You Can Do It. We Can Help. But We Won't.

Mrs THIT and I were discussing recently how, all things considered, the whole process of purchasing and taking possession of our little green fort has gone pretty smoothly.

Yes, the completion of our house was delayed by about six weeks, but we feel that overall we've gotten far better service across the board from all parties involved. TamarackHomes, while not perfect (who is?), is certainly light years ahead of Ashcroft. I will spend the rest of my life telling anyone within earshot that Ashcroft are just a step away from building slums and to recommend that the money spent on one of their peice of crap homes could best be used elsewhere. Everyone else from lawyers to bank staff has been a definite upgrade.

With one exception. Home Depot.

It's not that they've provided poor service. It's that they've provided NO service. It hit me the other day that they've lost close to $10,000 in business from us.

We had intended to purchase our five appliances there. We applied for their credit card and they would only authorize...$1500. That's not going t go far.

I understand why, to a degree. Christine and I don't have a great deal of debt, but we have the potential for a lot of debt; unused space on other credit cards. Still, it was a bit of a kick in the 'nards so we decided to shop elsewhere. Someone suggested Universal Appliances. We were well-served there and were given a good price.

I can set that aside, but then we decide to try Home Depot for window coverings. They weren't our first choice; we tried the places that specialize in such things (Blinds To Go, etc) but our windows are of unusual width. That created an additional cost, so we kept shopping. We liked what we saw both in selection and price at HD so we set an appointment.

We never received the phone call they promised. We were in the neighborhood once so we stopped in and they admitted they were having difficulties with that function. They suggested WE call at a specific time when the designer might be around. Sorry, I don't feel it's my responsibility to chase companies to force my business upon them.

We did eventually get a phone call. Three weeks after we'd first inquired and about a week after we made a purchase elsewhere (the name of the place escapes me now...It's in the bottom floor of Westgate Shopping Center). In their shoes, I'd have been embarassed to make that phone call.

I work for a large company so I feel somewhat qualified to say this: The bigger the organization, the thinner the link to the customer. We've had some difficulties with Bell Canada as well, but similar to problems we've had with Rogers.

Home Depot was good for one thing: A reminder that as name recognition only has so much value.