The Home Depot — Local services in Gig Harbor

I'll start off by saying that in the past I've preferred Lowe's to Home Depot, especially since a Lowe's is located in the town where I live. But the primary reason why I avoided Home Depot was because I did not like the politics of the founders of the business. So, for the most part, I boycotted the chain.

But after Lowe's took what should have been a simple refrigerator purchase and complicated it into a needlessly stressful experience due to incompetence and just bad employee training, my wife and decided to give Home Depot a chance, I had seen an excellent purchase candidate online so we went to check it out.

As bad and incompetent as Lowe's had been, our refrigerator purchase turned out to be the easiest major appliance purchase we've ever enjoyed. Not only did they have it in stock--a little thing at which Lowe's failed miserably--their appliance sales associate was thoroughly professional, and knowledgeable, and an absolute joy to work with. Her name is Alessandra Cable, and I suggest that if you're in the market for a new appliance like a fridge or an oven or a washer/dryer, etc., trying shopping on a quiet Monday night when she can give you her full attention. She really knows her stuff. She led us through the purchase agreement--including the extended warranty (which we decided to purchase as opposed to her selling us one--there is a difference) by reading and highlighting every single bit of info she was required not only to read but to ensure we understood. We've worked with car salespersons who were not as thorough. Before we were done we not only understood everything about the purchase and warranty but also all the info we needed regarding the delivery and how to contact the company who was to deliver the fridge if a need arose. My wife and I were both impressed by her thoroughness and by her sweet personality.

In fact, everyone I've talked to on the phone--from HD's appliance support telephone line to the store telephone operator to one of Alessandra's colleagues have been superb. That store telephone operator was hugely friendly and helpful, while the Lowe's operator sounded like I was just taking up her time. I'll stop the comparisons here since this is a pro-HD review, not an anti-Lowe's rant.

The fridge was delivered today, and the delivery was as smooth and problem-free as the purchase. Smiles all around this entire transaction.

So, once again I've learned that sometimes you have to set politics and even social consciousness aside and go with who sells a product at a fair price, and provides world class customer service while making it clear they value your business. I'll still shop at Lowe's for the small hardware stuff. But thanks to Alessandra Cable, the the telephone operator and other store associates, and Jeanette at the appliance support telephone line, we're now loyal to the Gig...

Absolutely unacceptable experience.

I used to shop at Home Depot quite often, mostly in-store, and had made just one online order before, which went smoothly. But my second online order turned into a nightmare.

I urgently needed a nailer for a time-sensitive project, so I went to the store and asked a sales associate about ongoing promotions (Milwaukee almost always runs some kind of deal). The associate told me there were no promotions in-store, but maybe online. Sure enough, I found a better offer online: slightly cheaper, came with safety glasses, and had free next-day delivery. I placed the order.

On the delivery day, I got a message saying the item couldn’t be delivered. I double-checked the address and contacted the shipping company (OnTrac)—which was not easy. I had to re-enter the same info multiple times, and despite days of trying, I never got a clear response. Five days passed. I called Home Depot. Getting through the automated system was exhausting, only to reach a human who still couldn’t see any details in their system (thanks to Home Depot’s garbage software). They asked me to dig up a bunch of order info buried in promotional emails. And then told me they couldn't help.

After several calls, one rep said they’d reach out to the shipping company. Suddenly, the tracking updated with a new delivery date—finally! I waited all day. Nothing came. Not even four hours later. More useless chatbot conversations with OnTrac. More angry calls to Home Depot (one over an hour long). Then finally—hope! A representative told me I could pick up the item from a nearby store. I confirmed multiple times which location. It made sense—this nailer and glasses were in stock at most stores.

I drove to the Gig Harbor location. The pickup desk told me it was impossible. They couldn’t release the order. All they could do was cancel it and sell me the regular, more expensive nailer without the glasses. I didn’t want to go through the refund + re-purchase process. I just wanted the item I paid for. But they refused.

A supervisor offered me a pathetic $15 discount if I bought the nailer again from scratch. He refused to give me anything in writing stating they couldn’t fulfill the pickup. Then he just walked off.

The associate then put me on the phone with someone else, wasting even more of my time. I finally gave in, said screw it, process the damn return and I’ll buy the overpriced nailer. At least the associate brought the item to me.

They didn’t even bother calling customer service to verify what I was told or replay the call in which their own operator guaranteed I could pick up the order at any store.

I wasted nearly an hour in-store and days of stress beforehand. This company has zero respect for customers’ time and is completely incapable of solving even basic problems they themselves created. I’m never...

Horrible experience. I ordered a new oven after ours started to act up. The price was cheaper than the other competitor down the road, so we decided to go with Home Depot. What we saved, we lost in customer service. We had to search for someone to help us in the store, and when we found someone, she continued her conversation with her co-worker before she helped us. We had to wait almost a month because of “covid”, which they’ve had a year to acclimate to. When the arrival date came, the installers looked at the wall and told us the gas line was outdated, but the gas company can quickly come in and do it for free. WRONG!! It took six hours and $700 to install the new gas line, and install a stove the installers forgot to leave the stovetop grates and griddle for! (The installers said everything was in the oven)

When I called Home Depot, I waited over 30 minutes on the phone with GE after they redirected me there. (Apparently “covid” made it so their supervisors couldn’t answer the phone). I had to answer, multiple times, why I had a second appointment for a reinstall when all I was asking was how I could get my missing grates and griddle so I could cook with my stovetop. I finally got an answer, which was they would have fedex come in 7-10 business days, because apparently they can’t expedite something they messed up on for an essential cooking part.

Once I finally had the oven installed, I was promised a refund for the installation and haul away I paid for and never got, but was later told I had to go back to the store, 30 miles away from my house, to actually get my money back.

I will never give this company another dime. I would rather have to build a fire in my backyard to cook on than deal with them again. Bad customer service, poor loyalty to customers, overall just bad experience. I would give zero...