Home Depot

I am very troubled with the quality of service and the products I received since last October from Home Depot window blinds. I have been a long-time customer of Home Depot and have purchased Levelor blinds before and been extremely happy. I have two issues to bring to your attention.

First is started last August, I purchased Maxxmar blinds with remotes for $4, 000+. That has turned into a very long, drawn-out process and I still don't have my blinds. Some didn't hang properly e.g. not centered, came down at an angle, zebra lines not straight, fabric creased, and what I understood was a missing battery.

I had been emailing with the rep and Maxxmar initially didn't stand behind their product. According to Gayle, she connected with a different Maxxmar rep and they said to send them back, which I did. I received the blinds and one was not connected to the roller, one had a very high-pitched motor sound. The one with what I thought was a missing battery, turned out to have an internal battery. This was never explained to me in the numerous emails between me and Gayle.

My blinds were supposed to be back on March 23rd but I received an email saying they wouldn't be here until April 19th. I was in Saskatoon yesterday, April 20th, (I live 100 km away) and stopped at the store at about 3:30 to see if my blinds were in. I hadn't received an email yet. She checked and said they weren't but by the time I got home at 5:30, there was an email timestamped 4:22 that my blinds were in and could be picked up. I now wonder why the clerk didn't check other than looking on the computer. There were obviously orders received at the store that hadn't been processed. I told her twice that I was in from Rosetown but that didn't seem to matter.

About two months or more, I ordered new roller blinds costing $2, 000+ for my basement windows. I went to Gayle and told her I wanted to order the Levelor blinds again because I had them at my lake home and I wanted something I could wash. I told her they should be in the system because I had placed two separate orders a few years apart. Gayle said they weren't and showed me a blind that was washable so I ordered them. I have had them downstairs for about a month and haven't put them up because I am so upset. They are not in a cassette like my Levelor blinds and they are not washable... they can be wiped with a damp cloth. The valances are just L-shaped plastic and have to be screwed directly to the window, and one of them is 6' long which is challenging. Also, I am really concerned about the 6' blind sagging.

I know there are no returns on special orders and I have been blaming myself for this second issue because I should have asked more questions. The more people I talk to about this, however, I am of the opinion that this is not fully on me as the customer. I told Gayle what I wanted. It was up to her, as the salesperson, to give me what I wanted. If the blinds were not in a cassette, she should have told me. I trusted her as the expert in window coverings and did not get what I wanted.

I may have waited too long, but this is an extremely busy time of year for me as I work full time and am also a tax preparer. If possible, I want to return these blinds. If not, I understand, but I definitely will not be returning to Home Depot for anything that I can't be guaranteed customer satisfaction.