Saturday, January 14, 2012

Home Depot Hero

When we started this adventure of ours we had no idea of just how massive and overwhelming the project would become. We had no idea the amount of money we would have to invest, the number of setbacks –and subsequent tears shed- we would have to endure, the lack of sleep, the worry and we still have so much more to do! We also had no idea that there were so many giving, caring people in the world, people who had never met us before who have gone so far out of their way to help us. Georgio Herrera is one of those amazing people.
As the weeks and months have gone by we have made hundreds of stops at the Power Inn Home Depot. It got to the point where we were greeted by employees who knew us by sight and would ask us how our project was doing. It became a joke about how often we were seen. We would say good-bye to our cashier with a “See you in a few hours”. In all these weeks, we had yet to directly run into Georgio until last week.
Georgio pulls his weight.
We were finally at the point where we were trying to make our kitchen work with the cabinets that had been donated to us but we still needed several pieces. We searched wide and far for matching pieces and when we found a few cabinets up high on a shelf on the back wall at our local Home Depot my husband and I stood staring at them when Georgio walked up. He seemed genuinely interested in our needs and went out of his way to help us find what we were looking for. As he did so he managed to help several other customers by answering questions while he worked, always with a cheerful smile that never failed to infect the customers he talked to with his happiness. I was amazed at his knowledge of his store and in the several times I have seen him since he has never missed answering a query as other customers passed by. This guy knows Home Depot.
Flo watches Jax while we load her truck.
When Georgio asked us what we needed we told him that we had a very tiny budget so we were trying to figure out which cabinets we could get and which we would have to leave behind. The matching cabinets to ours were discontinued so we were hoping to get a deal, we explained. He asked us about our project and we ended up showing him our blog and explaining what our challenges were and what we were trying to accomplish. As soon as he heard about the kids he got a very determined look on his face, placed his hand on my shoulder and said, “Wait here. Let me see what I can do.”
Georgio talked to his manager and fellow Home Depot employees and through various feats of kindness and charity we were able to get all of the cabinets we needed within our modest budget. We have talked to Georgio often since and have seen him show just such concern and care for other customers as well. It’s not that WE were so special as to deserve his help, it was that Georgio is so special that he cares about everyone.  Before Georgio, it was just a store like any other but now we have such a strong sense of loyalty to our Home Depot store. I used to be a bit down on what I considered a “chain store” but have discovered that within those warehouse walls real people work to help us fulfill not just our material needs, but our hopes and dreams as well.
Nothing is free in life, nor should it be, but with people like Georgio in the world, the impossible can become obtainable. There is a real hero in Sacramento and he works down the street at Home Depot. Thanks Georgio, we will always consider you a part of our new and growing family.
Also thanks to Ralph at Home Depot for teaching me how to install cabinets, they went in perfectly! (P.S. Georgio, if you are reading this would you please send us the names of the other Home Depot folks who helped so we can give them a thank you as well? )
Curious to see what the cabinets look like? We will be hosting an Open House Unveiling party early spring (as soon as we can get a lot more of the essential work done) that is open to anyone interested in viewing our "finished" product. If you want an earlier sneak peek, we sure can use a lot more help so feel free to email us and let us know if you can help.

3 comments:

  1. It is great to see someone like Georgio at Home Depot.

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  2. Thank you Georgio! We appreciate all you have done for us.

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  3. I'm so happy to see that Home Depot has employies that are as helpful as Georgio! It makes me eager for the next trip, hoping to see a smiling, friendly face ready to help.

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