Menards, hands down! What's not to like about a store where you can buy lumber, clothing and groceries. They carry a brand of soda called "Sprecher's" which is apparently a microbrewery in WI. One of our local carryouts also carries Sprecher's beer.
The 11% sales are great - as long as I keep a careful watch on where I put my receipts and remember to mail them in!
Prices are generally a lot lower than Lowes / HD. When I did a project in my basement, I needed 4x8 panels of rigid insulation. The panels were about $6 each cheaper at Menards than HD.
I will say that the service level at our local Menard's has declined since they opened. For the first year or so, every associate would ask if they could help you find something as you walked through the aisles. Now it seems a lot of them have mastered the art of eye-aversion as they walk the store.
I also wish that Menards would give you the option of emailing your receipts to you. HD does this (tied to your CC number). I generally don't like "Loyalty Cards", but if Menards had one that you could scan and they'd email your receipts to you, I'd sign up. I asked about this last week at Menards and was told that they could do that if you bought using your Menards charge card. I really don't need/want another credit card.
My other complaint about Menards is their hand-dryers in the men's room. They have the ones that only put out a light breeze and provide no paper towels as an alternative! If they're not going to have paper towels, the least they could do is install those "jet dryers". LOL!
