The Home Depot

Their online inventory showed they had 22 of the bullnose tiles in the color I needed. Since there is not a Home Depot in my area and I was going to be traveling through Tuscaloosa, I placed an order for all 22 of the tiles available in their store inventory, in order to make sure they would have them available when I arrived. After arriving at the customer service desk, I noticed the box had been taped with multiple layers of tape, which I found curious. I always try to listen to my instincts and this time they were telling me to check the tile before leaving the store. If something was wrong, I would have to make a 90 mile trip to return the merchandise. After removing the layers of tape, I discovered that 14 of the 22 tiles were chipped. They knew very well how far I live from Home Depot because their ordering system always asks for my billing address. I hate to pat myself on the back, but I wonder how many unsuspecting customers would have trusted them and accepted the tapped box. I cancelled the order, and asked for a copy of the refund to my credit card. The woman at the customer service desk went back and forth multiple (more than 3) times from one computer to another one right next to it, but she never gave me a receipt for the credit. I asked for the manager, and he gave me a printed receipt, which was for a credit. They were making me late for an appointment, so I trusted that he had given me the correct credit receipt, since I had made such a big deal over making sure I got the receipt, but when I got home I discovered it was actually a copy of a credit for something else I had returned that day. Thank goodness I got an email from Home Depot saying the order was cancelled because my credit card has been charged the amount of the cancelled order. I called the 800 number and they told me I would have to wait 8 to 10 days for a credit, even though the order was never picked up. Now, I have to follow up to make sure I get credited. If it was an order that had to be shipped, I think it would be OK to bill the card when the order is shipped out, but I don’t think they should have charged me until I picked up the in-​store order. I could see them placing a hold on the funds through my credit card company to make sure I could afford to pay, but there was no need to charge the card before an in-​store order is picked up. This should be handled no differently than any other local purchase. You don’t pay for other in-​store merchandise just because you place it in your buggy if you never make it through the check-​out line. I guess I am most upset that they tried to sell me broken tile knowing I live a good distance from a store. If they want to tell customers about their stellar ethical business practices, they need to train the employees not to try and sell broken merchandise to out-​of-​town customers, and they should not bill the customer’s credit card before the order is picked-​up.