Issue: Online reservation disaster Outcome: Our reservation was cancelled early the next morning, and we were told our generator was given to another customer. Reservation date: 10/7/2024 Pickup date: 10/8/2024 I hope everyone in the path of hurricane Milton fared well and sustained little to no damage first. But if you ever need to reserve a generator or other necessary equipment in lieu of the storm AVOID HOME DEPOT AT ALL COST! I live in Chicago, and I tried to fly down to help my elderly parents and siblings who opted to shelter in place in North Fort Myers, Florida. We sheltered in place for hurricane Ian 2 years prior, so we knew we had to take considerable precautions for Milton. For those asking why we did not purchase our own generator after Ian, I hope you realize that not everyone can afford to do so, especially on a fixed income. I was supposed to fly in on the Tuesday before the storm to take my mom to doctor’s appointments and to check in with them for my own sanity, but my flight got delayed until 10/13/2024. So, I made an online reservation based on a suggestion from a co-worker on 10/7/2024. The idea of being able to reserve a generator and rent one for a week seemed like a God send so I proceeded to do so and entered 12pm on 10/8/2024 as the pickup date. The online process asked me when I would like to pick it up and to list the first and last name of the person that would be picking it up. Since my flight was delayed until Sunday, I put my brother’s first and last name down since he was available. We received a confirmation message and were good to go…so we thought. Turns out our order was cancelled early the next morning, and we were told that the generator was no longer available!!!! We did not find out that this was the case until we arrived at the store for our pickup time of 12pm on 10/8/2024. Why did we not know, you ask? My family and most of Fort Myers, Florida lost power on 10/7/2024!! So, we had no idea our reservation was cancelled. What is worse is that the store representative my brother, sister and nephew spoke to said that they “gave the generator” to another customer. When we asked why, the rep told us that we needed to arrive 4 hours after making the reservation to secure the generator!! I told him that that is absurd especially if the online reservation application requires you to put down when you would like to pick up the reserved item! The rep agreed that it does not make sense, and his only defense is that we have this issue all the time and that the online reservation process has never been good. In closing…shop elsewhere and do not trust an inept online process by Home Depot. Know that even their representatives do not trust the process and that you should go elsewhere. I personally believe that someone knew someone that works at Home Depot, and they were able to bump our reservation for a “friend.” That is extremely disappointing in general, but it is unforgivable during a crisis or in this case, a national emergency.