that is not how it's done

[aroraborealis]

Comment submitted on Home Depot's website today:

I am writing about an experience I had at your Everett, MA location in November, 2012.

While selecting shelving material and having it cut to my desired lengths, the staff member helping us (Mike) offered to make us a good deal on it. Thinking he meant there was a coupon or sale available, I inquired further, and he said he could sell each length to us for $3 (rather than $11), but it would have to be cash. Once it was clear this would be an under the table sort of "deal", I declined, but I was troubled to be invited by an employee to pay him to, as far as I could tell, steal from the store.

Later, I was in the screw aisle looking for drywall screws, and I was approached by a male staff member who offered to help me find what I was looking for. He did so, but in the course of helping me, he stood closer and closer to me, until he actually brushed my ass with his hand "accidentally".

Both of these experiences were very off-putting to me. I recently returned to the store for the first time since that visit, and I encountered Mike again, and I found myself wanting to leave the store immediately, which I did, without making the purchases I had intended to make.

I had intended to simply blow off the earlier experiences until I found that it was making me less inclined to return in the future. Because of that, I thought you should know that your employees could use additional training on appropriate behavior with customers.

Thanks for your time,
aroraborealis

Comments

[zzbottom.livejournal.com]

That's creepy as hell. Go you for reporting it.

[randysmith]

that's ugly. Good for you for writing the letter.

[drwex]

I'm impressed that your letter is so civil, particularly given the nature of the second interaction.

[beowabbit]

Oh, my! That’s appalling! And yes, go you for writing the letter.

(That said, given Home Depot’s lobbying, donations, and business practices, I’m a bit torn about the guy who was offering to steal lumber from the store. Anything that increases the likelihood of Home Depot going out of business is arguably a net win in my book.)

[aroraborealis.livejournal.com]

I am in favor of people sticking it to corporations in almost any case, but I don't want to be clumsily lured into it by a creepy dude trying to lay his hands on a small amount of cash. It was super uncomfy*.

*Which I don't hear you trying to talk me out of, btw.

[moria923.livejournal.com]

Great letter! I wouldn't want to go back there either.

[mizarchivist]

*twitch*

[jillbertini.livejournal.com]

Wow. I'll be curious to hear if you get a response.

[entrope.livejournal.com]

My skin crawls just thinking about it. Good letter, but I'm sorry you had cause to write it at all. *shudder*

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

WTFNO

[catness.livejournal.com]

I just... can't... with this.

[harimad.livejournal.com]

Your letter was a great deal more temperate than it had to be. Keep us updated on Home Despot's response. (Not that I shop there anyway but it'd good to have data.)

[ghislaine.livejournal.com]

Whoa. Seriously not ok. Grrr

I had two bad and feedback-worthy experiences at a Home Depot store near Berlin two years apart. I brushed off the first one as the store having a bad day, but when the same serious problem was still present two years later, I was appalled. I wrote a negative feedback comment on Yelp. The very next day I was contacted by HD corporate. A day after that, the store general manager called and apologized (and gave me a gift certificate). He promised to fix the problem. I was pleased to see he made good on that promise when I went in (with trepidation) a few weeks later.

I hope you also get a swift and satisfactory response.

[dancingwolfgrrl.livejournal.com]

UGH. I wish this hadn't happened, but since it did, I'm glad you are fighting the good fight, both because it makes us all safer and because UGH NOT OKAY.

[debsquared.livejournal.com]

Goes to show that when ethics begin to fail in the workplace, that failure expresses itself in seemingly unrelated ways. I'm sure that your note will end up exposing a lot of management issues.

[wanderyng1.livejournal.com]

That...wow...
Not cool, not cool at all.