Home Services at The Home Depot

I wanted to have Bel Air Home Depot install some laminate flooring after a less than stellar experience with Lowe's. Everything started out great; they measured and got me a quote within 2 days. Sadly, it all went downhill from there when they were unable to deliver the job for the price they quoted. In fact, they missed the mark by a whopping 50%. That's not 50% of the installation costs, but 50% of the entire bill, including the cost of the laminate flooring. I realize there's a margin of error on everything, but a 50% one is just absurd. They chalked it up to unforeseen circumstances, despite the fact that they had all of the information they needed ahead of time. In other words, there was absolutely nothing in the floor plan they didn't already know about - how could anything be unforeseen? After about a week's worth of back and forth with Home Depot and the installer, they offered $200 off (that's why it's 2 stars and not 1); however, it was still 40% more than the original quote. Moreover, Home Depot never wanted to accept responsibility for an obviously flawed process, shifting the blame to the contractor who measured or to the installer. Yet, it was Home Depot that compiled the info and prepared the quote. Furthermore, since Home Depot is the one through which the business is conducted, they should be the ones to answer to any problems encountered.

Please note that this is not George's fault. He did what he could and could not help more. I purchased laminate tops from the Bel Air, MD store. The original quote for the counters was around $1000. With installation and small upgrades, HD increased their price to over 2K! I asked George to justify the price and he could not. He did help me considerably. He stated that he would price match Lowes. After price matching with Lowes, it became evident that Home Depot IS A RIP OFF! The sales consultant should have known better, should have known that the price of granite has come way down, should have pushed the customer to the far superior product for the same price. Furthermore, if my original quote was done correctly, we would have completed the transaction. Instead, I questioned the price, and priced granite. Who would have thought that granite with an Ogee edge is CHEAPER than Home Depot's laminate with a beveled edge. I have a right mind to post this on every website including Angie's list, BBB, Consumer Reports, etc. I like Home Depot and have been a customer for 20 years. Don't act like you are the only game in town.