By Joseph F. Schuler Jr.. After just five months, The Service Master Co. and The Home Depot have ended a joint home services program. The program, conducted at The Home Depot stores in Orlando, Fla., Memphis, Tenn., and Sacramento, Calif., tested a range of co-branded residential maintenance and repair services. According to Charles McCusker of ServiceMaster, The Home Depot wanted to tie services it offers to product sales, and the two that made the most sense were plumbing and landscaping services. The companies will maintain relationships in those areas on local levels, market by market, but there's no national agreement, he says.
Under an unrelated agreement with Yahoo!, McCusker says, a link on Yahoo! Real Estate ( realestate.yahoo.com) generated 1,200 phone calls and 700 ServiceMaster orders in its first month. The agreement allows visitors to schedule and purchase ServiceMaster home services.
ServiceMaster ( www.servicemaster.com) provides services via a network of more than 5,400 brands, including American Residential Services, American Home Shield, and The ServiceMaster Home Service Center.
