Last Saturday around 9 p.m. I walked out of the South Setauket, NY Home Depot for the final time. It was my last day! It was bittersweet. I enjoyed my time with my fellow associates and loved the challenge of shopping for people as an OFA (Order Fulfillment Associate). Trying to find rare wood screws and garden tools as well as 12 foot two by fours was always fun and challenging! Working only one job now is much better not only financially but physically. All I can say is thank you Home Depot for 15 great months! Maybe one day I will come back if I need to but for right now I am grateful for my time there! Here is how it all started!
In December 2019 before this annoying pandemic my job at the Machine Shop came to an end. No more jobs were coming in. I had 2 other jobs, Chick Fil-A and my job being a caregiver to a handicapped college student. During the month of January 2020 the college student I cared for was on break and returned home. I needed extra income so I saw a "Help Wanted" sign at my local Home Depot and applied online. I applied at Home Depot many times and finally I was granted an interview. I had a second interview and in mid February Home Depot hired me to work in the Garden Department. I started on February 29th. My hope was to work there Tuesday afternoons as well as Monday and Friday nights. That all changed on March 18th. The pandemic was starting and my college student job ended. His college was closing its doors and he had to return home. A few days later Chick Fil-A had to shut down for 3 weeks! One of our team members tested positive for Covid-19 so we were forced to shut down. The whole Covid-19 was all new to us and Chick Fil-A had no idea what was ahead. The one positive was that we did get paid during our layoff but I was only down to one job...Home Depot. Only being an employee there for a few weeks and working about 16 hours I knew it would be a longshot for them to give me more hours so I decided it wouldn't hurt to ask. The HR department told me "Yes! Please work! We are losing a lot of people. No one wants to work!" I was given anywhere from 32 to 40 hours! When Chick Fil -A reopened its restaurant on April 13th, I was not sure if they would have to close again so I decided to work full time at Home Depot and 2 days a week at Chick Fil-A. Yes, I worked 7 days! It was crazy but I needed the money. Since churches were not meeting in their buildings and only online I knew it would help me financially.
I learned a lot working at Home Depot. I saw the "real world." I saw a lot of nervous, fearful angry people who had a lot of uncertainty of what was going on in our world with the global pandemic. I learned a lot about weed wackers, lawn mowers and fertilizer. We also had a limit of the number of people who were allowed in our store. People were not happy! The "New York Attitude" was at full force! I worked in the Garden Department for 5 months and was switched over to Deliveries (Order Fulfillment Associate) in August and worked there for 10 months. When Chick Fil-A promoted me earlier this year I decided to work at Home Depot only Saturdays and Monday nights. When CFA offered me a sixth day of work which meant good overtime, I had to grab it. So with all this said, I am grateful for my experience at Home Depot. I feel it is a great job for young college kids as well as anyone who needs a part time job. The pay is really not so hot but the work environment is fabulous. Home Depot treats their employees well. On holidays they provide food for their workers, we had Mr. Softee outside on the 4th of July and we had free ice cream All kidding aside they really respect their workers. I believe many other companies can learn from Home Depot how to appreciate their workers. Thanks Home Depot. It was a great 15 months!
SEE YOU ALL AGAIN SOON!
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