Lowe's closing 50 stores !

[Tractor Seabee]

In this area we only have Lowes and HD as big box stores. I go back and forth. They each have their strong points plus many weak points. Lowe is 10 miles closer so go there first. Lowes plumbing department sucks when it come to fittings. Electrical like HD their fitting stuff is short. HD is much larger stock. I am well known at Loews by many of the department heads because I am there a lot. When I really need help I always go to them. The average floor walker is useless. Like HS above many seem to just wander around and no nothing and do not seem to care about career advancement. Guess it is better than flipping burgers. So, when Lowes doesn't have it I go to HD or maybe Ace hardware. The "My Lowes program is great, military discount and streamline for returns, no receipt required. HD has a competition problem their and their special order program sucks. HD does not honor the military discount on special and on line orders like Lowes.

Ron

Ron

 

[goeduck]

There probably are not big paychecks handed out to the aisle workers at HD and Lowes so I have learned to do my research ahead of time. I have found some of them to be surprisingly knowledgeable, others, not so much. When I want expertise I go to a local Best store. I actually go there fairly often so that I am not just going when I need advice.

 

[Garandman]

Of course the Lowe’s that closed was the one closest to me.

But with 10% Veterans discount, Veterans parking and big discounts on Guardian cabinets I go to other nearby stores.

 

[Turbys_1700]

As I posted earlier we have both Home Depot and Lowes. I typically drop by Lowes because of convenience. One thing that I have noticed is the Craftsman invasion of tools at Lowes. They are everywhere.

 

[aczlan]

Next time in to that store, a new cashier was complaining about her pay. She was very large and not very presentable, yet she wanted more money. I told her she is working for a 70 some billion dollar company with thousands of stores across the country and 300,000 employees. Seek a department, work hard, get promoted, move with the company, show initiative. She thought I was a bit unsympathetic to her plight.

The funny thing (according to a friend of mine who worked at Lowe's) is that to work in a different department, pretty much all they have to do is say that they are interested in trying the other department and they will move them over there as soon as there is a space. He said that they were very flexible on letting you change departments.

Aaron Z

 

[goeduck]

The funny thing (according to a friend of mine who worked at Lowe's) is that to work in a different department, pretty much all they have to do is say that they are interested in trying the other department and they will move them over there as soon as there is a space. He said that they were very flexible on letting you change departments.

Aaron Z

That would be one way to learn the entire store. And one way to avoid having to know anything :laughing:

 

[atsah]

I get better prices from my local mom and pop hardware store than Lowes, or HD.

Me also. I have been to Lowes and HD and like neither one of them. They sell a lot of junk.. I can drive 10 minutes and not have to go through a truck load of lumber to find 5 straight boards.

 

[ultrarunner]

In this area we only have Lowes and HD as big box stores. I go back and forth. They each have their strong points plus many weak points. Lowe is 10 miles closer so go there first. Lowes plumbing department sucks when it come to fittings. Electrical like HD their fitting stuff is short. HD is much larger stock. I am well known at Loews by many of the department heads because I am there a lot. When I really need help I always go to them. The average floor walker is useless. Like HS above many seem to just wander around and no nothing and do not seem to care about career advancement. Guess it is better than flipping burgers. So, when Lowes doesn't have it I go to HD or maybe Ace hardware. The "My Lowes program is great, military discount and streamline for returns, no receipt required. HD has a competition problem their and their special order program sucks. HD does not honor the military discount on special and on line orders like Lowes.

Ron

Ron

I have found the caliber of any South Sound Lowes/Home Depot to be far superior to any here in the SF Bay Area... also the morale in the SF Bay Area tends to be very low.

In the Olympia/Lacey stores there are actually employees that have worked in the trades... generally older but still very knowledgeable.

Made the acquaintance of several and not having to work outside and crawl under houses is a benefit of warehouse work.

 

[Oaktree]

I said I was more interested in framing dimensions as we would start that soon. He looked on line, he read brochures, he stumbled, he stammered. I simply told him that he does not know his products and he should learn, not pretend to know. I thought he was going to cry he looked so shattered that I did not like the fact that he could not do his job. I got help elsewhere.
Next time in to that store, a new cashier was complaining about her pay. She was very large and not very presentable, yet she wanted more money. I told her she is working for a 70 some billion dollar company with thousands of stores across the country and 300,000 employees. Seek a department, work hard, get promoted, move with the company, show initiative. She thought I was a bit unsympathetic to her plight.

Yeah. A few years ago I was looking to replace a toilet. Was at either Lowes or HD (forget which), asked the guy in the plumbing dept. about the relative merits of one over the other. After some hemming and hawing, he admitted that his knowledge of toilets was limited to how to use one. :irked:

And these are the ones pushing to raise the minimum wage! Want more pay but aren't willing to make the effort to learn some skills that might actually make them attractive to an employer.

In this area we only have Lowes and HD as big box stores. I go back and forth. They each have their strong points plus many weak points. Lowe is 10 miles closer so go there first. Lowes plumbing department sucks when it come to fittings. Electrical like HD their fitting stuff is short. HD is much larger stock.

Here the two are literally right next door to one another, so if one doesn't have what you're looking for it's easy to shop the competition. Our Lowes has better finish lumber, but HD has a better selection of plywood. Plumbing/electrical are about the same, but each has items the other doesn't. One thing I noticed is that at least with beige outlets, switches, etc. they're a different shade in one store vs the other, and it's quite noticeable if you get an outlet at one and the switchplate from the other.

 

[2manyrocks]

It seems to me that a few years ago, Lowes and HD ran competitive deals from Black Friday through Christmas, but in the past couple of years, Lowes has not had as many deals, IMO. I bought several promotional sale items at HD late last year, but I don't recall buying any promotional deals at Lowes during the same time period.

Our local Lowes has plywood stacked on lower racks where it's easier to reach, but HD seems to be thriving locally.