dheidle

Customer service (or the rampant non-existence of it these days) is one of my "hot" buttons. It's unbelievable, but GOOD customer service has become nothing more than a business actually saying hello or thank you while you are at their place of business. Used to be, that was common courtesy and GOOD customer service was a business actually going out of their way to help you...

It seems I run into daily, but here's one of the more ridiculous examples of customer dis-service that I've had in the past few years...

I'm a home-improvement geek and own an older home that I'm slowly renovating. Therefore, I spend a lot of money at Home Depot annually... well, I did until last year. I'm at "my" Home Depot (Skillman & NW Hwy) to pick up some lumber. They are commonly "out of stock" on the items for which I'm looking at the time. But their propensity for customer dis-service is well-known in my neighborhood. The location stays very busy, but for some reason they typically will have 1 check-out line open for the line of 8-10 customers waiting to pay. Meanwhile, 6 or 7 folks in orange aprons are standing around by the customer desk doing nothing. Anyway, I digress... My Home Depot has the regular warehouse section (albeit one of the smaller ones around) and the Home Depot "Landscaping Center" next to it. Unfortunately, the 2 buildings are not connected via side entry doors like EVERY OTHER Home Depot I've ever been to. While I was there picking up the lumber, I realized I needed some lawn fertilizer. So, I walk over by the lawn equipment (which is located in the warehouse, NOT the Landscaping Cntr... figure that one out) thinking that they would at least have a few bags of fertilizer there. Nope. So, I seek out a guy on the next isle with the orange apron, and ask him if they have any bags of fertilizer in the warehouse. The conversation went like this:

Orange Apron: "No." Me: "Oh, OK. So you only have it next door?" OA: "Yeah, you'll have to pay for your stuff here and go over there to get the lawn feed." Me: "Wow... You guys planning on putting in an access via side doors to the Landscaping Center anytime soon? Most Home Depot's that I've been to have those." OA: "Well, do you have 2.5 million dollars?"

I was floored. The only thing I could say was "No, but I think the guy who owns Home Depot does!" Anyway, that was my last visit to Home Depot. The next day, I closed my Home Depot credit account, and opened a Lowe's account. I go to the Lowe's on NW Hwy in Lake Highlands on a weekly basis, and they know how to treat a customer.

Looks like we will also have Kirk Tatom (formerly of Deep Blue Something) playing with us tonight as well. Kirk is also on the soundtrack to Lycanthrope.

Due to a scheduling conflict, this show has been cancelled.

Thanks,

Dave