Customer Service

We all know that Big Green Egg provides good customer service, and so does a number of our favorite suppliers of rubs, accessories and interesting recipes. We both applaud and appreciate their efforts.

But we also shop at the Big Box Blue and Orange stores from time to time, if nothing more than to replace a bulb or plant a garden or repair a deck. I'm a regular at both Lowes and Home Depot and have always felt like I was a good customer even though I'm there to purchase a very small item. I've never really asked for or received any serious favors from them.

That is until today.

Yesterday, I decided to purchase a lamp post light to place on the patio near the Coop. Found one at Home Depot and brought it home. Assembled it and stood it up to see if it was what we wanted. Yes, it looked good.

So this morning my only project was to mount the base to the flagstone. That required me buying a hammer drill and a carbide bit and even with all that power I still had a hard time of getting through the flagstone. But eventually I got through and thats where being naturally clumsy came into play.

I readied the lamp post, complete with globes, bulbs and everything else, to be mounted onto the three lag bolts I had put into the stone. I gingerly sat the base on the bolts and reached down to install the first nut.

That's when the Gods of Clumsiness exercised their powers and forced me to release my grasp upon said lamp post for a micro-metric second.

It was at that exact moment that Mother Nature decided to huff and puff and blow just enough to move said lamp post out of my nimble fingers and in the general direction of 'down.'

It is by nature to reach for said object while it is in motion, knowing all along that no amount of effort will stop, slow or reverse its trajectory.

There was a crunching sound followed by the tinkle of glass and the inevitable #$^&@#*(@.

After some moments of self-flagellation I came to my senses and decided to itemize the damage so that I could order replacement parts.

I then called Home Depot's Customer Service and explained that I had only yesterday purchased a post lamp which I was in the process of installing but that a mistake on my part generated a "Boo Boo" :S that resulted in damage to said post lamp, and that I needed to order replacement parts as follows.

The nice young lady, Nancy was her name, chuckled a bit and then very professionally inquired as to the bar code number, the receipt number and the store where I purchased it.

Then she asked if she could put me on hold while she contacted the store.

Within three minutes she picked up saying that she had Adam on the line and that he would help me. Adam then said, "No problem, just bring it back to the store and we will exchange it."

I explained that not only was it my fault, I had already dispatched the container to the garbage truck.

"No problem, just bring it in with the receipt and we will exchange it."

So that's what I did. The return could not have been easier and the staff at my Home Depot could not have been nicer.

I am now in the possession of a new lamp post which will glow much brighter because of the service I received from my Home Depot today.

I just thought y'all should know.

Life is full of surprises. Thank goodness some of them are very nice.

Spring "Old Lamp Lighter With A Grasping Problem" Chicken
Spring Texas USA