Home Depot
Kitchen floor installation

Pasted below is an e-mail message I sent today to Home Depot Chairman and CEO Frank Blake regarding horrible customer service recently received from Home Depot and their subcontractors for a kitchen floor installation.

Mr. Blake&

I am calling to your attention a very poor and disappointing experience my wife and I had with Home Depot that has lasted several months. This message is long, but it is because there is so much to this story that Home Depot and its subcontractors have caused problems on.

We went to Home Depot store #1225 in Brooklyn, NY, in late November/early December and purchased a new linoleum floor with installation for our kitchen. The subcontracted estimating company, MeasureComp, came a few weeks later to create the estimate. The employee lifted up one tile from the floor to see what the flooring was underneath. Upon receiving the estimate, we scheduled the installation for January 16.

My wife was eight-months pregnant at the time, and she went with our two-year old son to her mother's house for two days in case any aspect of the installation might be unsafe for them. I emptied out the kitchen, and paid our super to disconnect the stove and fridge. I was given a timeframe of 1:00-3:00 for the installation team to arrive, the subcontractor was American Carpet South (ACS). They called me at 2:50 to say they’d be there in 25 minutes. They did not show up until 4:35, blaming it on another job running long, and made no mention of the fact he had tld me he would be there by 3:15.

After surveying the kitchen, the installer told me they couldn’t do the job. They needed to add a second layer of plywood to use as an underlay, and the concrete under the tiles would take a lot of time to remove and would be very dusty - it would be at least a full day, possibly even would need additional time on a second day to complete. He asked whether the estimator lifted up a tile to see what was underneath, as he should have seen that was needed. I told him the estimator did lift up one tile to look; he responded that the estimator did not do his job correctly. He called ACS to tell them to order the extra layer of wood and that the job would need to be rescheduled.

I called Home Depot a few weeks later to re-schedule the installation for April 9 and asked for the 9:00 am time slot. I was given the time and told to call ACS directly closer to the date to confirm the time. I called ACS about a week and a half before April 9 to confirm the 9:00 am time and was told I would get that time slot.

By this time our second child was born, and my wife took both of them back to her mother's house for a couple of days for the installation. At 9:40 am on April 9, I called ACS to find out where the installer was. I was told that I wasn’t on the schedule for that day; I was told that the day after I scheduled installation for April 9, Home Depot called ACS and told them it actually was April 19. I was never called by Home Depot nor ACS to confirm this, an ACS blamed the mix-up on Home Depot. I also told the representative that I had called ACS a week and a half before to confirm the time. The ACS representative had no response to this comment.

ACS got a hold of an installer who would able to come, but they only would be able to remove the existing floor, with installation having to be done the next day. I was told they would be there by 11:30. They arrived around 12:30. They left after 6:00. During this day, I called ACS around 3:15 to confirm that the installer would be there at 9:00 am the next day and was told that would be the case.

Around 9:45 am, ACS called me to tell me that the installer would be a bit delayed, as the vinyl that was cut for the floor had something wrong with it. The installer himself called me around 10:15 to say he would be there in 25 minutes. He called back at 11:40 to say that he had car problems and the car had to be fixed. An ACS representative called shortly after to say the car would be fixed by 1:30.

I called ACS around 1:30 for an update and was told the driver still was at the Home Depot with the broken down car. I asked to speak to an owner or a supervisor. I also asked why he couldn’t use a different car and have someone else sit with the broken one, or why a different installer couldn’t get the materials and do the job, especially because of the major inconvenience my family already had been put through for this job. I was told I would be gotten back to. I never received an answer to this request, nor was I ever put in touch with an owner or supervisor.

I received a call from ACS a little after 2:00 that the car would be fixed within a half-hour and the installer then would come, which should be by 3:00, actually using the words, "Rest assured, " a choice of words I found mindboggling considering what already had transpired. The installation team did not arrive until 4:05.

After surveying the kitchen, the installer told me that the vinyl they had was 7/10 of an inch too short. He also said he did not have any of the floorboard trim needed for one side of the room. I asked to speak to an owner or a supervisor. I instead was given to one of the ACS representatives I had been dealing with over the course of the two days. He told me he spoke to Home Depot and told them to have the materials ready to go, as the installer would have to go back to get them. The other installer would remain to seal up the seams of the wood underlay. The incorrect materials lack of other materials were blamed on Home Depot. ACS took no responsibility for checking the materials before they came.

The installer left before 4:30 to get the correct materials. The sealing of the seams took 10 minutes, leaving the installer who stayed with nothing else to do. The other installer did not return until after 5:30. The installer determined that we did not need a second layer of wood, the main reason the first scheduled installment was postponed. They did not leave until after 7:30. I had to cancel several things I had planned to do that afternoon, expecting the job would be done in the morning.

An ACS representative called when the job was done to say he would talk to Home Depot about removing the charges for materials and services not used, and that he would discuss Home Depot giving us a gift card for our troubles. I told him that would be appreciated, as my wife and I already had made the decision never to shop at Home Deport again, but that is something that would help address our displeasure.

Home Depot left me a message on April 14 to issue the refund over the phone. I called back the next day, and was told the woman who left me the message was not in that day, and the person answering the phone did not know how to issue refunds over the phone. She put me on hold to find someone who could and left me on hold for 20 minutes. I hung up and called back and got the same woman who said she had just got back to the phone, and was having trouble finding someone who knew how to issue a refund over the phone. I called back the next day and spoke to the woman who left the original message, and she processed my refund.

I called ACS on April 19 for an update on the gift card they said they spoke to Home Depot about. The representative said he was surprised Home Depot hadn't contacted me yet, and he said he would give them a reminder, as he was told we would receive a $100 gift card. I called Home Depot on April 30 and left a voice mail for the expediter. Nobody ever called me back. I called and left another voice mail on May 4. I received a voice mail back asking for our home phone number associated with the order (I had left my cell number to contact me). I called back the same day and left another voice mail with the home number. I never heard back from anyone. Today now is May 20, and we have not received a gift card.

Home Depot's customer service is sorely lacking, and its subcontractors cannot be trusted.in addition, it is important for Home Depot to be aware of the customer service ACS provides on its behalf, their complete lack of responsibility, and blame they place on Home Depot for any problems. The installers several times during the day told me that Home Depot frequently messes things up, essentially shifting all of the blame for the past two days to them.in addition, ACS made no mention of the fact that their employee is the one who postponed the initial installment because he said we needed a second layer of wood. No apology was made for this.

I appreciate your time in reading this message, and expect to hear back soon. I am sending a copy of this message to ACS and MeasureComp, and also submitted it through the 'Contact Us' page on Home Depot's website. I wanted to send a copy to store #1225's manager, Kevin P. Bracken, but his e-mail address is not provided on your website. I also am sending this message to consumerist.com, http://usashameboard.com, complaints.com and pissedconsumer.com, and will be posting about this on my Facebook page.

&Eric Deutsch

Company: Home Depot
Country: USA
State: New York
City: Brooklyn

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