I went out at lunchtime, and stopped by Home Depot for some supplies, including a roll of general purpose electrical tape to replace the two active rolls that I misplaced, and 25′ lengths of 12/2 Romex wire in 12 and 14 gauge sizes.
Unfortunately, I wasted time earlier looking for my 14 gauge wire, and it wasn’t until I was utterly frustrated that I realized I used it all up.
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And yes, I know that larger roles have better per-foot pricing, but 25 feet is more than enough right now.
Side note – I had been looking for my spool of wire so that I could create a short leash for the end of a run of coax wire. I was mounting some stuff in my daughter’s room and replaced a coax bulkhead jack with a flat plate. But what if we need that coax run in the future? So I wanted to push it back in the hole in the wall, but with a small tail to pull it out again if needed. I ended up using a 6″ piece of yellow wire that came with a wall dimmer switch in case the user wants to do a 3-way installs. Would there have been a better way to do this?
Anyway, so I had a great time at Home Depot, thanks to a short but warm and amusing conversation with an older associate. From an interaction he had with another associate, it seemed like he was having a rough day. So, 11 spools of 12 gauge 250 ft x 12/3 Romex wire had gone missing, presumably because someone had filled their cart and walked it right out of the store. This seemed to weigh on him, that over $1000 of merchandise was missing and presumed stolen, but he remained chipper and friendly. Unfortunately, it appears that this kind of thing happens a lot.
I spoke with the associate for a few minutes, and he also helped two customers in that time as well.
Here’s what I loved about the encounter – the associate helped two customers and interacted with me, with all of us leaving in smiles. Despite being frustrated about the missing spools of wire, the associate was obviously a happy person who loved his job.
We talked a bit, and he referenced having regular customers. Our local electrician shops at electrical supply houses, but also picks up certain things at big box stores. So, it makes sense that the associate would have some regulars.
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I don’t think I’ve ever interacted with this Home Depot store associate before, but I’ll be looking for him in the future.
This was all at my local Home Depot, where I’ve had a couple of notably positive experiences before.
This associate had a strong joking nature, and by that I mean he came across in an eccentric uncle or dad joke kind of way, but not silly in the way that makes you roll your eyes.
Before we spoke, he or his associate asked if I needed help with anything.
Some people are bothered by these questions, but I’m not. It’s better to be asked “can I help you find anything” and politely decline than to have to hunt someone down when I do need help.
The thing to remember is that retail experiences can vary from store to store, depending on store management and sales floor associates alike. When interacting with individual store associates, a positive mood is almost contagious.
It’s amazing how different my quick supply trip worked out today, thanks to a brief encounter with a friendly and helpful Home Depot associate. But, I suppose it shouldn’t be a surprise, considering how sour less positive experiences can make us feel. You know what I’m talking about – when a store’s website says they have 20 of an item in stock, but you spend a half hour trying to find it and then more time trying to find someone to get it down from a shelf for you.
Have you had any especially pleasant experiences at a local home center or supply shop?
Gordon
Most employees are great. But I have found that there are certain people who I avoid. They have great personalities, and I have no issues with them as people, but they just aren’t helpful. The guy in charge of the electrical section is often very preoccupied with stocking shelves that he won’t take more than a step to tell you where something is. But when something isn’t on the shelf, he says “it’s sold out” even if the app says there are dozens. Likewise, it’s impossible to get any wood cut. The guys working lumber seem to be the only forklift drivers so they are often doing other things.
Other employees go above and beyond. One climbed all through the upper levels of the racks to look for something that was in the “no home” section. Another employee helped me avoid a custom window by digging through a few Andersen pages to find one that would fit the RO, even thought the computer didn’t like it. Another employee had told me that they only do windows through their in home service and I would need to set up a consultation to order one. Not sure if he was new, ignorant, or trying to earn a commission.
PW
I think there’s some kind of silent alarm rigged to the saw area at my local HD. Finding someone to cut lumber is *impossible*. I have to go to another department, have them ring lumber, wait around for eons…it’s frustrating.
Also, I had my local HD cut some sheet goods for me once. I wanted a decent cut and I knew it would take me a half hour just to get set up, so why not have them pre-cut it on the panel saw in the store? Well I dunno what I should have expected, but the cut they made was WAY off – it varied by something like a half inch in width from start to finish.
IMO they might as well just get rid of the saw systems and use that space for merchandise. The customer experience end of it is just so bad.
Jim Felt
We’ve had an actual panel saw for decades in our set building area and they are almost impossible to misalign.
Your HD clowns/clownettes were exceptional talented. I’ve no how or why but wow.
fred
We had a Safety Speedcut – not the finest finishing tool – but trapezoidal bracing made it pretty much dead-on 90 degree accurate.
Maybe they somehow had some debris under the bottom edge of the panel.
MattF
Something was just under one the sheet.
Given that my car is a small hatchback I would be very disappointed if the saw went away.
I always try to make it easy for them and mark the cuts and get the first sheet halfway loaded.
A ticket system when you mark your cuts and come back in 20 min would be nice.
PW
Generally speaking, I’ve had pretty decent customer service experiences at both my local Lowe’s and Home Depot. If I can find someone, that is. I don’t know if its the strong local economy or strategic under-staffing, but in both places you have to hunt down a staff member if you want help. They will *not* volunteer, and when you do eventually find them they’re usually busy with a customer and you have to wait.
When I do get help, it’s adequate to good. The biggest problems I’ve had are with both store’s stock systems. Maybe its theft, but I find their “in stock” numbers are absurdly off for just about everything. If it says “6 in stock” there’s 1. If it says 4 in stock, better call ahead.
Most of my frustrations have been with that, and it’s not AFAIK the fault of the staff. I had a guy hunt for 20 minutes with me one day through all the overhead areas before determining an item (some light bulbs) were just gone.
This has been my consistent experience for the last year or two across dozens and dozens of visits to both places. Understaffed and frequently under-stocked. But the staff are helpful enough and friendly.
PW
I might also add – I have a younger sister in her early 20s. She’s conventionally attractive. She reports to me that visiting the same stores, she always receives extremely fast service and that store team members are generally willing to go way above and beyond.
So clearly individual results will vary.
Michael Quinlan
My experience regarding stock at Home Depot, particularly involving tools & equipment, is that if their system says they have many and they can’t seem to find any, they can often be found overhead in another aisle. Smaller items like handheld power tools are usually 1-3 aisles away. Larger items like table saws, compressors & generators can be farther away, more often in millwork than anywhere else.
Mark
My wife is a very attractive 30 year old. She gets wood cut so fast. I always joke about it.
RKA
I ordered a fuse for my AC disconnect box online. The HD website indicated 4 in stock, so I ordered 2. I stop by on my way home from work and The order wasn’t picked, nor was there anything on the shelf. The customer service person flat out told me, if it shows less than 10 on hand on the website, pick another store or flip a coin. (Not his words, that’s me paraphrasing). So, yeah, they haven’t completely worked out real time inventory and everyone but the customer knows it. The theft is a different can of worms.
At the end of the day, the joke was on me. Compressor was locked up.
Michael Quinlan
Regarding Home Depot specifically, there are several associates I know by name (and vice versa), and more I’m less familiar with, and it’s always enjoyable running into them. One, who used to run the kids workshops when my kids were young still asks about the family 15 years later, all by name. Another, whose only a few years older than my oldest, always asks how I am (and again, vice versa), even from behind the customer service or pro desk counter, even when she’s busy. Others will often chat with me while I’m looking up items at the customer-facing computer. It gives a mom & pop feel to a big box store, and it’s a disappointment when they aren’t there.
Koko The Talking Ape
I think something is wrong with Home Depot’s online inventory system. I checked my local HD for a folding hand truck. The website said there were 27. I go to the store and there are zero folding hand trucks. However, there are 5 non-folding trucks, 11 trucks with a second pair of wheels, 8 heavier duty trucks, etc. Somehow they were counting all the trucks as the same, and also as the wrong kind of truck.
I complained to the manager. A week later, they still show over 20 hand trucks, still the wrong model.
Chris
Home Depot didn’t fix something after you complained?!?
Outrageous.
Stuart
Stuff like that happens everywhere. What probably happened here is that the store received them, but can’t put them out yet. Or, like you said there’s some kind of identification error, but that would be a random issue.
I went to the “Pro Black Friday” event at my local Home Depot last November, and the Empire levels were nowhere to be found. I checked with the tool department manager when I ran into him, and he mentioned not being able to find the box. He knew it was checked in, but it was likely bundled with the “don’t open until Black Friday” boxes. It happens.
Lowes cancelled some of my online orders when they couldn’t find merchandise at local stores, and some of those times it was because they had winter holiday seasonal tools on-site but on on the sales floor yet.
In your shoes, I’d be annoyed too. My approach would have been to go to customer service with the model number, saying “the website says you have x-many in stock and I want to buy one but can’t find it.” At my store, I’m fairly certain an associate will help me look, and it’ll escalate. If it’s found, I know they’ll do what they can to get one down for me to purchase. But if they can’t, all I could really expect is an apology, and I’ve gotten that before too. I wanted a certain brand of USA-made plastic fencing but the store had a different brand (or store brand?) product in its place and with the same SKU. When I inquired with my corporate contacts, they investigated but I don’t think there was ever a resolution.
There will always be retail issues.
I’ve learned not to expect that such situations will always be positively resolved. Sometimes frustration (or worse) is an inevitability, but it makes me feel better if retail associates are at least willing to expend the effort to reach a positive resolution. Even if the outcome will be disappointing, does the associate care? At my local HD, I think that at least 9 times out of 10 the answer will be “yes,” or at least that’s how it would seem.
RKA
But this is HD’s prime opportunity. A customer that needs or wants it now and will shop online, place the order for pick up and go retrieve it. If customers learn the inventory system is unreliable, they won’t waste their time making a trip. Another vendor will deliver same day or next day to your door.
Chris
Ding ding ding.
But theft and shrink is a legit problem.
Koko The Talking Ape
Yep. I bought the thing online, got the email saying it was ready, and went to the store to pick it up. Even more maddeningly, they had picked the wrong item and marked the order as fulfilled. I pointed out the the error, they searched the store, couldn’t find a single one.
Then I get a SECOND email, saying they have my order. Great! I go again, turns out they don’t. They had just failed to clear the marker in their system saying the order was fulfilled.
So. Three different issues. Inventory error. Mis-filled order. And then the failure to mark the order as unfulfilled.
So yes, I don’t trust their inventory and order system any more. I’ll use Amazon or Lowes or somebody else.
To his credit, the store manager offered to bring me the hand truck personally. But I pointed out that his store didn’t actually have ANY of the hand trucks I was looking for. After that, silence.
red92s
HD’s online inventory system, where it will give you the exact isle and bay an item should be located in, is almost worse than no online inventory at all. My success rate on an item actually being located where the website says it is is probably less than 50%. And I’m not talking like there is an empty space on the shelf where it should be. I’m talking like, it’s either somewhere else entirely or nowhere in the store at all, with no actual inventory position. I’ll often place online orders for pickup in store on my way home. About half the time they just cancel the order without explanation. I’m assuming that, like me, an order picker just can’t find what I’ve ordered on the shelf so they kill the order.
krashtd
Those folding hand trucks.,. Milwaukee brand, by any chance? We currently have those out on the floor with our back-to-school storage event displays. They most likely came in as a wingstack designated for the event, and that is always a point of frustration.
The daytime sales associates are 100% reliant upon the overnight freight team putting overstock and palletized merchandise in the appropriate/designated place. What we generally get is they are severely understaffed due to high turnover, so their only focus is emptying freight carts and pallets and getting the floor cleared of freight. That means wherever they find space to put something, that’s where it’s going. And they don’t take time to properly investigate what’s in a wingstack or on a pallet before they put a pallet tag on it and it it in the overhead. As long as they tag it correctly (with ALL stock numbers and correct quantity, and then assigned a location of the overhead bay they are putting it in), it’s relatively easy to find thru our FIRST phones. This process is wholly dependent on there being enough bodies in the building to do the work, and holding them accountable provided they were trained properly to begin with. Unfortunately, the holding accountable part contributes to the high turnover, and you’re back to square one.
Please understand that I’m not giving this as an excuse, because I personally find it inexcusable and have fought this battle for years. I’m just sharing specific insight into the process. I find it endlessly frustrating and embarrassing.
Koko The Talking Ape
Yep, Milwaukee. And they STILL don’t have ANY of the hand trucks I was looking for. I believe they are relying on their faulty inventory system to tell them when to order more. It tells them they have 40, so they’re good to go. They think.
I understand those issues, but an inventory system is the absolute heart of any retail store. If it doesn’t work, the store doesn’t work. I notice that there are many, many other stores that don’t have these problems. Why can’t HD just do whatever those stores do?
krashtd
I would speculate with 90%+ certainty that they are, in fact, in the store, but the wingstacks didn’t get taggeded or located properly in the overhead. It’s inexcusable, but it’s not the inventory system itself. It’s individual failure. In my store, I’m the one who finds what everyone else fails to. Why? Because I pay attention. I notice what’s in the overheads, what’s out of place, what’s marked as for an event such as Father’s Day versus a fiscal quarter promotion or regular stock. I know how to spot the difference, identify the mistakes, and most importantly empower myself to fix as many issues as I can while lighting up my bosses for not holding people accountable. Remarkable that I still have a job, in reference to that last point =/ I have put in over a decade’s worth of identifying all the little tricks and hacks that make our stores manageable, as a sales associate, supervisor, and delivery/order fulfillment associate. It’s exhausting explaining to the same people every other day how to look for things and how to stop having to look for things. And on top of that, doing the unnecessary repetitive work of undoing someone else’s wasted efforts to make it right. Even more surprised that I stay there in reference to that point.
Damned if I don’t love the challenge.
krashtd
Also, by other stores, do you mean other HD stores besides the one you had issues with, or different companies altogether? If different companies, in the same business/field of retail? I ask because the distinction makes a big difference in the answer to the question, and I will do my best to answer along those lines. At the same time, part of the answer will be the same regardless of company or category, and that is laziness. It’s not even incompetence. It’s laziness. These people aren’t stupid or void of compassion (exceptions exist), they just don’t want to put effort into caring, let alone doing it right. Why do it the right way if you can do it faster and still get paid the same? We’re an enabling society.
Koko The Talking Ape
I don’t have experience with many other HD stores, so I guess I mean other companies altogether. I have no reason to believe that my particular HD was worse than any other. And I have never had issues like that with Amazon, Target, etc.
To answer your question, the store absolutely did not have the particular item they claimed they had 40 of, and which I’d already paid for. I went looking myself. The entire process took over an hour. (The second visit also took over an hour.)
An individual failure, and not the inventory system itself? I would argue that people (poorly trained, poorly supervised, not properly incentivised, etc.) are part of the inventory system. If they don’t work, the store doesn’t work. They must feel lucky that people are still willing to drive to the store to see if they have something.
Koko The Talking Ape
Also, I imagine the process consists of people opening up pallets and scanning bar codes. Maybe they are slow, and maybe there is poor management, rapid turnover, whatever. But how could they scan barcodes wrong?
If they used RFID’s, I imagine they wouldn’t even need people to scan barcodes. When stuff was put out on the shelves, it would be automatically be inventoried for sale on the website.
Why don’t they do that?
Kizzle
Plot twist: the associate has been smuggling inventory for a while now, but acts upset to shake suspicion. j/k
Seriously though, this is how Costco is. It’s a pleasant experience to go to a store where employees are treated with respect by their employer and paid a living wage. I haven’t been to Walmart in years and don’t intend on doing so due to their attitudes towards their most valuable assets. Home Depot and Lowe’s seem to treat their employees well.
Gordon
My biggest issue with Costco is that there is no way to check prices or even availability of in store items without physically going. Costco.com is almost a completely separate store. The deals are different and stock is completely different.
Carl J
Lowes treats employees with respect? Tell that to the thousands of assemblers and store custodians that are getting the ax shortly. Or the hundreds of employees in accounting at headquarters in Charlotte that lost their jobs when Lowes outsourced their jobs overseas .
Jim Felt
Sounds kinda like Sears’ playbook just before fast Eddie bankrupted it.
Frank D
If you look like a bloke who frequents HD or are often mistaken for somebody who may work there, and knows where things are … 3/4 of the staff will walk right past you, while 1/2 the random folks in the isle may ask for your opinion on something or the location of an item …
If you are however female, ideally blonde and younger in years … staff will not walk past without asking if you need help, walk you to the isle, even if not their department, etc.
Seen it COUNTLESS times. Multiple male employees walking past with not even a hello, a nod, need help, you ok? … zip nada … but then tagging along with somebody of the opposite gender across the store.
Chris
That’s somewhat reasonable though, is it not? What percentage ratio do you think are men vs women who go to home improvement stores?
What percentage ratio of men vs women know what they want/need and where it is or at least know what section it can be found in?
Which gender do you think is far more susceptible and gullible at buying add-ons?
Greg
I know my HD like the back of my hand. The one thing that upsets me especially at this time of year is the lack of plastic corner bead for dywall and concrete expansion joints.
Ever year i talk to the manager about this. They have 14,000 sheets of drywall and 14,000 bags of concrete but no corner bead or expansion joints. Hopefully someone who knows something reads this and fixes the problem.
Jim Felt
I’ve frequented HD’s in many states over the years and I firmly believe each individual store’s six figured Store Manager is the key to their customer interaction success.
Hiring, training, motivation, customer engagement. Everything.
After the Nardelli disaster years when they dumped nearly every f/t floor employee/slashed hours/training/actual pro experience they’ve bounced back.
The failure of their only national (retail) competitor to spark much builder loyalty is also an internal HD benefit.
And yes I maintain a HD Pro account.
OhioHead
I remember the Nardelli dumpster fire years (great post) – you cannot run a retailer like GE (IMO)!!!
My local HD was able to maintain those pre-Nardelli hires and it makes a huge difference w/ knowledge & service.
My concerns for Lowe’s concerned be described as former retail CEO unable to right a sinking ship & bailed (JcPenny)!
OhioHead
I prefer my local HD to Lowe’s, tenured staff more than accommodating and they are knowledgeable!
Had an awesome experience @ Menard’s, thought about building a box after installing a new jackpost to replace a rotten wood column that was not properly installed (wood directly on concrete), the associate @ Menard’s told me they sell premade column covers, he indicated it would be cheaper to buy then make, gave me the # of the manufacture to call with my technical questions (can it be cut to size, etc. (yup)) = sold!
^ this is how you make a lifetime customer!
John Patel
I joke that I can’t get out of Home Depot in under 30 min if I need help because I can’t find an associate. There are too few of them. But we have some good ones. I’ve called managers to give customer compliments on a couple of them because that never happens. People always complain, including me. But I take the step of calling mangers supporting employees who do a great job. I don’t remember the stories, but I remember who the associates were and that they really helped me, so that’s all I can write about. To this day I go back looking for either of them when I there.
Andrew
During weekdays before 5 almost always good. Weekends and at night will never get any help, not that you shold go into a box looking for much but knowing where things are in the store would be nice.
Daniel
I just want them to take down the infernal racket of their fake CCTV anti-theft monitoring system.
Every time I go in there, I’m assaulted with beeps alerting me to the fact that my actions are being monitored by the same group of three dilligent individuals that definitely aren’t just actors in a pre-recorded loop. Nope. Totally real and convincing.
For the love of God. Rip those machines out.
Albert
I dread going to HD. The one near me places all kinds of merchandise in between aisles and at the end of aisles. Sometimes I have to maneuver the shopping cart to the other side just to go through. I normally spend 15 minutes finding someone to cut wire. When I try to buy something on sale (for example those height adjustable Husky workbenches), I normally spend half an hour talking to at least two people who eventually figure out that the pallet is on a rack and they have to get a forklift. On the other hand, I actually enjoy going to Menards.
Toolfreak
HD has cameras all over the store, every aisle, entrances, everything. If someone wheeled out a cart of merchandise, they have it on camera, unless the system isn’t working or there is a blind spot, in which case, it was either an associate or someone who got info from an associate.
My local HD offers an okay experience, but I agree with all the comments about the inventory being off. Usually it seems that the items really are in the store, just hidden elsewhere for whatever reason, whether that’s associates stashing merchandise or stuff just being stored on top of the racks even though there’s none where it’s supposed to be for customers to buy it.
These days I just stop in to HD when I’m around the same area and just browse for deals or see what’s new. Lowe’s and a few other stores get my regular business instead.
Flotsam
Up in Guelph, Ontario there was a murder of a little girl, Tori Stafford (8) in which the murderer (s)had gone to a HD to get the supplies for his crime. All these things were later found at the crime scene and help convict the pair who did the murder. Video from the Home Depot was critical in getting the conviction. Sad story.
Flotsam
My HD is hit and miss. I have had an incredible experience once with a young female employee from plumbing that just totally simplified my whole project. I wish i had gotten her name to give her some recognition at the store. But her idea worked out great.
and on the flip side you go into a dept and the sales associate is totally disinterested and not a bit of help. No names but you know who you are.
As for finding stuff in your store. I have a really good tip for you. Get the HD phone app and put in your store as default store. As you look for an item it will then tell you what aisle, section and shelf the item is on. Sometimes it is not infallible (out of stock) but frequently it is faster than wandering around the store or finding someone to ask (frequently a challenge). I sometimes create a shopping list to have everything i need in one place and to compare prices before i leave the house. My Lowes app is not as good but on rare occasion is lower price than HD.
Derek
The theft at Home Depot (and I’m assuming Lowes) is just insane. My father in law got a job there for a few weeks. They gave him no training on the registers and forced him to work returns. The message given was if someone is complaining and holding up the line, just return it. Even if it’s something they don’t sell, PVC pipe that’s been cut and had elbows glued on, 4 year old used hoses, etc.
He said he saw people walk right out of the store stealing stuff only to turn around and return it 5 minutes later and they would give them back store credit. Lots of contractors buy twice as much materials as they need just so they can return it after because their customer wanted to see a receipt for materials.
I get the laws and why companies have these policies but it really annoys me that the honest people are the ones paying for it. We pay higher prices because stores are letting people walk out with merchandise right under their arms or return a brand new power tool that they swapped out 5 year old dead batteries.
Vards Uzvards
So, Home Depot now wants to be a new Nordstrom, huh? Even the latter doesn’t do it anymore 🙂
Toolfreak
HD used to have such a lax return policy that they allowed returns without a receipt as long as they sold the product. I tested that out once returning a belt sander for a relative who was unhappy with it after they bought it but threw the box out and couldn’t find the receipt. Sure enough, HD took it back without the slightest issue, giving a full refund in cash.
Of course, weeks/months later all the news stories about people returning hundreds of thousands of dollars in merchandise to HD and it being a national investigation came out, and HD revised that policy real quick.
Now HD is generally one of the most restrictive stores when it comes to returns. You need a receipt and it has to be within the return period stated on the receipt. Period. I don’t buy stuff from HD that I don’t plan on keeping.
They seem to do pretty good on the in-store warranty on the husky tools though, at least from what I’ve read so far.
The What?
I’m so used to being in a hurry when I go to HD that I’ve never really thought about small talk with many of the associates other than asking where something is or getting one of them to help me load materials or telling them that one of the lumber bins are empty and I need someone to pull it so I can get some materials. Every now and then I’ll get the “what are you building” questions and I’ll tell them or I’ll have a list so they can better help me. You gotta watch them though, otherwise they’ll just load any piece of lumber on your cart without checking to see if it’s straight. I’ve been to HD so many times that I know the layout of just about every store and where to go to find what I need. Only if I need something very specific do I ask for help if I’m not familiar with where it is. You also have to be careful about the advice that some associates will give you about materials and application. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to butt in a conversation where the store associate didn’t have a clue about what they were suggesting to a customer. And I’m not a nosey person, but if I hear them suggest something that is completely wrong I just can’t help but to educate not only the customer but the associate as well so they can give better advice the next time. It happens a lot more than it should. Especially with the younger associates. But I don’t really think of going to HD as a pleasant or unpleasant experience. I go to get what I need and get the hell out of there as quickly as possible so I can get back to work. We won’t talk about Lowes cuz they ain’t worth talking about. They just suck in general.
ktash
I’ve been doing some electrical DIY projects and accumulated a lot of random stuff. When I went to return it yesterday, I was impressed how easy it was and how cheerful the customer service guy was.
I also got some stuff on Amazon which is a big pain to return, taking it somewhere to drop off, and sometime I’d have to pay shipping, etc. Plus only 30 days and these projects usually drag on longer than that. So, even though Amazon ships quickly these days, I think Home Depot (Lowes or Menards) are a better bet for all the stuff you “think” you may need for an extended project.
Rick Owen
I’ve posted several times regarding the service between the local Hendersonville NC Lowe’s and Home Depot. Lowe’s is much larger with more selection but you seldom get help and I’ve had several instances of outright being ignored including an associate taking off his Lowe’s vest and walking away saying it was break time. All I did was ask where something was. Oh I was in a wheelchair at the time. At the local Home Depot I always get asked if I need help. If I decline, they don’t bug or shadow me. At both locations the help knows their stores and where to find even non everyday items. At Lowe’s they tell you where it is. At Home Depot they take you to it. At the next closest Lowe’s, customer service is much better. Still not as good as the Home Depot but at a good level of service. I’ve never had at problems at this Lowe’s. No idea of why the local Lowe’s has such terrible service.
Jim
I was just at HD a few weeks ago looking for a new electric range to replace a 15 -yo range that would cost to much to repair. To my surprise the sales associate, a middle aged women, was not only knowledgeable about everything on the floor – what was convection or induction, what was real vs steam self-clean, stainless steel vs some weird graphite color, etc, etc. – you know, all that stuff that didn’t exist 15 years ago. She even told me what NOT to buy (no Samsungs, no LGs, they cant be repaired).
Then, after she gave me her best picks, she told me to take a photo on my phone of the model numbers and go see what people online had to say about them before I chose. In other words she was truly helpful to someone who hasn’t bought a major appliance in more than a decade.
When I went to Lowes the sales associate couldn’t answer even my most basic questions. “Is this a convection oven?’ “I don’t know, open it up a see if there’s a fan in there,” Or “I have no idea what your talking about.” Seriously.
So, yeah, Home Depot > Lowes.
Andrew LB
As much as people talk trash on the ‘borg’, my particular local Home Depot is pretty good. Friendly employees who are actually easy to find if they don’t find you first. The lady who runs the power tool section is quite a character and knows more about power tools than i could ever ask for.
As for my local Lowes, there is zero comparison. Both of the closest Lowes to where i live in SoCal are EXACTLY the stereotype everyone has of the ‘borg’. Employees don’t know anything about the products they sell, and good luck finding an employee if you need help.