The Home Depot — Local services in Fort Walton Beach

I haven’t had such a terrible experience in a retail setting for some time, and I WORK in one. So as someone who also stands behind a counter, I feel like I’m sufficiently well-informed of how interactions should transpire, whether it’s customer to staff, or vice versa.

I didn’t have my glasses on. therefore couldn’t read name tags, so forgive my descriptors.

First off, I worked in vacation homes for property management companies for the better part of seven years, and probably changed hundreds if not thousands, of air filters for HVAC systems. I know I have an uncommon sized filter in my unit at home, and ultimately decided to order one, but since I was at Walgreens, I swung by Home Depot just to check if they had one. Elderly gentleman who was in the section that included the air filters attempted to “help” me, and I kindly informed him I knew what I was looking for, but thank you. Since I was looking a little confused due to the obscure size, he again asked what size I was looking for. I told him a size and he promptly told me it didn’t exist so I pulled up the picture Of the filter currently in my AC. I wondered what brand it was, and he curtly informed me, “it doesn’t matter what brand is it it doesn’t exist.” I’m sorry? I know I still look like twerpy college girl who’s never changed a filter in anything, ever; but I’m in my early 30s and DIY repairs/projects are my favorite hobbies. while I also have a tendency to assume most people are interact with are ignorant, I’m not rude to them. Ever. Especially not when I’m clocked in. I don’t think I’ve ever just flat out, walked away from someone who theoretically was attempting to help me, but as soon as I came out of his mouth, I just turned it and walked away. I finally made it to the checkout counter and realized I left my wallet at home. No worries, I finally set up my tap to pay on my phone so it wasn’t a big deal. After I scanned everything, I was in the process of realizing I couldn’t use the tap to pay, when the female staff member in the wheelchair chimed in: “INSERT OR SWIPE IT! CAN YOU NOT READ?? IT DOESN’T WORK LIKE THAT!”

Actually, ma’am, I left my purse at home, so I don’t have my glasses on. Which yes, I desperately need for reading any kind of text or numbers on the screen. I was so taken aback by what her behavior, I actually turned around and made eye contact with another female employee standing by the self check out - more out of sheer disbelief, than anything. She literally just looked away. I walked out of that store immediately, and I will be sticking to my old pal Lowe’s, exclusively and forever. I’ve actually dealt with an inordinate amount of malicious, toxic, and just flat out terrible people in my life so far, and I am not a big believer in the “customer is always right” shtick. Because from my experience, that is the farthest from accurate. Granted, I do use self check out to avoid interaction because I hate small talk with a passion. But I definitely am still the kind of person to go into the store and inquire about things when the internet is too convoluted on the topics.

All of this to say, for an interaction to make me leave a review on a corporate store that I don’t care about, or have a stake in - means I had and objectively appalling, disappointing experience.

Doesn’t matter how much knowledge your employees posses, if they can’t effectively, and KINDLY, communicate with customers (which training should have covered on day one.)

I’ve had an above average amount of bad days at work since I began working at 15. I still have NEVER behaved so poorly as I...

Absolutely disappointed with this store. Long story short, don't listen to a thing the workers say. And if you order a safe, they will NOT install it even if they say they will.

We went in person to this store to order a safe so that our discount could be applied as it can't be applied online. We spoke with TWO customer service associates who placed our order and made it clear that we needed the safe to be installed in our home because we have no means to move it otherwise. We also made it clear we DID NOT want to purchase it if we couldn't have it delivered inside.

They gave us a 5 day window of when it would be delivered and told us that it would not be left on the porch, period. They made that clear after we went over this 10 times because online it gives the option of paying extra to have it placed inside the home, but in the store our associate didn't know how to do that. Her coworker came over and specifically said she didn't need to worry about that because they will bring it in for us anyway and "won't leave something like that on the porch."

We even got a FULL page of delivery instructions saying if the customer won't be home and authorizes the delivery agent to leave it on the porch, initial here......which we DIDNT initial.

And obviously by this review we come home to a 600lb safe sitting on our porch with no way to get it inside. We just moved here, so we don't know anyone, and I called the store to speak to a manager. It was 20 minutes of starting with "we are going to help you figure this out" from an associate to the manager saying "she didn't buy it at our store" to "oh, yeah she did" to telling me they're figuring out where their "install team" went wrong just to be told by the manager in the end "we don't do that" and that we have to bring it in ourselves, oh and that they don't have dollys at their store....not that we should be purchasing a dolly ourselves for their mistake.

This is absolutely ridiculous. They should've had someone from their "install team" they mentioned come and bring it in or offer a refund, again, for their mistake, and pick it up. A $900 item with no option to bring it in??? Are you kidding me? Such a scam.

UPDATE: We finally found a dolly somewhere else. Now we open the box on the porch at this point because they've nailed it from inside the safe to a pallet that is too large to go through our front door.

Oh, and even better my husband and I both got hurt from the process of trying to move it in because the manager made it clear it's our issue now. Of course we got hurt because I'm 5'3, I don't even weigh close to a 1/4 of the safe's weight, and we specifically asked for install for...

I don't know what it is about Home Depot but it is almost impossible to get help when you go in there. I feel like I should put merchandise in my pocket so at least loss prevention will come out and talk to me so I can get some help. I went on there to get a grill that was on sale. My daughter and I looked at every grill in the section and could not find the one in the ad. After at least 15 minutes of looking an associate walked by and I asked him about it. He gave me a look like I asked him to give me money. He said it wasn't his area and he would send someone by. About five minutes in, I started timing it and 30 minutes went by before I saw another person that worked there. I asked him about the grill and he gave me that same I am not giving you money look the first guy did. He did look for it and found them stacked outside. He said go in and pay and I will get one ready for you. I went in and paid. I asked if there was a military discount. The lady at the register said "you guys are always begging for a discount". Then told me that it was a sale item and not eligible for a discount. I paid and went outside. The grill was sitting there but the guy was nowhere to be found. I went back in and asked the lady that I paid if that was the one, she said she has no idea. So I had my daughter stay with the grill and went to get my Suburban. When I got out, she asked me if it was used. The grill had rust all over it. No one was there to ask about it, and the lady from customer service was gone. I was left to load the grill myself. The grill didn't really fit in the back of my Suburban. A guy stopped to help me, we got it into the back. He said he was already clocked out but I could go and ask for some rope and then left. Henis the only reason they got at least one star. I got it in and closed the door and left. Now about the grill a few months later, the igniter no longer works and I had to change the safety valve on it. Bad part was, the next week later, a similar one went on sale at Lowe's for cheaper and I wouldn't have had to beg for my veteran discount because Lowe's asks me. Moral of this story is I learned I will never go back to Home Depot and to be patient because it will go on sale at...