An all new Lowe

[jonovision_man]

So Lowe's is finally opening stores in Canada.

Any good? Their commercials seem to focus on the fact they have "people" at the cash registers, something Home Depot has decided was optional. :p I'm inclined to check them out just for that reason.

jono

[dando]

So Lowe's is finally opening stores in Canada.

Any good? Their commercials seem to focus on the fact they have "people" at the cash registers, something Home Depot has decided was optional. :p I'm inclined to check them out just for that reason.

jono

Home Depot's service hit rock bottom a few years ago, and Lowe's has improved their service dramatically. I used to frequent Home Depot and despise Lowe's, but that has been reversed over the past 3-4 years. Overall I give Lowe's 4 stars and Home Depot 2.

-Kevin

[Sean Malone]

Yep, Lowes all the way. :thumbup:

[diamond dave]

Lowe's are glorified hardware stores aimed at women customers.
compared to a true Lumber/Building Materials store they are meh.

[extramundane]

Lowe's has improved their service dramatically.

Indeed. I've always preferred them to HD, but it used to be a lesser of two evils situation. The manager at my local Lowe's actually knows what the hell he's talking about, and has gone the extra mile for us on several occasions. The closest HD is staffed by graduates of the Hulman School for the Occasionally Coherent. And not the top of the class either.


Lowe's are glorified hardware stores aimed at women customers.
compared to a true Lumber/Building Materials store they are meh.

Well...when there aren't very many hardware stores left (there are 4 Aces and Zero True Values within a 30 mile drive) and you're just trying to redo the gutters or repanel the shed, you don't exactly need a full-on lumber yard.

[dando]

Lowe's are glorified hardware stores aimed at women customers.
compared to a true Lumber/Building Materials store they are meh.

I do try to frequent the local hardware store (Roush Hardware) as much as possible, but they don't always have the selection that is needed.

-Kevin

[cameraman]

Lowes carries higher end patio furniture and stuff like that but if you are looking for nails, the exact same brand will cost 25% more than HD. That said there is a locally owned Ace Hardware just as close to my place and I greatly prefer them to either Lowes or HD.

[Sean O'Gorman]

Any time I've gone to a Lowe's or Home Depot, I can't find what I'm looking for, but end up finding it at Sears Hardware or Harbor Freight.

Of course, all I ever need are odd sized nuts and bolts or cheap cordless tools. :p

[Ankf00]

the local joint, mcguckins, has as much selection as lowes/hd. they rule. plus they have so many friendly old retirees standing at every aisle intersection eager to help, i think they've got some kinda Cocoon-like operation in the back.

screw lowes and HD, both.

[Sean Malone]

Lowe's are glorified hardware stores aimed at women customers.
compared to a true Lumber/Building Materials store they are meh.

Yeah, their radial arm saws come in pink and 'floral'.



:gomer:

[cart7]

I always support my local ACE hardware store. It's still a mom and pop operation but when they don't have what I need I'll go the other route.

Lowes - Better service and better stuff. Their lumber quality suffers though. It takes me a lot longer to find a decent 2 x 4 or trim boards.

HD - Better quality lumber. Service isn't as good.

Local 84 Lumber - Now this is a lumber yard. :cool:

[Indy]

Support your locals!

[Spicoli]

Having spent entirely too much money at Lowes over the last 5 months, I can tell you this:

1. They have just about every damn thing you could want to build a home. In one place, and that rocks.

2. Lumber. Generally overpriced and quality suffers too, but its closer than any other lumber yards .

3. Appliances. Even at their best prices, my local HHGregg kicks their butt all over the place.

4. People. They are mostly nice, but mostly not real bright. Bob in Plumbing is always in a good mood, and Paula in Cabinets will take 10% off anything if you just ask her. And oh yeah - there are absolutley NO good looking women at Lowes. None.

5. Plumbing - nice selection, real good prices, from what i have experienced.

6. Electrical. They have it all, but the people who work in electrical should be shot, then locked up.

7. Lawn & Garden: Hit or miss. Gotta know what you are looking for.

8. Tools. Their house brand called Kobalt is a nice alternative. Although Bosch & Makita rule. :dude:

9. paint: Do NOT buy paint there. Go to Sherwin Williams.

home Depot? Sucks.


Menards? :lol: Like the IRL, they miss on all targets.

[chop456]

Lowe's self-service checkout lanes are almost never open.

Menard's = :thumdown:

John Menard - Renaissance Man (http://www.milwaukeemagazine.com/currentIssue/full_feature_story.asp?NewMessageID=13642)


Bropst recounts horror stories of how other employees were handled.

One involved a North Dakota Menards store manager. The manager’s wife had triplets that came early and required special attention at the University of Minnesota Medical Center. The manager spent a small fortune on plane fare commuting back and forth. He still worked 35 to 40 hours, but his contract required a minimum of 55 a week, so his weekly pay dropped from $1,000 to $500 or $600, Bropst says. “Two of the babies didn’t make it, and John (Menard) fined him $2,000 [out of his bonus] because he had to bury two of his kids and didn’t put in 55 hours those two weeks.”

• In 1994, Wisconsin obtained a civil judgment against Menards for the unlicensed transportation and disposal of ash produced by incinerating CCA-treated lumber. Wood treated with CCA contains chromium, copper and arsenic – a known carcinogen. It is considered hazardous waste and requires proper disposal in a licensed landfill. The company was fined $160,000.

• In 1997, John Menard was caught using his own pickup truck to haul plastic bags filled with chromium and arsenic-laden wood ash to his own home for disposal along with his household trash. Menard pleaded no contest to felony and misdemeanor charges involving records violations, unlawful transportation and improper disposal of hazardous waste. Menard and his company were fined $1.7 million for 21 violations.

• In 2003, the Minnesota attorney general charged that Menards manufactured and sold arsenic-tainted mulch in packaging labeled “ideal for playgrounds and for animal bedding.” Warning labels from the CCA-treated wood were found in the mulch. The EPA recommends that CCA-treated wood not be converted into mulch. The case is still pending.

• In 2005, Menards agreed to a $2 million fine after Wisconsin DNR officials found a floor drain in a company shop that they believed was used to dump paint, solvents, oil and other waste into a lagoon that fed into a tributary of the Chippewa River. The sanction broke the previous record fine of $1.7 million set by Menard in 1997.

[KLang]

I prefer the product mix at Lowes. I'm more likely to find exactly what I am looking for there. Unfortunatly for me HD is much closer so I usually shop there first.

[Indy]

In 2004, Cheryl Vara was fired from the job she’d held at Menards for nearly a decade after she reported OSHA violations. (See “Whistleblower,” NUVO cover story, Dec. 15, 2004, www.nuvo.net/archive/2004/12/15/whistleblower.html)
The mother of two was using her job at Menards to support the family while her husband pursued his college degree. But when two employees, including a 70-year-old gentleman who suffered a broken back, were injured on a faulty scaffolding system Menards used for stocking shelves and her store managers refused to do anything about it, in her view trying to cover up the accidents, Vara reported both incidents to OSHA. An investigator was sent out, the store was cited and fined for the faulty scaffolding and Vara was fired.

Cheryl Vara, pictured here with her husband Sergio, maintains she was fired for being a whistleblower.
Since then, Vara has continued to maintain that she was fired for reporting the OSHA violations. And she won her case when Menards disputed her Unemployment Benefits Claim and the judge ruled in her favor. She also felt she won when, after a lengthy and thorough investigation, the Department of Labor found that she had indeed been wrongfully terminated for reporting the OSHA violations.

http://www.nuvo.net/archive/2006/05/17/blowing_off_the_whistleblowers.html

That is one local case where Menard's behaved hideously. People were getting hurt, and the knee-jerk reaction was to cover it up rather than fixing it. Menard's is also well know for refusing to hire former union employees.

The consensus among some around here is that Menard deserved Larry Curry.

[extramundane]

9. paint: Do NOT buy paint there. Go to Sherwin Williams.


True dat. They've got that line that covers in one coat, even if you're painting white over dayglo orange, dries really quick and doesn't put out fumes (though that may kill the fun for some people).

[Sean O'Gorman]

I'm pretty sure that just about everyone on this forum (excluding Cork and ferrarigod) make more money than 99% of Menards employees, including executive management.

[Spicoli]

True dat. They've got that line that covers in one coat, even if you're painting white over dayglo orange, dries really quick and doesn't put out fumes (though that may kill the fun for some people).

I have been a S/W guy for years. One of the few things I can manage NOT to **** up is painting, so I have pretty much repainted the entire house over the last 4 years. They guys there are very helpful, and while it does cost a bit more than the piss-gravy @ Lowes/etc, its really worth it. Their ProClassic trim paint is awesome, as is the new Duration line.

[Sean Malone]

I have been a S/W guy for years. One of the few things I can manage NOT to **** up is painting, so I have pretty much repainted the entire house over the last 4 years. They guys there are very helpful, and while it does cost a bit more than the piss-gravy @ Lowes/etc, its really worth it. Their ProClassic trim paint is awesome, as is the new Duration line.

Do you pick out the colors too? :)

[jonovision_man]

Thanks guys... :) Sounds like worth checking out... at least until the new Rona opens up! :D

jono

[diamond dave]

Yeah, their radial arm saws come in pink and 'floral'.



:gomer:

I bet you're wearing a pink "floral" moo moo :gomer: :tony:

John Menard is an %#*& of a human being.
and I vowed to never $hop at his stores, when he hosed over Memo Gidley.
(although I didn't want Memo in the earl);)
but...
in my 'hood. Menards beats up the competition (lowe's/HD) on EVERTHING!
plus they've been upgrading/redoing their stores, which has brought them up to the competitions stores

[Andrew Longman]

A single great advantage of HD in the early days was they hired a lot of the local contractors they put out of business to work in the stores. Back in the mid 90s they guy helping you find the right part could also tell you how to use it and often ran classes in how to build a deck, etc.

From a price and service perspective it really was a better value proposition than your local hardware guy.

Then they expanded so much and so fast that anyone with dodgey employment papers and minimally acceptable hygene could get a job at HD

Then Lowes comes along with better lit and organized stores and they clean HDs clock.

My experience is if I want a reasoned answer to my question I go talk to Gene at the Frenchtown Hardware Store. But he doesn't have everything and his prices are up there so I will judiciously go to Lowes. I will not go to HD because I have gone ther far too many times for stuff as simple as light bulbs only to find they don't stock it or are out of stock.

BTW on another thread I described a very positive experience I had with Lowes on how they handled a suck ass dishwasher they sold me.

[Sean Malone]

I bet you're wearing a pink "floral" moo moo :gomer: :tony:



Stalker!

[extramundane]

John Menard is an %#*& of a human being.
and I vowed to never $hop at his stores, when he hosed over Memo Gidley.
(although I didn't want Memo in the earl);)
but...
in my 'hood. Menards beats up the competition (lowe's/HD) on EVERTHING!
plus they've been upgrading/redoing their stores, which has brought them up to the competitions stores

When my brother moved to Indeeyanner last year, he told me that nothing increased his appreciation for Lowe's like a trip to Menards. I believe the word "craphole" figured prominently in his description of the place.

[Charles Bronson]

Menard's is also well know for refusing to hire former union employees.


Good for them, I think I'll start shopping there.

[Spicoli]

Good for them, I think I'll start shopping there.

Wow. 2 posts and you have established yourself as a complete axxgrinder.

Charles Bronson. :lol:

[Sean O'Gorman]

Best second post ever?

[Indy]

Good for them, I think I'll start shopping there.

Yeah, I agree. Judgmental and anti-family is a good way to be. **** 'em.

[mapguy]

I, um, work for Lowe's. I am a Fashion Bath/Plumbing Specialist. Although, unofficially, I am known as the Plumbing Pimp-Daddy. There are a lot of ex Depot guys working at my store. For a reason. One of them being that Depot doesn't give employee discounts. We do.


And oh yeah - there are absolutley NO good looking women at Lowes. None.



You obviously haven't been to my store. We gots ourselves lots o'talent. :D Especially our HR Manager.

Lowe's layout was designed by women. Depot's by contractors. Most major purchases, at least in my department, are heavily influenced by women. Just last week this couple came in and the guy wanted to buy a corner Jacuzzi for $998. Wife thought it was too dull looking. So I showed her a few ones we could order and she settled on a $3500 Laurel Mountain whirlpool tub. Cha-ching! Nice little spiff for me!

Lowe's, for the most part, have a lot of people who know what they are talking about, like me. :gomer: Most departments have two Specialists who are hired because they have some background in that specific area. They also pay us a lot more than a normal schlub. Lots. Plus we get bonuses if our department beats it's monthly and quarterly budgets. As for the rest of the employees it is a hit or miss. There may be quite a few morons that work at my store but there are exponentially more moronic customers. I get a few of them every day. More on weekends.

Things I don't like? The shiftwork. The store manager. The lack of staffing.

[Sean O'Gorman]

http://www.rr-ax.com/bbs/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=6317&posts=7&start=1

This subject came up at another forum I'm at, they don't seem to have similar experiences. :p

[KLang]

Lowe's, for the most part, have a lot of people who know what they are talking about, like me. :gomer: Most departments have two Specialists who are hired because they have some background in that specific area.

How does a customer know who the Specialists are? Different name tags or something?

[mapguy]

How does a customer know who the Specialists are? Different name tags or something?

Yup. The schlubs have "Customer Service Associate" on theirs and the Specialist has "<Department Name> Sales Specialist".

[KLang]

Yup. The schlubs have "Customer Service Associate" on theirs and the Specialist has "<Department Name> Sales Specialist".

Thanks, good to know. :thumbup:
I try to research stuff myself ahead of time but it isn't always possible.

[Spicoli]

I, um, work for Lowe's. I am a Fashion Bath/Plumbing Specialist. Although, unofficially, I am known as the Plumbing Pimp-Daddy. There are a lot of ex Depot guys working at my store. For a reason. One of them being that Depot doesn't give employee discounts. We do.




You obviously haven't been to my store. We gots ourselves lots o'talent. :D Especially our HR Manager.

Lowe's layout was designed by women. Depot's by contractors. Most major purchases, at least in my department, are heavily influenced by women. Just last week this couple came in and the guy wanted to buy a corner Jacuzzi for $998. Wife thought it was too dull looking. So I showed her a few ones we could order and she settled on a $3500 Laurel Mountain whirlpool tub. Cha-ching! Nice little spiff for me!

Lowe's, for the most part, have a lot of people who know what they are talking about, like me. :gomer: Most departments have two Specialists who are hired because they have some background in that specific area. They also pay us a lot more than a normal schlub. Lots. Plus we get bonuses if our department beats it's monthly and quarterly budgets. As for the rest of the employees it is a hit or miss. There may be quite a few morons that work at my store but there are exponentially more moronic customers. I get a few of them every day. More on weekends.

Things I don't like? The shiftwork. The store manager. The lack of staffing.

I googled "lowe's hottie" and this is what i got: :D

http://www.insidesocal.com/outinhollywood/espn_hottie.jpg

http://www.insidesocal.com/outinhollywood/espn_hottie.jpg