Home Depot accuses me of theft

This is a story of how the failure to listen costs a business its =

customer=92s

trust.

I custom-ordered a window at the Home Depot on Capitol Expressway in San

Jose, CA on November 12, 2007. I fully paid for it at the time of the

order. On November 25, 2007, the store called me and said that my =

window

was ready for me to pick up. I came on the same day. The store clerk =

went

in a restricted area, pulled out a window, handed it to me, stating that =

it

was my window, and asked me to sign a piece of paper acknowledging my

receipt of the window before I could take the window out of the store. =

I

signed as requested and transported the window home.

The next day, Monday, November 26, 2007, someone named Scott called me =

and

said that they had given me a wrong window and that they needed that =

window

back. It turned out that the wrong window, which appeared similar to =

what I

ordered, did not have the exact dimensions as stated in my order. Scott

said that the window I ordered had been broken in the store=92s =

warehouse and

a replacement order had been placed. The estimated time of arrival on =

the

new order was December 10, 2007. In the mean time, Scott added, Home =

Depot

wanted the wrong window back. I said that Home Depot could send someone =

to

pick up the wrong window before they delivered the right window to me. =

I

simply requested a written assurance that they would deliver the right

window free of charge when it became available. I had already =

transported

the wrong window at my expense. Scott said that he would need to check =

with

his manager about my request and would call me back right away. No one

called me back.

A few hours later, concerned about the status of my request, I called =

and

spoke to a person named Doug. He agreed that the right window would be

delivered to me free of charge. He and I then made an appointment for a

Home Depot employee to come to my house the next day between 2 p.m. and =

4

p.m. to pick up the wrong window. I reiterated my request that the =

driver

brought with him the new order for the right window with a note =

indicating

Home Depot=92s assurance that the right window would be delivered free =

of

charge when it became available.

The next day, Tuesday, November 27, 2007, I took a day off from work and

stayed home to wait for the Home Depot truck. Four p.m. came and went. =

No

one from Home Depot showed up or called. That evening, I called Home =

Depot

to inquire about the reason why they missed the appointment. Although =

Home

Depot was still open at that time and they could have sent someone then =

to

pick up the wrong window, a person named Nick called me back and said =

that

the wrong window would be picked up when the right window was to be

delivered, which was projected for December 10. I said that would be =

fine

by me.

Almost a week later, on Monday, December 3, 2007, a person named Anthony

called and sternly warned that I was holding someone else=92 window and

demanded that I give it back. I expressed my willingness to allow Home

Depot again to come and pick up the wrong window and reiterated my =

request

for a written assurance that the right window would be delivered to me =

free

of charge when it became available. Anthony responded that the driver =

would

only give me his business card. I said that I did not need a business =

card

and repeated my request. He said that it would not be possible to give =

me

the written assurance because the note about free delivery was only an

=93internal=94 note. I said that I did not understand and asked why =

they could

not simply use a pen and handwrite the assurance on a piece of paper.

Anthony ignored what I said and started rising his voice, repeatedly

demanding that I scheduled a time when they could come to pick up the =

wrong

window. I told him that I understood what he wanted and only needed him =

to

listen to my simple request. After eight minutes of back and forth, =

unable

to get him to agree that a written assurance would be given, I asked for =

his

manager. A person named Doug got on the phone and, without listening to =

a

word of what I had to say, began berating me for holding someone else=92

window, and with the same tone of voice that Anthony had used, demanded =

the

wrong window back. He said that my possession of the window was =

=93illegal,=94

insinuating that I had, in effect, stole it from the store. Feeling =

that

the situation was not improving, I asked for the store manager. Doug

responded that the store manager, Chris Morrison, was not available, and

hung up on me.

Before Doug got on the phone, I was still willing to make another

appointment for Home Depot to come and pick up the wrong window, if they

gave me the written assurance. I thought that Anthony was just an =

employee

who did not know how to speak to a customer, and talking to a manager =

would

be much better. After all, my request was extremely simple. However, =

after

seeing how Doug immediately sided with Anthony, without even listening,

adopting the same tone of voice, and after he hung up on me, I became =

afraid

that Doug and Anthony and maybe others at Home Depot would develop a =

grudge

against me. I became worried that, out of spite, they would purposely =

delay

or make the fulfillment of my order difficult. I decided that the best =

way

to protect myself was to ask that the right window be delivered at the =

time

the wrong window was to be picked up.

In the afternoon of the same day, I was further convinced of the =

systematic

nature of the poor customer service at Home Depot when I received a call

from a person named Steve, who said that he was a co-manager of the =

store.

After I expressed my concern about his associates and my wish now that =

the

delivery and pick-up happen at the same time, he said that was =

unacceptable.

He attempted through a rhetorical question to get me to admit that the =

wrong

window in my possession did not belong to me. He said that he would =

thus

report my possession of the wrong window as a =93theft.=94 He further =

said that

he would charge me at once for the wrong window in addition to what I =

had

already paid when I placed the order. I told him that all I needed was =

a

sincere apology, and accusing me of a crime and threatening me with =

double

charging for my order did not sound like a sincere apology to me. In

response, he only said that he was =93sorry that I felt that way.=94

Steve added that he had already =93bent over backward=94 to accommodate =

me by

agreeing to come at a time of my choice to pick up the wrong window and =

to

deliver free of charge the right window when it became available. I =

told

him that none of that was a favor to me. Home Depot is already required

under the contract to make the conforming delivery to my house at no

additional cost. As for the non-conforming goods in my possession, I =

have

no obligation to spend my own time for a separate scheduled pick-up. =

Yet, I

did Home Depot a favor by staying home for a day to allow them to come =

and

pick up the non-conforming goods before they could give me a conforming

replacement. They missed the appointment and wasted my time. If they =

want

to ask me for the favor again, accusations and threats will certainly =

not do

it. In addition, the projected delivery of the right window is only a =

week

away. It only makes sense now that the delivery and the pick-up occur =

at

the same time. I no longer have time for two separate appointments.

I hereby again reject the non-conforming delivery and ask that Home =

Depot

promptly make the conforming delivery under the contract. At that time,

Home Depot can also take back the non-conforming goods.