Friday, January 12, 2018

When Home Depot Ruins Your Car



Once upon a time, Home Depot ruined my sister-in-law's car.

So my sister-in-law Molly has this gorgeous home, which she regularly changes up with new paint colors and accessories. She easily could've been an interior designer, because everything is unique yet somehow blends perfectly into her overall design scheme. It's masterful. She's an experienced painter, knows what she's doing, and has bought paint many times.

Not too long ago, she decided her house was almost exactly how she wanted it. All she had left was one room- her bathroom. All she needed to do was paint the walls with her chosen color, Chocolate Froth. She went by Home Depot to buy the paint, and planned on finishing her project that day. She was excited to have her whole house exactly how she wanted it.

Molly went to Home Depot, and they mixed the paint. They handed it to her, just as they always had when she had previously purchased paint there. She checked out and headed home.

She wasn't quite a mile down the road when she reached into her passenger seat to get something, and her hand came back wet. It was paint. Chocolate Froth paint, to be exact.

She pulled over, and discovered the paint can had tipped. It hadn't fallen over, she hadn't slammed on her breaks, she was just driving normally and it had leaned to one side.  Had it been shut properly, what happened next would be inconsequential. But it hadn't been closed properly. So when the paint can tipped, paint leaked out of it. All over her seat. All over her belongings in the seat. Through the seat foam, and onto the floor and vinyl of her car. Because it got on her hand, it also got on her clothes.

  


She turned around and went right back to Home Depot, where the manager was extremely apologetic and had several staff members take rags and wipe up as much as they could. They filled a trash bag with paint soaked rags. Then they had her fill out a claim for their insurance, assuring her it would be taken care of.

 

Fast forward several weeks. Corporate has been giving her the run around. The person she contacted about cleaning it said cleaning won't remove it all, and recommended reupholstering the seat and replacing the carpet (which is only $50 more than the cleaning fee). Home Depot corporate refused, saying they would pay for the cleaning of the seat but nothing else. Her car will have significantly decreased in value if this isn't resolved, all because the person at the paint counter didn't properly close the lid with a mallet like they're supposed to. Corporate's reasoning? She should've bagged it.

Let's pause on that. Home Depot doesn't allow you to bag your own items. When you check out, the cashier bags your items. So if their theory for not paying is that the paint should've been bagged, it's still their fault. It's a moot point- either way, they're responsible for making sure you can get your supplies home without destroying your car.

 

My hope is that by sharing Molly's story, and Home Depot's reaction, we can get Home Depot to step up and make this right. The local store was wonderful- they tried to help her in the moment and in the long term, and now it's out of their hands. Corporate should be as responsible as their store, and fix it properly once and for all. They need to take responsibility; their employee should have properly closed the paint can lid with a rubber mallet so that even if tipped over, it would't spill.

If Home Depot does do the right thing, I'll update this post. I'm also posting a Twitter thread you can follow to see how they'll handle it. I hope they'll fix this #HomeDepotFail and right this retail injustice.

In the meantime, I recommend heading to Lowe's for your paint needs.


**UPDATE!**
After this post, Home Depot did step up and do the right thing! They've paid for the damages and the new person to contact Molly was much nicer than all the previous people she'd been dealing with. Thank you for your support!

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

2017: The Year of 75 Books


I'm obsessed with reading. It's true. I'd say I'm on the road to recovery, but I'd probably stop by the library first.

I've gotten a lot of questions recently about how I find the time to read. For me, it's about making time. Reading is my self-care. I shared many ideas on how to make time for yourself in this post over at the Knoxville Moms Blog.

My reading goal for 2017 was originally to simply read more than I did in 2016. I met that goal towards the end of the summer! Since I finished so early, I set what I considered a high number: 75.

I did it! I read 76 books by year's end, and finished what would've been the 77th on January 1, so instead it became book 1 of 2018.

Without further ado, here's the full list of what I read in 2017 (let's just ignore the stack of magazines I totally abandoned and am way behind on!)

2017 Books I’ve Read


  1. Black Heels and Tractor Wheels, Res Drummond
  2. Sweet Water, Christina Baker Kline
  3. Orphan Train, Christina Baker Kline
  4. My Not-So-Perfect Life, Sophie Kinsella
  5. The Assistants, Camille Perri
  6. The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris, Jenny Colgan
  7. gods in Alabama, Joshilyn Jackson
  8. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming, Joshilyn Jackson 
  9. Lucky Us, Amy Bloom
  10. Backseat Saints, Joshilyn Jackson
  11. Between, Georgia, Joshilyn Jackson
  12. Magnolia Story, Chip and Joanna Gaines
  13. All the Summer Girls, Meg Donahue 
  14. The Life List,  Lori Nelson Spielman
  15. The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend, Katarina Bivald
  16. Go Set a Watchman, Harper Lee
  17. The Jane Austen Book Club, Karen Joy Fowler
  18. This is your life, Harriet Chance!, Jonathan Evison 
  19. Meet me at Cupcake Cafe, Jenny Colgan
  20. The Guest Cottage, Nancy Thayer
  21. The Bookshop on the corner, Jenny Colgan
  22. The butterfly and the violin, Kristy Cambron 
  23. Present over Perfect, Shauna Niequist
  24. Disconnected, Jennifer Wiener
  25. The Lost Heiress, Roseanna M. White
  26. The Opposite of Everyone, Joshilyn Jackson
  27. The Summer Before the War, Helen Simonson
  28. Windfallen, JoJo Moyes
  29. Someday, Someday, Maybe; Lauren Graham
  30. Daisy Chain, Mary DeMuth
  31. Sweetshop of Dreams, Jenny Colgan
  32. A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty, Joshilyn Jackson
  33. Saints for All Occasions, J. Courtney Sullivan
  34. Blackbird House, Alice Hoffman
  35. The Two-Family House, Lynda Cohen Loigman
  36. Movie Star by Lizzie Pepper by Hilary Lifton
  37. True colors, Kristin Hannah 
  38. A Slow Burn, Mary DeMuth
  39. Life in Defiance, Mary DeMuth
  40. Home Front, Kristin Hannah 
  41. Eleanor and Park, Rainbow Rowell
  42. By the numbers, Jen Lancaster
  43. Looking for Alaska, John Green
  44. The Marble Collector, Cecelia Ahern
  45. Perfect, Cecelia Ahern 
  46. The Art of Neighboring, Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon
  47. The Kitchen Goddesses, Barbara O’Neal
  48. A piece of heaven, Barbara O'Neal
  49. Lady Luck's Map of Vegas, Barbara O'Neal
  50. Claude and Camille, Stephanie Cowell
  51. Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery, Jenny Colgan
  52. Today will be different, Maria Semple
  53. Sloppy Firsts, Megan McCafferty
  54. Close Enough to Touch, Colleen Oakley
  55. How to Start a Fire, Lisa Lutz
  56. To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Jenny Han
  57. Of Mess and Moxie, Jen Hatmaker
  58. The Spectacular Now, Tim Tharp 
  59. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, Beth Hoffman
  60. Three Story House, Courtney Miller Santo
  61. Return to the Isle of the Lost, Melissa de la Cruz
  62. I’ll see you in Paris, Michelle Gable
  63. PS I still love you, Jenny Han
  64. The Right Side, Spencer Quinn
  65. The lake house, Kate Morton 
  66. Out of the Spin Cycle, Jen Hatmaker
  67. Radium Girls, Kate Moore
  68. Always and Forever, Lara Jean; Jenny Han
  69. Harriet Beamer takes the bus, Joyce Magnin
  70. Fates and Furies, Lauren Groff
  71. Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine, Gail Honeyman
  72. The Almost Sisters, Joshilyn Jackson
  73. Lyrebird, Cecelia Ahern
  74. Christmas at the little beach street bakery, Jenny Colgan
  75. The scent of hours, Barbara O’Neal 
  76. Disney Lands: The Return, Ridley Pearson
Best of the Best
I have some definite favorites for this year, but too many to narrow it down to just one. So by category:

Nonfiction- Jen Hatmaker's Of Mess and Moxie made me laugh, and think, and realize I'm not alone in my struggles. Radium Girls came in a close second, because it was riveting, but also heart-wrenching. 

YA- Do I have to pick? I loved the Lara Jean series by Jenny Han, as she perfectly blended average teen struggles with grieving and trying to fit both of your cultures into your life. But Cecelia Ahern's finale to the Flawed series was utterly captivating, and I couldn't put it down. So- it's a tie.

Southern Lit- Joshilyn Jackson's The Almost Sisters stole my heart and mind. It was thoughtfully written, weaving racial tension and family history seamlessly together through quite possibly one of my favorite protagonists. All of Jackson's characters are so thoroughly developed they feel completely real, and I obviously want to be besties with all of them.

Fiction- I can't pick just one. I just can't. I will narrow it down to two authors, who's backlists I've been steadily working my way through. Jenny Colgan and Barbara O'Neal appear numerous times in my list for this year, as their works are enchanting and I can't get enough of them. I now want to visit all of Colorado, the UK, and Paris, where the majority of their respective novels are set. They paint such lovely worlds with their words, and I've loved spending time there.

Most of the books I read had something I loved about them; a character, setting, or even just a sentence that brought me joy. 

If you want to follow my reading journey in 2018, I regularly post about what I'm reading on Instagram (@PawPrintsintheSink). If I'm feeling brave, I tag the author in my #InsaReview, and Barbara O'Neal recently commented and that was a highlight of my year!

What were some of your favorite books of 2017? Do you have a reading goal for 2018?