Returning things to Menards (Home Center.)

Buyer beware!

Published on September 19, 2004 By Jamie Burnside In Home & Family

I needed a new water heater for my house. I decided to buy an on-demand electric water heater from Menards.

After checking (with the clerk, the brochure, and with the website) whether the appliance was compatible with my house's electricity, I went ahead and ordered it. (Of course it wasn't in-stock.)

Once we got the box open, we learned that our electricity wasn't compatible with the water heater. (We needed 2x240 instead of 1x240.) I wasn't concerned. I had my receipt, and I would be returning the water heater unused.

What I learned at the store was that they charge a 40% re-stocking fee on returns of special orders. Forty per-cent! Considering that I paid over $400 for that thing, I would be losing over $150 on the deal. (To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld: "They can kiss 40 per-cent of my ass.")

(Why would I have ordered it from a store knowing that they had such an evil policy for returns? I could have ordered the product from the water heater company directly without any risk -besides postage- to myself. If I return a product unused, they'll just put it on the shelf and sell it later anyway.)

After enough complaining (My dad was with me too. He got me all worked-up.) we were able to get a store credit for the full-price of the water heater.

FROM NOW ON: I will never do a special order from Menards. If I want something from there that isn't in stock, I will order from the supplier directly. I advise anyone reading this to do the same.

Comments

jillie bean

on Sep 20, 2004

Menards is the worst store when it comes to returns. Basically the customer service there stinks. We have put up with it for years but we will spend a bit more and buy from Home Depot if it is between the two stores. But sometimes you have to get something from Menards.

A few years back we were buying a ton of clearence items for the garden. Things like planters and hooks and garden tools. We also were getting a marble bench to match one that we had paid full price for the begining of the summer. This one was marked 69.00. The girl rang it up for .69 cents, but caught herself and went opps, that isn't right and re-rang it for 6.90! Now usually we would be honest on something like that but after years of getting ripped off by the store, we didn't say a word. I still feel a bit guilty and a bit happy about it.

KarmaGirl

on Sep 20, 2004

I have a propane on demand water heater. To tell you the truth, they aren't all they are cracked up to be. It takes longer to get the water (since it has to activate then start heating it then start sending it). Also, most of them you have to buy the thermostat for it to be able to adjust it (which is important, since the standard is dangerously high if you have children). I also saw very little change in our energy bill, matter of fact, it's hard to say that there was a change at all as a result of it.

So, in less you have some dead set reason to get one, you are probably money ahead by getting a standard water heater.

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