With Memorial Day behind him, Patrick Carroll looks forward to a rerun of holiday festivities on the July Fourth weekend.
Carroll holds the title of merchandising manager for The Home Depot in Fishkill. For the two spring/summer holidays, he presides over roasting several hundred hot dogs offered with free beverages in appreciation of customers”™ patronage.
For these particular holidays, Carroll encourages employees to come to work in red, white and blue attire. “It gets better at Halloween. They come in costumes,” he says. “Because weekends and holidays are our busiest times, our employees don”™t get to spend much time with families, so we try to have a family-like atmosphere at the store.”
- Patrick Carroll, merchandising manager of The Home Depot in Fishkill, roasts hot dogs for customers on special holidays in appreciation of their patronage.
Keeping the store at the forefront of newest technology is a challenge for Carroll. “The hottest thing on the market right now is home automation,” he says. “This allows a homeowner to keep in contact with home from external locations, checking in on smoke detector activity, lighting and heating control. Devices will even tell a shopper away from home how many eggs are left in the refrigerator and how old the oldest egg is. On the financial front, the devices can track money put into a piggy bank and funds withdrawn from that bank.”
Assessing needed quantities when ordering from vendors is a challenge also. “We add 10 to 20 percent of last year”™s sales,” he says. “Usually this works, but if there are unsold items as the end of the season approaches, we reduce the prices.”
Determining staffing needs on various days and at times of day is another of Carroll”™s responsibilities. “We believe in diversity of staff, which includes representation of both sexes, various ethnic groups and different ages,” he says. “A lot of our customers become our employees.” Of special value, he notes, are senior citizens retired from the trades who wish to work only part time. “They are invaluable in answering customers”™ questions on matters pertaining to plumbing, electricity and construction,” he says.
As a people person, Carroll becomes directly involved with the needs of customers. “Two years ago a couple was browsing in the nursery section,” he says. “I found they were building a memorial garden for a deceased child. Their preferences exceeded their budget, so we partnered with outside venders and also reduced our own profits to help them fulfill their dream garden.”
Selected charitable discounts or gifts are built into the store”™s budget and are made at the discretion of local stores. “There is an application process for larger amounts,” Carroll says.
Carroll uses special tact in dealing with troubled customers. “This man came to us with a lawn mower needing repair, but the manufacturers”™ warranty had long since expired,” he says. “He had already done battle with the manufacturer. Since he bought it from us, he came to the store giving vent to his rage. Actually, a part was defective. I negotiated for the manufacturer to provide the part so that he only had to pay for labor for the repair.”
Carroll says employees are encouraged to perform community service. “An employee who died had been a volunteer at a cat sanctuary,” he says. “In her memory some of our employees gave donations and volunteered. We found they needed more storage space, so The Home Depot donated the materials.”
Carroll was raised in Pine Bush. A former Dollar Tree manager, he joined The Home Depot in Brewster and has been at the Fishkill location for three years. He resides in Walker Valley with his wife, Krystal, who is a retail manager, and their children, Alyssa, 9, Dylan, 8, and Kaitlyn, 2.
Challenging Careers focuses on the exciting and unusual business lives of Hudson Valley residents. Comments or suggestions may be emailed to Catherine Portman-Laux at cplaux@optonline.net.
