Lowes.. going the way of Home Depot

L

LouisanaJeeper

New member
Home Depot is pretty terrible around me. 1-2 cashiers and 10 automated self checkouts, a parking lot full of day laborers and poor customer disservice.



Lowes has been pretty good. Now I see they are replacing half the checkouts with self checkouts....



Time to look for a new hardware store. :bolt
 
It doesn't keep the prices down, it keeps the bonus up for the CFO. I guess the ultimate for the bean-counters would be a store with no staff--wouldn't that be great for the customers? We'd all be lined up at some information kiosk trying to get information out of the balky MS operating system....good times!
 
LouisanaJeeper said:
try buying a 2x4 or bag of cement with the self checkout
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I have the Lumber has a UPC stapled on one end



just pull it off and scan!



also they have a hand held scaner

if you can't hold up the bag
 
Just love those scanners. Went to Albertson's and bought a loaf of French bread and a 20 oz Pepsi and it rang up for almost $18.00. It took about 15 minutes to straighten out but I got the items for free after that.:angry
 
I like self checkout. It means I don't have to explain things to the person behind the counter. I never ask advice anymore in either of the two home center type stores. I spend more time explaining what I need only to then have the pimple faced teenager look at me and say "Dude, I have no idea". But then again, I guess I could ask the guy in his mid 50's who works in the tile dept. He rides his bicycle to work because of his 3rd drunk driving conviction. You're better off knowing exactly what you want BEFORE you step into most any store these days. I guess that's why they call it MINIMUM wage. All you get is the bare minimum.



Patrick
 
They have built a few Ace Hardware stores around here. The prices are higher then HD or Lowes, but those guys know just about everything. So if I am not sure what I need, I go to Ace.
 
The only advantage to Lowe's in this area is that the stores are typically cleaner than Home Depot stores. Whenever I need something special, or are unsure as to exactly what I need, I go to a local, family owned hardware store near my house.



I use to buy pine needles and straw at Lowe's and Home Depot. They keep these products in semi trailers outside the store, locked up. It got to where when I would buy this, I would easily spend 30 minutes just waiting for someone to come unlock the trialers - and I would often have to go back inside the store looking for someone to come help me. I typically buy @30 bales of pine needles at a time, and the big box stores are cheaper than the garden centers. Now, I have just given up on Lowe's and Home Depot for pine needles, and I pay the local garden center more per bale for them, and since they are 4 miles away, I can call them, and for $10 they deliver them to me within a half hour.
 
I guess it really depends on the Lowes or Home Depot you go to or have in your area. I always go to Lowes about a half mile from my house and have been building a shed over the past few months and really got a lot of help from the staff there. A few of them did not know some answers to the questions I had, but they always referred me to the knowledgable lumber guy, paint guy, etc and got the question answered. Maybe I just got lucky and have decent people at my nearest Lowes? They also have no self checkout and almost every register open when I am there. If there is more than two customers in line you hear over the intercom for additional cashier assistance and open up a lane near the return area. Not too bad IMO.
 
raadkins16 said:
I guess it really depends on the Lowes or Home Depot you go to or have in your area. I always go to Lowes about a half mile from my house and have been building a shed over the past few months and really got a lot of help from the staff there. A few of them did not know some answers to the questions I had, but they always referred me to the knowledgable lumber guy, paint guy, etc and got the question answered. Maybe I just got lucky and have decent people at my nearest Lowes? They also have no self checkout and almost every register open when I am there. If there is more than two customers in line you hear over the intercom for additional cashier assistance and open up a lane near the return area. Not too bad IMO.
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How long have they been open? It seems like when they open a new store they staff it up right (knowledgable help, plenty of cashiers) but as time goes on, either from attrition or some sort of dastardly plan, they go downhill.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
How long have they been open? It seems like when they open a new store they staff it up right (knowledgable help, plenty of cashiers) but as time goes on, either from attrition or some sort of dastardly plan, they go downhill.
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I am not sure how old this one is, but it definitely wasn't built recently. It is one of the older ones in the area, I would say it has been there at least 5-7 years.



Now we do have a couple new ones coming up in the area, so it would be interesting to see how well they get staffed :)
 
Things could be worse, they could be like Wallmarts, 8 thousand registers and only 4 people to run them :angry

Since you mentioned what you did, surprised you hadn't mentioned this fact: all of the home depots are all set on the same temperature setting has directed by corporate, so if its cool enough in the store but humid has heck the unit will not come and you get to shop in the same comfort level has the parking lot. :angry



Just wait, a few more years they will all be bad, home depot was good when they first opened...
 
I got yelled at the other day at Walmart. lol I ran in quick to get some Tylenol and a soda, went to a self check out. Not sure what happened but it wouldn't let me pay, so I went to the self check out next to that one, same thing, so I went to the regular check out next to that. The manager came over and told me if it doesn't work right I should wait for assistance and now he had to clear the two self checkouts. lol



Normally I don't mind the self checkouts, sort of handy when you only have a few items.
 
cajunfirehawk said:
all of the home depots are all set on the same temperature setting has directed by corporate, so if its cool enough in the store but humid has heck the unit will not come and you get to shop in the same comfort level has the parking lot. :angry



Just wait, a few more years they will all be bad, home depot was good when they first opened...
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are you sure they are even air-conditioned, because it always feels like a hot, humid Summer day inside HD. If I had to choose between the 2, I'd rather go to Lowes.
 
I really like the self checkouts most times. Like the ones at Walmart.....they come in really handy when the wife sends me in to get nothing but a box of tampons. I don't mind buying tampons for her unless it's the only thing I'm purchasing (which it usually is).



Lowe's self checkout is great when you need to run in really quick and buy a box of screws, or just some small stuff. Bigger stuff I just wait for the regular checkout.



It seems like some people need to slow down and not be in such a hurry all the time. I've made myself have that mentality and now waiting doesn't usually bother me as bad.
 
I am a big fan of self checkouts, especially if I am just picking up a few items. Usually the lines are shorter, plus I can scan and bag a lot faster than the clerks...as for Lowes and Home Depot in general.....good service is like rolling dice at either one for me.
 
BlueZero said:
I got yelled at the other day at Walmart. lol I ran in quick to get some Tylenol and a soda, went to a self check out. Not sure what happened but it wouldn't let me pay, so I went to the self check out next to that one, same thing, so I went to the regular check out next to that. The manager came over and told me if it doesn't work right I should wait for assistance and now he had to clear the two self checkouts. lol



Normally I don't mind the self checkouts, sort of handy when you only have a few items.
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I would of informed the manager that its not my job to stand around and wait for him to fix his crappy self checkout machines. :nono
 
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