# More lies and deception from Home Depot!



## Dargo

I bought a set of battery power tools to use in locations that were more likely to have theft and/or bad conditions.  I seemed to be well pleased with the Ryobi tools I bought *except for their batteries.*  However, after calling Ryobi, I found that I'd been lied to by my local Home Depot store again! (In another thread I spell out precisely how Home Depot changed their computer that mixes Behr paints and it cost me well over a thousand dollars. Almost all paint crews do their job and then have their 'boss' go back and inspect the job before it's finished.  Several places in each room needed to be touched up and the exact brand, color, series paint was purchased from Home Depot to do this.  Much to my dismay, the colors were several shades different and weren't close to matching and we were never told the colors were changed. Home Depot's official response was "Yes, we changed the colors. No, we will not do anything to help you in the expenses we caused you to incur.)

This time, Ryobi corporate told me that all my batteries were still under warranty.  I've already taken 5 or 6 of them in for warranty exchange only to be assured by the Home Depot store manager that "NO, you have NO warranty".  To finish a job, I bought one *new* P104 Ryobi 18v (their higher capacity 18v LiOn battery) to finish.  That battery lasted 6 months.  The store manager told me that they only replace them for 90 days; after that I have to take it up with Ryobi, which I did.  Ryobi's upper management assured me that their contract with Home Depot was for Home Depot to handle these issues at the store level for customer convenience and better customer support.  I literally had to get flat rude to the store manager in front of the rest of his management team as he was telling me off and make him call Ryobi headquarters while I was standing there.

Of course the ass made me wait an hour before he "had time" to make the call.  I could clearly see him sitting in his office bullshitting with other managers tossing a ball around.  Their reflective glass wasn't working as they expected because they had too much light on their side of the glass and I could see them.  After discovering that I wouldn't leave or even leave the customer support desk, telling each customer my story, he finally called Ryobi.  I stood there and listened to him tell them "No way! I've NEVER replaced a single Ryobi battery!"  Of course, he wouldn't help me after he was enlightened.  He sent me to see the 'Rental Manager'.  WTF?!!  I didn't rent the damn battery!  Of course the rental manager had no clue and I had to wait another 45 minutes while he was brought up to speed.

Finally, after wasting at least 3 hours of my time, Home Depot agreed to send my battery to Ryobi and then 'call me if they got a replacement'.  They had dozens on their shelves and Ryobi told me as well as the store manager that I was to receive a replacement on the spot while under warranty.  So, Home Depot opted to simply dick with me because I forced the issue.  I'm really pissed because of the 5 or 6 other 18v P104 batteries I tossed because their store manager assured me that they wer NOT under warranty.  The 'rental manager' let it slip that my treatment is not any different than what customers who buy 18v Ridgid batteries get.  He said he ships off "six or eight" Ridgid batteries per day to get replacements.  I'd bet that Ridgid has a similar contract agreement with Home Depot for their lifetime replacement for their higher priced batteries.

So, if you wonder why Home Depot lots always seem empty now, you should have a little insight as to why.  With a downturn in business, their first cut has been in customer service.  After what I've been through, I'll laugh when they begin closing stores.  I admit that I'll feel bad for most of their non-management employees for losing their jobs, but their managers seem to all follow the "screw the customer" philosophy.


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## FrancSevin

I haven't been in a Home Despot for years.  Sorry to hear it has gotten worse than when I walked away.


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## Melensdad

THREE WORDS OF ADVICE:  Sears Hardware Stores


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## tiredretired

I support the locally owned Home Center in town for most of my needs.  I bought all my new Milwaukee M18 power tools from Refurb dot com.  Home Cheeeepo and Lowes are rarely on my radar except to go and look at stuff before I order it on the internet or order it locally.  I checked out the ceiling fan I wanted at Home Cheeepo and then ordered it on line and saved 50 bucks, free shipping and paid no tax.


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## Trakternut

I would have told that manager that I wanted the name and telephone number of his boss. That boss, assuming he wouldn't help you, would get the same request. Each contact would be documented until you ran out of bosses to talk to. 
  That's when I would drop an email to Corporate, spelling out each contact and the responses you got. I would, also, contact Ryobi's headquarters and tell them that Home Despot is not representing their product very well at all. You might get Ryobi to take a second look at having Home Despot handle their product, which would take a well-known name brand off of their shelves.  
  There is a Home Despot, about 90 miles from me. Because of the incidents you related, I will not darken their doors for any reason. There're plenty of other places to patronize.  
  Also, don't miss an opportunity to tell your stories to anyone and everyone you can.


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## Dargo

I called and then took the time to write out a lengthy letter with precise details to Ryobi headquarters today.  I did admit to them that I was well pleased with their tools but quite disappointed in their batteries.  I made sure to note that my disappointment in their batteries would not be nearly as bad if Home Crepo hadn't tainted their product in my mind.  At times the person I was speaking with was talking to someone else there and I was not put on hold.  I am positive I heard "the other person" specifically say "you mean another Home Depot has screwed yet another of our customers to the point they are so pissed that they won't buy our product?".  That pretty well sums it up.  Ryobi is a discount priced tool and I do not expect them to be the best made.  True, they suffer too many battery failures, but if Home Crepo held up their end of the bargain (and apparently contract) with Ryobi, perhaps Ryobi sales would be considerably better.


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## JEV

I bought the Rigid tool set for $499. All batteries & tools are registered online with Rigid, and guaranteed for the life of the OWNER. Lithium Ion batteries with rapid charge. Best money I've spent on cordless tools in a long time. Had nothing but problems with Ryobi batteries.

As far as Sears goes, I wouldn't hit a god in the ass with any power tools from Sears. Been disappointed too many times.


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## Dargo

I thought I'd update this Home Crepo story.  Per Ryobi, their tools will be exchanged at any Home Depot store while under warranty.  Per Home Depot; bullshit.  Just now did I get the replacement battery from Home Crepo after they were supposed to exchange it *on the spot* per their contract with Ryobi after the battery quickly failed after purchase.  *It literally takes a freaking month for any warranty replacement on Ryobi products at Home Depot!!*

I don't know which party is to fault in their obvious disagreement with each other, but it is the customer and, ultimately, Ryobi who loses.  I won't buy anything Ryobi again in my life if Home Crepo is involved.  My guess is that it's Home Depot causing the problem.  There is no secret that Home Depot is losing their ass to Lowes and Menards in the home improvement market.  If Behr Paint didn't step up and pay for Home Depot's error with a huge paint screw up a couple of months ago, I would positively have been in court with Home Depot and, per my attorney, Behr Paint (sue everyone involved).  Home Depot basically told me "Yeah, we screwed up and cost you a few thousand.  Go fuck off!"  They could not possibly have cared less.  Behr Paint did not want their name in the news with a nasty law suit.  Clearly they care about their name and product reputation.  IMHO, Home Crepo has totally given up and has so many complaints against them that no further complaint is going to make any difference.

If anyone from Ryobi reads this, you better find a different distributor or you'll soon be out of business with a terrible reputation because of Home Depot and how they treat your customers.


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## squerly

While I feel your pain Dargo, telling Roybi (and Home Depot) you won't be coming back is pretty much like telling Wal Mart you're taking your business somewhere else...   Sorry man but they just don't care.


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## muleman RIP

I have to throw in a plug for Rigid tools and Milwaukee. I broke a part in the drive of my Milwaukee sawzall and even though it is over 30 years old they had the part and in 2 days I was back in business. That saw has been brutalized in a lot of demo and plumbing work and still does a great job.


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## Dargo

squerly said:


> While I feel your pain Dargo, telling Roybi (and Home Depot) you won't be coming back is pretty much like telling Wal Mart you're taking your business somewhere else...   Sorry man but they just don't care.



I'm well aware they don't care.  However, in the early 80's General Motors decided that it didn't matter how shitty they made their vehicles or treated their customers, there would always be enough people loyal to them to keep them running.  Home Depot is already in trouble.  I'm just trying to do my part to spread the word to innocent people about how they will be treated by Home Crepo if they ever need anything from them.  Their idea of customer support is to tell customers "Sorry, company policy, we don't do that." no matter what the problem is.  Enough people avoiding Home Depot will finally put them under.  I don't think they'll get any free government money, so they'll just be gone.


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## SShepherd

wow, I'd write both off

atleast you didn't have to pay an attourney


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## squerly

Dargo said:


> I'm well aware they don't care. However, in the early 80's General Motors decided that it didn't matter how shitty they made their vehicles or treated their customers, there would always be enough people loyal to them to keep them running. Home Depot is already in trouble. I'm just trying to do my part to spread the word to innocent people about how they will be treated by Home Crepo if they ever need anything from them. Their idea of customer support is to tell customers "Sorry, company policy, we don't do that." no matter what the problem is. Enough people avoiding Home Depot will finally put them under. I don't think they'll get any free government money, so they'll just be gone.


 
Dargo, you’re not alone in your dislike for Home Depot. About 8 years ago there was a nasty hurricane coming toward us. I was at Home Depot picking up supplies when I spied a 17KW genset all wrapped up in plastic and sitting on the shelf. This bad boy hooks up to the city gas line and would run a large part of my house. I knew I would never get it hooked up before the hurricane hit but I figured I would buy it and install it after the hurricane passed. 

After the hurricane passed I got to work on finding a contractor to hook up my new generator. I was out of town during the installation of my “new” generator but when I returned he (the contractor) pointed out that this thing had been previously installed. Sure enough, there were lots of signs that this was a used unit, even had gas in the tank! WTF? 

Well the unit was installed and ready for testing, so we fired it up. Turned out that it was only generating power on one “leg”, which is probably why it was returned to Home Depot in the first place. I was pissed to say the least. Called Home Depot and expressed my discontent about being sold a used (and broken) generator and that I would like them to bring me a new one and pick this one up. It’s a rather large unit and took myself and 3 friends to bring it home in the first place so I figured it was only right that they transport this one back and deliver the new one. 

Home Depot was so wrong on so many levels that I never for a minute considered they wouldn’t make it good. But you guessed it; they told me it wasn’t their problem. They told me the unit would be covered by the manufactures warranty and it was my job to schedule a repair and settle it. I pointed out that “they” had represented the unit as new, when it was indeed not, so they need to stand behind it. Nope, they told me they didn’t want to discuss it. 

I went through the different management levels at the local store and got the same answer each time. So I went to corporate, even wrote them several letters, etc. They sent me back a nice letter saying that they had investigated the matter and found nothing to be out of the ordinary, and thanked me for my continued patronage. 

That was over 8 years ago. I’ve built several houses in that time and not one item was bought at Home Depot.  And like most home owners, I have had hundreds of additional DYI jobs and again, not one item was ever bought at Home Depot again. I hate the bastards and like you, I won’t feel bad when they close their doors.


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## Dargo

squerly said:


> Dargo, you’re not alone in your dislike for Home Depot. About 8 years ago there was a nasty hurricane coming toward us. I was at Home Depot picking up supplies when I spied a 17KW genset all wrapped up in plastic and sitting on the shelf. This bad boy hooks up to the city gas line and would run a large part of my house. I knew I would never get it hooked up before the hurricane hit but I figured I would buy it and install it after the hurricane passed.
> 
> After the hurricane passed I got to work on finding a contractor to hook up my new generator. I was out of town during the installation of my “new” generator but when I returned he (the contractor) pointed out that this thing had been previously installed. Sure enough, there were lots of signs that this was a used unit, even had gas in the tank! WTF?
> 
> Well the unit was installed and ready for testing, so we fired it up. Turned out that it was only generating power on one “leg”, which is probably why it was returned to Home Depot in the first place. I was pissed to say the least. Called Home Depot and expressed my discontent about being sold a used (and broken) generator and that I would like them to bring me a new one and pick this one up. It’s a rather large unit and took myself and 3 friends to bring it home in the first place so I figured it was only right that they transport this one back and deliver the new one.
> 
> Home Depot was so wrong on so many levels that I never for a minute considered they wouldn’t make it good. But you guessed it; they told me it wasn’t their problem. They told me the unit would be covered by the manufactures warranty and it was my job to schedule a repair and settle it. I pointed out that “they” had represented the unit as new, when it was indeed not, so they need to stand behind it. Nope, they told me they didn’t want to discuss it.
> 
> I went through the different management levels at the local store and got the same answer each time. So I went to corporate, even wrote them several letters, etc. They sent me back a nice letter saying that they had investigated the matter and found nothing to be out of the ordinary, and thanked me for my continued patronage.
> 
> That was over 8 years ago. I’ve built several houses in that time and not one item was bought at Home Depot.  And like most home owners, I have had hundreds of additional DYI jobs and again, not one item was ever bought at Home Depot again. I hate the bastards and like you, I won’t feel bad when they close their doors.



I wonder when Ridgid, Ryobi and Behr Paint will drop Home Depot as their exclusive outlet?  One of my best friends who only builds custom homes (and has never had to advertise and only plans to work another year or so) used to use a lot of Ridgid tools until he ran into the Home Crepo crap.  He showed them where he spent over 300k with them the previous year and they still told him he'd have to wait (a month, like my case) for a replacement for his Ridgid saw.  Needless to say, he replaced it with another brand, Bosch, and is now buying Bosch, Makita and Hitachi products.  All because of Home Depot.  I ought to take a picture of Lowe's and Menard's lot and then Home Depot's lot to show the difference in the number of cars/pickups there.  The 2 Home Depot stores in my town are like ghost towns.


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## muleman RIP

Holy CRAP! Do a search for Home Depot complaints and you could spend hours going through all the listings. Seems their install contractors don't rate too well either.


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## bczoom

I believe I mentioned my HD screw-up from a year or 2 ago.  Ruined a couple (or few?) thousand in granite.  They wouldn't reimburse us for the tile but did help us out in a few other ways.


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## Dargo

muleman said:


> Holy CRAP! Do a search for Home Depot complaints and you could spend hours going through all the listings. Seems their install contractors don't rate too well either.



I know only too well.  That's why the stores could not possibly care less about another complaint.  It's a drop of water in the ocean for them.  They are going under.  It's just a matter of when and what "exclusive" companies they sell products for that they take down with them.


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