Well, that was interesting… and annoying

So let’s see… It’s been 12 days since they guy came to measure for my doors, and I haven’t heard a word from Home Depot. Not a call, and nothing from my 2 YES’s to their offer to update me by text.

So I got of my butt & drove there. Again. 2nd time. And low & behold – my estimate was there!

• Me: “So why didn’t someone call me?”
• HD Dude: “It must have just come in”
• Me: “So what date is in the computer for when it cam in?”
• HD Dude: “They don’t show that to me”

And if you believe that I have a lovely bridge in Brooklyn that I’m willing to sell you for cheap. To make matters worse, I was charged $30 for them to come out & get the secret measurements that they don’t seem to want to share with me. And the $30 can only be applied to the installation, not purchasing the doors – I know, I asked.

What’s interesting is that I noticed project folders sitting on the desk, so I guess each store must manage their own projects. This one is in Waterbury, Connecticut. What’s even more interesting is that I have a new handy man (Happiness is a great handy man!) and he said I was nuts for going to Waterbury. Maybe that’s my problem, & it’s not all Home Depots.

Anyway, here’s the breakdown on price:

• Storm Door (without the cost of the door itself:
  • Installation: $127
  • Haul-Away (which no one ever mentioned except my handy man)) $15
• Patio Door (Cheap one, without the cost of the door itself)
  • Installation: $469
  • Haul-Away: $35
  • Apron Board “Subsill” Threshold Build-Up: $100
  • Jamb Extension on site: $75
  • Custom exterior trim: $150
• Total: $971
• Total with approximate prices on doors without tax on doors or labor: $1621

So, around $1800. Seriously.

By the way, the price on the patio door doesn’t include the fact that I need to go out with a bag of sakcrete afterwards & build out a support to hold up the door. Oh goody. My handy man said he’d just stick some composite board under it. That’s why he’s getting this job and not Home Depot.

Seriously?

OK, Home Depot just texted me again – “Txt YES to get Service Order Updates from Home Depot”. Well, I texted YES again – just like I did back on July 16th, and since I still haven’t gotten any updates….

Back to Home Depot to Price Out the Better Patio Door!

So I headed back to Home Deport to check on the price of the better door, which the contractor said would be $600-650 instead of the $300-350 for the door I bought. Well….. that was a waste of time – the door is more like $900-950!

Anyway, while I was there, I asked if the estimate was back. The guy said “No”, but it had only been a few days & they don’t work over the weekend. He gave me someone’s card & told me I could call on Monday, but since I work full time it’s unlikely I will remember to do that…

I finally asked for a ball park on installing the patio door (since I already got a flat price of around $125 for installing the storm door). The answer? Around $500! OUCH!

Today is measuring & estimating…

If today is 26 July, 2016, then I should be waiting at home for the door contractor to come between 10:00AM and 2:00PM…… Better yet, if it’s 2:00PM, then we should be done with measuring & estimating….

Well, Good news, the guy actually showed up when he was supposed to. He was very pleasant & seemed pretty knowledgeable. The only 2 glitches were:

• Home Depot told him that I was replacing the front door. ***FAIL***. I am replacing the storm door. Oh well, no biggie….
• He didn’t seem to think its a good idea to install the cheap patio door that I priced out. He said the better door is only around another $300-350, so for the install price I am paying that it would be worth it. I said that I’d go back to Home Depot & look at the better door.

When he was leaving I asked for his card, but he said that Home Depot would be calling me with the price – that makes sense….

So far so good!

Well what do you know? The contractor doing the door install called me this morning. The woman was super pleasant, and I am scheduled for my appointment next Tuesday! I think I’ll put in a placeholder post right now 🙂

Am I a glutton for punishment?

OK, so it’s been a while since my last experience with The Home Depot Home Services, and I’ve decided to give them a try again.

This time I need a new storm door and a new slider for my family room. The guy at the doors/windows services desk was very helpful, and seemed to know their products really well, so the purchase part was pretty easy. I cheaped out on the slider and bought the American Craftsman 50 series (without blinds), and spent more on the Anderson 2500 storm door with brass hardware.

As with last time, I gave him a great big heads-up that I’d be publishing my experience, and that the last time was a train wreck, but he didn’t seem too worried. My guess is because once he sells the doors to me & writes up the order he never has to see me again….

The installer is supposed to call me for an appointment to measure & give me an estimate, and the installation should be about a month later. Suspect that holding my breath may be a bad idea….

UPDATE: I just got a text message fro Home Deport that says “Txt YES to get Service Order Updates from Home Depot”, so I texted YES. Mostly just curious as to whether I’ll actually get anything or not….

Wow, someone is actually a worse listener than I am…

THD At-Home Services - Can You Hear Me Now???

So after a couple of attempts to reach Charles the New England Regional Manager, I finally got through tonight.

The first interesting thing I learned (when I explained that the replacement windows looked horrible with such a large frame around it), was that sales dude was supposed to have held up little demo corners for me to look at so that I’d see what it looked like. I didn’t even know what he was talking about.

Then I told him about pricing out replacement vs new construction windows, and how the price difference per window was $200. Well, that set him off & running, with me unable to get a word in edgewise. He went on & on about how the new construction window price didn’t include the installation labor, or the warranty. I *finally* managed to get him to slow down enough to explain that I priced out *both* windows without installation, and so that price difference should be the same, with out without the installation price on both, assuming that the markup is the same.

“Ohhhh…” – I think he got it.

So then he said “Well, what do you want to do about this? A Home Depot Gift Card”? To which I gave a resounding “NO”. Then I explained that they actually have $400 of my cash. Real money. That I worked for. On the other hand, if I get a $400 gift card (assuming a markup of 33.333% over cost, which I am guessing is on the low side), I end up buying stuff that cost them $300, and they get to pocket the remaining $100 that I overpaid. Doesn’t seem right, does it?

So he seemed reasonable about it (so far). I said that I would go check out the actual price difference and get back in touch with him. He, like everyone else at THD, is pretty nice.

I must admit they are prompt…

The Home Depot called back

I came home to find two messages on my machine, both about the window price. One was from Rob (the District Sales Manager), and the other was from Charles (the New England Manager of Installation Services).

Figure I’ll call Charles, as he sounds a notch higher than Rob…

Finally emailed Tammie

So I finally found a spare minute to email Tammie the Project Manager about getting a refund for over-payment on the windows:

Hi Tammie —

I’ve been trying to find a spare minute to email you, & TaDa! I finally found one

Thanks for mailing the project paperwork to be – it got soaked in a rainstorm while I was at work, but fortunately dried nicely

We seem to have a problem however. W/ all the rigamarole of swapping out the replacement windows for the new construction ones, it seems that I overpaid by about $200 (I don’t have the exact amount) as the new construction windows are considerably cheaper. What do I do about getting the refund?

Are They LOOKING for Ways to Piss Me Off????

I have an unlisted phone number. In fact, I pay extra each month to have it. And the reason I have it is because I do not want unsolicited calls from anyone who isn’t a friend of mine, my doctor, my bank, etc. I’m also on the National Do Not Call List for the same reason.

So, that day I went to The Home Depot to check the prices of new installation vs replacement windows to see if I had been ripped off, the guy wanted my phone number in order to give me a printout of prices. I asked what they wanted my number for, & specifically told him that my number is unlisted and that I don’t want sales calls. And he told me not to worry, it’s just that that’s the way the system is set up and I can’t get the printout without the number.

I’m not a complete moron, but apparently I was enough of one to give it to him. So what happens? Sure enough I get an unsolicited call this week from someone telling me that the friggin’ windows are on sale.

Great. Now not only am I getting calls I don’t want, but now I know how badly they ripped me off!!!!!

I don’t necessarily blame the guy who was quoting me the prices, it could be he really doesn’t know what the number is used for. But no opt-out checkbox in the software???!!!