The Home Depot

Not so much a review of the store as a review of an experience I had there this week.
Being that it’s late February in New England, wood pellet fuel is in short supply. On a whim I called the store to find out if they had any. I spoke to a guy in lawn and garden who I couldn’t tell if he was saying they got some that day or that they would be getting some that day (his accent was tough).
I called back a few minutes later and hit 0. I asked the guy who answered the phone, Mike, if the rental truck was in. He said he’d check and put me on hold and, I assume, got distracted and forgot about me. I hung up and called back after 7 or 8 minutes on hold and Mike answered again. He apologized profusely, checked on the truck (it was there) and verified that they had 10 or 12 pallets of pellets left and they were selling fast. I asked if they would likely have any left in ½ an hour and he said «probably».
I showed up at the store and went straight for the service counter hoping that A: nobody had beat me to the truck, and B: the pellets hadn’t sold out. The woman there asked if I had called and I said yes. She asked my last name (to see if it had matched the caller ID) and I gave it. She then told me that Mike (the assistant manager apparently) had them load a pallet onto the truck already and had it pulled to the front of the store warming up for me.
So I’m giving the team here 5 stars because they goofed up and forgot me on hold, but then totally made up for it by pre-​loading the truck and even securing the load of pellets for me. I was able to just hop in and drive off rather than waiting for a fork driver to load the truck and having to secure the load myself. Since all that time would have been on the clock, they also saved me from having to pay for any extra time.

Came here to make a duplicate for my house key, got a basic plain key. The lady verbally stated she’s never done this before but she’ll give it a go. Paid and left, when I got home the key didn’t fit, and was made the opposite direction. Went back and someone else made me a new copy as well. When I got home the key still didn’t fit. Let’s just say I was not happy with that experience especially after driving to Home Depot three times when it should have only been once. I was able to get a refund and went elsewhere to make a copy.

This Home Depot isn’t really different from any other Home Depot out there, but I’m giving them 4 stars for their thoughtful customer service alone. My first and only time shopping there was on Black Friday, and of all shopping days of the year, they decided to provide complimentary coffee, hot chocolate, and Dunkin’ Donuts to everyone who walked through the door. Any other retailer would have (cynically) prepared for the worst. Just goes to show that even the slightest thought for the customer makes the biggest difference.