We received a call from a trucking firm on Monday advising us that our patio furniture would be delivered Wednesday. Yesterday afternoon at about 4:30 the driver called to advise me that our stuff was at the house. It was indeed there when I returned from Holy Mass last night.

I took a look at the shipping manifest. The shipment was prepared on July 31st, the Monday after I placed my order. It’s been traveling the country for sixteen (16) days.

All-in-all this whole process would have gone better if Home Depot’s staff were better trained, if their customer service knew how to communicate with a concerned customer, and if they had been honest in the first place, stating that delivery can take up to three weeks…

I appreciate the fact that customer service is difficult. I appreciate the fact that service itself is difficult (hey – I’m a deacon). Getting answers like ‘I’m stressed, busy, I haven’t been trained, I don’t know, etc.’ is not helpful.

What happened to the classic notion of getting satisfaction from having helped someone and knowing that you have done your job well? That would pre-suppose a connection with classic values born out of Christianity. It would mean that people understood that there is more to life than the paycheck and the bottom line.