM
Ugggh, sorry to hear that. I would think that anyone who knows anything about a lawn mower would be able to tell the difference between some pollen/dust on the mower and actually being used. If it's been used the blades would be worn of their paint and there'd be grass under the mower deck. Anyone who has tried to clean one of those things knows it's impossible to get all the grass out.

tiggerbuddy
06-14-2012, 04:21 PM
Thats why I go to Lowe's...Better cust svc

DizneyRox
06-14-2012, 07:33 PM
Never buy a lawn tractor at Lowes/HD for this reason. They don't know what they are doing. Visiting your local [insert brand here] dealer will get you a better deal in many cases as well as better service.

brad192
06-14-2012, 09:27 PM
Wow! I guess Home Depot has never had any Disney customer service training! LOL!

Eight simple words to remember if this situation ever comes up again: "Let me speak to your store manager - NOW!" This statement, more times than not, will get results. I've used it a number of times & almost always get the desired results. When I don't, I simply tell the manager that I will NEVER shop at their store again, and encourage my family & friends to do so as well.

There is NO excuse for poor customer service.

Ian
06-14-2012, 09:30 PM
Just like all the other big box stores, the customer service at HD is atrocious.

Disney Doll
06-15-2012, 04:31 PM
You should email the customer service link on the HD website. This is better than just speaking with a manager because those websites usually trickle down to the store manager from the corporate level. That store manager needs to know that his/her team lost a customer so that he/she has an opportunity to address the situation with the staff.

PAYROLL PRINCESS
06-22-2012, 09:17 PM
I too would have asked to speak to the store manager. I know the customer service in Marlborough, MA was fantastic when my hot water heater went. We went and picked one up, my handy man hooked it up only to find out it didn't work. I called the store, 15 minutes before they were due to close. The manager told me to just come pick up the replacement and I could return the defective one later and they stayed and waited after hours for me to get there. I was really impressed. That was about 3-4 years ago. Then last year my sister and I both bought snow blowers in August. When she got her's home & was looking at it she noticed a part that was bent. It took them quite awhile to make good on it (like she had used it in Aug?) and they replaced it. They wanted her to bring the defective one back. She explained that we had used their truck and that was the only way to get it to and from the store. They ended up picking up and delivering the replacement one. Again, it was a case of going to the top of the food chain.

That's something our father taught us, don't waste your time with someone who can't help you. Go for the top dog.