Home Depot’s CEO, Frank Blake, responded to Matt’s complaint about being unlawfully detained by the Washington D.C. Metropolitan police after refusing to show his receipt to a Home Depot employee.

Here’s his response:

Frank Blake, CEO of Home Depot, writes:

Mr [redacted]: I apologize for the bad service you’ve received from us (and for the detention)! But I thank you for taking the time to send this note. We are working hard to try to re-direct our company and deliver the customer service you should expect. – Frank blake

Matt responded:

Mr. Blake,

Thank you for the prompt reply to my e-mail. I wish that my e-mail to you had been more concise and brief, but I was pretty frustrated at the time.

I received a voicemail around lunchtime from Bryan Dennison, the manager of the Washington, DC store. He apologized and invited me to call him back and to come and meet him to discuss the issues.

I did just that; he thanked me for bringing my case to his attention, and told me that he agreed with a lot of the issues I raised. Bryan took over managing the store a few months ago, and has apparently worked to tackle the many problems that have plagued this store for years. I met the various store managers on duty, who all apologized for the store’s poor performance. Apparently, Bryan has brought in several new managers to improve the store.

Since I was planning to go to Lowe’s this evening to look at replacement windows Bryan asked me to give his staff a shot to try and win me back. In the end, I was impressed with the service I received tonight, and wished that all the employees I’d met previously were as friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful as Wayne in the windows/millwork department. By far, Wayne was the most helpful person I’ve ever met at Home Depot. He completely understood what it means to do a project yourself, and related to this being my first time installing replacement windows. After speaking with me and understanding that I’m pretty handy and comfortable with home repairs, he answered all of my questions and explained to me what I needed to do step-by-step. With Wayne, I felt like I was back home in southern Virginia, where people are friendly and the folks at the hardware store are happy to take time to help.

As thanks for me giving his staff another chance, Bryan said that the one window I was going to purchase tonight was on him (I was going to purchase only one tonight, as this is my first time installing windows, and wanted to attempt one first, then buy others if I am successful). Hopefully, I’ll install it with few problems, and can come back for the other 2 that I need at a later time, and eventually for windows for the rest of my house.

As I was leaving, I did ask about the policy of checking for receipts, and Bryan said that it’s an issued he’s raised with his superiors at Home Depot. I told him that I hate being treated like a criminal after buying merchandise, and he seemed to understand. I ask that you seriously consider this policy, as I know personally several people who no longer shop at Home Depot as a result of the receipt checking. In addition, I hope that the staff, security guards, and any Home Depot-paid police officers will be trained to understand that customers cannot be detained for simply not showing a receipt (there must be some suspicion that they have shoplifted), and the checking of receipts is voluntary.

Thank you very much for your time, and I sincerely appreciate your taking these issue into consideration.

Thanks,

Matt

Mr. Blake responded:

Thank you for your note and for giving us another chance…also thanks for calling attention to Wayne. I’ll make sure he gets recognized appropriately. To be honest, I didn’t know about the checking of receipts until I received your note. So your note will have a broader impact as I look into our policy and the associated training.- Frank Blake

Sent from my BlackBerry

We are genuinely impressed with this response. Way to go, Home Depot.

(Photo:IHP)

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