Dad retired from 'Home Depot' after 27 years and his parting gift was a Snickers bar and some Oreos

A man working at Home Depot retired after 27 years of service. As a parting gift, he received nothing but a Snickers bar and a bag of Oreo cookies. Later, he realized that Home Depot hadn't even gotten him that. In fact, it was his colleagues who tried to make his retirement more special than his actual employers. His child (u/bron1n) shared it on Reddit on November 8. So far, the post has received over 2k upvotes online. 

The man had been working two jobs and was in the process of retiring from both of them. His child informed him that he had left Home Depot earlier and was scheduled to retire from his second job in January 2026. Their dad had worked in different departments and finally settled in Tool Rental, and was there for quite a long time. "My dad would receive some rewards here and there from Home Depot (nothing crazy, but not necessarily a big deal). His tenure there was put at risk multiple times when management tried to reduce his hours or let him go (presumably to cut costs). However, he knew people in higher places than management, and they would stop their advances," the author shared.

Finally, his last day arrived, but instead of any celebration, they let him go home early with a Snickers bar and a bag of Oreo cookies. "I am planning on grabbing a couple of beers with him and having a proper little retirement celebration over whatever this 'parting gift' was supposed to be. I get that this is a corporation, but this was below the bare minimum for someone who has worked there for a very long time. Thanks, Home Depot!" the author wrote. 

Later, the author returned to clarify that the Snickers bar and Oreo cookies were a gift from a colleague and not Home Depot. After returning from his final shift, his coworkers texted him and asked him to come back in the afternoon. "My dad had left early before his actual shift ended. The Snickers bar and the bag of Oreo cookies were given by one of his colleagues, and not an actual parting gift from Home Depot," they wrote. Other colleagues also gave the man gifts, but Home Depot did absolutely nothing. "So my points stand that Home Depot itself did below the bare minimum, and his coworkers showed more compassion than the actual establishment," the author wrote. It's heartbreaking to see companies not celebrating the employees' milestones despite their dedication for years. In fact, Wellable says only 30% employees report receiving regular recognition at work. Moreover, the same report cited Gallup and said that employees who don't feel adequately recognized for their contributions are twice as likely to quit their jobs within the year.

Meanwhile, reacting to the post, u/tamsworld22 commented, "What bullsh*t.  There was a time when an employee retiring had a party hosted by his/her employer and was given a gold watch and other gifts.  A friend of my ex's worked as a superintendent at a city, but overall worked there for over 30 years. When he retired, they did NOTHING for him on his last day — no party, no goodbyes, no cards, nothing. The reason is, I think, he was involved in a nasty divorce years earlier... I'm sorry HD did that to your father."

u/mellmaltarot wrote, "I'm sorry to hear about your dad's parting gift. At least he has a family that will treat him so much better! CONGRATS TO HIM FOR GETTING OUT OF ONE JOB! HE DESERVES A BREAK. When I was still with the company, our paint guy got a giant cake and a small party that our department had to throw together because management wasn't going to do anything except give him congratulations and a gift card. It sucks that we had to do it, but we wanted to make him feel special. His wife and daughter came; it was really sweet. I hope he had the best day ever! OP is the GOAT, and you need to know that."

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