Last Saturday, 1/11/03, I needed to replace the water heater in the condo I own in Santee but have rented out. As I live in Poway (about 20 miles north of Santee), I called the Santee store to make sure they had the 40 gallon electric water heater with a 9-year warranty in stock. After about 10 minutes on hold, I was assured that the Santee store had 3 or 4 in stock.
I accordingly traveled to the condo, disconnected the water lines and opened the drain valve to allow the old water heater to drain.
I then went to the Santee store to pick up the new water heater. But guess what. They did NOT have the 40 gallon, 9-year warranty, electric water heater in stock. They offered to "SPECIAL ORDER IT FOR ME." When I explained my situation to them, their attitude was one of "TOO BAD!"
I really wanted something better than the 6-year water heater, but they would not even offer me a discount on the 12-year price. Had Home Depot been honest with me on the phone, I would have located another source for the water heater (Sears had them on sale for a few dollars less). However, having no other option, I picked up the 6-year water heater.
All I can say about this is that Home Depot can count themselves lucky they do not have any front windows in their stores, because should this cheap water heater fail before 9 years, you would give it back to Home Depot through the front window! As it stands now, they may rest assured that Dixieline and Lowe's will get a lot more of my business. I am through with Home Depot and I will NOT hesitate to spread the word about their shabby treatment of customers.
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