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Both really are for the perosn that knows what they want without much advice. I just shop at both and if they both have the same item then I go by the cheapest price.Lowes in my town is used by both contractors and homeowners. Lowes is better for interior and some odd things tho as mentioned.HD is more of a warehouse type like Southerlands.
The other thing that I find amazing is that HD and lowes constantly build new stores directly accross the street from each other. Lowes recently built a new store accross the street from HD in our area despite the fact that there is another Lowes less than 2 miles away (they will probably build a HD there soon). The area is mostly a blue collar area populated by autorworkers (now unemployed autoworkers). I see this occurring all over the State. Where there is a Home Depot, they built or are building a Lowes, where there is a lowes, they built or are building a Home Depot. How can they sustain their businesses with these practices?
My regional manager referred to that as 'regional market saturation' when I worked at HD. Generally, when a Lowes or HD is built, the other competitor will purchase land nearby (nextdoor/across the street if possible) and sit on it for a while. They'll wait until they hear complaints or sales go down a bit, then they'll build a center to 'capture' those lost customers. Pretty stupid strategy imho, but apparently it worked once, so it'll keep on working!!!
I was a specialty sales Department Manager for a couple of years and the Assistant Managers would sit in their office and watch video of all the departments. If EVERY SINGLE ONE of the customers were not approached by at least 1 person in your department you would get a 'talking to' and possibly a write up. Even if I was sitting at the computer with a customer writing up a window order (which could potentiall be a $10,000 ++ sale) and I had a customer meandering down the door isle and I didn't go greet them, I would get a write up.
HD is bullhokey. They treat their employees like crap.
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,782,175 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Coldjensens
I find that Home depot is better for staple construction materials while Lowes is better for decor items. For example, I needed 60 20 amp electrical outlets in a mix of white and brown. Lowes only had three brown ones and about 6 white ones. When I asked, they said that they do nto stock much more than that since they are nto a high demand item. Home depot had them.
Home Depot had the drywall that I needed when Lowes only had a few sheets. Home depot had sufficient quantites of insulation, ready mix, clear 1x4s, 250' rolls of 12-3 romex, etc, while Lowes had insufficinet quantities or one.
However Lowes has a much better selection of light fixtures, area rugs, trash cans and shelving units. They seem to focus more on things that a non-handy homeowner would want while H.D. seemd to be more the place for materials for major projects.
Excellent synopsis. For whatever reason, if I need dimmer switches/fan controls (which, oddly enough, I have needed a lot of recently) Lowe's always seems to have the expensive Lutron digital stuff. At Home Depot some contractor comes in and buys the lot every time they get a shipment.
The Lowe's in my neck of the woods has a much better garden center as well.
Anyway, I concur. If you're framing, sheetrocking, pouring concrete, wiring or otherwise undertaking a project of "advanced handimanliness" you probably belong at HD. If you're landscaping, replacing fixtures, buying rugs, curtains or otherwise decorating, Lowe's is the place.
If you need advice, you need to be somewhere else. (texdav made me chuckle)
IN my area the two are almost on top of each other, so it's very easy to go to the other one if the first one is lacking.
I have found prices vary in both stores. Some items are higher in one, some higher in the other.
I have commercial accounts in both. I have to say that the Lowes commercial dept. is heads above HD. I get much better service from Lowes. I shop at both though, and find them very close to each other in staffing and layout, etc.
I work at home depot and im doing a project and would like to know how we can better serve our customers please leave feed back.
We quit shopping at Home Depot when you took away the 10% veteran's discount. Lowes gives it to us year-around without any BS.
Home Depot tried to tell us they quit giving the discount because Lowes quit giving it. Came as quite a shock to Lowes when we told them what HD had said.
Since we bought our current house in 12/2010, we've spent close to $5K at Lowes.
I used to see little difference between the two until we moved to a new location. We have a Home Depot 1-1.5 miles from the house, and I now drive right past it, and then another 5 miles or so to the nearest Lowes. The Home Depot by me has no idea how to manage inventory and is too often out of the things I need. After 6 swings and misses there, I don't even try most times. When I replaced the locks on the doors, there was no chance of me finding enough with the matching "codes" so the same key would work all the doors in my single house. No problem at Lowes. When I needed a 3/4" brass cap to temporarily stop the leaking water heater drain plug, no dice at the local home depot. Any my favorite:
HD: "Can I help you?"
ME: "Yes, I'm looking for 2" PVC Pipe and can't find it"
HD: "We're all out"
ME: "Of Every length? I don't need much, I can use a short piece or I'll buy a bigger piece and cut it if I have to"
HD: "We are all out completely. It is our most common size"
ME: "If it is the most common size, seems like you would make sure to have plenty of stock, and could have foreseen selling some of it"
HD: Silent, blank look.
I have noticed a big change in HD in the last 5 years. It is much harder to find someone to help you now and it's kind of hit or miss on the quality of that person. It seems like it will either be someone who's been there for 20 years and knows everything or someone with no experience and an awful attitude/lazy.
I agree with the person who said the main difference is true construction material selection is better at HD, whereas the "finishing touches" are better at Lowe's.
UNless I need lumber, concrete or plumbing materials, I go to Lowes first ever since that poster pointed out the Lowes sponsors Jimmy Johnson. It is as good a reason as any to choose between the two. JImmy Johnson was very nice to us when he had no reason to be. That wins a lot of points with me and his sponsor benefits by osmosis.
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