CW Home Depot Negative Review: UNSAFE SERVICE PRACTICE

Cuz Cherry Pie with Son, Jappy in Tuguegarao, Cagayan

My cousin Cherry Pie who lives in San Jose, California recently visited the Philippines and stayed for 2 months. She planned her vacation really well because she needed to accomplish a lot during her short stay. Aside from reuniting with family and friends and enjoying the many wonderful sights in the country, one of her top agenda is to accompany her son, Jappy to take the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT) and to supervise the ongoing construction of their new house in Marikina City.

Mel, Moi and Cherry Pie

Her vacation couldn't have been more pleasurable. She was able to visit the beautiful white sand beaches in Pugudpud, Ilokos Norte, the Callo Cave and Pinacanauan River in the Callao Ecotourism Zone, Tuguegarao, Cagayan, revisited her home town in Llanera, Nueva Ecija and other tourist spots. She also hosted parties for family and friends. Her last 2 weeks of vacation however turned out to be obnoxious not only with the incessant heavy rains that whacked the archipelago but more because of a freaky accident that could have been avoided, if only the proper safety precautionary measures were applied by one construction materials store, the CW Home Depot located at Dona Julia Vargas Avenue, Pasig City. The establishment is owned and managed by the CW Marketing and Development Corporation, a joint venture of Cebu Oversea Hardware Company Inc. and West Point Industrial Sales Co. Inc.

CAVEAT!!! UNSAFE SERVICE PRACTICED at CW HOME DEPOT

On July 17, 2012, Cherry Pie went to the CW Home Depot to buy additional floor tiles for the ongoing construction of their house. She bought 3 boxes of 60 x 60 cms. ceramic floor tiles, each box containing 4 tiles weighing about 32 kilos and 1 box containing 20 pcs. of 30 X 30 cms. ceramic floor tiles. The heavy construction materials were all loaded in a grocery cart! Inclined on one side of the small grocery cart were  the 2 boxes of the 60 X 60 cm floor tiles, while the other box was placed on the other side. The box of  the 30 X 30 cm floor tiles was placed at the center of the grocery cart. Seriously, it was top heavy!!! Cherie Pie mentioned to the assisting sales clerk her observation that the heavy load and uneven distribution of weight would most likely cause the grocery cart to topple down but it was shrugged off as something they normally practice.... therefore, safe! Still, she asked if it could be transferred to a flatbed cart instead but to no avail.

As they were ushered to exit, the grocery cart was handed over to Cherry Pie's cousin, Pablo Rey so he could take it outside and load it to their car. He had a hard time maneuvering the heavy grocery cart and had to be taught by the guard to forced-steer it.  As they stood waiting for their ride, the grocery cart, like Cherry Pie's earlier foreboding, indeed toppled down and the boxes of heavy ceramic floor tiles, of over 100 kilos crashed down on her right foot! Ouch! Murphy's Law!

Some store personnel rushed over to the scene but they were more concerned about the broken tiles! One muttered, "Ay, nabasag! Baka hindi na palitan 'yan kasi nailabas na!" (Ay, it's broken! They might not replace it because it's already been taken out!). Cherrie Pie, upon hearing the rude remark burst out in pain and frustration, cussed in three different languages: Ilokano, Tagalog and English...LOL!

Her companion, Pablo Rey needed to ask for assistance before anyone had the decency to offer. Cherry Pie was belatedly given a wheel chair. She needed immediate medical attention because the pain was just too much, the nearest hospital in the area was the Medical City but the CW Home Depot Store Manager, Elgine C. Lopez, insisted she be brought to a small clinic in Mandaluyong City for x-ray because this is their accredited facility! So, they let her suffer in pain longer than necessary in a typical Manila afternoon traffic .... which meant bumper to bumper and slow paced, heavy traffic... simply horrendous!

In the clinic, Cherry Pie complained that there was no safety protective gear provided before her x-ray. So she had to ask for it and put it on herself! She was prescribed and given an anti-inflammatory/analgesic generic drug Celecoxib Reduflam 200 mgs. good for 10 days but she experienced upset stomach each time she took it.

Cherry Pie filed a complaint at the CW Marketing and Development Corporation Head Office in Makati for the unsafe service being practiced in their Ortigas Branch and the ill-treatment she got from their employees.

On August 3, 2012, she received a text message from the CW Home Depot asking her to meet with the Customer Service Manager, Ms. Conti regarding her complaint. Cherry Pie had to move a previous engagement just to accommodate the meeting with Ms. Conti. However, when she arrived, Ms. Conti had her wait for almost an hour! Talk about good customer relations practice! While waiting for the Prima Donna Customer Relations Manager, Cherry Pie noticed that the same grocery carts are being used to carry heavy loads of construction materials!

The meeting with Ms. Conti did not accomplish anything other than to add further insult to injury. The CW Home Depot Customer Service Manager did not show empathy and instead put the blame on the customer by her statements like, "This is an accident that no one wants to happen, the grocery cart was safe to use and it could be the way it was parked that made it topple down. What is it that you want from us?" This irked the hurt customer even more and replied, "That is a very dangerous question, do not ask me what I want from you, if I asked for this store, would you give it to me? Now, tell me, what can you offer me or should I just sue you?" As if on cue, an umbrella with the CW Home Depot Logo appeared! The assistant who brought the umbrella then asked the aggrieved customer to sign a release/receipt form! Ms. Conti added, "Please accept and sign for the umbrella. We are sorry but we can not offer anything else but you are of course free to file a complaint should you wish to." My cousin was totally slighted not so much by the offer but more on the way she was mistreated by the officer of the establishment. She would have really filed a formal complaint to the Department of Trade and Industry and seek other legal remedies for the injury she suffered due to the unsafe service practices of the CW Home Depot, if only she was not scheduled to return to the U.S. on August 8, 2012. What a bummer!