A customer’s first impression

I shopped at the Home Depot on Sunday. As I grab my cart, the greeter told me that I could use a cart that she had already pulled out. From my vantage point, I could only see one cart, and a couple ahead of me was taking it. I responded to the greeter that that cart was already being taken.

She in turn said that there was another cart up ahead. I said, “Oh I didn’t see it” and walk toward it, and as I did, she exclaimed, “Oh. My. God!”  in a way that meant, “How could you not see the other cart?!”

I was annoyed, but I took the high road and walked away. In any type of business, customer service is paramount, perhaps more so than your marketing and PR efforts. This was the first person from Home Depot that customers encounter, and she was quite rude. This anecdote is not meant to pick on Home Depot; rather, it’s to remind businesses to always make your customers feel welcomed, not stupid.