Warrantied appliances purchased from HD? Anyone needed them serviced yet?

Did Home Depot send you to GE? I was just in there today looking at refrigerators (not many there but more coming in a week or so.) I always figured HD would have a repairman for warranty jobs but guess I was wrong.

HD only has people to provide service under their 90 day warranty. I am trying to find someone to service under the manuf. warranty.

We purchased 4 low flush toilets, 2 air bladders, 1 water pump, 2 refrigerators (with ice makers), 1 dishwasher , and various other items required to replace/upgrade existing items in our home from Home Depot in January - the month after they opened. After spending much time ensuring that the appliances we were going to buy were in stock (according to the computer because though you can see and touch appliances on showroom floor that does NOT mean there are any "in the back" for you to take home), I paid for them and scheduled delivery to Krum Bay where the Home Depot delivery truck meets private barge for transport to Water Island. Called a couple days before scheduled delivery to ensure all was going according to schedule (it's like choreographing a major broadway production to get things from STT to WI). And so it began........the appliances that we were assured were "in stock" were actually "on the boat" waiting to be offloaded (today which was then tomorrow which was then tomorrow.........you get the idea). We went ahead and scheduled delivery of everything they DID have ready to go on the truck (toilets, air bladder, water pump, misc. items). My husband and I dinghy-ed over to Krum Bay. HD truck right on time and loaded all items into our 12 ft dinghy and had an extraordinarily funny and interesting trip from Krum Bay to Water Island deep water marina - picture Captain sitting comfortably in the stern and first mate (me) riding high - a thrill a minute! - on toilets. ....ok...I'm getting off topic.........

6 weeks later and lots of calling every day, multiple times (I was a boardgame piece in an adhoc game of "call me back in 15 minutes - I call back - oh sorry, they are out to lunch. Call back in 1 hour - oh sorry, they left 45 minutes ago and won't be back til tomorrow. And, yes, you can only talk to so&so) the day arrives where property manager coordinates all players for the big HOME DEPOT APPLIANCE DELIVERY! Yes. We got all our appliances. But, the refridgerators didn't come with the ice makers (which we paid extra for), the dishwasher had a "spring" missing so when you open the door to load dishes you need to be sure your legs (and small children) are out of the way because the door drops like a rock (wham!). Called the Home Depot to get satisfaction. HD answer: ok. no problem mon. pack all applicances and deliver them back to HD and they will be glad to replace with new and oh.....do you need you need our delivery truck....that will be another $65 (+WI private barge @ $65/hour + Property Manager coordination services). Unacceptable. But alas, fuggetabout it! We gave up. 6 weeks later - receive credit card bill from Atlanta home office HD. Erroneous charges 2x what we DID get, charges for what we DIDN'T get. Call Atlanta HD......who will get back to me after they contact STT HD. Call Atlanta HD...sorry they didn't get back to us but seems they can't get computer records from STT HD on our purchase so are unable to resolve. Long story .....short. in the end I paid a little more for items that I DID actually take posession of - and some might say (and some in my circle HAVE said) I should NOT have settled. But I was the one calling and calling and getting angrier and more frustrated and ..........yeah! I do have a day job. So, I gave up.

I am your biggest cheerleader Onika! Call Atlanta! GO GET EM!!!!!!!

Being on stx, we found STT HD to be a disaster for us. We actually do better dealing with Puerto Rico or Florida, but of course no warranty on anything they ship, and HD main office tells me they actually don't provide a warranty on anything they sell, just the manufacturer warranty, which doesn't travel to the VI unless the manufacturer decides it does, which is rare. We have tried various things over the years--buy from GB Hardware, only to find their service when we did need them was terrible, to say the least...buying from others on island, knowing you will not get more than the store's one year warranty, and often not that. Last few appliances came from Sears.com, had them deliver to VI Cargo, and just hoped they would work. We do have a good repairman who we pay when necessary. Good luck with GE---When we used to buy from them directly in PR, through our stx condo office, they would actually send someone to stx to deal with issues--you might try talking to them directly...

Fl Barrier Island, has your hair grown back after tearing it out with that nightmare?

I'll really be interested in the outcome of your situation, Onika.

Good morning everyone,

I was wondering after reading your response, which Home Depot in FL you have had good luck with and (I assume) is familar with the shipping to the VI's process.

We are at the beginning stages of a remodel and we are interested in shipping our appliances and kitchen cabinets to STJ instead of purchasing them on STJ for two reasons the first being selection and second when I priced out the exact kitchen from Kraftmaid on STJ and in Kansas City when I went to visit a few weeks ago the Home Depot in Kansas City was over $11,000 cheaper than on STJ for the exact same thing plus two added upgrades that the STJ store did not offer - worth the container shipping fees imho 🙂

Any advise is appreciated - thanks in advance

Pia

I will update when we have finally resolved the issue. At this point I am getting a lot of "it's their job", "No, it's their job".

FYI Piaa, GE explicitly told me the warranty would not have been applicable if I had purchased stateside and had the appliances shipped to the VI.

We also thought that it would be easier to order from HD in FL than HD in STT (for several reasons including memories that I still have even tho my hair has now grown back) and have HD FL handle the shipping to HD STT. The answer we've received from HD in Florida is that we have to order from the HD in STT. So, we went to STT HD in an attempt to order exactly what we had received (printed out with SKU#s, detailed descriptions, etc.) from HD in FL. STT HD highly motivated (NOT!) employee wouldn't look at our FL HD bid information. He opened his custom book for doors, windows and kitchen cabinets. All the pages had been ripped out except for a few - materials that we wouldn't put in our dog house let alone a house in a harsh salt/sea environment. And, if it's not in the book, you can't order it. (How convenient for him.) So, we are ordering doors and windows from a FL local supplier. Kitchen cabinets from Tampa Home Depot. We are shipping goods to STT. I have the following estimates to ship approximately $14K of materials. Both bids include the shipper to bring the container to a location in Tampa. They give you two hours to load the materials. (Buy cases of beer and several strong friends) Then, they take the container to their shipping port and on to STT.

Tropical Shipping
20 ft container $3,323 (Insurance $229)
40 ft container $4,685 (Insurance $247)

Crowley **If you go over the 2 hours in loading, it's $60/2 hours)
20 ft container $2,796.80
40 ft container $3,903
***I don't yet have Crowley estimate for insurance but I suspect it will be similar as Tropical. While insurance isn't mandatory, we are getting it becuase of Murphy Law and Hurricane Season. We plan to ship before November 30th.

Hey Onika,

On saving over $3,00 on the appliances (our second choice appliances - even more of a saving on our first choice of Jenn-Air which I don't even think they stock in Home Depot STT) plus the $11,000+ on cabinets we are kind of willing to accept the risk that we won't get all "lemons" (now I have jinxed it 😉 ) and it seems you are having a hard time with getting someone to service under the manufacurers warranty anyway and I don't think 90 is much of a warranty from HD - so at this very early stage I think we will go ahead and risk it and I am really fortunate that hubby is fantasic at all things that need fixing 🙂

Thanks for the info though, I will see how it goes for you - good luck with your fridge

Pia

We ordered (twice) Kraftmaid from HD. Once we went to PR, and they put order through, and arranged for shipping to stx--actually we just told them who to use for shipping. They have an export dept in each of the San Juan area HD I have been in, and the export dept does the standard paperwork, received the cabinets from Kraftmaid, packs and shrink wraps and palletizes, and they deliver to dock, you clear through customs and pay shipper upon arrival.
Second time, I ordered through a stateside HD, to be exported. Once my order was set--and it took many hours with the designer this time--I gave him the phone number and he contacted HD export in Medley FL--special dept of HD--and they told him how to finish the paperwork. Kraftmaid shipped directly to HD in FL export, they put on pallets and wrapped and delivered to my shipper in FL. Charge for this from HD is $75.00. No sales tax paid where-ever you order, as it is to be exported. I had to pay the 4% personal use tax, now assume that's not happening. No customs as made in US. Same story if you want to buy other things from HD through export--many of the FL stores are familiar with the process. No warranty on appliances as I previously mentioned, but we are not overjoyed with the warranties we get in stx, so at least this way we can use our own good repairman if/when we have to. No need for us to touch the cabinets until they reach stx--we pay shipping based on LTL rates.

Thanks Beachy 🙂

May I ask who your shipper was - we used Lee at Managed Freight when we moved to STJ two years ago but when I called the number I had for him I was told he is no longer there, When I asked the gentleman who answered the phone how much a 20' container was to ship to STJ was........"Oh I don't know but it's alot " (gotta luv him)

Any help you (and everyone else 🙂 ) can give would be great/

Thanks again

Pia

We've also ordered by phone from both FL and PR HD. Building a house--and have gotten all sorts of things, including paint, Thompson's waterproofing, granite vanity/sink tops, ceramic tile, even thinset once from PR when stx was out. I can order from PR on Wed or Thursday, if it is in the store they have it to the shipper in a day and it is available to me on stx on Monday--and the shipping from PR is reasonable.

Thanks for this info I appreciate it 🙂

Pia

WOW! These are different reports than my experience with Home Depot! I'm going to look into talking to a Home Depot other than the one in Tampa. Thanks!

BTW, Piaa, I use caribtrans.
1/2 container (10') is $1250 plus insurance.

Update on service:
GE is putting me in touch with the Regional manager.

We've used both Tropical and VI Cargo--but they, VIC, only go to stx. The west palm beach HD ships and delivers regularly to Tropical since they are in the neighborhood, and you can just call the WPB HD directly, and talk to either export or the special order desk or someone I forget, but they know who to connect you to. I have been going through HD export which is in Medley, (VI Cargo also in Medley) but I check the HD.com site and look at the local Medley FL store, and see what they have available, sometimes even getting the sku etc---We try to order a number of things at a time to justify the $75.00 fee, but as you do not pay sales tax in FL if you don't take posession of it yourself there is a net savings sometimes comparing the two. If you pick the stuff up yourself and deliver it to your shipper or load it into your own container you have to pay the sales tax on your purchase at the store, and then also the VI tax (now not an issue) and the shipping... The HD Centrex export dept pulls the merchandise from a local store unless it is a special order, and then it takes longer and they will hold the entire order waiting for that one thing to come in... The man in charge of FL export now, Hector, used to be in charge of PR export, so he's been around a while. You don't talk to him, but he supervises the export dept. When we did this the first time in person through PR, he told us which store to visit, set up my kitchen design appt, etc---all set up via email in advance.

My most recent kitchen was actually ordered at HD in NY. The $150 that Kraftmaid charges for delivery was the same whether the cabinets went to the HD in NY or HD export in FL. HD has a different way of getting the stuff to PR--apparently they ship containers to PR all the time to stock the stores. My neighbor ordered her HD kitchen in Wisconsin--same deal, actually went to HD Export in FL. I had my kitchen on stx last year 7 weeks from the time I ordered, and I got to benefit from the "deals" that HD was offering at the time I ordered in my local store. They won't ship countertops.

ONE WARNING--do NOT try to get anything through PR in December--early January. It is as bad as trying to get something done in the VI at the same time--parties, vacations, etc--it was a nightmare, and nothing got ordered till early January--after Jan 6! The workers don't work, the shippers don't ship--could be a song....

FYI to all who wanted to know the resolution:
After several days of emails, if you need service they put you in touch with the Regional Manager who contacts the STT contractor and gives approval for the service work.
Good luck!

FWIW, visited St. Thomas HD a couple of weeks ago to check out prices. Am getting ready to build villa and wanted to compare prices with my local HD in Florida. Met a very nice lady in the design department who could not have been more helpful. Gave her SKU#s for appliances for pricing. Not in stock but not locally either. She e-mailed me prices and when I got home compared with local pricing. Less than a couple hundred dollars difference per appliance. Am going to send her Kraftmaid list for kitchen cabinets and compare pricing. She offered to handle all special orders for me, not just cabinets and appliances.

Thanks for the update, Onika. Cyrano, it sounds like you reached a good employee. Hope it all works out for you.

Good luck - I hope all turn out well

Pia