Just got done talking to my local Home Depot (for the second time)
regarding a foul-up on their part. I'm redoing my kitchen as the
first part of a remodel of the entire house. Anyways, I ordered a
tile-in sink from Home Depot to butt up against the new tile
countertop I'm putting in (no lip on the sink). The order says
tile-in sink. They sent me an undermount sink. The problem here is
that these two types of sinks are almost identical (at least in the
model I purchased). Same finish, same size...just that the undermount
has holes drilled that are too big for the faucets I purchased (they
dropped right through when I tried to install them).

They admit the screw-up was their fault. They also have told me that
there is no faucet made that will fit the holes the size of the
undermount sink. However, since they did not do the installation,
they will do nothing for me other than replace the sink with a
tile-in. The undermount sink currently resides in the middle of my
tiled countertop (cemented it).

The store manager has been no help in resolving this situation in an
equitable manner. No refund/replacement without the sink (torn out of
my counter) and no money/credit towards the removal of the existing
sink.

Can anyone who's run into a similar situation give me any help on ways
to get Home Depot to do what's right here? I'm a do-it-yourself'er
simply trying to make my dollars stretch. I would like to believe
that the home supply stores out there understand that. But when they
refuse to take responsibility for screw-ups like this, it makes me
wonder what a do-it-yourself'er is supposed to do.

- Joseph

I had the same problem ordered a sink from HD the lady ordered the
wrong one a smaller one and my granite instaler picked it up and cut the
granite for it . HD first agreed to help then said FU when they learned
of the counters price. So i went and charged 1000 worth of stuff and
stopped payment on the Ck. that woke them up and we settled. But that
is illegal to do and my 1500 counter top cannot have a bigger sink as
we cant remove it to cut it . It may break my instaler said. I dont know
they really can be asses. Contact headquarters see what they say.

"Joseph" wrote in message
om...
[Snip - Home Depot sent wrong type sink]
They admit the screw-up was their fault. They also have told me that
there is no faucet made that will fit the holes the size of the
undermount sink. However, since they did not do the installation,
they will do nothing for me other than replace the sink with a
tile-in. The undermount sink currently resides in the middle of my
tiled countertop (cemented it).

There is certainly no defense for what Home Depot did. However, consumers
are seeing more and more of this kind of behavior from stores. I don't
think it is going to get better in this lousy economy. Stores are fighting
tooth-and-nail for profits, often at the cost of good customer service.

So, we learn from our mistakes and go on with life. The key is to pursue
satisfaction to a reasonable degree with store management and lodge
complaints with the BBB and any state consumer agencies. That makes sure
that future abuse of customers is documented so that the next complaint is
taken more seriously. The BBB doesn't really have any power beyond the
ability to warn other customers of a store's bad past behavior.

My personal experience is that these fights can take up an enormous amount
of a customers time, and can sometimes yield no satisfaction. At some
point, you need to write down what happened and move on. Remember the
incident, learn from it and avoid the potential of it happening again. I'll
bet that you will test the fixture size before you cement-in a sink next
time...

That is sometimes the best you can do.

Greg

Joseph wrote:

Just got done talking to my local Home Depot (for the second time)
regarding a foul-up on their part. I'm redoing my kitchen as the
first part of a remodel of the entire house. Anyways, I ordered a
tile-in sink from Home Depot to butt up against the new tile
countertop I'm putting in (no lip on the sink). The order says
tile-in sink. They sent me an undermount sink. The problem here is
that these two types of sinks are almost identical (at least in the
model I purchased). Same finish, same size...just that the undermount
has holes drilled that are too big for the faucets I purchased (they
dropped right through when I tried to install them).

They admit the screw-up was their fault. They also have told me that
there is no faucet made that will fit the holes the size of the
undermount sink. However, since they did not do the installation,
they will do nothing for me other than replace the sink with a
tile-in. The undermount sink currently resides in the middle of my
tiled countertop (cemented it).

The store manager has been no help in resolving this situation in an
equitable manner. No refund/replacement without the sink (torn out of
my counter) and no money/credit towards the removal of the existing
sink.

Can anyone who's run into a similar situation give me any help on ways
to get Home Depot to do what's right here? I'm a do-it-yourself'er
simply trying to make my dollars stretch. I would like to believe
that the home supply stores out there understand that. But when they
refuse to take responsibility for screw-ups like this, it makes me
wonder what a do-it-yourself'er is supposed to do.

- Joseph
well you tried to save money by doing it yourself, but when doing that
we sometimes mess up and get the wrong stuff and it cost us more than we
wanted to spend.. tell me about it.. happened to me alot of times....
but just bite the bullet and tear it out and get the refund for the
part.. thats all they gonna do for you and probably all they are
obligated to do...

"Joseph" wrote in message
om...
Just got done talking to my local Home Depot (for the second time)
regarding a foul-up on their part. I'm redoing my kitchen as the
first part of a remodel of the entire house. Anyways, I ordered a
tile-in sink from Home Depot to butt up against the new tile
countertop I'm putting in (no lip on the sink). The order says
tile-in sink. They sent me an undermount sink. The problem here is
that these two types of sinks are almost identical (at least in the
model I purchased). Same finish, same size...just that the undermount
has holes drilled that are too big for the faucets I purchased (they
dropped right through when I tried to install them).

They admit the screw-up was their fault. They also have told me that
there is no faucet made that will fit the holes the size of the
undermount sink. However, since they did not do the installation,
they will do nothing for me other than replace the sink with a
tile-in. The undermount sink currently resides in the middle of my
tiled countertop (cemented it).

The store manager has been no help in resolving this situation in an
equitable manner. No refund/replacement without the sink (torn out of
my counter) and no money/credit towards the removal of the existing
sink.

Can anyone who's run into a similar situation give me any help on ways
to get Home Depot to do what's right here? I'm a do-it-yourself'er
simply trying to make my dollars stretch. I would like to believe
that the home supply stores out there understand that. But when they
refuse to take responsibility for screw-ups like this, it makes me
wonder what a do-it-yourself'er is supposed to do.

- Joseph

I would make the argument that regardless of who installed the sink, the
root cause of the problem is their failure to deliver the right item.
Therefore, as the insurance guys would say, Home Depot should make you whole
again.
If your local TV stations have a consumer help line they may be willing to
get involved. There is nothing like a little adverse publicity on the tube
going out to lots of viewers in that HD's market area to cause some second
thoughts.
And then again the statement that "They also have told me that there is no
faucet made that will fit the holes the size of the
undermount sink." certainly points to them selling a product that they
know does not fit the criterion of fitness for the intended use. Ask the
store manage if he really wants to defend that position with your state's
consumer protection people and the states attorney-general.

Charlie

On Sat, 20 Mar 2004 18:39:21 -0700, George Wenzel
wrote:

In article , oxgourd-
says...
There is certainly no defense for what Home Depot did.

I agree, but what about the customer. Surely the customer has to take
SOME responsibility for checking items upon delivery, and making sure
what was ordered is the same as what was delivered?

Regards,

George Wenzel


You can't just go by the labels and bar codes on the packaging.

My wife bought a dishwasher from HD for our new house. They delivered
it. I checked the model number and color on the unopened box. When I
started to install it the next day, there was pipe dope on the
plumbing connection and no drain hose end or interior packing.. I
called her to tell her I thought it was used. In the course of
conversation, she mentioned something about the push buttons and
indicator lights. Well, the one I 'm looking at has a single knob; no
buttons or lights. The model number on the attached metal tag didn't
match what we had bought.

The HD store manager was pretty skeptical when I explained what I had.
Evidently someone had switched dish washers. They did a good job of
gluing the box back. I suspect he thought I was the one who switched
them. They did exchange it.

And for the OP. Why do they sell a sink for which no faucet is
available? What brand sink?

That's ok. I was ready to check out with a faucet in a sealed box. Luckily
I noticed water was dripping out. Opened the box and it was someone's old
faucet. They had apparently installed the new one and brought the old one
back in the sealed box and HD didn't open it at the return desk.

On the other hand, Sears messed up on ordering a refrigerator. The model
was slightly wrong which we realized a week after delivery. They offered an
exchange or discount.... we took the exchange and got the right model all
at their expense. Only diffference was the absence of a water filter in the
wrong unit and one tiny digit in the model number.



"Andy Asberry" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 20 Mar 2004 18:39:21 -0700, George Wenzel
wrote:

In article , oxgourd-
says...
There is certainly no defense for what Home Depot did.

I agree, but what about the customer. Surely the customer has to take
SOME responsibility for checking items upon delivery, and making sure
what was ordered is the same as what was delivered?

Regards,

George Wenzel


You can't just go by the labels and bar codes on the packaging.

My wife bought a dishwasher from HD for our new house. They delivered
it. I checked the model number and color on the unopened box. When I
started to install it the next day, there was pipe dope on the
plumbing connection and no drain hose end or interior packing.. I
called her to tell her I thought it was used. In the course of
conversation, she mentioned something about the push buttons and
indicator lights. Well, the one I 'm looking at has a single knob; no
buttons or lights. The model number on the attached metal tag didn't
match what we had bought.

The HD store manager was pretty skeptical when I explained what I had.
Evidently someone had switched dish washers. They did a good job of
gluing the box back. I suspect he thought I was the one who switched
them. They did exchange it.

And for the OP. Why do they sell a sink for which no faucet is
available? What brand sink?

"George Wenzel" wrote in message

The problem here is that the store didn't install the wrong item - you
did. As far as they're concerned, they delivered the wrong item and the
problem should have been noticed when you signed for the delivery. It
wasn't, the item was installed, and you realized the problem _after_ the
installation.

You're the one who is refusing to take responsibility - you signed for
the sink, despite it being the wrong item.

You may be right, but it depends on the labeling. If the carton had big
letter stating it was UNDERMOUNT, I'd side with you. If the carton has a
simple code that was a digit off, it is easy to miss. As the OP said, it is
nearly identical and he did not notice the difference. Probably most of us
would not.
Ed

On 20 Mar 2004 16:49:37 -0800, (Joseph)
wrote:

Just got done talking to my local Home Depot (for the second time)
regarding a foul-up on their part. I'm redoing my kitchen as the
first part of a remodel of the entire house. Anyways, I ordered a
tile-in sink from Home Depot to butt up against the new tile
countertop I'm putting in (no lip on the sink). The order says
tile-in sink. They sent me an undermount sink. The problem here is
that these two types of sinks are almost identical (at least in the
model I purchased). Same finish, same size...just that the undermount
has holes drilled that are too big for the faucets I purchased (they
dropped right through when I tried to install them).

First, check a plumbing supply house. There may be escutcheons that
will make the faucets work.

They admit the screw-up was their fault. They also have told me that
there is no faucet made that will fit the holes the size of the
undermount sink. However, since they did not do the installation,
they will do nothing for me other than replace the sink with a
tile-in. The undermount sink currently resides in the middle of my
tiled countertop (cemented it).

The store manager has been no help in resolving this situation in an
equitable manner. No refund/replacement without the sink (torn out of
my counter) and no money/credit towards the removal of the existing
sink.

Can anyone who's run into a similar situation give me any help on ways
to get Home Depot to do what's right here? I'm a do-it-yourself'er
simply trying to make my dollars stretch. I would like to believe
that the home supply stores out there understand that. But when they
refuse to take responsibility for screw-ups like this, it makes me
wonder what a do-it-yourself'er is supposed to do.

A DIY'er also has to take responsibility for their screwups. Home
Depot delivered the wrong item and is willing to replace it. But they
didn't tile it in, so it's not really their responsibility to remove
it either. They're already going to lose the cost of the sink, it
can't be resold. You installed it without knowing it was the wrong
item, but it's your responsibility to check that what you got is what
you ordered.

Jeff

"Charlie Bress" wrote in message
...

"Joseph" wrote in message
om...
Just got done talking to my local Home Depot (for the second time)
regarding a foul-up on their part. I'm redoing my kitchen as the
first part of a remodel of the entire house. Anyways, I ordered a
tile-in sink from Home Depot to butt up against the new tile
countertop I'm putting in (no lip on the sink). The order says
tile-in sink. They sent me an undermount sink. The problem here is
that these two types of sinks are almost identical (at least in the
model I purchased). Same finish, same size...just that the undermount
has holes drilled that are too big for the faucets I purchased (they
dropped right through when I tried to install them).

They admit the screw-up was their fault. They also have told me that
there is no faucet made that will fit the holes the size of the
undermount sink. However, since they did not do the installation,
they will do nothing for me other than replace the sink with a
tile-in. The undermount sink currently resides in the middle of my
tiled countertop (cemented it).

The store manager has been no help in resolving this situation in an
equitable manner. No refund/replacement without the sink (torn out of
my counter) and no money/credit towards the removal of the existing
sink.

Can anyone who's run into a similar situation give me any help on ways
to get Home Depot to do what's right here? I'm a do-it-yourself'er
simply trying to make my dollars stretch. I would like to believe
that the home supply stores out there understand that. But when they
refuse to take responsibility for screw-ups like this, it makes me
wonder what a do-it-yourself'er is supposed to do.

- Joseph

I would make the argument that regardless of who installed the sink, the
root cause of the problem is their failure to deliver the right item.

Not a chance that will float.
You go in and buy a product, particularly in say, Johnstone Supply, or
Ferguson...and since they normally will not sell to DIY types, for this VERY
reason, they expect that you have enough sense to double check, and to know
what you are ordering. You get it to the job site and its wrong, they
expect, as would anyone, that you can see the unit in question is not :
1-right one that you ordered, or 2-its not going to work, and thus, you
stop, find out why, and return it knowing this time where the mistake was.

Therefore, as the insurance guys would say, Home Depot should make you
whole
again.

Nope. Welcome to the world of DIY.
If the OP had contracted out Home Depot to sub out another contractor to
install the sink, and the contractor messed up, then it would be NOT Home
Depots fault, but the sub contractor.
In this case, the sub....indirectly....was the OP.


If your local TV stations have a consumer help line they may be willing to
get involved. There is nothing like a little adverse publicity on the tube
going out to lots of viewers in that HD's market area to cause some second
thoughts.

LOL...Home Depot sells millions of people each and every year, lots of wrong
parts...partially due to Home Depots drones that have no damn clue how to
install a thing they sell, and more than likely not, due to the inability of
the homeowner to convey to a professional what he needs. Home Depot
employees are NOT professionals....unless you have a professional title for
someone running around in an orange smock, selling everyone that walks in
things they cant even explain a use for.

And then again the statement that "They also have told me that there is
no
faucet made that will fit the holes the size of the
undermount sink." certainly points to them selling a product that they
know does not fit the criterion of fitness for the intended use.

And they knew from day one, when the OP ordered the sink, EXACTLY what he
had?
Nope...no clue, therefore, that isnt a valid point....


Ask the
store manage if he really wants to defend that position with your state's
consumer protection people and the states attorney-general.

I would. Any day of the week. If the OP came in, and ordered a particular
sink....any model, and the wrong one was delivered, and installed by the
OP, then a couple of things come to mind....
That little tag that states its up to the installer to check to see if the
unit is the one that fits the intended application, AND, the fact that the
OP probably just went in, said I like that one, gimmie...
Sometimes....you cant have what you want. Sometimes, someone needs to take
responsibility for their own screwups...something that more and more people
fail to do...

Charlie

"George Wenzel" wrote in message
Checking a model number or UPC code against what's on the
order sheet is NOT complicated -- just put the numbers side-by-side, and
see if they match.

Regards,

But if the person writing the order put the wrong number on the sheet, the
wrong part would match. The order may read "model 2000016" and the carton
reads the same, but it should read model 2000016T" he would not know that.
If the OP depended on the person at HD to write it up properly and the
description does not specify the style, it is not easily caught. Since
neither of us saw the paperwork, the labels, or the difference, we are just
guessing. For that reason, we cannot assign blame properly.
Ed

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

"George Wenzel" wrote in message

Checking a model number or UPC code against what's on the
order sheet is NOT complicated -- just put the numbers side-by-side, and
see if they match.

Regards,


But if the person writing the order put the wrong number on the sheet, the
wrong part would match. The order may read "model 2000016" and the carton
reads the same, but it should read model 2000016T" he would not know that.
If the OP depended on the person at HD to write it up properly and the
description does not specify the style, it is not easily caught. Since
neither of us saw the paperwork, the labels, or the difference, we are just
guessing. For that reason, we cannot assign blame properly.
Ed



That's the great thing about Usenet. We can blame anyone we want.

Best regards, ;-)
Bob

"Andy Asberry" wrote in message You can't just
go by the labels and bar codes on the packaging.

My wife bought a dishwasher from HD for our new house. They delivered
it. I checked the model number and color on the unopened box. When I
started to install it the next day, there was pipe dope on the
plumbing connection and no drain hose end or interior packing.. I
called her to tell her I thought it was used. In the course of
conversation, she mentioned something about the push buttons and
indicator lights. Well, the one I 'm looking at has a single knob; no
buttons or lights. The model number on the attached metal tag didn't
match what we had bought.

The HD store manager was pretty skeptical when I explained what I had.
Evidently someone had switched dish washers. They did a good job of
gluing the box back. I suspect he thought I was the one who switched
them. They did exchange it.



LOL!!
Reminds me of a couple years back when I bought an un-assembled office
chair. It was brought out in a box that had been opened, but taped up again.
It was the last one they had, so I took it. I got it home, opened it up and
started to assemble it. first thing I noticed was a tear in the seat, then
the worn casters. Looking it all over, near I as I could tell, someone
bought a new chair, then boxed up their old one, and "returned" it to the
store!
They really gave me a second look when I returned it, explaining the
problem!
Greg

"Joseph" wrote in message om...
Just got done talking to my local Home Depot (for the second time)
regarding a foul-up on their part. I'm redoing my kitchen as the
first part of a remodel of the entire house. Anyways, I ordered a
tile-in sink from Home Depot to butt up against the new tile
countertop I'm putting in (no lip on the sink). The order says
tile-in sink. They sent me an undermount sink. The problem here is
that these two types of sinks are almost identical (at least in the
model I purchased). Same finish, same size...just that the undermount
has holes drilled that are too big for the faucets I purchased (they
dropped right through when I tried to install them).

They admit the screw-up was their fault. They also have told me that
there is no faucet made that will fit the holes the size of the
undermount sink. However, since they did not do the installation,
they will do nothing for me other than replace the sink with a
tile-in. The undermount sink currently resides in the middle of my
tiled countertop (cemented it).

The store manager has been no help in resolving this situation in an
equitable manner. No refund/replacement without the sink (torn out of
my counter) and no money/credit towards the removal of the existing
sink.

Can anyone who's run into a similar situation give me any help on ways
to get Home Depot to do what's right here? I'm a do-it-yourself'er
simply trying to make my dollars stretch. I would like to believe
that the home supply stores out there understand that. But when they
refuse to take responsibility for screw-ups like this, it makes me
wonder what a do-it-yourself'er is supposed to do.

- Joseph

This is Turtle.

When you deal with Home Depot , your dealing with a discount supply house or another word for it is Wholesale supply house. I'm in
the HVAC / R business and I buy the equipment from the Wholesale supply house and i do get the equipment at a very good discount
verses buying from a retail supplier. Home Depot is a wholesaler of retail supplies and they are taking the same stands as a
wholesaler supply house like I buy from. If you want to buy at wholesale prices, expect to be treated like me at my wholesaler
supply house. If I order a piece of equipment from them and it is wrong like the wrong seer rating and I install it. I call them and
tell them that it was the wrong seer rating. They will say well bring it back and get a new one with the right seer rating. I can
ask them to help with the added cost of re installing the right equipment and they will tell me this. We are in the wholesaling of
equipment and not in the installation of the equipment. You are responciable to see that the equipment is correct before you install
it. We will only replace anything that is defective or the wrong type and installing the equipment is your baby.

Home Depot , Low's Discount Stores, and Wall Marts is all Wholesale suppliers. Wholesaler suppliers are a far cry from a retail
store where you would want them to do something about this.

The Public is just now understanding the Discount supply houses / Wholesale suppliers ways of doing business. If your going to Do It
Yourself then you are the contractor and You better know what your going to do way before you start. I'm not saing anything good or
bad here about this problem , but letting you in on the wholesale business and how it works.

TURTLE


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Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
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"He Hoo" wrote in message
news
"Joseph" wrote in message
om...
[Snip - Home Depot sent wrong type sink]
They admit the screw-up was their fault. They also have told me that
there is no faucet made that will fit the holes the size of the
undermount sink. However, since they did not do the installation,
they will do nothing for me other than replace the sink with a
tile-in. The undermount sink currently resides in the middle of my
tiled countertop (cemented it).

There is certainly no defense for what Home Depot did. However, consumers
are seeing more and more of this kind of behavior from stores. I don't
think it is going to get better in this lousy economy. Stores are
fighting
tooth-and-nail for profits, often at the cost of good customer service.

So, we learn from our mistakes and go on with life. The key is to pursue
satisfaction to a reasonable degree with store management and lodge
complaints with the BBB and any state consumer agencies. That makes sure
that future abuse of customers is documented so that the next complaint is
taken more seriously. The BBB doesn't really have any power beyond the
ability to warn other customers of a store's bad past behavior.


Many newspapers also have a consumer watch section. These can have quite a
bit of power over companies that refuse to give good customer service.

--
Mike D.

www.stopassaultnow.org

Remove .spamnot to respond by email


My personal experience is that these fights can take up an enormous amount
of a customers time, and can sometimes yield no satisfaction. At some
point, you need to write down what happened and move on. Remember the
incident, learn from it and avoid the potential of it happening again.
I'll
bet that you will test the fixture size before you cement-in a sink next
time...

That is sometimes the best you can do.

Greg





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Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
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Well, I throw this along with signing for packages.

Once you sign it, you've accepted the parcel as is.
What people normally don't do is inspect it.
I don't know if by inspecting you can open the box without signing for it
(since it's still the post offices property at that point) but once it's
signed it's yers.

Some might have a 7day notification thingy....

As far as getting advice Home Depot workers....well....I think most of these
guys are DIY'ers. The young ones might be (if they're not students) and the
older ones might be retired contracters...but really, how much experience
can you expect these guys to have over professionals.

It's like shopping at a flea market....ya get what ya pay for....so inspect
it before you drop the cash!
It may seem like you're being a pain having the guys open the box for
inspection....but hey, it's yer gas and time! Sure it's their time....but
they're paid by the hour anyhow....

wow....am I ever longwinded today....

"George Wenzel" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...
You're the one who is refusing to take responsibility - you signed for
the sink, despite it being the wrong item.

You may be right, but it depends on the labeling.

I disagree. I don't think the labeling should make any difference
(although I agree that clear labelling can minimize these kinds of
problems). Checking a model number or UPC code against what's on the
order sheet is NOT complicated -- just put the numbers side-by-side, and
see if they match.

Regards,

George Wenzel
--
George Wenzel, B.A. (Criminology)
E-mail: lid
E-mail address is munged. Instead of dot invalid, use dot net

Hey...theres a song in that!!!

You can't always get what ya want.....You can't always get what ya
want....but you can try sometimes....and I'm sure you might find....you can
get what ya neeedd!! haha

Sorry was that out of tune?

OP probably just went in, said I like that one, gimmie...
Sometimes....you cant have what you want. Sometimes, someone needs to take
responsibility for their own screwups...something that more and more
people
fail to do...

Charlie

As many of the stories in this thread prove, there are a lot more consumers
trying to rip off the chain stores than the other way around. Their
good-will, no questions asked returns policies are biting them in the ass,
as deadbeats put old dishwashers back into factory boxes and return them.
A clerk at Lowes told me about 5 years ago that Monday mornings were a zoo
because so many people were buying stuff on Friday, using it all weekend
(ladders were a favorite) and then returning the stuff on Monday. Even when
they could see paint on the ladders, they were told to accept the return.
They finally got tough on that crap a year or two ago....

"Mike Dobony" wrote in message
...

"He Hoo" wrote in message
news
"Joseph" wrote in message
om...
[Snip - Home Depot sent wrong type sink]
They admit the screw-up was their fault. They also have told me that
there is no faucet made that will fit the holes the size of the
undermount sink. However, since they did not do the installation,
they will do nothing for me other than replace the sink with a
tile-in. The undermount sink currently resides in the middle of my
tiled countertop (cemented it).

There is certainly no defense for what Home Depot did. However,
consumers
are seeing more and more of this kind of behavior from stores. I don't
think it is going to get better in this lousy economy. Stores are
fighting
tooth-and-nail for profits, often at the cost of good customer service.

So, we learn from our mistakes and go on with life. The key is to
pursue
satisfaction to a reasonable degree with store management and lodge
complaints with the BBB and any state consumer agencies. That makes
sure
that future abuse of customers is documented so that the next complaint
is
taken more seriously. The BBB doesn't really have any power beyond the
ability to warn other customers of a store's bad past behavior.


Many newspapers also have a consumer watch section. These can have quite
a
bit of power over companies that refuse to give good customer service.

--
Mike D.

www.stopassaultnow.org

Remove .spamnot to respond by email


My personal experience is that these fights can take up an enormous
amount
of a customers time, and can sometimes yield no satisfaction. At some
point, you need to write down what happened and move on. Remember the
incident, learn from it and avoid the potential of it happening again.
I'll
bet that you will test the fixture size before you cement-in a sink next
time...

That is sometimes the best you can do.

Greg





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Some photos of 'tile-in' undermount sink:

http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/alf...&.dnm=4c10.jpg

the offending holes:
http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/alf...&.dnm=475e.jpg

Thanks all for your comments. For the poster who wondered why they
sell a sink they don't have faucets for. The undermount sink is
intended to mount under the countertop. The holes are oversized for
the purpose of being able to tighten the faucet to the countertop. It
appears that the Kohler undermount sink is the same sink as the
tile-in (just with larger holes).

Now if I had just known this prior to receiving the bad sink rather
than yesterday that would have been useful. Suffice it to say that I
will check and double-check anything received from Home Depot.
Speaking of which, I have about $1500 worth of special order stuff
still on order with them. I wonder if this is of any value as
leverage (not that I had any success getting store credit towards a
portion of it). It's on a HD credit card.

- Joseph

"TURTLE" wrote in message
...

"Joseph" wrote in message
om...
Just got done talking to my local Home Depot (for the second time)
regarding a foul-up on their part. I'm redoing my kitchen as the
first part of a remodel of the entire house. Anyways, I ordered a
tile-in sink from Home Depot to butt up against the new tile
countertop I'm putting in (no lip on the sink). The order says
tile-in sink. They sent me an undermount sink. The problem here is
that these two types of sinks are almost identical (at least in the
model I purchased). Same finish, same size...just that the undermount
has holes drilled that are too big for the faucets I purchased (they
dropped right through when I tried to install them).

They admit the screw-up was their fault. They also have told me that
there is no faucet made that will fit the holes the size of the
undermount sink. However, since they did not do the installation,
they will do nothing for me other than replace the sink with a
tile-in. The undermount sink currently resides in the middle of my
tiled countertop (cemented it).

The store manager has been no help in resolving this situation in an
equitable manner. No refund/replacement without the sink (torn out of
my counter) and no money/credit towards the removal of the existing
sink.

Can anyone who's run into a similar situation give me any help on ways
to get Home Depot to do what's right here? I'm a do-it-yourself'er
simply trying to make my dollars stretch. I would like to believe
that the home supply stores out there understand that. But when they
refuse to take responsibility for screw-ups like this, it makes me
wonder what a do-it-yourself'er is supposed to do.

- Joseph

This is Turtle.

When you deal with Home Depot , your dealing with a discount supply house
or another word for it is Wholesale supply house. I'm in
the HVAC / R business and I buy the equipment from the Wholesale supply
house and i do get the equipment at a very good discount
verses buying from a retail supplier. Home Depot is a wholesaler of retail
supplies and they are taking the same stands as a
wholesaler supply house like I buy from. If you want to buy at wholesale
prices, expect to be treated like me at my wholesaler
supply house. If I order a piece of equipment from them and it is wrong
like the wrong seer rating and I install it. I call them and
tell them that it was the wrong seer rating. They will say well bring it
back and get a new one with the right seer rating. I can
ask them to help with the added cost of re installing the right equipment
and they will tell me this. We are in the wholesaling of
equipment and not in the installation of the equipment. You are
responciable to see that the equipment is correct before you install
it. We will only replace anything that is defective or the wrong type and
installing the equipment is your baby.

Home Depot , Low's Discount Stores, and Wall Marts is all Wholesale
suppliers. Wholesaler suppliers are a far cry from a retail
store where you would want them to do something about this.

The Public is just now understanding the Discount supply houses /
Wholesale suppliers ways of doing business. If your going to Do It
Yourself then you are the contractor and You better know what your going
to do way before you start. I'm not saing anything good or
bad here about this problem , but letting you in on the wholesale business
and how it works.

TURTLE


---

While you're correct in principle, you're absolutely wrong in characterizing
Home Depot,
"Low's" and "Wall Marts" as wholesalers, in any sense of the word. Sales to
the general
public are retail sales. The stores you cite are all retailers.

Unfortunately, George, we live in a society where people (and juries) hold
companies responsible for spilling hot coffee on themselves! We have come
to the point where companies are obligated to protect us from ourselves.

This case differs however.

"George Wenzel" wrote in message
...
In article , oxgourd-
says...
There is certainly no defense for what Home Depot did.

I agree, but what about the customer. Surely the customer has to take
SOME responsibility for checking items upon delivery, and making sure
what was ordered is the same as what was delivered?

Regards,

George Wenzel
--
George Wenzel, B.A. (Criminology)
E-mail: lid
E-mail address is munged. Instead of dot invalid, use dot net

I have learned over the past number of years one cardinal rule when
purchasing merchandise from a store, wholesaler or whatever:- NEVER accept a
carton that has signs of been opened, check the seals and tape for evidence
of tampering. If you see that it has been opened, either refuse to accept it
or open and check everything right there on their counter or floor, it is a
lot easier than making a trip back and having to try to explain what
happened.


"Greg O" wrote in message
...

"Andy Asberry" wrote in message You can't
just
go by the labels and bar codes on the packaging.

My wife bought a dishwasher from HD for our new house. They delivered
it. I checked the model number and color on the unopened box. When I
started to install it the next day, there was pipe dope on the
plumbing connection and no drain hose end or interior packing.. I
called her to tell her I thought it was used. In the course of
conversation, she mentioned something about the push buttons and
indicator lights. Well, the one I 'm looking at has a single knob; no
buttons or lights. The model number on the attached metal tag didn't
match what we had bought.

The HD store manager was pretty skeptical when I explained what I had.
Evidently someone had switched dish washers. They did a good job of
gluing the box back. I suspect he thought I was the one who switched
them. They did exchange it.



LOL!!
Reminds me of a couple years back when I bought an un-assembled office
chair. It was brought out in a box that had been opened, but taped up
again.
It was the last one they had, so I took it. I got it home, opened it up
and
started to assemble it. first thing I noticed was a tear in the seat, then
the worn casters. Looking it all over, near I as I could tell, someone
bought a new chair, then boxed up their old one, and "returned" it to the
store!
They really gave me a second look when I returned it, explaining the
problem!
Greg

Ya, that reminds me of when I bought my house 30 years ago. The
builder said I had to sign for the porcelain bathroom fixtures
but there were no lightbulb (or windows) in the 3 bathrooms.
The builder's guy said I have to look .... but his flashlight
was broke, but I still had to sign. Luckily, in my case, it was
ok once the lights were on.

SB wrote:
Well, I throw this along with signing for packages.

Once you sign it, you've accepted the parcel as is.
What people normally don't do is inspect it.
I don't know if by inspecting you can open the box without signing for it
(since it's still the post offices property at that point) but once it's
signed it's yers.

Some might have a 7day notification thingy....

As far as getting advice Home Depot workers....well....I think most of these
guys are DIY'ers. The young ones might be (if they're not students) and the
older ones might be retired contracters...but really, how much experience
can you expect these guys to have over professionals.

It's like shopping at a flea market....ya get what ya pay for....so inspect
it before you drop the cash!
It may seem like you're being a pain having the guys open the box for
inspection....but hey, it's yer gas and time! Sure it's their time....but
they're paid by the hour anyhow....

wow....am I ever longwinded today....

"George Wenzel" wrote in message
...

In article ,
says...

You're the one who is refusing to take responsibility - you signed for
the sink, despite it being the wrong item.

You may be right, but it depends on the labeling.

I disagree. I don't think the labeling should make any difference
(although I agree that clear labelling can minimize these kinds of
problems). Checking a model number or UPC code against what's on the
order sheet is NOT complicated -- just put the numbers side-by-side, and
see if they match.

Regards,

George Wenzel
--
George Wenzel, B.A. (Criminology)
E-mail: lid
E-mail address is munged. Instead of dot invalid, use dot net

Joseph wrote:
snip
They admit the screw-up was their fault. They also have told me
that there is no faucet made that will fit the holes the size of the
undermount sink. However, since they did not do the installation,
they will do nothing for me other than replace the sink with a
tile-in. The undermount sink currently resides in the middle of my
tiled countertop (cemented it).

The store manager has been no help in resolving this situation in an
equitable manner. No refund/replacement without the sink (torn out
of my counter) and no money/credit towards the removal of the
existing sink.

Seems to me you are getting lots of me too anecdotes, not many suggestions
to solve the problem. I agree that you are partially responsible in not
having caught the error prior to installation. But the root cause of that
was/is HD's error.

The manager isn't being any help. Try to find a superior - regional
manager? - and put your case to him. Preferably in person. You need
someone with authority to over ride normal policy.

People have suggested TV/Newspaper consumer help. Good plan if available.
BBB is useless. There is always small claims.

By any chance you have an old sink you can stick in the box and return? Not
the cemented in one, just any old sink

--
dadiOH
_____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.0...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
____________________________

"James Wynne" wrote in message ...

"TURTLE" wrote in message
...

"Joseph" wrote in message
om...
Just got done talking to my local Home Depot (for the second time)
regarding a foul-up on their part. I'm redoing my kitchen as the
first part of a remodel of the entire house. Anyways, I ordered a
tile-in sink from Home Depot to butt up against the new tile
countertop I'm putting in (no lip on the sink). The order says
tile-in sink. They sent me an undermount sink. The problem here is
that these two types of sinks are almost identical (at least in the
model I purchased). Same finish, same size...just that the undermount
has holes drilled that are too big for the faucets I purchased (they
dropped right through when I tried to install them).

They admit the screw-up was their fault. They also have told me that
there is no faucet made that will fit the holes the size of the
undermount sink. However, since they did not do the installation,
they will do nothing for me other than replace the sink with a
tile-in. The undermount sink currently resides in the middle of my
tiled countertop (cemented it).

The store manager has been no help in resolving this situation in an
equitable manner. No refund/replacement without the sink (torn out of
my counter) and no money/credit towards the removal of the existing
sink.

Can anyone who's run into a similar situation give me any help on ways
to get Home Depot to do what's right here? I'm a do-it-yourself'er
simply trying to make my dollars stretch. I would like to believe
that the home supply stores out there understand that. But when they
refuse to take responsibility for screw-ups like this, it makes me
wonder what a do-it-yourself'er is supposed to do.

- Joseph

This is Turtle.

When you deal with Home Depot , your dealing with a discount supply house
or another word for it is Wholesale supply house. I'm in
the HVAC / R business and I buy the equipment from the Wholesale supply
house and i do get the equipment at a very good discount
verses buying from a retail supplier. Home Depot is a wholesaler of retail
supplies and they are taking the same stands as a
wholesaler supply house like I buy from. If you want to buy at wholesale
prices, expect to be treated like me at my wholesaler
supply house. If I order a piece of equipment from them and it is wrong
like the wrong seer rating and I install it. I call them and
tell them that it was the wrong seer rating. They will say well bring it
back and get a new one with the right seer rating. I can
ask them to help with the added cost of re installing the right equipment
and they will tell me this. We are in the wholesaling of
equipment and not in the installation of the equipment. You are
responciable to see that the equipment is correct before you install
it. We will only replace anything that is defective or the wrong type and
installing the equipment is your baby.

Home Depot , Low's Discount Stores, and Wall Marts is all Wholesale
suppliers. Wholesaler suppliers are a far cry from a retail
store where you would want them to do something about this.

The Public is just now understanding the Discount supply houses /
Wholesale suppliers ways of doing business. If your going to Do It
Yourself then you are the contractor and You better know what your going
to do way before you start. I'm not saing anything good or
bad here about this problem , but letting you in on the wholesale business
and how it works.

TURTLE


---

While you're correct in principle, you're absolutely wrong in characterizing
Home Depot,
"Low's" and "Wall Marts" as wholesalers, in any sense of the word. Sales to
the general
public are retail sales. The stores you cite are all retailers.


This is Turtle.

You must not being the business of reselling equipment or supplies. I can buy breakers, copper tubing & fittings, plumbing supplies,
Thermostats / the cheap kind, PVC glue & fittings, drills, bits, saw blades, Electric wire, EMT and PVC or Metal Electric Conduit +
fittings, air buster fans, freon 134-A from Sam's Wholesale place or freon R-22 with licences, Cans of 134-A for small appliances &
adapters to guages, and everything i need to install a central system with and pay less or the same as my wholesale supplier. The
only thing that I can't buy cheaper at the wholesaler is the air handlers , gas furnaces, & Condenser units. There is a general rule
of mark up of you buy from the manufactor and the wholesalers adds a 20% mark up on the product from the manufactors price they had
to pay for it. Then the Wholesaler will sell the product to the dealers / Retail stores / or any outlet like walmarts , low's, Home
Depot, or any type retail out let with this 20% mark up on it to keep the Wholesaler a live.

Walmarts, Low's, Home Depot, Sam's Wholesale place, and all the so called retailers but they are selling for wholesale price just
like the wholesalers are selling to me. They got smart and started buying from the manufactors theirself and cutting the wholesalers
out. They are selling the product at a 20% mark up and with only a 20% mark up. You don't have enough money left over to fix every
screw up that is proformed by do it yourselfers. If they warrentied every screw up of a do it yourselfers. They would go in the hole
in 1 years for the failure rate for do it yourselfers is about 50%. I in the HVAC / R business a .10% screw up rate for i do this
for a living and don't screw up much. If i started having a 50% screw up rate in my business. First my supplier will cut me off and
they will only supply replacement parts for free but no labor allowance for screw ups. Screw up's do include the wrong parts or
equipment delivered to me and I put them in. You may not know it but your buying at wholesale prices at these places and Wholesalers
don't cover screw up's of the installers. There is suppose to be a another 20% mark up on the product tacked on the product from the
installer / contractor to cover screw up of any kind. I get the 20% mark up on the HVAC equipment just for any screw up's you cause
or I cause. If your kid shoots a hole in the condenser with his pellet rifle and Lets the freon out. I will fix the hole in the coil
for nothing for the first year for i got 20% mark up to cover screw up's of any kind. Now if you bought the equipment and i just
installed it for you. I did not get any mark up to buy insurance on screw ups. The hole in the coil is going to cost you regular
rates of repair and i feel no obligation to fix it for nothing. When you buy from Low's or Home depot you cutting the retailer out
and buying at wholesale prices just like me in the HVAC / R wholesale supplier business.

If you expect Low's or Home depot to insure screw up like a retailer will. You have a surprise coming. They are not going to insure
screw up's of any kind. Now every once in a while they may cover a screw up to get good PR but in general. They will not insure
screw up's. When dealing with them, You are the installer / contractor and they feel no obigation to insure screw ups of any kind
for they are wholesalers.

You may not understand how the wholesale system works but if you deal with them long enough. You will understand the difference
between retail and wholesale outlets. I know your going to call them retailers but in every advertisement. you will see where they
say buy at wholesale prices and save big time. Also you can take Home depot to court over a screw up. They will usely win because
they will claim wholesale supplier status and you are the installer / contractor. Installer / contractor are responiciable for all
screw ups of any kind and should have checked everything before starting the job.

The day and age of retail outlets is gone and now you have wholesale outlets. A good example of this is the self service gas
stations. Try to make Exxon pay for you putting the wrong fuel in your car. The pump are maked as to diesel or gas and you are
responciable to install the fuel correctly. You should known what type fuel goes in your car before ever tring to fill the car with
gas.

TURTLE


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"SB" wrote in message
le.rogers.com...
Well, I throw this along with signing for packages.

Once you sign it, you've accepted the parcel as is.
What people normally don't do is inspect it.
I don't know if by inspecting you can open the box without signing for it
(since it's still the post offices property at that point) but once it's
signed it's yers.

Some might have a 7day notification thingy....

As far as getting advice Home Depot workers....well....I think most of
these
guys are DIY'ers. The young ones might be (if they're not students) and
the
older ones might be retired contracters...but really, how much experience
can you expect these guys to have over professionals.


Actually HD doesn't look for people to hire that know the product - they
look for people who can sell things (despite what they say in the
commercials). I was interviewed on 2 different occasions by 2 different
managers at 2 local HD's. During the interviews I mentioned I know the
product area well (one time was in lumber and the other electrical) and was
told by both managers that they look for people who can sell things as the
customers who shop here (HD) know what they are doing so our people don't
need to know the product (hmmmmmm.....). So much for DIY'ers getting advice
there :-/



Henry


snip


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While the previous poster is correct in stating locating a regional manager & discussing the
matter with him/her may be the best advise, I'd definitely stay away from his suggestion of
sticking any ol' sink into the merchandise box you purchased earlier & return it to Home Depot.
It could get you thrown into jail for fraud
http://www.hartley.com/natfraud.htm
As a DIY'er you should ALWAYS test fit your merchandise for fitment issues PRIOR to making the
final installation. Check out the GREAT GOOFS section on the following link and you'll understand.
www.familyhandyman.com
ID


dadiOH wrote:
Joseph wrote:
snip

They admit the screw-up was their fault. They also have told me
that there is no faucet made that will fit the holes the size of the
undermount sink. However, since they did not do the installation,
they will do nothing for me other than replace the sink with a
tile-in. The undermount sink currently resides in the middle of my
tiled countertop (cemented it).

The store manager has been no help in resolving this situation in an
equitable manner. No refund/replacement without the sink (torn out
of my counter) and no money/credit towards the removal of the
existing sink.


Seems to me you are getting lots of me too anecdotes, not many suggestions
to solve the problem. I agree that you are partially responsible in not
having caught the error prior to installation. But the root cause of that
was/is HD's error.

The manager isn't being any help. Try to find a superior - regional
manager? - and put your case to him. Preferably in person. You need
someone with authority to over ride normal policy.

People have suggested TV/Newspaper consumer help. Good plan if available.
BBB is useless. There is always small claims.

By any chance you have an old sink you can stick in the box and return? Not
the cemented in one, just any old sink

--
dadiOH
_____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.0...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
____________________________

wrote:
While the previous poster is correct in stating locating a regional
manager & discussing the matter with him/her may be the best
advise, I'd definitely stay away from his suggestion of sticking
any ol' sink into the merchandise box you purchased earlier &
return it to Home Depot.

Ummm, you seem to have missed the smiley.

--
dadiOH
_____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.0...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
____________________________

Well this is off topic from your sink question (I hope it ends up
working out for you in the end), but I noticed you made the same error
we did installing the sink cabinet (glad we weren't alone!). We have the
same cabinets and the piece where the false drawer fronts attach to is
on backwards (black to the front, whereas the inside where no one will
ever see is maple). What's going to happen when you put your drawer
fronts on is that when the doors are opened there will be a black strip
of around 3/4" of an inch that you will see instead of maple (and also
when the doors are closed you will be able to see a black line between
the doors and drawers). Flipping that piece around, you would have then
seen maple instead of black.

This piece was deceiving though, all the other drawer fronts go black
side out, maple side in as you want the maple side to be inside the
drawers where you can see them. But, other cabinets have the drawer
fronts larger than the black piece, so you don't see any black sticking
out. Having the maple inside on this piece doesn't do you any good
(unless you plan to hang out inside the sink cabinet :-) And from what I
can tell, they didn't point out this piece was opposite to all the
others in their instructions.

Anyhoo, what we did to fix ours (since we weren't going to rip out the
cabinet) was to go by a piece of iron on maple veneer, I cut a piece
large enough to cover what would be visible of the black with the drawer
fronts on, then put the drawer fronts on, and ta da....maple when we
open the doors rather than a black strip. Even though we fixed it I
sometimes still get the urge to rip it all out and make it right. :-D

Joseph wrote:
Some photos of 'tile-in' undermount sink:

http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/alf...&.dnm=4c10.jpg

the offending holes:
http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/alf...&.dnm=475e.jpg

Thanks all for your comments. For the poster who wondered why they
sell a sink they don't have faucets for. The undermount sink is
intended to mount under the countertop. The holes are oversized for
the purpose of being able to tighten the faucet to the countertop. It
appears that the Kohler undermount sink is the same sink as the
tile-in (just with larger holes).

Now if I had just known this prior to receiving the bad sink rather
than yesterday that would have been useful. Suffice it to say that I
will check and double-check anything received from Home Depot.
Speaking of which, I have about $1500 worth of special order stuff
still on order with them. I wonder if this is of any value as
leverage (not that I had any success getting store credit towards a
portion of it). It's on a HD credit card.

- Joseph

You must be Canadian as you missed my point completely. I wasn't talking
about lawsuits as get rich schemes. I was talking about how people seem to
refuse to take responsibility for their errors (your point actually).

PS: I'm Canadian also...

"George Wenzel" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...
Unfortunately, George, we live in a society where people (and juries)
hold
companies responsible for spilling hot coffee on themselves!

Speak for yourself and _your_ society. The idea of using lawsuits as a
get-rich-quick scheme hasn't spread to my society (at least, not yet).

In case you hadn't guessed, I'm Canadian.

Regards,

George Wenzel
--
George Wenzel, B.A. (Criminology)
E-mail: lid
E-mail address is munged. Instead of dot invalid, use dot net

"Art" wrote in message
nk.net...
That's ok. I was ready to check out with a faucet in a sealed box. Luckily
I noticed water was dripping out. Opened the box and it was someone's old
faucet. They had apparently installed the new one and brought the old one
back in the sealed box and HD didn't open it at the return desk.

Slightly OT- I got burned twice at the local Comp-USA, where customers had
returned items with junk, and the store had simply re shrink-wrapped the package
and put it back on the shelf. One time, a box for a 400 watt power supply
contained an old AT style PS complete with burned wires. The prev customer had
packed the box with newspaper to keep the thing from flopping around. Now, if I
buy anything there that has been shrink-wrapped, as soon as I pay for it I open
the package, right there at the counter.

Can't trust anybody these days...

Mike

"AlienZen" wrote in message
Slightly OT- I got burned twice at the local Comp-USA, where customers had
returned items with junk, and the store had simply re shrink-wrapped the
package
and put it back on the shelf. One time, a box for a 400 watt power supply
contained an old AT style PS complete with burned wires. The prev customer
had
packed the box with newspaper to keep the thing from flopping around.

That is really dumb. Liberal return policies are nice from the customer
POV, but sheesh, at least take a peek in the box to see if the merchandise
is still in there. That should be done right at the return desk when it is
brought back.

I surely don't condone stealing, but I can't feel too sorry for the store
that makes no effort.
Ed

That is so sad. I owned an auto parts store for a number of years, and
once an employee took back an air filter without looking in the damn
box. Customer had put a dinner plate in it. shakes head I wonder
what he'd have done had we opened the box. I don't think any of the
employees forgot to check the boxes during refunds after that!