My GE refrigerator was purchased from Home Depot on 10/10/07. Upon the first delivery attempt, we found a dent at the bottom of the unit. As the driver told it, he was permitted to give as much as $30 for the damage. Paying for a dented refrigerator was not my intention, so I declined the delivery.
For the second try, the unit went in and the old one left. That evening I found that opening the door pulled the whole refrigerator forward. It slid out so readily that my grandson, aged 9, could drag it forward merely by opening the door. Right away I called the delivery person for an adjustment, as clearly something was wrong. Next day he returned and inspected the leveling, finding nothing wrong other than the entire unit moving forward. His proposal was buying door stoppers, or casters to place in front so it would stay put. My reaction was that this could not be accepted.
A Home Depot manager was the person I called. Each time I asked for the General Manager, whether I phoned or visited the store, the General Manager was either not there, off, or not in until the next day. In the end I agreed to a meeting with an Assistant Store Manager, and the deal was that I would upgrade to a better refrigerator and receive an allowance, up to $100, for my trouble.
Money for the first refrigerator came back, but five days passed before it appeared on my debit card, which is effectively cash. Buying the second one then cost me $75.00 more. GE, whom we also contacted, blamed the driver and Home Depot. Their suggestions were to bolt the unit to the wall, bolt it to the tile floor, lay carpet beneath it, or place stoppers in front. Anyone who has secured a refrigerator to a wall or floor knows it is not simple.
On the 31st, yesterday, the "new" improved model arrived, and surprise: the driver observed it had the identical wheels to the unit in my house. Home Depot, when I called to ask what to do, told me to refuse it, adding that someone was already being sent to collect the first one from my home. Given this ordeal, I chose to drop the whole thing and have nothing more to do with Home Depot. At the store, getting my refund meant they wanted a restocking fee on an item that was faulty from the start. After arguing about it and with their "customer service" staff, my entire refund was paid. Once more, since I used a debit card, the money returns to my account as though it were a credit card sale, which it was not.
This post is long, I know, but it belonged somewhere. No more Home Depot for me, ever. Although one customer, I come from a big family, and everyone I know will hear what happened, with the media a possibility too. Nothing was done about the food in my refrigerator, and the only offer was a loaner if I purchased a new unit from them. My answer: return my old one, and bring the replacement only after my money is back in my account.
Customers are poorly treated by Home Depot, whose managers badly need serious training in dealing with people.
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