Beware Home Depot's Free "In-Home Design Service"

Yesterday we stopped at Home Depot so the boyfriend could visit the compressor he's lusting after. AGAIN. As usual I had to visit the kitchen area so I can indulge my new kitchen fantasies. So I was drooling over some new countertops when an associate asked if we knew they were offering free in-home design consultations where someone would measure and give us prices on countertops, cabinets, cabinet refacing, etc. I was mulling over the value of adding free measurements and realistic estimates to my kitchen dream plans when the boyfriend said, just do it.

So we sat down to sign up. The associate asked what we're interested in and I said countertops, cabinets, backsplash and floor. Would I be interested in cabinet refacing, he asked? Well maybe, I said, a price would be nice, but that wasn't something I was that interested in, because if I keep the cabinets we would fix them ourselves. Well we can do all that for you, he happily exclaimed. Then he called someone who would actually book the appointment. So again I was asked what I was interested in and again I repeated the whole shebang.

"So you're interested in cabinet refacing?"

"I'm considering it, but I want to know about countertops, etc."

"Ok, so is there anything else besides cabinet refacing you might want?"

"Um, yes, countertops, backsplash, a floor."

I was asked the same question aout five times in a five minute phone call and I began to see where this whole free business was going. Yes, there's always a catch. So I make the appointment anyway and we leave.

Twenty minutes later we're in the car and the phone rings, it's Home Depot to confirm our cabinet refacing consultation.

"But it's not just cabinet refacing right? I want to get countertop prices, etc."

"Oh, you wanted something else too, well then..."

"I went over this FIVE TIMES when booking this appointment. Can you just cancel it? This is already more irritating than it's worth."

"Sure, we'll cancel the appointment for you."

Today I got my confirmation e-mail from confirmation@cabinetrefacing.com. ARGH! I can't stand when someone tries the bait and switch. If you're just offering cabinet refacing consultations, that's great, but don't waste your time and mine trying to trick me into one when I'm not interested. I also can't stand when people read from a script and don't listen to your answers, but just keep asking the same question over and over again.

I still like Home Depot, but that's the last time I'm falling for any free consultations!