Recently the water heater unit at my condo broke down. I called a dozen plumbing companies that would replace the failed unit within a few hours. Their quotes, including workmanship, were between $850 and $1100. I decided to go with Home Depot, which quoted $670 for the new unit, professional installation, and inspection. I ended up staying at home on a work day waiting for the technicians to show up, which was scheduled for 8:00am. They did not. In the afternoon we called and learned the dispatcher had forgotten to inform them about the work. So we had to reschedule for the next morning, the first day of a long weekend. They again did not show up until 2pm, and they quoted me an additional $500 to replace a 2-foot-long aluminum pipe! I was angry and sent the equipment back, despite the risk of having to take cold showers for another couple of days. Moreover, it took 3 hours of phone tag to get our money back. In the end, I had a plumbing company install the same unit Home Depot sells for $700 overall within 3 hours.
I think Home Depot exploits the consumer for equipment installation. They made us wait one full work day and a long weekend day, then quoted an additional $500 for a pipe. This is absolutely burglary in my book. As of now, I will never use Home Depot services and will certainly advise the people I care about against it.
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