Home Depot may need help to build patron loyalty
Rise in complaints suggests current system not working
Home Depot came to Canada in 1994. It’s now one of Canada’s leading retailers, with 182 stores and 27,000 associates.
A company this size often makes mistakes. The Better Business Bureau in Atlanta, Ga., (where its head office is located) closed 2,884 customer complaints in the past year and 7,794 in the past three years.
Most are about problems with products and services.
I often receive complaints about Home Depot, but I find the Canadian team usually goes the extra mile in customer service.
Corporate wheels can move slowly, though, often requiring several interventions. Here are two such cases.
Janice Maser asked in late August for help with her June 10 order of custommade roller shades at Home Depot.
When a decorator came to her home a few days after her June order to get her signature on a contract, Maser had just returned home from eye surgery and couldn’t see properly.
He asked her to sign a contract without disclosing that he had switched the brand from Levolor (which she said was non-negotiable) to Maxxmar. She only found out after the blinds were installed.
Two of the blinds didn’t fit, she said. Moreover, the installer dropped his drill from the top of a ladder, damaging her window sill and wood floor.
Home Depot reinstalled the blinds, but she still wanted Levolor. No one would listen.
“I sent numerous emails to customer care in Canada and the U.S. I left many phone messages with live agents in customer care,” Maser said. “Each agent promised to pass on the message to the correct person to return my call ASAP.
“Not once did I get the courtesy of an email acknowledgement or a call back to address the serious complaint of bait and switch.”
She finally got the Levolor blinds she wanted — and the valances to conceal
the hardware at the top — after I contacted Paul Berto, director of corporate communications at Home Depot Canada.
But things still went wrong. Regular blinds were substituted for the bedroom’s blackout blinds. She was billed twice for the balance of the order ($1,250) on her Home Depot credit card. And a promotional discount on her bulk order (worth $115), which she was eligible to receive, was never posted.
On Oct. 11, she asked Home Depot for an additional 25 per cent discount as compensation for distress, damages, inconvenience and loss of use.
On Dec. 5, after the last blind was installed, Home Depot offered a $250 gift card.
“There is no way I will ever shop at Home Depot again, so the gift card is useless to me,” she said.
I thought the company could do better. Maser had spent six months trying to reach people who didn’t reply to her and had visited the store several times to submit her credit card for a promotional discount that was still missing.
She deserved a cash settlement and a heartfelt apology, I told Berto, not a bureaucratic reply that said, “We believe we have dealt with this matter accordingly.”
Within 24 hours, Home Depot sent a new email to Maser, saying it would send her a cheque for $1,250 as a goodwill gesture.
The case “is not representative of how we do business. We are taking this opportunity to work with our internal teams and vendors to ensure we do the right thing for our customers,” Berto said.
Jane Will had a problem with a front and back door installation by Home Depot in 2016. At the time, the front door lock was jammed and the door could not open. Home Depot paid for a locksmith to fix it.
This past Aug. 31, Will told the Home Depot store manager that her “back door has expanded in the heat and humidity, making it impossible to open. We found it has completely split apart at the latch.” She asked Home Depot to replace the back door, though it was past the warranty period. A locksmith said it had been installed poorly.
I sent several requests on her behalf.
On Oct. 18, the company wrote to say it had determined the damage could have been caused by forced entry or by the door being closed with the deadbolt engaged.
Home Depot “respectfully denies your request for a replacement exterior door to be installed at your residence,” a customer care specialist replied.
I suggested Will get an expert opinion on the door’s failure and send it to Home Depot, emphasizing her long-term loyalty.
On Dec. 5, Berto said the company would offer a $500 cheque to help with the costs of replacing the door, in recognition of her patience and continued loyalty.
“We apologize to Mrs. Will regarding her installation concerns and we are happy that we could work together to find a mutual resolution,” he said.
Here’s my advice to Home Depot:
A company of your size needs to help customers who come to you with problems.
Publish the names and numbers of real people to contact. Your lack of an effective escalation process is a common theme in my emails — and seems to be leading to an increase in complaints.