My husband and I have been wanting a new storm door for several years (our old double-paned storm door is fogged, but that's another story). We've always enjoyed going to Home Depot, and, until now, have had very positive experiences buying from them.
On March 12, we went in to our local Home Depot to look at doors and picked out a style we like. The sign on the door advertised an installation charge of $97, which we thought was a good deal, so we asked our sales person about it. He assured us that, yes, we could get the door installed for $97, but that we also had to pay a $30 "measuring fee, " where the installers would come out and make sure of the size of the door. We told him we'd already measured the door, that it was a standard 80x36, but our salesperson explained that for the installers to insure their work they had to do the measurement themselves.
After much discussion, we decided that was fair, so we went ahead and scheduled a measurement. Our salesperson said there was a waiting list, that they were backlogged for measurements because of a previous sale offering free measurements! Oh, really? We asked about that, but our salesperson explained that the free measure offer was for January, and since we were ordering in March we didn't qualify!
Some waiting list—the next day, March 13, we got a call from Home Depot saying that someone would be out to do the measurements. We told the caller that we might not be home, and the caller assured us that we didn't need to be home, that they could do it without us being home. After the measurements were entered into the system, they said, I would get a call from Home Depot to order and pay for the door, since the measurements might indicate the need for a custom door. Okay, fair enough.
On the morning of March 14, my husband and I were getting dressed when we heard something outside. My husband peeked out and saw some people outside measuring our door. He threw on some clothes to go talk to them, but before he could get dressed, they were done. They were at our door no longer than 5 minutes.
The next day, I called Home Depot to see about coming in to pay for the door, but the information from the measurement people had not been entered into the system yet. On the 16th, the salesperson I had originally talked to finally called and said I could come in to order my door.
I went by myself to Home Depot and found out we can get a standard door; the people who measured discovered that we do, indeed, have a 36x80 opening. Gee, what a surprise. But wait—what's this! The measurement people, who were there, as I said, no longer than 5 minutes, had added on a pile of additional charges for 11 ft. Of pine, 7 ft. Of lattice. A door stop, and 21 pieces of "special pine." Total cost: $114 in addition to the $97 installation fee!
I told the salesperson that wasn't right. The salesperson said he didn't know anything about why they were charging for all that stuff. So I bought the door, but refused to pay for the installation fee until I'd talked to my husband about all these extra charges.
Today, March 22, several days of runaround, my husband finally got an answer from someone about the additional charges—seems the installers add all that stuff on "just in case" they have to rip out our whole door frame to get the new door in! My husband explained that it's a simple job—unscrew the old door, screw the new one in. But the manager he talked to insisted that we have to pay for all that extra stuff "just in case, " and assured us that we can return all the extra lumber if it's not needed! That's right—the installation people can't return it to the store, they'd leave a pile of lumber at our place for us to return!
As it stands now, we haven't agreed to the installation terms. We may end up installing the door ourselves. Right now, I'm so upset over the whole thing that I don't even want the storm door anymore. I'd like to cancel our order, but I'm afraid of being charged a "restocking fee, " and we're already out $30 for a measuring fee! This experience has really changed my impression of Home Depot. I used to enjoy going in there every time we were in the neighborhood just to look around, but now I get upset every time I see that place.
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