For this very reason, I would never use Home Depot to do any work project. You never know who you will get. I have heard too many complaints similar to yours.

We always want to hope that it won’t happen to us and I’m really sorry that it did. I can only imagine how bewildered and frustrated you must feel. I would think that HD should be willing to step up to the plate and compensate you some how via a discount or something.

I purchased a home from someone who'd remodeled their kitchen with HD. I got a copy of the receipts. WOW....just WOW. They were held up by an electrical inspection.....because the wires were not stappled down. They finally found an inspector who'd sign off, without this being done. How hard is THAT to just fix. They were going to charge an extra huge amount to cut the cement flooring to install electrical in the island, so he got a pole installed in the island, with wiring run down the center. Not attractive! The $300 undermount SS sink is starting to rust. He had 2 walls removed, non-load bearing and U can see where it was by looking at the ceiling. They tore out the lower level bathroom wall to install a new gas line for the new gas range. Then left it torn up, with exposed cast iron sewage pipes. Really poor job they did. To appease the home owner they gave him a granite upgrade for free. lol

I used Home Depot to install some flooring in my bathroom. On the day of installation, the installer called and said he was running a little late. No problem. Two hours go by, and they don't show up. I call the installer to find out when he's coming or if we should reschedule. He says he'll call another installer. ????? A little bit later a guy knocks on my door and says he's the installer. I let him in, and he stands in my hallway. I point to the bathroom and he walks in. Stands there and looks around. Then he comes out and walks into the living room. I ask him what he's doing, it's just the bathroom. I motion him to come back to the bathroom. At this point i have no idea what's going on. He goes back in the bathroom and looks around, then leaves and walks into my kitchen. I tell him again it's just the bathroom. So he goes back in the bathroom, and this time he kneels down. On his right hand, every finger has a ring on it. Now I'm alarmed and trying to figure out what to do. I don't know anyone who does thar kind of work wearing all that jewelry. When he stands up, i happened to be standing closer to him, and I can smell him. He reeked of pot! The guy had been smoking marijuana! At that point I tell him we need to reschedule because it's getting late. He leaves, and then i get in my car and drive to Home Depot - it's a couple blocks from me. I ask to speak to the manager, and i tell him what happened.

The real installer got behind and called someone to come to my place and stall for time. Home Depot didn't know who the guy was that came to my place.

This story could have had a whole different ending. Having a stoned stranger in wandering around in my home was alarming.

So sorry, Jane. We just had new carpeting put in, and I know how much work it is to move everything you can possibly move and how hard it is to find anything when it's stacked halfway to the ceiling. I hope you can find some good help and nice carpet ASAP!

Just to add on here, friends had Lowes remodel a bathroom. The work was shoddy and months wasted before it was done properly.

I wonder if Costco has good people to do their jobs.

I don't have much experience with HD. They just never seem to be as friendly so I go to Lowes. They talk to me there. Lol!

We used Lowes about ten years ago to install engineered hardwood flooring and carpet. The carpet was just in the bedrooms. They moved the beds and furniture just fine. No complaints.

There was a problem with installing the engineered hardwood. They don't tell you you your floor may have to be leveled until you are down to bare concrete. There was an extra cost for that. It looked great when it was done. The guy did help me move furniture because they didn't tell me all rooms would have to be empty at the same time. We thought they would do it room by room, but the leveling needed to be done all in one day. The guy did mention a lot of people just gave him the key and let him come and go. We are not those people.

My daughter got a new heating system put in her house last summer. Those workmen told her that a lot of people just give them a key. She had me go to her house, let them in and stay there while she went to work.

Since Lowe's or Home Depot use local sub-contractors to perform such installations, reviews of those installers seem akin to reviewing people you've met through Match.com One person might describe meeting the love of their life, and based on that you give them a try and end up of the date from he11.

There is the hope that the big store might carefully vet the subs they use, and stand behind the work the do, but all too often it seems that they can only find subs that haven't been able to make a go of it on their own,

I have had kitchen sink installed, engineered hardwoods done, and dishwashers (2) installed by Lowe's. No big problems. Only one flooring guy that cussed and fussed every time something went wrong. End product was ok, but he made me nervous. Just luck of the draw I think.

I bought carpet through HD almost 20 years ago and had a negative experience that was not rectified to my satisfaction so I'll never use them again for anything that needs to be installed. In fact, I'm hardly ever going to HD anymore, because every time I've been in there lately, someone hits me up for some service or another. Not to mention the greeter who every time tells me about tbeir special credit card deal, which is apparently available even to people who are already card holders. Why would one want two HD credit card accounts? Anyway, I'm sick of it.

We bought flooring through Costco a couple of years ago and it was a fantastic experience. They work with local vendors, and in my area, it is a very highly regarded design shop. Top notch service all the way.

I know the big box stores get a bad rap, BUT, I have had more bad luck with independent contractors. At least with Home Depot and Lowes there is a big company with money to fall back on. I have used both for many jobs. Some have gone smooth and some not. Every time they both have stood behind the product and the installer and made it right. They offer 10% military discount on products, and a no interest deferred payment for 6, 12.18, 24 months pending the amount of the project. You pay a $35 detail fee to have them come out and measure. It is refunded back off the project when you purchase.

Right now I have a job with both companies. Home Depot, a custom recycled glass counter top with vessel sink and faucet for a guest bathroom. With Lowes, a stock vanity cabinet with top, a faucet and shut off valves install for the basement bathroom. Both companies will automatically pull a permit and charge you for it if it is required. I find most independent contractors try to avoid the permits. I find the permit a safeguard as the job is then inspected and signed off on. IF the inspection fails, then they must fix it and bring to code.

Funny, the phone just rang and it was Lowe's thanking me for my order and the installer should be reaching out in 48 hours for an install date;)) I feel like they are watching....lol

Flooring, specifically carpet, has been the only issue for me so far too. Countertop, range, water heater, interior and exterior doors through home depot went great. They know me in the store. That’s why I thought I’d get decent service, plus I’ve never had a bad experience with any contractor in my current home in 30 years. Mistakes, sure, workarounds that were not exactly what I wanted, sure, but never to the point of dissatisfaction. No no-shows or walkouts or unreasonable people or policies - until this time. This experience honestly changed me into my Dad. I didn’t think that was possible.

I got a measured estimate from another company yesterday, for 996sf (cut pile, no pattern). I think the home depot estimated 1100-1200sf (cut pile, no pattern). I’d have to check. He (the hom solutions aka home depot estimator) was snarky too, but I thought I had charmed him into being helpful. I guess I was scammed on that end too. (Definitely have to check the square footage when I can find that paperwork - I think it’s near where my clothes are behind all the other stuff.)

One pattern I’ve noticed with all four people I dealt with from hom solutions is that their demeanor with me was much more distant and unconcerned than nearly all other contractors I have dealt with. Sometimes when that happens, it turns out that the company is in trouble or people are unhappy working there. I honestly hope they go down or get overhauled if home depot owns them.

I recently purchased a hot water heater at Lowe’s and the installers refused to install it due to some small issues. I hired an independent plumber to come out, and I am very happy with his work. We also purchased a washer and dryer and the installation was so bad that my husband had to reinstall it. I am no longer a fan of Lowe’s installations after the washer/ dryer. They didn’t attach the washer to the base and didn’t tell me. I started a load and I am very blessed that the washer didn’t get damaged from shaking on an unattached base.

Sheesh, well I guess my Lowe's experience wasn't as bad as some of yours. I'm sorry you are having to deal with this, Jane. I hope HD is responsive to you and makes it right :^(

Our Lowe's carpet install was great until the day of install. Everyone we dealt with up until that point was very good. Day of install, two independent contractors showed up with English that was on par with my Spanish, so we had a very difficult time communicating. They were apparently very angry that they had to install tack strips (we had pulled out old carpet and all the wooden tack strips due to pet odors from the previous owners). We also had metal transition pieces that go between the carpet and tile areas for better wear. The guy who came out to measure agreed wholeheartedly with both of these choices, but the guys who came for the install didn't want to do them. It was stressful, it should not have been. It is our home and should be done to our liking (within reason), especially when we are paying for all these services. I don't know who we will go to the next time we need a carpet install. One of our neighbors orders his own carpet wholesale and then hires someone he knows personally to do the install.

Idstarr, the answer is no interest financing offers on the store credit card. They let you buy improvements when convenient.

It is ALL a crapshoot out there. You can do due diligence all day long and Sh@t still happens. Contractors all use sub contractors. Plus when the independent contractor goes out of business then what? Nothing to fall back on.

In PA all contractors are supposed to have a state issued contractors number. You can look them up by name or number to verify that their licensing is current, the name of the person behind the business name and other info. There are also very specific rules concerning what a contract needs to say and what the maximum deposit can be vs the cost of the job. I'm sure there are similar laws/registries in other states.

I can not stress enough that you, the buyer, MUST do the leg work. No reputable contractor will be upset when you request insurance info, references etc. Make sure you contact those references and learn when the work was done and what was done. If the references are more than a year old, ask for newer references. That is a huge red flag.

Jane, if you want to get results from Home Depot put it on social media. Facebook & Twitter. Find their pages and post on them.

You don't have to be hateful, just a "how disappointing, supposed to have XXXX done today by HD and XXX happened. Now I'm stuck with my house all out of sorts....."

They DO NOT want bad publicity and will probably reach out pretty quickly.

No matter what you do, please let us know how it goes!!

Thanks Pudge. The local store gave me a prompt refund. A manager at hom solutions heard from me (loudly, she didn’t care) and I sent email to a home depot exec and hom solutions feedback. I am not looking for any more compensation, although it would be nice to get a large home depot gift card. They’ve already honored a cancellation of a few thousand dollars, so hopefully that will figure negatively into their performance metrics. I’m not allowed to write a review on their web site - apparently only happy customers who complete the installations are allowed to do that, skewing the results. On other independent sites, their flooring services get one star reviews.

I would rather get the word out that this service by this company (hom solutions carpet division) is atrocious. The fact that a subcontractor or even the company can refuse service to a customer so readily after making them work and wait 4-6 weeks is borderline discrimination (not necessarily of a protected group, but discrimination if they don’t feel like working, or don’t feel like paying, or don’t want to get a substandard review, or don’t like the house or situation, or in general don’t want to make the effort or be helpful). I can understand “right of refusal” or “choosing your clients” by a small business or independent contractor with limited capacity, but a contractor doing work for a large company like Home Depot needs to adhere to a level of service that reflects the company mission. These people refused service 7 weeks after I paid thousands of dollars and worked 12-16 hours a day 7 days a week to get ready to “meet their standards”.

I suggested to the exec that they fire the company or overhaul it if it is owned by home depot. (I actually made a difference with an ISP years ago when the service became painfully slow and the staff said it was my fault. It wasn’t, the VP heard about it, and she changed the way they troubleshooted problems.) This is a business problem, not so much a subcontractor performance problem. The company blamed me, the payer, for a problem that was easy for them to solve, and should not have occurred in the first place if they had had customer-friendly policies. There was animosity from the time the estimator came out to the time I told off the manager when the installers wanted to go home. (This may be only the second time I have expressed anger at a company. I have a lot of experience doing business.) Most people and companies are open to reasonable solutions. Not this company. They keep looking for ways not to do the work, and even more ways to make the customer do excessive unreasonable work, like move all the furniture out of the house in order to install carpet. CARPET. Carpet is a disposable product. It’s not building a house.

I met with 2 other companies over the last two days and they seemed so easy. One was ready to install tomorrow. I chose the other because they had prettier carpet, so it will be another 1-2 weeks. (I have to reload two of my empty rooms to survive until then. No bed, but I get my tv and clothes back, the dogs get some floor space, and I’ll have to do my millwork outside.) I already expressed my concerns about what would happen if the installers with this new carpet company walked off the job. The salesperson assured me that wouldn’t happen. He has seen my house. He accepted the job. So far, he has been awesome.

Anyway, what I want is to shake up that hom solutions/home depot carpet division and get them to implement policies that are consistent with their customer service mission and the level of service that I have come to expect at my local store. Sometimes I care more about companies than they care about themselves. I probably shouldn’t, but it’s my nature to want to help businesses that have been so helpful to me in the past.

OK, on Tuesday when they (home depot hom solutions) walked off the job, the manager offered to reschedule for today. (This was before I cancelled.) Guess what? It’s raining and snowing all day! They know I don’t have a garage for them to work in during inclement weather. So they would have walked out on the job again today. Do you think they knew they weather report? Why would installers be available in 2 days when the last “next available” date was 18 days out? I think it was because of the weather. This is a scam and they were playing me.

They don’t know that I’m a talker. If they don’t address their policies, I keep talking.

EDIT: There are some reviews on yelp that express my thoughts completely. No need for me to add to them. Also BBB has 10 negative reviews, no neutral or positive, but the company comes back to defend itself. No thanks. I am in full-on avoidance mode re that abusive company.

I don’t understand why Home Depot keeps using that company with all the cancellations.