Comments on: Home Depot Tool Rental Review

By: Kyle

Kyle — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 23:28:32 +0000

My most recent negative experience with HD Tool rentals the only two times I’ve rented from there, at least at one store in Vancouver, Canada, is a very sly policy of tacking on an extra $2 to each rental as tool insurance. This is basicly to insure if you drop equipment, run over it etc, etc. Being a careful person I don’t usually go for this option. The first time renting, being new, I look over the papers the fellow prepared for a rental of a carpet cleaner…I saw this charge included. When I asked if this was optionial, he says it is but it would take about 10 minutes to re-do the paperwork, blah blah. Somewhat annoyed at this pure negative billing approach, I paid the stupid charge. And made a mental note to next time ask upfront not to be charged this fee. A few months later, I go to rent a similar machine from a different staff member and state up front I don’t want the charge and specifically don’t initial the contract clause. He gives me a invoice with the charge included , and when I point it out he say..oh we don’t charge anything now only when you bring it back. So when I bring it back to another employee…they go ahead and process the invoice with the charge included!! and then its 15 minute and mutilple customer representatives required to remove the charge from the credit card… To me this represents a sneaky negative billing approach in which customers are being compelled through inconvience to pay an extra needless fee…which is basically pure profit into the pockets of HD. Sure its only a couple of bucks…but I’m damn sure they do it everyone who walks through the door. A policy for this should be as soon as I, customer, ask to rent something, they should ask ,’do you want extra insurance? I should respond yes or no …and that should be the end of it full stop.

Kyle

By: Natural Decors » Blog Archive » I Hate Box Store Self Checkouts!

Natural Decors » Blog Archive » I Hate Box Store Self Checkouts! — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 03:11:59 +0000

[...] was reading Home Depot Tool Rental Review today and a comment from one of the readers reminded me of something I’ve wanted to blog [...]

By: Keith

Keith — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:04:30 +0000

This is exactly why it is better to deal with places that specialize in whatever the service or materials you are looking for, whether it is tool rentals, lumber, plumbing parts, or any other resource you are in need of, I always try to use a supplier that deals specifically in that service or goods. I know this isn’t always possible as most plumbing, electrical, fence, and other suppliers won’t sell to the public, but if possible, it is worth it to avoid the “big box” (as Todd and many others refer to them).

Keith

By: Nathan

Nathan — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:16:56 +0000

I have had a recent, nearly identical situation with the HD tool rental for a wet saw. However, Natalie and I just ate the wasted time and vowed never to return. ABC rental has been a great experience for us since then.

By: Ethan

Ethan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:54:06 +0000

Good comments all. @Fred, You raise a good point about HD’s obligation. Point taken. I completely agree except that the employee offered the discount. If she had the authority or not, I’m not sure. It never came up and it was never questioned by customer care (as far as I know). But she offered the discount and even said I could apply it toward a future purchase. I simply held her to that. Hopefully, it’s a situation I won’t ever experience again.

By: Fred

Fred — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:42:36 +0000

One of the big questions a situation like this raises is what obligation does a company have to you for wasting your time? I think that the courts would generally rule that your wasted time has no monetary value, especially if the company was operating with “reasonable care.” In this case, HD probably didn’t know the tool was broken, and they did their best to make it right for you. Basically, the penalty the big box pays for this isn’t direct compensation to you; rather, it pays in lost future business and a negative review (like this one).

I’m sure that in Home Depot’s situation above, the tool rental customer service representative didn’t actually have the authority to issue you a 10%-off discount, at least not on a future purchase, and possibly not even “on the spot” as she probably meant to imply. She was likely going to use some kind of discount they had available (e.g., a coupon in the desk) to give you a 10% discount for your troubles. When they couldn’t fix the problem that day, she couldn’t give you a voucher because she wasn’t really supposed to be giving you *anything*…

In reality, she should have been honest and said that she didn’t have the authority to issue any type of discount, and that you should call customer service to register a complaint.

Just another way to look at it, I suppose. The clerk in this case didn’t follow a good procedure for making things right. It would have been better to be honest, direct you to HD’s customer service line, and then let it go. HD customer service did issue you a credit for your next purchase in the form of a gift card. Had the path for you to obtain some type of compensation been clearer and more direct, perhaps the situation would have been perceived a little differently.

By: Gene

Gene — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:30:55 +0000

I’ve never rented from a Home Depot (there’s a local rental place much closer, with better selection and service), but I’ve had enough negative experiences with HD that I’m not surprised by your experience. Not all HDs are created equal; unfortunately the one nearest to us is on the low end of the scale.

I still shop there when closer stores don’t have what I need, but sometimes I wonder why. This morning was another example. I wasn’t in a huge rush, but it was early (~8am), so most of the people there were contractors buying lumber or other larger items. So what did they have open for registers? One plus the self-checkout. You can’t use self-checkout for lumber, so there was a line of 8 or so contractors all waiting at one register. Some time later they opened a second register, but not before they’d raised more than a few blood pressures.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:41:10 +0000

This is a classic example of botched customer service at the employee level, the customer-facing employee level who was even a manager.

Companies via their employees, focus too much on making it hard on customers. They make it hard to get a fair deal, they make it hard to return bad goods. And by doing so, they make the consumer less inclined to be a repeat customer.

I had a similary bad experience with Z Gallerie home furnishings. After waiting 4 months for a mirror to get delivered, it wasn’t even in good condition. My wife got a decent % discount on the price prior to delivery (did I mention they charge you immediately upon taking your sale, not when the good is delivered!) but they refused to give us a coupon or gift certificate when we returned the scratched mirror. It was like they wanted to piss us off and have us never come back.

I find your story to be atypical for Home Depot though. I find they are pretty good in general, and even better when they know you by face (making relationships with the main people in paints and lumber is key, lumber guys will cut your wood for free and give you stuff at greatly reduced prices).

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:16:13 +0000

That’s too bad! We’ve rented a few things from there (luckily with a positive experience) and a few things at the local Rental Station, which is MUCH further from my house. What I don’t like about HD is that they won’t reserve somethingfor you… if you call to make sure it’s there, they won’t hold it until you get there. Luckily we live 10 blocks away, so we’ve never had a problem (also why we go there a lot).

By: Todd

Todd — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:00:41 +0000

Not at all, the problem you had is representative of the box stores in general. Typically their employees have little to know training, lack of knowledge and an overall lack of customer service. Don’t get me wrong, I shop there occasionally, but only for specials and when I can’t find something at the local hardware store. I have a serious love hate relationship with box stores and the customer service issues are at the root of it all!