CONTRACTORS' WAREHOUSE — Local services in Santa Clara

Not the place to buy lumber: The price is cheap for a reason. I recently bought a pallet of Fence bords that is supposed to be 1x8x6 everyone is aware that there is the stated size and the nominal size , ie a 2x4 is really 3.5" x 1.5" but these guys took this to a new level. A 1x8" Fence board is supposed to be 0.75" Nominal X 7.5" but instead I received a board that is ½" or just a hair above that. Essentially it was 33% thinner than the nominal size !!!! When I complained, they said they dont have the real size it was supposed to be. furthermore, all the boards are so thin that they where curving. Imagine what will happen when they are installed. I dont think a fence made with these boards would make it past 10 years and probably much less. To add insault to injury, I had to pay $200 to have the pallet hauled away. I also had to come in person to arrange for the shipment back becaue they wont do so over the phone, and I will have to go in person again to get the refund for the wood. It took over 8 days to resolve the issue and it was very frustrating. I am out $200 and wasted a lot of time but I will never step foot in it again. Instead, I went to Hayward Lumber. Everyone was super professional and in 15 minutes I was in and out and all arrangements were made. Thhe actual thickness of the wood in 0.75 (actually slightly thicker), and the difference the quality of the wood is astounding. The Contractor's suppy wood is super light weight and flimsy and what I got from Haywars was solid dense redwood with a lot of structural integrity. The difference in thickness was obvious even by just looking at the pallet. The Pallet from Hayward was about 18" taller that the supposedly same pallet from Contractors'. It sems to me that Contractors Warehouse buys the wood that normal shops wont buy. The cost difference was negligible (less than $1 per board but the thickness was 50% higher (0.75 vs 0.50) and the quality of the boards 100% better. and the speed of the transaction and the experience as a whole was 100X better. Previously i was wondering why such a large warehouse hardly has any customers (usually only 1 register is open) but now I know. Please note that although there are hardly any people there, it will still take you a long time to cash out because they seem to have a love affair with paperwork and a horrendous...

Perhaps OK if you are buying everything you need directly off the floor. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES PLACE A SPECIAL ORDER. I really cannot emphasize this enough. We are building an ADU and ordered Milgard windows and doors and it has been a total disaster. First, windows were ordered incorrectly. Then, when 1/2 of the order arrived they never called me so the windows sat in the backroom for who knows how long, during which time several of the window parts (cranks) went missing. Trying to get the special order desk to correct this issue was completely infuriating. I must have called 10 times -- no exaggeration. Resolution time: 3 months.

Another example: I ordered a $10 nail trim for a door. That was months ago and I never heard from them. Unfortunately every time you call the wait time is so long it is not worth my time to inquire about my order. We got the nail trim elsewhere (same thing we'll do for all future needs). Resolution time: never closed and I don't have the time to call them back (see comment below).

Another example: Replacement windows were due by a certain date. Called the store, they said they would call Milgard and get back to me b/c they had not arrived. Don't hold your breath for a call back, you'll be long dead. I've got a call back 1 out of 10 times with these guys.

Ultimately I think they are so COMPLETELY UNDERSTAFFED they cannot deal with any issue not staring them directly in the face at that very moment.

I've been on this ride for 6+ months with these guys. So sad. I'll never,...

Most of the folks at HD Supply are good to work with but I found John, their manager very hard to work with. IMO, he is not very customer-friendly. I have come across him twice and both experiences have been bad. The second one today takes the cake. I had placed an order for an entry door ten days back and paid for it. I was told it was expected by 12/3/14 (today) but there was a potential delay due to a strike at the supplier's. I was also assured we will be called when the door was ready. I didn't get a call and so I called today. John told me there were two doors in stock. I was wondering why they didn't call us but wanted to stay focused on the immediate need. I requested him to keep one aside but he said he cannot. I reminded him it was paid for already. I was flabbergasted by his response: "It is only a deposit. It will not be cashed in until the door gets picked up." The implication is, they cannot keep the door aside. This sounds extremely ridiculous to me. I had to rush to pick it up while fervently hoping someone else didn't pick it up in the mean time. This after paying in full, ten days in advance AND after being assured one will be set aside and we will be called!! How is this for customer-friendliness!! I told him he was doing all he can to drive away customers. At least I for one would never shop there as long as John is the...