Home Depot Vs. Lowes and Best Buy

Here is my experience.

Lowes:

Have been shopping for a new stove for the past week or two since our oven died (but our range top still works). We want stainless, solid grill across the top, not a lot more. Not so easy to find in our price range of up to $1,000.00. But we were considering a Bosch and Frigidaire at Lowes late one evening when the salesman came up to us and asked if he could help. At first we said we were just looking and he said "absolutely fine" and gave us no pressure. But then we asked questions and he was so knowledgeable about brands, quality, features, etc. He even looked up products that they didn't have on the floor. It was a good experience.

Home Depot (HD):

By contrast - not so great at this place. H called Home Depot first to ask about the process for a couple of returns. One was a chandelier light fixture for which we had the receipt, it was within 90 days, but we no longer had the box. It was defective and had two shorts and hummed when operating. They said no problem. The other was a high end Kohler kitchen faucet with a lifetime guarantee that said the guarantee should be handled by the vendor (HD). We had the box and all the papers, but not the receipt and we just wanted to do an even exchange because it stopped working -no problem they said.

So we go to the store and to the return counter. There we waited between 15 and 20 minutes for the return guy to try to do a transaction that involved taking back three empty water cooler bottles and charging the guy for three new full ones. Three attempts and three staff people, including calling in a supervisor, later the poor guy finally gets out of there. Meanwhile there are now about 5 more people in line behind us.

The supervisor begins to help us and says no way is it their policy to even exchange a faucet like that, but she will because we took the time to call "somebody." But first she has to call the plumbing dept. guy to come and look at it and ok it. He comes and we volunteer that two small parts, attached to our sink, are not in the box. He says no problem, we'll just take those two parts out of the new box and you can be on your way. Very fair.

Meanwhile supervisor is giving the lady behind a bit of difficulty because she wants to return three metal shelf brackets without a receipt and doesn't have her drivers license. What is that, $6 at the most? Give the woman a break - she just stood in line for 20 minutes to do this.

OH - and although the water cooler customer apologized, needlessly, to everyone behind him - the store employees never acknowledged the wait or apologized at all. They did send the clerk away who couldn't manage the transaction though.

So I run off and pick up the new kohler faucet from in back. H stays and tries to handle the light fixture return. I come back to find that they will only allow an even exchange because we don't have the box. I question that because their policy, printed right there on a sign, says return within 90 days with receipt is policy - says nothing about having the box. I explain that the light fixture was faulty, it buzzed, it shorted out, and I don't want another unsafe light fixture. Doesn't matter - "there's nothing I can do without the box" says the supervisor. I explain that I will accept a store credit as we want to buy a better light fixture. No. The end. Clearly this was a power struggle for her and had completely left the realm of customer service.

Oddly enough the Electronics clerk comes along takes our unboxed light fixture and marks it defective with a peice of paper taped to it. She gives us a brand new fixture of the same make and model, sealed in it's box, and does not change out any missing parts (chain and wire extension).

Even more oddly the supervisor insists that rather than just walking out with this exact same fixture, we must do a complete return and credit to our card. Then we must repurchase the new fixture - which is $2 more. We question the $2 more and they roll their eyes at us. The supervisor then leaves us and lets someone else finish the transaction she started.

So we left there - 45 minutes after arriving - with a new, fully boxed light fixture, and a brand new purchase receipt. So we took it to the next Home Depot and returned it for a full refund - no questions asked.

I sent an e-mail to Home Depot and they sent us an apology and a $10 gift card.

Best Buy:

Thankfully right after Home Depot, after H and I vented about them non-stop, we went to Best Buy to get a new router. We were greeted at the door and asked if we needed any direction - nice touch. Stopped at the Geek Squad and were greeted with a very knowledgeable and very helpful person who told us all we needed. When we got to the aisle with the routers there was another helpful and infinitely knowledgeable staffer who closed the deal. Hooray for Best Buy. They rescued us from our Home Depot Hell.

That's my story. I'll be shopping at Lowe's from now on.

The Saga Ends?

For those of you who have read about the cat lady - the elderly lady I met and attempted to help beginning last March - it seems the story will soon come to an end. I must admit I'm relieved.

I rec'd a call yesterday from her neice out East to let me know that E fell and broke her hip and was taken to the hospital on Saturday, then suffered a massive stroke and neice would be coming out to take care of whatever arrangements needed to be made.

Oddly I'd been thinking of E all last week and feeling guilty that I hadn't been there. I thought I should at least go knock on her door and make sure she's still up and about. I had called her a few times and reached her, she never remembers me but she says she's fine. Last week I kept thinking, 'one of these days she's going to fall ill or fall down and nobody will be there to check on her and all those feral cats in the house......' Well you can draw your own conclusions about where my thoughts went.

Thankfully she was conscious and someone found her eventually and she was taken to the hospital and the cats never bothered her. That should be the last time I ignore a nagging from my sub-conscious.

Oddly, last night I was flipping channels and came across one of those CSI shows. And guess what the premise was...they were coming into a cat lady's house where the lady died, nobody checked or noticed, and the 20 feral cats in the house were.....well you can draw your own conclusions. How weird and coincidental is that to what I'd been thinking?

So it sounds like she won't come out of it and neice is coming to close up the house. I tell her to wear a mask and gloves. I don't think it's within her realm of understanding to comprehend what she's walking into. It never seems like she or her husband comprehend the gravity of the condition of that home when I try to explain it to them. I guess she'll realize when she opens the door.

All they're going to do is empty the food out of the house and shut down utilities. No plans for repairs or anything at this point. My husband actually volunteered to handle the emptying of the pipes and shutting down of water and utilities. I never thought he'd touch that place with a 100 foot pole. But he needs the $$$ and the diversion from the stress of school.

My guess is, if E passes on, they will have to auction this house off with the intent that whoever buys it will demo it and rebuild on the site. Thankfully it's in an upscale community where land is sought after.

So now I meet neice finally, E is finally out of that house and receiving some care .... even if it is at the hospital, and the saga comes to a close.

The End?

My Husband The Scientist

It's so weird. My husband is studying to become a Biologist - an Environmental Research Scientist. How weird is that? From a contractor to a junior undergrad in Environmental Research?

He actually has developed an independent research project on local water quality. He is coordinating the effort under an internship with the local environmental agency - recruiting scientists, gathering data, putting together the research process and procedures, scheduling meetings. He pursued it, he arranged it, he's heading it. He'll also have to present it, and if it gets published, present it again at state and national conferences of scientists - paid for by the University. Amazing.

So we're at my daughters b-ball game the other day and a man walks into the gym and is so tall he actually has to duck to get through the large gym doorways - must be 7 feet I think. I nudge H and point out the really tall dad and turn back to the game. He nudges me back and says "he has an extra y chromosome" and turns back to the game. I just shake my head and smile. What a cutie.

Oxygen and Toxins

Today I just can't breathe. Well, I can breathe, but it feels like I'm not getting enough oxygen. Even last night I had a dream where I was frozen - couldn't move - and there was something slightly covering my face limiting my oxygen intake. Of course I was trying to wake up and move so I could get out from under the blankets, which I don't think were even covering my face, but was frozena and couldn't move and felt like I was suffocating. It was not good.

So, it's continued. I remember feeling this way with each of the previous pregnancies. In fact there were many a late night when I'd wake up in the middle of winter and go sit out on the deck with my blanket just trying to get enough oxygen.

My breathing is fine and clear - but it feels like not enough oxygen is getting to my lungs. Hopefully this will end soon - maybe if I drink more water.

As for toxins, and I don't know if I wrote about this last week, but we had a toxic issue at work last week.

Monday my co-worker complained about an awful smell in the front office - especially where she was working. She came and borrowed a scented candle from me. Later I went up to make copies and immediately started coughing from the toxic smell. It was paint thinner that had apparently spilled on the carpet in her office when an adjacent storage room was cleared out over the weekend.

I told her to put out the candle and get out of the office. She felt she had to stay and do her work. Apparently she'd already told her boss about it and he essentially said to make do. I said absolutely not, in fact she should go home - that she was breathing poison and could become seriously ill from this. She was reluctant to go to her boss again because he was meeting with his boss in a closed conference room. I pushed her though.

When she did, I overheard them tell her to open a window! It was 5 degrees out. So she should freeze and die of asphyxiation??? She already had a headache so that is a clue that she was already being poisoned. She was dizzy. I sent her outside to get fresh oxygen and told the bosses that this solution would not do. She could not work in that office and further that ventilation wouldn't do it. I told them that they should call service master to come clean the carpet and get rid of the smell. They agreed and did it.

Shortly after this exchange my co-worker was too ill to continue working - not surprisingly. What we didn't know until she returned to work is that she'd been hallucinating on her way home, at home, slurring her speech, and when trying to pour water into a cup she poured it onto her counter. She was seriously affected.

She ended up being sick and out of work for the rest of the week. The Dr. told her not to return to work before today. But can you believe that her co-workers and supervisor tried to say that she must have had the flu at the same time??? No fever - but all these other symptoms and it was the flu?? I don't think so.

If I hadn't pushed for her to get out of there she honestly could have died or suffered permanent brain damage. I just can't believe this.

Employers are so selfish.

Relieved and At Peace

It has been a tough year for me at work. I alternately feel put upon and then as if I am not doing nearly enough to even maintain employment. My boss regularly makes it clear that he does not get from whence I get the latter idea - which is nice.

Most recently, for what I felt was my own lack of performance - and in fact it was to some degree, we were notified that we were losing about 94,500 of a 120,000 contract. I was crushed and depressed and immediately set about trying to turn that around by throwing myself on the mercy of the powers that be. After all about 10,000 of that goes towards my own salary!

So after two weeks of e-mails and phone calls, loss of sleep, depression, anxiety, begging and pleading we have reached a consensus that allows us to prove that we deserve to keep that money.

Graciously the vendee has agreed to pause that contract and allow us a certain amount of time to meet the required benchmarks of it. If by a certain date we can do this the funds will be there. That means we have to spend money to make money.....maybe, but it is completely fair and means that the door is not closed.

What a relief!!

Honestly, at the same time, I was courting and being courted by another employer. I was sure that I would accept the position if they came through with what I asked for. They did, but it turned out not to be quite enough to make the move while pregnant and would have effectively cost me about $8,000.00 in losses for the first year of employment. After that it would have balanced out - if I wasn't pregnant there wouldn't have been any losses in the first place - but $8,000.00 was not something I was prepared to give up at this time.

At the final hour I declined the position. So many pros, but not enough where it counts.

So I am here alone and kind of creeped out with just a few minutes to go. Last week there was a triple violent homicide across the street. The person murdered was a 10 year employee of our company. She and her two teenage children were killed in their home sometime during the previous evening or overnight.

Thankfully they caught the person they believe is responsible - a registered sex offender. But still I hate leaving here on my own without other people around. In fact I think I'm going to leave right now before it gets totally dark.

HOORAY FOR FRIDAY!!!