In an effort to revive their anemic customer service program, the AP is reporting that Home Depot has earmarked $30 million for stores and employees that provide good customer service. Stores who rank high in the company and individuals who go out of their way to provide good customer service will be eligable for cash bonuses on a monthly and quarterly basis.
It is generally felt that Home Depot ranks near the bottom of the industry as far as customer service goes. Is this the right way to turn themselves around?
Let’s face facts, money talks and people will respond. There will be a turnaround in the customer service provided by some individuals/stores as they now have a much larger carrot dangling in front of them. The problem is long term – you can’t just throw money at a situation to correct it.
Create a workplace with people who are passionate about what they are doing and create an enviroment where people actually do want to show up for work every day – not just looking for a paycheck, but wanting to share in the success of the company/store – and the positive customer experiences will follow. I think HD had this enviroment once, they need to figure out how to recapture it again.
I just can’t help but think that the $30 million could be better spent some other ways.
