Home improvement, or big box, stores are not for the faint of heart.

These stores are often gigantic and carry everything from floor tiles to roofing nails. Just finding what you’re looking for is a considerable feat and if you happen to know what you’re even seeking, you’re doing better than most.

How many of us know we need to fix something around the house and then wander into a home improvement store in hopes of finding the part we need?

We might grab a customer service representative to get another opinion or maybe we research online first and then head into the store armed with information – but not a clue as to where to find the actual components.

There’s no doubt that home improvement is no simple task. It seems to require a second education in metal components and plumbing to buy the basics to hook up your garden hose.

But even the best big box store customer can run into trouble when shopping in a huge home improvement store. This is especially true if you’re shopping in a store with sub-par communication and customer service.

The Hidden Fees

Often when you’re shopping for a home repair item, you overbuy to avoid making two trips. You might grab two different sizes of a particular screw or light fixture. Then, when you get home you can try out both, find the one that fits and put the other back in the bag to return to the store the next day.

According to the story described in an online review, one individual tried to do exactly this at one popular big box store and ran into some trouble. He had purchased some lights, but they were the wrong size. He took them back to the store in his hometown and discovered that the store discourages returns.

In fact, they discourage returns to the point of charging customers a fee if they dare return an item. This gentleman returned his lights, but in doing so was charged a 25 percent restocking fee to put the boxes back on the shelves.

When you’re dealing with almost $200 worth of lights, 25 percent adds up fast. Needless to say, the man was not impressed and won’t be working with this store again in the future.

Poor Quality, Poor Customer Service

Far worse than hidden fees when purchasing items from the big box store are hidden quality issues with items.

Nobody likes to bring home a dud, but when you don’t at least have the peace of mind that you’ll be able to return a broken item, it’s hard to trust a store to do what’s right.

In the case of one family, a daughter bought a new power saw for her father. The birthday present looked shiny and new in the box, and he couldn’t wait to try it out. He cut one piece of wood – just one – and then went to change the saw blade.

The saw had advertised that it had interchangeable blades, and the birthday boy was anxious to check out all of the bells and whistles. But when he tried to remove the bolt to switch the blades he was no longer impressed. The bolt wouldn’t loosen and he was stuck with a broken saw – after only one cut!

Taking the saw back to the store the man suffered the ultimate insult – at least for a home improvement store.

He was told that it was not the saw that was defective (although he was able to show clearly that it was). Instead, he was told by the customer service department at this home improvement store that they would not exchange the saw. A consumer simply needed to be more careful with his tools. It’s safe to say he’ll definitely be more careful about which store he shops in from now on at least.