Home Depot review: Unfair treatment and favoritism for purchasing a patio set

I am writing to formally file a complaint regarding an upsetting and unfair experience at your Kenaston, Winnipeg location on Wednesday, July 24, 2025, at approximately 8:00 PM.

We were in the middle of purchasing a patio set when another customer approached and expressed interest in the same item. A staff member rightly informed him that we were already in the process of buying it. However, the customer claimed he had already “reserved it” through the store manager Zeel.

We found this suspicious, as Zeel was not on shift at that time. We asked for proof of this reservation and accompanied the customer to the customer service desk, where staff checked and confirmed that no reservation was listed in the system under the customer’s name or for that item.

Despite this, the customer immediately phoned manager Zeel, who then contacted the acting manager on duty, Taran. After that call, Taran overrode the situation and instructed the staff to sell the patio set to the other customer, even though:

We were already at the cashier, attempting to pay for it.

The other customer’s reservation claim was not verifiable.

The only justification given was that she was “following orders from her manager.”

We repeatedly requested evidence of a reservation, but none was ever shown to us. Taran took no accountability for the decision, despite being the manager on duty, and appeared to act solely on Zeel’s instructions. The staff member who initially told the other customer that we were already purchasing the set, as well as the cashier who refused to proceed with our payment, were also involved.

The handling of the situation strongly suggested favoritism or a personal relationship between the other customer and Zeel. We left the store feeling dismissed and mistreated, and it appeared to us that personal relationships were prioritized over fair customer service. We believe we were unfairly denied the opportunity to complete our purchase.

We are formally requesting:

A full investigation into the conduct of Taran and Zeel,

An explanation as to why the sale was taken from us, despite being in the process of paying,

And a review of store policy in situations involving unverified reservations and managerial decision-making.

We expect a timely response and would appreciate being informed of the outcome of your investigation.

Sincerely,
Maryam Shojaei