A Man Is Told His Broken Doorknob Has A Lifetime Warranty, But When A Manager Says To Contact The Manufacturer, He Buys A New One And Returns The Old One In Its Box
Pexels/Reddit
It can be really frustrating to follow someone’s advice and then be told it was all wrong.
One customer found that out after going to Home Depot for a screw to fix a broken doorknob.
The employee he spoke to said there was no need to fix it because it had a lifetime warranty. So he went home, took the doorknob apart, and brought it back.
But when he returned, a manager said the warranty went through the manufacturer. And while he was explaining who’d told him to bring it in, that same employee spotted him and quickly walked away.
After getting nowhere with the manager, he agreed to buy an identical replacement, but he wasn’t planning to pay for it in the end.
Read on to see how it all played out.
Doorknob of a manager
The handle of my doorknob popped off.
If you’re not familiar with the parts, it’s held on by a tiny screw, which I couldn’t find. Having worked in retail before, we used to have spare parts kicking around, so I figured Home Depot might.
I drive to the store and head to the doorknobs and ask the gentleman there if they have parts. The guy says, “Just bring it back. They have a lifetime warranty.” I thank him and return home, spend some time disassembling the front doorknob, put it all in a bag, and return to the store.
Apparently, the woman was a manager.
I’m standing in the aisle and can’t find the original guy I spoke to. That’s when another lady approaches and asks if I need help. I explain the situation and what I was told, “We don’t do that,” she states, “It’s through the manufacturer.”
I start complaining, and she asks who told me to do that. While talking, I literally see the original guy come around the corner at the end of the aisle, see me and the girl, then do a 180 and leave.
She starts telling me I have to contact the company. The warranty is through them. I notice her tag says “Manager,” and I’m not getting anywhere.
Frustrated, he came up with the perfect solution.
So I ask where my doorknob is. She walks over and indicates my $200+ knob, then adds, “But you’re not getting it. We’re not doing that.”
I nod, “Yep,” and ask if it’s the same one. She says yes, then states again that I have to buy it.
I reply, “Yes, if you give it to me, that’s what I’m going to do.” So she actually walks me to the cashier and scans it at self-checkout. I pay and return home.
After returning home, I carefully remove the new doorknob without damaging the package. I put the old one in said package. Then I return it and get my money back.
Oh wow. This really sucks for the next person who buys that item though.
Let’s check out what the folks over at Reddit think about people doing stuff like this.
According to this person, they sell screws.
It was definitely something on the fancier side of things.
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This person thinks the story is published in the wrong place.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about customer who won’t take no for an answer when it comes to outdated price-matching policies.
Here’s what this person thinks he should’ve done.
He went about this all wrong.
For starters, asking for a replacement screw instead of doorknob parts might’ve led him in a better direction.
And while getting the wrong advice was frustrating, that didn’t make it okay to put his old doorknob in the new box and return it.
He should’ve contacted the manufacturer instead of making the store pay for it.
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