A Learned Lesson from Buying at a Big Home Depot

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Saving money doesn't necessarily mean we go for low quality products. In fact, it should be the opposite.

When we buy high quality items, that's when we do save money. For the simple reason that they last.

We protect ourselves from being ripped off. That may be the reason we don't buy from hawkers.

We assume that we are protected from being cheated if we get our stuff from behemothic stores in malls. Or so we thought.

A bad experience at a gigantic home-improvement store

Let me share with you a bad experience which resulted in an imperfection on an essential part of the house of one of the relatives.

A home-repair helped discover malpractice

The family has been in an on-going house fix. The part that needed the most attention was a small door that must be expanded. It's the door that led to the entertainment room of the modest abode.

That day the driver was off, so I drove. The parking area was in front of the mall and not covered.

We headed to the branch of this huge house-builders-depot inside the mall and soon we're in the area where different sizes and colors of doors are.

We're attended by a couple of sales crew. But then minutes later their supervisor approached and did much of the talking.

He got our specs and measurements and excused himself to get the particular door that my uncle wanted. While waiting, my uncle and the carpenter got around the big store to buy a few more needed items. I was just on the sidelines.

Then we had to look for the supervisor and not until we reached the cashier area did he appeared and the doorset was already there as if he didn't want us to check it out first.

When it comes to buying stuff, I can be a very meticulous buyer. But I didn't want to step on my uncle's toes by inspecting it.

But I was the one who took the supervisor and the assistant to the open parking to have the door bound to the top of the SUV while my uncle and the carpenter were left behind for the payment process because my uncle used a credit card and a discount card.

Supervisor of the big home-improvement chain foisted us a defective product

And then there I saw it as we neared the car. I knew I would see something because the edges of the plastic protections of the entire door were already damaged even though the door itself looked okay.

Here are the facts that led to installing a knock-off door in the house

1. Not fully attached is one of the four corners of the frame.
2. There's about 3/4 cm gap between the tips of the jamb and the head part.
3. The supervisor explained that these parts would come and stick together once the door is installed.
4. I was not convinced and took the matter to my uncle when he arrived.
5. But he listened to the supervisor.
6. It's too late when he learned that I was right on saying that the frame must be a reject, at least for me.

If I did the buying myself I would have it replaced.

Anyways, the door is already fitted to where it should be, and there's nothing he could do. And here is the pic of it now, please have a look:

Below is the opposite corner, which is okay.

What can we learn from this?

Well, I have two things in my mind.

1. Shoddy items are also present in so called reputable home depot chains.
2. Some senior employee, such as supervisors foist these items to the unsuspecting customers to protect the company's profit.

You know, they have this method in disposing their inventory called FIFO or First in, First Out. Probably they're doing it in a wrong manner at the expense of the buying public. Anyways, it did happen to us. And I wrote this article so that once you found yourself in a situation like this, you know what to do right there at the store.

Thank you for reading this post. I hope you get something from it. Have you ever experienced buying something, and once at home you found it's defective? Share with us your experiences in the comment box below. Let's learn from one another.

Meanwhile, here are my final thoughts on this topic.

Final thoughts

Established emporiums don't guarantee that their sellers don't cheat buyers when it comes to selling products. People who manage these “behemoths” have the responsibility to sell all items in their depot.

Incentives in forms of commissions are commonplace in this kind of business. Whenever in a megastore, it is best not to be a complacent buyer. It always pays to adhere to this rule — “Inspect the item, when in doubt, replace it.”

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Vernie Mallorca

Vernie Mallorca is an entrepreneur and blogger with years of experience in selling to institutional accounts. He gradually shifted to blogging when he found out that it is his calling to write timely and helpful articles online that can help others to save money, make money, and secure their future by handling their income smartly. In this blog, he shares both managing your finances, however small it is and valuable information on running a small business.