Home "Despot" Guy Works His Mojo

Friday, June 23, 2006

I recently sent a laudatory e-mail to Home Depot ("Despot" is just our pet name for the place), prompted by outstanding service I received from a guy at the College Park, MD, location about two weeks ago, just 15 minutes before the store was to close.

As I entered and stood there glancing at my list and contemplating my first move, this gentleman--who had been squatting down positioning some products near the front entrance--looked up at me and asked whether there was something he could help me with. The first thing I asked was what time the store closed. He replied "10." That was in 15 minutes! Next I told him I needed 3 (or it may have been 4) items and asked him to point me in the right directions. He said that he'd get the most out-of-the-way item, watermelon seeds, for me, and proceeded to point me in the direction of all the other gardening items I needed. And we were off!

It took me all of 9 minutes, probably, to gather up my allotment, and when I returned to the spot I had left him, Mr. Helpful was nowhere to be found. I looked in a circle, but did not see him. I thought, "Where in the world is he? That's just like Home Depot associates! Just leave the customer hanging out to dry, why don'tcha? But wait. He can't still be at the seeds, can he?"

Lo and behold, main man was still stooped down at the seed carousel, which was festooned with disheveled and out-of-place seed packets, looking diligently for those watermelon seeds!! He found only one packet, and evidently someone had pilfered its contents, leaving the empty container. I told him that I appreciated his help but not to worry about it too much. He proceeded to look for another minute or so, and then apologized that they were out.

Now see, that's what I call going the extra mile! I wrote the company about Mr. Helpful (I wish I had gotten his name, but he was Anglo and had a very distinctive scar over his lip as if he had survived a vicious knife fight as a wayward "yute," and that's how I described him in my e-mail), and they sent me a pretty innocuous response back. I told them to make sure Mr. Helpful knows that I appreciated his service enough to write.

Epilogue

What's noteworthy about this incident at Home Depot, in my estimation, is that we (my wife and I) have historically considered the customer service at Home Depot to be lethargic, at best. Maybe They've turned a corner?

Oh, found out today (7/18/06) that Mr. Helpful's real name is Marcus and that he manages the Gardening Dept. at the Despot's College Park location.