Special Customer Service

Painting contractors love to beat up on Home Depot, particularly their installation services and the Behr paint they sell. But when someone does something right, even if it's Home Depot, it is worth mentioning.

Bill Hogg tells a wonderful story about customer service:

It seems that a 6 year old boy wanted to get a part-time job, just like his older brother. Like many 6 year olds, he liked to build things, so he indicated he wanted to work at Home Depot. When his father suggested he write a letter he did, so his father dropped the letter off at the Customer Service desk. Dad thought he had heard the last of this.

However, about 6 weeks later they were in Home Depot and the son reminded Dad that they had not heard from Home Depot yet and insisted on checking on the status of his job. Needless to say, Dad was thinking his son was in for a big disappointment.

I won't spoil the story, but it is a good demonstration of customer service-- of identifying a unique way to do a little extra.

The story reminds me of an experience I had many years ago. We were painting an exterior, and the young daughter (maybe 5 years old) liked to watch us work. She was very precocious and the crew enjoyed her presence. Near the end of the job, I presented her with a company t-shirt. Her father later told me that she wore it to bed every night.