Have a Heart Home Depot

The Home Depot ,

Would you like to gain a customer for life? The customer acquisition cost would be $50.?Although, I may not be your biggest customer, I assure you I will be a loyal one.

?I grew up in the Midwest, have fond memories of visits to Menards and seeing the kind, wise, workers engage with my parents.???Both of them more handy than I am, still needed guidance, and there were always “Janes” and “Johnny’s” on the spots willing to assist.?I always admired these folks as they handled gadgets and tools, and explained things patiently.

I recently purchased my 1st home, and live next to a competitor of yours. I'll let you guess who that may be. My Family of 5 lives in California now and Menards is not known or available.?Mistakenly, I thought all #homeimprovement stores would provide the same customer experience that I had as a boy, one that I could share with my kids.?

Over the course of the year, I have visited this competitor 30+ times.?Each time I have had questions regarding a project. ?Simple questions, but for a novice like me, important ones. Outside of someone pointing me to the right isle, I cannot remember a single situation in which someone took the time to consult me on a project.?I have always left disspaointed, but I chalked this up to labor issues, and remedied my struggles with the fact we can find most things on the internet these days.?Perhaps, the business model has changed and people don’t go to these stores to get guidance anymore??I could swear the commercials represent this differently.

My last interaction and point of my post is about #customerservice.?

I needed a staple gun. Not one for the office, a bit more industrial that I could put up #christmas decorations. I asked an employee in that department, and he pointed me to a Stanley Bostitch Gun that appeared a good fit.?As I had two kids under the age of 3 with me, I was happy to get in and out of the store quickly.?The Bears Game was about to start, and even though we were 3-7, i still watch weekly. As I mentioned I am a loyal guy.

Game over, kids napping, ?I was excited to start putting up my decorations. ?I got everything unbundled, laid out, ready to be gloriously hung like Clarke Griswold…and was ready for my new stapler.?

The stapler needed an air compressor to function.?Your boy does not have an air compressor. Not only is that dangerous for a man like me, it certainly wasn’t explained in my interaction at the store as necessary.?

Frustrated, as I had no time to head back to the store, I put the project on hold until the next Sunday.

Return to the same store, with my unused staple gun and staples, approach the counter with a smile on my face….but no receipt.?Somewhere in the past week, it was misplaced.?Shit happens right? ?I explained to the “customer service” employee my situation, and kindly asked to return the staple gun or replace it with something that would fit my project needs.?She immediately told me they could not return the stapler without a receipt.

I said no problem; a store credit would be fine.?

“NO!"

I asked them if they could pull up the receipt from their system.

“No”, again.

?I asked her what I was supposed to do with a stapler I couldn’t use and was never told needed a compressor.

”Sell it on Ebay”.?

I’ll admit, I get a little bit edgy when interactions like this occur. It really wasn’t about the cost of the product, it was about the way in which I was treated.?They almost seemed to enjoy telling me to get lost.?I told them, (manager involved now) they would lose a customer for life if a solution wasn’t established, and they said.

”That is fine. Have a wonderful day sir!"

As a business consultant who has spent his entire professional career-serving corporations, I was in shock as I left the store. Being a principle based person, I decided to try and fight the good fight.

Here is my request Home Depot, it is a simple one.??Please return my unused stapler and restore confidence in my soul that the “home improvement” experience and customer service of my child hood still exists for a handy man bozo like me.?If you are willing to do so, not only will you have a customer for life, but I will donate 5 Gift Cards of $50 to families in need for Christmas.??

Sincerely,

Corey Hahn