Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Lowes is great. They take care of customers and have a fair return policy. Home Depot from my experience is dirty, associates dont care and their return policy sucks. Even with a recept. HD will not stand behind their products.
Lowes is great. They take care of customers and have a fair return policy. Home Depot from my experience is dirty, associates dont care and their return policy sucks. Even with a recept. HD will not stand behind their products.
i beg to differ about the return policyat home depot .i've seen anything and everything on my return carts..i see stuff that we dont even sell , and doors that have been cut in half and windows that have been installed for years being returned
Lowes is great. They take care of customers and have a fair return policy. Home Depot from my experience is dirty, associates dont care and their return policy sucks. Even with a recept. HD will not stand behind their products.
Oh, I agree. And when we bought all the shingles for our house, we overbought....Lowe's came in their delivery truck, picked up and gave us credit for those we didn't need!
i beg to differ about the return policyat home depot .i've seen anything and everything on my return carts..i see stuff that we dont even sell , and doors that have been cut in half and windows that have been installed for years being returned
Same here. I wonder at times if people don't dig up dead plants that they've had for years and purchased elsewhere just to get store credit for them at the returns desk. The returns desk at our store is often overflowing so badly that it's difficult for people to enter the store! It's just crazy! As a consumer, I'm very conscientious about what I purchase and rarely make a return. Why is that so difficult for others? My favorites are the ones who bring back huge items like shower surrounds and patio doors because they got them home and realized "I forgot to measure beforehand and these items are too big to fit through the front door!" Duh!
I like both stores about the same, with one exception. The paint department.
Painted the old house to sell it, and then the new house, so have been making lots of trips for paint. I have never been disappointed by the expertise or service I received at Home Depot. I wrote a letter to the company about one kid who was taking care of 5 customers at the same time and doing a great job of keeping us all happy. The only time that I went to the Lowes paint department I received courteous service, but was told they didn't stock "that color". When he didn't offer to try to match it, I went to Home Depot, and have stayed with them.
A new Lowes is coming to my area, which will be very close to my home, but I think I'll remain loyal to HD. However, should SWB transfer to our new Lowes, I would definitely check it out.
i beg to differ about the return policyat home depot .i've seen anything and everything on my return carts..i see stuff that we dont even sell , and doors that have been cut in half and windows that have been installed for years being returned
I put up chain link fence for my dogs. I breed dogs. I bought enough materials at Lowes to install a 100 ft by 300 ft dog pin. I neglected to get enough chain link. In need of 30 feet of chain, I drove to Home Depot near my house. I purchased a 50 ft roll of chain for 53.00. When I came home, it was getting dark. I could not see well but finished up the fence. When I went out the next morning, the fence looked like crap on the Home Dep section. It was cut, altered and had obviously been returned and re-stocked. I called the store manager. HE offereed me 10% off my purchase. At over $3 per gallon of gas, it was hardly worth it to take my fence down and drive the 10 miles for $5.30. I called Lowes and told them the entire deal. The Building mat manager offered to take HD's chain back and return it to the factory for me. I did take it down and give it to Lowes. Home Dep will not support their product or customers. They will never see a cent of mine again. I will drive teh extra 3 miles to Lowes.
Wow! I guess the poll explains why both Lowe's stores in Wilkes-Barre are always teeming with customers while the Home Depot's base continues to dwindle.
I'm still in the home renovation's process, so buy regularly.
The Home Depot stores I use are 1-mi, 4-mi & 20-mi from me.
Closest Lowe's is a 45-min drive.
Mom & pop stores are a 10-min walk or a 4-mi drive.
I don't go to the M&Ps, ever, as they're too expensive.
When I need something NOW, I go to HD, as they're the closest.
I go to Lowe's when buying huge appliances, as their prices are better for what I've needed. I've always waited for free delivery specials & have even taken care of a free removal special. HD doesn't always offer more than curb-side delivery with materials like 50-75 lb ceramic tile boxes or 25-50 lb mortar bags. Great, I've got 4-sets of stairs to maneuver & weigh 120-lbs. Not helpful. Sometimes I also find 10% off coupons for Lowe's in my mail. So, all in all, I've spent more $ at Lowe's.
For specialty paint (deck paint for floors) I go to a specialty paint store, otherwise, I find HD mixes colors better & Behr has been a decent brand.
Thorough, kind, informative customer service & number of staff is grossly lacking at all the HD/Lowe's stores I've visited. I've been given incorrect info so many times that I don't ask where anything is any longer & I never give them the answer to "What do ya' need it for?" as they always tell me "You can't use this for that" & have always been wrong. Different people always give me completely different answers to the same question on materials to use, often telling me they're the expert in the dept while vigorously discounting their co-workers knowledge. Yes, I know, I've said always often here & mean always. I also realize I'm speaking of ONLY the 1/2-dozen stores I've regularly visited. When far out in the suburbs or in NH, all the above issues, save for understaffing, seem to disappear. Unfortunately, I've only had the pleasure to these stores, usually Lowe's, about 4-times in as many years.
Congratulations, BTW, SWB on your promotion. I think the garden center would be lovely to work in during the spring/summer/fall. Which dept will you go to when it shuts down in the fall/winter, or are the garden centers open year round here in the snowy northeast?
Have fun... VV
Last edited by Baltic_Celt; 05-09-2007 at 08:27 PM..
I definately chose Lowes. Too many times I have gone to Home Depot (because they are closer) and they wouldn't have what I needed. Normal sizes for normal jobs (plumbing, screws, etc.). Plus they won't make sample sizes of paint like Lowes will.
We did purchase a very expensive patio door from Home Depot, but it took an act of congress to get it. 1st they lost the order (I found that out when I called checking on it a week after and it takes 3 weeks for it to come in). Yes they knocked off 10% due to that, but it threw my schedule off on the room we are building. The door did finally come in, but it took 2 hours for them to find it and load it for us. Although each person we dealt with was very nice, the fact that it was so unorganized has made us decide to take our business some where else when it's a large project.
We do still shop Home Depot for small items when we are in a hurry.
The customer service has been better at the Lowes than Home Dept, at least where I live. At Home Dept it seems to be non existant, I never really know if these are local problems, or if it is nationwide.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The returns desk at our store is often overflowing so badly that it's difficult for people to enter the store! It's just crazy! As a consumer, I'm very conscientious about what I purchase and rarely make a return. Why is that so difficult for others? My favorites are the ones who bring back huge items like shower surrounds and patio doors because they got them home and realized "I forgot to measure beforehand and these items are too big to fit through the front door!" Duh! 
