So I went into Home Depot to get some keys cut. Upon walking into the store, a lady smiled and greeted me, asking me what I needed. She directed me exactly where I needed to go and had someone ready to take my order when I got there. The key cutter was polite and efficient, and I was quickly on my way.
Frankly, it was a disorienting experience for a place where the standard is for employees to ignore the customer, instead engaging in conversation and gossip with each other. The only proof I have that this trip was not a hallucination is a receipt, which has an actual Home Depot logo on the top.
Yeah… it wasn’t a Saturday. They are bored when it’s not busy. They already got through the latest gossip and commiseration of fellow co-workers. They are merely fishing for new things to complain about. Consider that exercise as gossip fodder.
What’s more disturbing is that Home Depot was the subject of my last case study. And believe it or not, that may not have been an isolated incident. The company is actively trying to improve it’s customer service.
Remember this though, their last CEO who left after coming to a mutual agreement with the board that it was in everyone’s best interest that Home Depot and he split ways, negotiated a $210 million dollar retirement package for himself.
Man, I would retire so much cheaper than that.
Funny but sad that it would be a surprise to us these days to actually get attention (in a good way) in a store.
@Blunderprone: LOL. You know, I’d almost think that was true.
@Wang: And about time! Although their mannerism made it obvious this was a formal process, not spontaneous friendliness.
@Derek: No kidding! How do you spend $210M?
@BDK: In these hard times, companies really need to brownnose their customers.