You paid him for this!!!

I would have your attorney meet with the HD store manager. They should be paying to correct all their errors.

Here! Here! That sounds like the first kitchen he's ever designed! Management needs to know!
I used the designers at Menard's which I assume would be in the same "class" as this person and none of them were that unfamiliar with designing a kitchen. I will say one of the new boys had some trouble but one of the regular women came to my rescue. I eventually ended up with the same two women for the 6 months it took me to work my design out. Both very knowledgeable and I picked up ideas from each. I was glad to have had input from them both. They sent print outs home with me every time I was there. Floor plan, price print out, and views. Free. And I used MANY hours of their time!

Working with the kitchen people at HD is a mixed bag, some of them are quite good and some of them know how to use the software and thats about it. My experience going in there with a complete design for several clients was that I had to be able to check and cross check that the right components were ordered--and I don't think the typical homeowner should be expected to do that. But every order I have placed with HD (3 or 4) would have been incorrect or incomplete in some way had I not caught the error. Nothing major, but I had to find it myself.

If your KD measured, did the design, compiled the list of cabinets, and ordered the cabinets, then he should be responsible for them.

What does your contract say? It should say it's their responsibility to fix all errors they make, but not errors you make or any contractor you hired outside of HD.

If your KD does not take responsibility, then you need to escalate it. Talk to the store's Design Manager (or whoever is in charge of the Design group). If the Design Manager isn't any help, talk to the Store Manager. If the Store Manager isn't any help, contact Home Depot Corporate in Atlanta, GA.

Those are not little errors in detail, but significant errors that have cost you a significant amount of time and money. I, too, would encourage you to start w/ the KD and work your way up, politely, of course. One of the points to mention to them is that not only did this cost you *large* amounts of money, but it would interfere with your husband's ability to maneuver around in his own home, due to their faulty design.

I'm sorry you've had such a rough time; I pray that things will improve from here. Please keep us posted. It is amazing the span of knowledge you can gain here from these incredibly talented and giving posters, and not only kitchen-related.

I think Home Depot is going to have to step up to the plate on this one, and I think they will. Actually, you probably should have let them know the mistakes before you let your contractor install them so they could have tried to correct it rather than have to appease you in some other way now that it's done. But they still need to do something for you. Have them come out to your home (they will) and show them the mistakes and show them the bills from your contractor for correcting the mistakes. They probably won't be able to do more than give you a gift card or partial refund, but they will do something, I'm sure.

Our KD from HD made some slight goofs but nothing that won't have a relatively simple fix. What you've got is major, big-time screwups. Get them on the phone. Let them know you don't want to call corporate in Atlanta and would like to give them a chance to deal with it first. They don't want you to call Atlanta, believe me.

Let us know how you make out.

I had a problem with HD in my last home and that is why I did not use them again. After many phone calls, they refunded a lot of $ - and I was satisfied.

That's quite a list. I appreciate that some folks don't want (or simply don't have the time) to oversee their renos but the reality is if you want to take a more hands off approach you don't work with a box store. Depends on the store but you can get useful assistance at many box stores however you will never get the the kind of customer service a quality independent retailer should provide.

My experience working with HD is the client has to sign off on the design - including the dimensional drawing. If you weren't going to verify the dims you should have paid your GC to check them as some of the mistakes you list should have been quite obvious.

In any case my sympathies on a rough reno.

Oh my, how terrible for you.
I have heard other horror stories about HD KDs.
Sometimes these large box stores steal business from
quality hardworking KDs, Kitchen contractors and cabinet
makers. They underprice them so the consumer thinks they
are getting a good deal but truthfully it is a poor
badly excuted job. HD has the mind set they can do it
cheaper. The consumer suffers, the artistic cabinet makers
suffer and HD's repuation suffers. Not a win win at all.

You are not alone.
~boxerpups

Oh wow, you must be pulling your hair out!

I'd go right to corporate headquarters on this one. My friend had similar problems with HD expo and they ended up giving her part of her money back. Definitely take it up with them, with a strong letter, and phone call.

One of the things they usually have in their favor is a signature where you sign off an approval on the order. How you are supposed to know that the order is tecnically correct as a homeowner and not the designer is beyond me. Did you have to sign this?

I still agree that they should take responsibility, but in my experience it has usually ended up that we eat the wrong door or trim piece or pay extra for missed trim pieces as clients and save the battles for the big stuff. Some of your problems are big stuff it sounds like.

Are you using your own contractor and his supplied measurements, or are you using HD's contractor with them doing the measure, or a mix of both?

The one who measures usually bears the brunt of the issues with errors due to mismeasuring. WHen you have several contractors invovled, it's usually good to have everyone on the same page before the cabinets are ordered. I have some friends who work for HD and know HD has to have their contractor come out and measure the design out in the actual space before the cabinets are ordered. That's if their contractors are doing the job. If their contractors aren't doing the job, then it's the customer or customer's GC reponsibility for double checking the accuracy of the measurements of the design. At most firms, the design has to be signed off on as accurate before the cabinets are ordered. If you weren't using HD's contractors, then your contractor or you would have signed off on the measured drawing. So, if you don't use their contractors, it's a bit of a grey area as to who is responsible for errors and the changes that have to be made because of those errors.

However, when change orders have to occur, for reason of error or just because you want a change, they need to be in writing. If the change orders are because the measurements were incorrect, then it's the responsibility of whomever supplied the measurements and double checked the design against those measurements to make things right. Your GC should not have proceeded with any changes to the original plan as "fixes" until you had HD on board about whose fault this was. Once he steps in with a fix, he (and thus you)is assuming the financial responsibility of that fix. Their most powerful leverage is the fact that most customers want things fixed NOW. That's when you dig your heels in and have patience until THEY say, "we'll fix it."

This is just terrible for you. As others have said, you really do need to let someone way up above him know about this. I have a hunch that you might not be the first to complain about him. There is no way he could have made all these mistakes on your design alone. Surely there are other customers with problems. You need to stop him before he ruins someone else's plans in the future. I wonder if he is still doing "design" work.

If you got your own contractor and did not go w/HD's installers as a "project", then you've probably already paid them in-full...correct? If so, your options are limited.

If, however, you still owe them money and/or you are using one of HD's installers as a "project", then I can vouch for what Live_Wire_Oak said...don't be impatient to have something fixed immediately. Sometimes you have to wait them out. I had several issues w/my remodel and each time I refused to let work proceed until they were resolved to my satisfaction. This meant no one was getting paid the remaining 1/3 of the balance b/c it was not due until project completion.

It worked every time for me.

First they would tell me "it's impossible" or "there's nothing we can do" or "you have to pay (for our mistakes)" or similar.

I would disagree and say "let's find a way" or "no, this was your mistake, not mine"...and I would refuse to let related work continue.

They would only wait so long b/f they would come back to me and start offering solutions to those "impossible" items or finally agree that they should pay for their mistakes.

It's probably too late on some of these items, but if others turn up or if it's not too late on previous...consider this strategy.

Don't get confrontational or start yelling, etc....you weaken your position. But, stand firm and tell them no work will continue on this item and related items until you are satisfied. In this economy no one wants to wait any longer than they have to to get paid and every delay means a delay in their getting paid.

The contractors also want to get done so they can move on to new projects...and more money.

Oh...this is terrible.

Make sure you have a list of every single thing that has gone wrong, how it was fixed & by whom & how much money it has cost you. And take pictures of the mistakes. Document everything.

Then go up the chain of command as suggested several times above. Just make sure that you have all the proper info so that they can't turn it around on you.
Good luck and keep us posted.

We have let HD management know of a couple of the problems as they occured. The rest had not happened yet. The Mgr called the KD up who then called us up. That's how HD mgt operates. The KD came to our home and noted the first few problems but he won't accept blame. He dislikes mistakes pointed out. His catch phrase is, "People are willing to live with worse situations and less 'get around space' than you just so they can expand their number of boxes (cabinet units)". He says people regularly live with 30" hallways. He has an answer for everything. His favorites are, "It doesn't appear in my folder, I don't have the missing wall noted in my drawing, You really can get out of the back door OK - see how I do it? (turns sideways), I don't have the appliance specs, etc." But he has blinders on and tells us nothing at all is problematic and his design is perfect.

HD sent out a measure guy to take a look at the job and see if the design was feasible within the space. Measure guy told the KD that he needed to be to code with the width of the hallway and he also told him the oven cabinet was on top of the electrical switches. By that time we'd purchased a new window based on his design and had to move the switches. The KD told us he made the hall way to code but he did nothing to the design - it's hard to tell with all the fillers they use and he told us he pulled some out. The measure guy mismeasured the ceiling height, etc. Boxes had to be cut down.

The measure guy who is a contractor out of HD wanted the installation job but we hired a woodworker from down the street. It seems to me the problems are both the KD and the measure guy's fault.

I need to take another look at the language of what we signed. The design from HD is free. We paid in full for the Kraft Maid cabinets to complete that design. After we paid for the cabinets we were allowed to have a copy of the design to take to contractors. Our contractor likely should have really conemplated the design before beginning work. He thought the KD was an effective designer. He works with Premier Cabinets whose designers get it right all the time. The contractor has himself and 2 other employees so that he is juggling jobs which we don't mind. He's a wonderful woodworker and we have several custom areas. He'd get to another step with installation and say, "Well, that can't work!"

Thank you all so much for your advice.

Don't forget to mention to the Mgr that "accessibility" is an issue and was brought to the designer's attention.

I would also report to the manager the KD's comments made to you b/c they are out of line. I would contact the manager again with the information you provided here and any other pertinent info (including the fact that the KD has not kept complete records in his "folder"!)

If the manager is still non-responsive to you personally, then it may be time to contact HD Corporate.

Forgottensong-

I would echo my good friend Buehl's comments TOTALLY - The "clown"
that you have "acting" as a KD OBVIOUSLY just came over to HD from B&BRB-C...
(Barnum & Bailey's-Ringling Brother's - CIRCUS!!!!)

My advice to you is to go to HD corporate - You are NOT going to get any
progress from the local HD store manager - as there is a "relationship" between
"Blinky the Clown" (your pseudo KD) and the Local Store Manager - so at
this point - you need to go to corporate and demand resolution. If I were you,
I'd make it known that "Blinky" is no longer welcome or authorized on the
jobsite (your kitchen) - He's had his chance and obviously muffed it!!!

Do you have one of those local TV news station "deals" that go after the
companies that take advantage of consumers?

The reseon I ask this ........

Is because here in PHX we have "3 on Your Side" which is our local channel 3 TV -
They take people with legit complaints - JUST LIKE YOURS -
and go with their camera crew to the place of business in question and "interview" the
company that is screwing over their customer.. AND LIKE A MIRACLE!!! The
customer's problem that they could not get resolved on their own -
SUDDENLY AND MIRACULOUSLY (sp?) GETS RESOLVED!!!!! Perhaps this
is an avenue you need to explore - HD would HATE to see THAT happen
in ANY of their local market areas - I know THAT for a FACT!!!!!

Additionally, I'd use this thread as a tool for your argument - I KNOW how HD works -
we in the trades know them as "The Evil Orange Empire" and other explictives
that I won't go into on this forum - however - suffice it to say - your
experience up until now - is NOT what HD Corporate wants to have made
public. Remember to be assertive, but stand your ground - you DESERVE WAY
BETTER Than what you have been through....

hth

kevin

I will just say that our kitchen design cost us $2,000, by a real pro. We've had very few issues (cabinet guy wanted an inch spacer next to dishwasher, that's about it.) In this kitchen project, which has zoomed up in price (they all do) I consider the kitchen design an incredible bargain.

Received my cabinets this week and they were wrong with the measurements. My corner cabinet is useless as I cannot get anything into cabinet. Kitchen Design store is not responding and I will have to take them to court. I kept cabinet and now have to live with this mistake or live with an unfinished kitchen for who knows how long. I am disgusted with them. If you are in New England, I hope you don't use them.