Home Depot vs Lowes Customer Experience (how much, pool, window, phone)

[mkarch]

Is it universal that Home Depot customer service is better than Lowes?

Neither chain is a true hardware or specialty store, but they seem to be on different ends of of a narrow spectrum. Is the CX different depending on location?

[Rabrrita]

As a residential consumer, I find Lowes customer service better although they are not as knowledgeable of the technical aspects of some products. Lowes appears to be better geared in marketing and product selection to the homeowner. Lowes seems to be geared to make your experience satisfying.

As a commercial customer, Home Depot's service beats out Lowes. Home Depot's staff is much better at the technical of products. Home Depot seems to stock more construction products than Lowes. My experience with Home Depot is that they consider residential homeowners as a side distraction and do their best to show you how much more they know than you do.

If buying window fashions, bathroom lights, kitchen cabinet knobs, a stock screen door, or trying to figure out what brush to use for the paint, Lowes is the better and friendlier. If needing concrete blocks, stud hangers, DWV piping, or trying to remember what the codes on the plywood means, go with Home Depot.

Although both market their stores as having experience staffers, they are often hard to find. However, at Lowes, they may not know what they are talking about but they do it with a big smile.

[Caladium]

In my neck of the woods, Lowes is better. Especially for the things I buy, which is mostly hardware, garden stuff, tile, cleaning supplies, and things like stepladders or hoses. I particularly like the people working at garden center at Lowes; they're much more helpful and knowledgeable than their counterparts in HD. I've heard that HD is the better place to go for things like plywood, lumber, cinder blocks, etc.,

[Threestep2]

I think it depends on the individual store.

[missik999]

I placed a special order for new appliances at Home Depot a couple of weeks ago and found out that they no longer do their own delivery but hire private contractors.

The contractor called to set up delivery and said they could deliver in a window between 3:30 and 6:30 pm. I said anytime after 5:00, as that was when I got home from work. The next day the contractor called at 3:30 and said he was on his way to my house. I was still at work and reminded him that I had said after 5:00. His cell phone cut out, and when I tried to call him back his voicemail was full and I couldn't leave a message. He called again and immediately his phone died. He didn't try to call again.

I headed home and a woman from the contracting company called and said the truck was in my driveway and was leaving in 15 minutes. I was actually turning on to the street when the woman called to tell me they were pulling out of my driveway. I told her I was on the street but she said it was too late, Home Depot only required them to wait 15 minutes if the customer was late. I said I wasn't late, the delivery driver was early! She repeated that the driver had waited the required 15 minutes.

I had always been extremely happy with Home Depot until this incident. I think that they should have followed up with the contract company, especially since it resulted in a lost sale and loss of a loyal customer.

I passed the delivery truck on my block. I called HD to inform them of the situation, expecting them to apologize and take action. They told me I would have to file a complaint with the contracted delivery company. I talked to the supervisor of the delivery company, who just kept repeating that the delivery driver did exactly what he was supposed to do, wait 15 minutes for a "late" customer. She refused to take my complaint. She said my only option was to cancel my appliance order and they would be returned to the manufacturer.

So I cancelled the order and placed the same special order at Lowe's.

I think Home Depot should have followed up with the delivery company, especially since it resulted in a lost sale, special order appliances being returned to the manufacturer, and loss of a loyal customer.

[HWTechGuy]

I think it depends on the area. When I lived in PA, Lowes was a far better place to shop than the local Home Depot and as such, I only went to Home Depot as a last resort. Now, they are about even in my current area. But, I still go to Lowes more often because it's in a more convenient location.

[sullyguy]

Lowes is much more convenient/closer to us than Home Depot so we almost-exclusively use Lowes. Last week, surprisingly, we went to Home Depot (for no particularly thought-out reason) and the experience was...superlative. We were looking for specific items, asked the first employee we bumped into for one, and he immediately and friendily (sp?) directed us correctly. After retrieving that item I asked another employee on the same aisle where something else was and had a thorough repeat experience like the first. In essence that buying (not really shopping) experience at Home Depot was as good as we could have expected.

I seem to remember that Home Depot required their rank-n-file OFFICE workers to work in their stores from time to time - I do not know if that still is the case.

In any case, we view both stores similarly (and, to put in a word for them, if we are looking for single items - just about ANY single item other than large things like lumber, etc - we go to the local ACE hardware store and buy it there rather than even driving to the 2.5-mile-away Lowes; though ACE really is way expensive, relatively speaking, travel costs rapidly drive up a Lowes or HD trip's cost when not buying a lot, making the almost-walking distance ACE cost-effective).

[Pitt Chick]

My local Lowe's is better with customer service.
My local Lowe's has better facility lighting.
My local Lowe's has less cluttered aisles.

My local Home Depot has better flowers and plants.
My local Home Depot has amazingly better selections in some departments.

And purely on a personal side.... HD's garish bright orange everywhere and Spanish in signage (practically zero Hispanics in my area) annoys me.

[veuvegirl]

Originally Posted by mkarch

Is it universal that Home Depot customer service is better than Lowes?

Neither chain is a true hardware or specialty store, but they seem to be on different ends of of a narrow spectrum. Is the CX different depending on location?

No! I have lived in three different states. Lowes has been far superior than Home Depot, and cheaper.

[PNW-type-gal]

The Home Depot in the city I am moving to (which also has a Lowe's) is far better than the Home Depot in my present city, which only has a small local store for competition. Is it the size of town? The pool of available employees? Lack of competition? Who knows.

I only have them deliver things, I've never had them do any kind of work.