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Home Depot's hot air
Now that Charles and I are homeowners, all of the energy I usually
pour into Stay Free! has, for the time being, been directed into
renovating our house. Lesson #476: Avoid Home Depot at all costs.
I know what you're thinking: why would any educated person trust
Home Depot services? The place is a glorified hardware store, staffed
by employees who can't tell a hammer from a hand saw, let alone point
you to the correct aisle. And yet, seduced by an ad for "high
efficiency" hot water heaters and promises of a lifetime guarantee, we
agreed to let Home Depot's contractor install a new hot water heater.
Home Depot's advertisement bills SmartWater as a "high-efficiency" water heater, but the government's EnergyGuide label reveals that the model is markedly less efficient than other hot water heaters.
It was only after the new appliance was in that I saw the federally mandated notice on its side, which compared our new water heater to similar models. According to government tests, the Home Depot heater -- aka SmartWater by General Electric -- is actually significantly LESS efficient than other water heaters.
...which makes you wonder: SmartWater may be "high-efficiency," but compared to what? Burning candles in the fireplace? Turning the stove up to "broil" and opening the door?
When I called Home Depot to find out, our sales person put me in touch with the tech support contact at GE. When I first asked this gentleman if the heater we received was high efficiency, he said no.... but after I explained the problem with the ad, he talked to his boss and corrected himself. It turns out that this heater is "high efficiency" because "it's the highest efficiency [Home Depot] sells."
Brilliant. By this reasoning, H3 is a fuel-efficient car.
Update 12/7/2006: Looks like we're not the only ones burned by the Despot. NBC investigates Home Depot customers' "horror stories."
Posted by carrie on 11/09/2006 | Permalink
Comments
Right off the bat you lost money. When you use any of Home Depot's contractors they take a cut of the total bill. These small contractors take the job in the hope that you'll need additional services. often a contractor will take a job (say installing a central A/C system that the Home Depot salesman just sold you) for cheap in the hope that you have 60 Amp service. Then he can soak you on installing a 200 Amp service to handle the higher electrical load. You would have been much more satisfied if you had done a little research and then negociated with a local contractor.
Posted by: Rgriisser | Nov 10, 2006 8:13:11 AM
Several of my friends here in the Northwoods of Wisconsin live "off the grid" and have installed tankless on demand water heaters. They have mostly purchased these from Bosch, though I know nothing about this company I know that these are about the most efficient water heaters you can buy in the states, though they are fairly common in Europe.
We put one of them to a test recently, one friend took a shower while I was washing the dishes from dinner, plenty of hot water for both!!
http://www.boschhotwater.com/?gclid=CMvF_eHSvIgCFQuBQAodASuayQ
Posted by: Northwoods_Hippie | Nov 10, 2006 9:27:41 AM
From the NBC affiliate in Miami/Fort Lauderdale, "An NBC investigation uncovers horror stories from consumers about the Home Depot and its remodeling services." It's somewhat amazing that a local network station took on one of its advertisers. On the other hand, hurricane repair nightmares persist from the 2004-2005 season, so it's got to be good for ratings.
http://www.nbc6.net/video/10429494/detail.html
Posted by: csp | Dec 8, 2006 4:50:50 PM
I just purchased one of these units from a Home Depot in St. Francis, Wisconsin (near South Milwaukee). Everything- I mean every single thing was beyond bad. Their installer outright LIED to me about what is and is not code.
The subcontractor's company is called Water Tight Water care. They are based in Waterford, Wi. The installer identified himself as a plumber, but he most certainly was not, as I would soon find out.
He was several hours late, causing me to miss a full day of work. "Between 11 and 1" became "Between 1 and 3".
They charged me a fee to get a plumbing permit from the city. By law these things have to be done BEFORE the work is started. After the work was done I called the city to ask when the inspector would be along. THEY NEVER PULLED A PERMIT. The inspector said he would be looking into it.
They charged $50 to replace a gas valve to "bring everything up to code" And yet, the installer initially said some drywall around the chimney where the water heater vents is considered flamable and needed to be removed. He seemed low on energy, towards the end of the job, said he was smoking cigarretes just to stay awake, and decided not to do it, which was good for me because the extra charge would only be $150 instead of $225.
The gas valve took him 3 minutes to install, and he didn't shut off the gas...he merely unscrewed the valve and screwed on a new one, allowing gas to pour into the room in the mean time, next to an active hydronic heating boiler.
As for his form- the guy sweats pipes like a one armed blind monkey. He left solder globs all over the top of the water heater. He left drips at the joints. I have done a better job sweating pipes than this! I really truly wanted to do this job myself, but the lifetime warranty and the fact that they dispose of the old one seemed worth it.
It wasn't. I feel violated. I was being ripped off, and I knew it but by the time the work is done, what can you do?
Oh yeah- he charged $18 for a new pressure relief pipe. He used cheap CPVC pipe, and a single fitting. He didn't even use primer/glue to fit the mail threaded adapter on...just some odd gummy stuff. This thing is $5 in parts, and again took less than 5 minutes to assemble and install. How the hell is this not part of a basic water heater install, and what is his hourly rate such that 5 minutes = $18?
Posted by: jsp | Jan 24, 2007 12:53:01 AM
Home Depot is the sorriest store I have ever encountered. I have been trying too put carpet In my home now for two months. Carpet I have paid cash for over $$3500 and the Ridgecrest Ca Store keeps delaying us with unworthy excuses. I will never by a single thing from home Depot...especially Ridgecrest Ca Home Depot. Low's is alot better.
Posted by: Dr. Rodger Owen Young | Apr 9, 2007 5:26:28 PM
I, too, got burned by Home Depot and its motley crew of bumbling plumbers & inept salespeople. It happened to me at the store in Wilkins Twp., PA.
On 5/4/07, I purchased a GE SmartWater water heater (a Home Depot "exclusive!") because I was told by Home Depot that I could "most certainly" get an energy tax credit for that model. Little did I know that the IRS list for tax credit eligible water heaters was not even available at that time. It was published on 5/16/07!
Energy conservation was the main selling point for me for several reasons: 1) I believe in conservation for the sake of the environment; 2)I want lower gas bills; 3) I want the energy tax credit for 2007; and 4)my employer has awarded me a $250 prize to be used for energy-saving improvements to my home. If the water heater is not as efficient as it purports to be, then I can't use the prize money, take the tax credit, lower my gas bills or help to save the earth's resources.
The revelation about my energy inefficient water heater is a fittingly sad ending to the woeful tale of its purchase and installation. The story began late one night when my old water heater broke down. It carried over to the next day with countless calls to Home Depot and its contracted plumbers in Pittsburgh, Mitchell Plumbing. At 8:00am, Home Depot sold me a tall water heater, the plumbing dispatcher changed the order to a short model (an extra $10 for some reason), and then the plumber changed the order back to a tall once he arrived at my house. All of this indecision stretched the installation process out for several hours. Then, the installation was further delayed because the dispatcher forgot about my new order for a tall. The plumber waited about an hour for a delivery that should have taken 15 minutes, tops.
What a way to spend my day off! It was an excruciatingly long day and the pain of my frustration was exacerbated by the many phone calls I had to make to Home Depot and Mitchell Plumbing. The water heater was finally installed by 5:30pm. But the story, as you may suspect, was not over.
I was assured that the $10 charge for the short water heater had been removed when the order was changed back to a tall. I didn't believe it and, of course, the $10 charge was still on my credit card bill a few weeks later. I suffered through another phone call to Home Depot and was told by the department manager that the $10 was actually part of a $20 permit fee to my borough. That was too confusing for me and I wouldn't accept it,especially since no one ever told me there was a borough fee. The manager did finally remove the $10 from my bill, but I think he did it because he wanted to get rid of me without actually hanging up on me.
At this point, I did not know that my new GE SmartWater was not the energy saver that I thought it was. So, I asked the manager to send me a receipt identifying the model so I could submit it to the IRS for a tax credit, as well as my employer for the $250. (The only receipt I had was one from the plumber for a $30 valve he said I needed.) I mentioned to the manager that that the energy-saving guidelines for water heaters had not yet been published (I found this out on the Internet), even though the salesman sold me the water heater as one that qualified. He didn't address that issue, but said he'd send me a receipt. A week later,I received a receipt, but there is still no model number anywhere on it, just a SKU number. So, I looked on the water heater itself for the model number to compare it with the government's tax eligible equipment list.Surprise! My water heater is NOT on the list.
I can't bear the thought of calling Home Depot again. Does anybody ever get proper customer service from that behemoth? It will be torture, I know, but I have to at least try.
A final warning to anyone in Pittsburgh: Don't trust Mitchell Plumbing! Water has been trickling out of the blow-off valve on my water heater since Day 1. Dan at Mitchell Plumbing (the same guy who argued that I needed a short model) told me I needed an expansion tank and some other part and together it would cost me another $250.
What cruel irony! If indeed I do need those parts, it shouldn't have to cost that much. And I certainly don't have that much because I can't get my prize money until I buy an energy-efficient water heater.
Posted by: Kerry Kelty | Jun 6, 2007 7:26:32 AM
Costing a customer extra cash by sales associates who don't know their product, or don't care or know enough to provide honest throuogh advice or service may just be a lack of moral. In that case the associate needs to find a new job. In simular situations the installer needs to be replaced by the company. But consider this: almost three years ago, during my last visit to Home Depot, I aproached two associates. As I got closer I could hear one telling the other of the events he had had with his girl friend the night before. (In very graphic details) I interrupted the conversation and stated my 6 year old son and I needed directions to locate an item. I was give directions, that turned out to be wrong, but ask the guy to wait till I escorted my son out of the area before he continued. That visit proved to be one major issue after another. Feeling the need to express my frustration, it took almost three weeks to get the store manage on the phone. After summarizing most issues but give detail to the x-rated conversation, I asked if Home Depot condomed this type of behavior in front of a customer particularly a 6 year old child?
The answer was absolutely not, but that I should have asked to see him that night when it occurred. I explained it took 3 weeks to get him on the phone. His final comment was that he couldn't be but in one place at a time and he's doing his best. No apology, no sorry, no good-bye. Click! I really like the new Lowe's Store that just opened here in Sarasota.
Posted by: JAD in Sarasota FL | Apr 21, 2008 7:25:58 PM
Home Depot and GE stink! I bought a GE Water heater at home Depot and it lasted 5 minutes until the burner would never light again! All the cost of installation is to be repeated until I get a "Good" one! Or my family must wait days for hot water service!
I wonder how many water heaters it takes to get a good one at $250 a pop for reinstalling. They'll sell me a water heater any time during working hours but they won't fix it except during banking hours 9 to 5 M-F, leaving me all weekend with no showers! Home Depot and GE stink worse then I do while waiting for hot water! And that IS Bad!
Posted by: Matt Walters | Apr 25, 2008 11:01:20 PM
I thought it was me,having trouble at home depot with rude,mean,none helping employees.I deal mostly with lowes here in panama city ralph the manager is a sweethart!!!he has helped me so much.
Posted by: scott | May 5, 2009 1:27:20 AM
