Home Depot: Good For Do-It-Yourselfers, Not So Much When They “Do-It-For-You”
“Here’s our money, we trust you, just come into our homes and devastate our lives,” a Home Depot customer tells NBC4. “It’s just been a nightmare,” says another.
Now Home Depot is a company that not unlike Wal-Mart, has its share of fans and foes. The fairly common home improvement supply store is a wonderful place for do-it-yourself types and professional contractors alike. The inventory at most locations runs the gamut of what most people would need for even some more complex projects. Part of the Home Depot experience includes (besides a futile search for employees with much construction experience) numerous advertisements for “installation services.” The basic situation behind this is that Home Depot contracts work to various subcontractors to install materials and components supplied by the retail emporium. The convenience is tantalizing. The possible results may not be.
NBC 4 (Los Angeles) has undertaken a series of investigations spurred by reports of fraudulent and downright unpleasant business practices related to Home Depot’s contractors. The reporters are Joel Grover and Matt Goldberg.
- Part 1 of the series shows a situation in which a Home Depot roofing contractor gives a recommendation and cost estimate to replace an entire roof without ever setting foot on the roof. Unfortunately, the roof had been thoroughly examined by a former LA City Housing Inspector shortly before the contractor’s visit. Following this first report, Home Depot responded to questions from NBC and issued a carefully worded statement although they declined an on-camera interview.
- Part 2 gets down and dirty and includes reports from several former customers of the Home Depot services program that indicate defective construction and code violations. Again, the retail chain issued a response but did not participate on camera.
- Part 3 aired this week and is perhaps more hard-hitting than either of the other two reports. This time, internal documents from the company and further interviews give the indication that the company has a policy of up-selling contracting services. In this report, however, a representative of Home Depot does speak on camera, even though he had to use cue cards…
My personal experience with the Home Depot in Hemet, once to put in countertops and another for floors in my own home, were both positive. I believe their problems relate to sub contractor selection and supervision. This is the same problem that plagues the whole building industry, and part of why I don’t build anything anymore. Subcontractors (roofers for example) all look good on the surface, but they also are depending on their sales staff and workers to produce the completed product. I believe the root of the problem involves time and budget deadlines that are necessary to stay competitive and profitable, that lead to workers cutting corners and out right cheating to keep up. The problem is not new, it has always existed, but is more noticeable now with media coverage. It would be interesting if you had statistics to go with the investigative news shows. How do the “Bad examples” stack up statistically to the “Good examples” (such as mine)?
From Consumerist
28 February 2007 | Business, Construction, Construction Defect, Inspections, Litigation | Comments
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