Ron Bowman

Pinellas Park, FL

Kindness is not a random act...

An elderly couple came into the store 289 in Pinellas Park, Florida, with a unique request after several unsuccessful attempts at medical supply stores. They were in town visiting their daughter and noticed her hairbrush handle extension was broken. Their daughter is disabled and needs a special handle to brush her hair.

Ron Bowman, a customer order specialist, approached the couple at the Special Services desk. He listened to their problem and immediately went into action. He took them to the Electrical department, where he bent a piece of half-inch conduit into the same shape as the broken handle, then cut it to the correct length.

The customers were very pleased with the handmade device. They said that they would finish assembling the brush and holder themselves. “I told them if they ran into any problems to come back and see me,” Ron said. “The next day, they were back at the store looking for me.”

The couple explained that the house they were staying in had very few tools, and they were unable to connect the handle to the hairbrush. Ron was happy to help finish their project. He went straight to the Tool Rental department where he worked his magic and attached the hairbrush to the new handle.

After the couple returned home to Illinois, they sent a thank-you card to the store. In the card, they wrote, “Ron was very compassionate and understanding, and we are very grateful we met him. We will always be a lifelong customer of The Home Depot.”

John Hannum & Jeff Sarage

Greenfield, MA

A generator for the powerless...

When a tornado knocked out power in the area, Paint Department Supervisor John Hannum and Freight Team Supervisor Jeff Sarage at store 2619 in Greenfield, Massachusetts, jumped into action.

Local residents were checking on each other when one of John’s neighbors, a home health aide, mentioned that her patient is totally dependent on electricity. Without power, her electric wheelchair and hospital bed wouldn’t work.

The local convenience store had a generator. Another health aide had offered to push the wheelchair the two miles to the store and charge the battery, but the store wouldn’t allow that because it was against company policy.

“I knew that wasn’t right,” John said. “I knew that woman needed a generator.”

It was John’s day off, but he knew his store was staying open round-the-clock to take care of customers after the storm. He called Jeff, who was on the registers that night, and asked if he had a small generator available.

“The store had lost power, but we had re-opened and had got a load of generators in from the DC,” Jeff said. “When John told me this lady lived off electricity, I agreed with him that we had to help her, so I got the okay from the manager.”

Jeff pulled a small generator, two extension cords and a 5-gallon gas can while John drove to the store. When John arrived, it didn’t take long to charge the wheelchair battery and connect the bed to the generator. He made sure to give the health aide a quick tutorial.

“The lady wasn’t used to getting this kind of treatment, and she was so happy, she was crying,” John said. “She told me she would bring the generator back to the store, but I told her the generator was hers to keep so she didn’t have to worry about this happening ever again.”

Jessica Jones

Mantua, NJ

Speaking the same language...

Pro Department Supervisor Jessica Jones noticed a trade carpenter who always walked store 974 in Mantua, New Jersey, with a notepad and pen in hand. She learned that his name is Chuck and that he is deaf.

“I saw many of my co-workers trying to help him – we all wanted to help him,” Jessica said. She imagined how frustrating it must have been for Chuck not being able to easily communicate.

Sometimes Chuck’s parents accompanied him on his shopping trips to translate his sign language for associates. “Chuck started to teach me a few signs,” Jessica said. “One day I told him I wanted to be able to talk to him and that I was going to learn sign language. He was so appreciative.”

Jessica enrolled in a weekly class at a local community college, paying the fee herself and arranging for a friend to babysit her two young children. Her enthusiasm took off as she began learning how to ‘speak’ her new language. “Signing is a work-in-progress, and it’s all about practice, practice, practice,” she said. “So I signed up for a second class.”

It took several months and hours of studying. Jessica even enlisted the help of her 9-year-old daughter to quiz her on the signs.

“As Jessica learned sign language, Chuck became really excited that they could communicate and as her language improved, Chuck would go out and tell his friends who are hearing-impaired like he is that there is a place we can go and shop where somebody can communicate with us,” said store manager Tom Greenwood.

Chuck recently completed an addition to his house, installing new windows and doors. He purchased every item with Jessica’s help.

Bob Moreau

Petoskey, MI

The nuts and bolts of excellent service...

A customer called store 2755 in Petoskey, Michigan, with a problem and was immediately transferred to Hardware associate Bob Moreau. The customer explained that she bought a crib online but couldn’t figure out how the bolts and hardware worked. Bob was eager to help and asked if she could bring the crib into the store.

When the customer arrived, Bob greeted her and went right to work. First, he made sure the crib came with the correct hardware. “Then, we set up a workstation, and the two of us put the crib together as a team,” Bob said.

After the crib was complete, Bob and a fellow associate loaded it into the customer’s car. She was ecstatic.

In a letter to the store, the customer wrote, “I was so frustrated when the crib instructions were not easy. I called the Home Depot and talked to Bob … and was reminded why Home Depot and people like Bob are the best.”

Over the next two days, the customer returned to the store to purchase a few items for her home and lawn care. “I wanted to give back to The Home Depot what Bob and Home Depot gave to me,” she said.

Paul Fasciale

Richmond Hills, ON

Canadian store helps firefighters with rescue...

Associates at Store 7106 in Richmond Hill, Ontario, recently got a shot of adrenaline when three firefighters rushed into the store for help.

They approached a Pro Desk sales associate and explained that a young girl had her finger trapped in the wire seating at the bus terminal next door. The child was screaming in distress, and none of the emergency equipment on hand could cut through the metal frame.

Understanding the urgency of the situation, the associate didn’t hesitate to do the right thing. He gave the firefighters a Ridgid angle grinder and a metal cutting disk. With these new tools, the firemen were able to cut through the seating and release the little girl, who was transported to the hospital with no severe injuries.

Hardware Department Manager Paul Fasciale had been briefed on the situation, and when the firefighters returned to the store to settle the bill, Paul decided to donate the grinder to the Richmond Hill fire department.

“It was obviously a tool they needed, and The Home Depot is always happy to give back to help out the local community,” Paul said.