screw Lowe's

[04SVT_COBRA]

I hate shopping there, the customer service is terrible. Always have to wait forever to get propane or paint. Sometimes I stand there at the stations and employees just walk by and keep on going. I have to break skulls and chase after them to get what I need.

Just out of curiosity, would you rather every single employee ask "Is there anything I can help you with?", or would you rather just ask for help when you need it?

As a retail worker, I cannot stand when I see a customer out of my peripheral who clearly needs help but refuses to ask for it. Not that I am trying to ignore or refuse help, I am just not always available to help. I will help a customer as long as I can, and give them the most honest advice possible even if that means not recommending our product, or even recommending someone else's product. However, if you are above even asking me for help and I have to do that too, well, **** you...

 

[J-Hem]

I hate shopping there, the customer service is terrible. Always have to wait forever to get propane or paint. Sometimes I stand there at the stations and employees just walk by and keep on going. I have to break skulls and chase after them to get what I need.

" If I have to come in there I'm crackin' skulls !":-D

 

[verbal]

yes and it is people like you that places like Lowes and HD have the policy they do. you are dishonest and the kind that expect to break the rules with impunity. congratulations you have made the list

Yes its dishonest and not the right thing to do but Lowes is not losing out here. Lowes will send the product back to the manufacturer and get reimbursed.

 

[Sapperstang]

I hate Lowes too but I have to agree that you are outside of their return policy. I did have a garden rake break that I bought from them and they gave me my money back over a year later. The product said 25 year guarantee and they honored it.

It's Lowes man. In that kind of case just take it back with no receipt, get a merch card and buy another.

In the case of outdoor power equipment they are pretty strict so not surprised OP.

 

[RDJ]

Yes its dishonest and not the right thing to do but Lowes is not losing out here. Lowes will send the product back to the manufacturer and get reimbursed.

so it is ok to lie and cheat as long as the company / person you are cheating can afford it? whatever happened to personal integrity?

 

[tistan]

it does BUT if you were that good of a customer you would have a personal relationship with the manager and he might have taken care of you. Places I do a lot of business with I make sure to develop a relationship with the manager or a couple of the sales folks. that way if I need a rule bent a little I can get it done.

the above being said however. I am not sure I would have treated you any different. youhad the thing for 6 months without starting it up to test it and see if it actually worked. by then the fault is yours and you should not even have bothered to take it back.

You are right it is partly my fault that I didn't try it out, but who the hell is going to put gas in a brand new engine and then let it sit over winter? The only people I have time to develop personal relations with is the cashier, the guy that keys the locks, and the plumbing guy because he knows where all the hard to find little fittings are. Other than that, I have my list and I get in and out as fast as I can. Usually when something is out of return policy but still under warranty, they store will at least offer to send it back to the manufacturer for the repair. I've had Best Buy send electronics back for warranty repair a few times.

 

[Mr. Mach-ete]

I bet it's something simple. Take the thing to a small engine repair shop, I bet they have it up and running in 30 minutes. They'll most likely charge you $40-$60 bucks, chalk it up as a minor loss, go till your garden!:rolling: Good luck with it.

 

[CobraBob]

For the record, Home Depot has the same policy. If the sale is over 90 days you have to contact the manufacturer. The days of Home Depot or Lowe's replacing an item that was purchased 6 months or even a year ago are gone. I believe, though, that the store manager can offer a replacement or discount if he chooses to do so. But that will cut into the store's profits and hurt the store's position. So it would definitely be the exception and not the rule. Costco, as mentioned above, has a more lenient return/replacement policy, but even they are moving to the same policies as Home Depot and Lowe's. I bought a Braun shaver there about 6 months ago. It isn't charging properly. I cannot return it to Costco. I have to deal directly with Braun which means being without a shaver for a couple of weeks if I choose to to send it in for repair/replacement. There was a time when Costco would replace the item no questions asked. It's now more about profit and less about exceptional customer service. I've accepted that fact and just live with it.

 

[01stallion]

Did you put gas in it......

 

[Draiter]

yes and it is people like you that places like Lowes and HD have the policy they do. you are dishonest and the kind that expect to break the rules with impunity. congratulations you have made the list

Yawn.... I have no problem sticking it to the big box stores....

 

[czwalga00gt]

Cry baby.

 

[tistan]

Since most people seem to think that I am being unreasonable, how is me asking for $130 problem to be fixed, in loo of my past and future business, any different than you walking into a car dealership and demanding thousands off the sticker or you will buy from their competitor? Everyone expects a car dealer to compensate them thousands of dollars to earn their business for a $30k car. All I want is for Lowe's to compensate my $130 to earn my $80-100k a year worth of business. For those that say compensating me will drive up the cost, I disagree. People like me that buy a lot of product keep the cost down for the customers, who only shop a couple times a month.

 

[RDJ]

Yawn.... I have no problem sticking it to the big box stores....

and you have no personal integrity .. they go hand in hand.

 

[Coiled03]

Since most people seem to think that I am being unreasonable, how is me asking for $130 problem to be fixed, in loo of my past and future business, any different than you walking into a car dealership and demanding thousands off the sticker or you will buy from their competitor? Everyone expects a car dealer to compensate them thousands of dollars to earn their business for a $30k car. All I want is for Lowe's to compensate my $130 to earn my $80-100k a year worth of business. For those that say compensating me will drive up the cost, I disagree. People like me that buy a lot of product keep the cost down for the customers, who only shop a couple times a month.

:dw:

Because none of us are walking into the dealership demanding a discount on the basis of our past or future business? We're not threatening to boycott a dealership for all eternity based on a one time deal. What part of that isn't getting through your head?

For some reason, you think the amount you spend there is actually significant to their bottom line, and entitles you to preferential treatment. It's probably just a drop in the bucket for that one store, much less the corporation.

 

[slidai]

This past weekend I got a grill from Lowes and when I got home, I found a 10% off coupon in the mail. I barrowed my sisters SUV to get the grill and a Honda mower I got from Home Depot the same day. Somewhere along the way, I lost the lowes receipt. I have no idea how. They wouldn't let me get the 10% difference back ($100) on a reprinted receipt. It had to be the original. Which was just silly. So I said ok. I purchased another grill right then and there for the discounted price. Once the purchase was complete, I turned right around and said I want to return the grill with the reprinted receipt. They did.

 

[ford_racer]

Since most people seem to think that I am being unreasonable, how is me asking for $130 problem to be fixed, in loo of my past and future business, any different than you walking into a car dealership and demanding thousands off the sticker or you will buy from their competitor? Everyone expects a car dealer to compensate them thousands of dollars to earn their business for a $30k car. All I want is for Lowe's to compensate my $130 to earn my $80-100k a year worth of business. For those that say compensating me will drive up the cost, I disagree. People like me that buy a lot of product keep the cost down for the customers, who only shop a couple times a month.

There's a difference between shopping around for a deal and costing a company money because of your negligence.

It's not Lowe's fault that the product doesn't run. They gave you 3 months to bring it back if it doesn't work so that they would deal with the manufacturer and make it easy for you to get a replacement, and you chose not to test the product then. It's out of their hands.

Who doesn't test something out right when they buy it anyways?

What you should do is send it back to the manufacturer and ask for a refund, then go and give a locally owned store your business. They could use that $80-100k a lot more than Home Depot.

 

[slidai]

Since most people seem to think that I am being unreasonable, how is me asking for $130 problem to be fixed, in loo of my past and future business, any different than you walking into a car dealership and demanding thousands off the sticker or you will buy from their competitor? Everyone expects a car dealer to compensate them thousands of dollars to earn their business for a $30k car. All I want is for Lowe's to compensate my $130 to earn my $80-100k a year worth of business. For those that say compensating me will drive up the cost, I disagree. People like me that buy a lot of product keep the cost down for the customers, who only shop a couple times a month.

The better analogy would be you buying a car and not using it for 6 years, then trying to get the dealer to replace it after you've waited double the original warranty period.

 

[wht93gted]

I was screwed in a similar fashion by Home Depot.

My parents bought me a garage door opener in June 2010. Since it was 1000 degrees all summer, I waited until the fall to install it. As I'm preparing to install, there's a section of instructions with measurements; minimum distance to this, to that, etc.

I realize that I don't have enough space between my door being open & my ceiling for the track to fit.

I hadn't unpacked anything aside from the instructions, so I close the box back up and call my parents to get the receipt; which turns out my dad lost.

So I head back to Home Depot where he bought it in the first place. They tell me "No problem, we can give you store credit without a receipt." I figured it was fine since I shop there all the time. Well, the lady hands me a store credit card for $135; when my Dad paid $192 for it.

I question the $60 discrepancy, and they tell me they can only give whatever amount the product last sold for. Apparently, they stopped selling the item in store, and the last time they sold it in-store, it was on sale for $135. HOWEVER (and this is the part that pisses me off), the door opener was STILL being sold on homedepot.com for the $192. I even pulled it up on my phone right there. They said "sorry, we don't match online prices".

That was it. I made a scene, was asked to leave, took my $135 card. I haven't shopped at home depot since. They even said if I bought it online for $192 and returned it to the store, they'd refund me the full price. It still seems sketchy to me; what they did.

I agree with the OP. Businesses gain customers and loyalty by making things right. It'd be pretty easy for Lowes to see if it was sitting outside for 6 months in the elements OR being stored in the shed for 6 months.

Usually, manufacturers will be pretty good about it though if you stomp and shout enough.

 

[ford_racer]

I was screwed in a similar fashion by Home Depot.

My parents bought me a garage door opener in June 2010. Since it was 1000 degrees all summer, I waited until the fall to install it. As I'm preparing to install, there's a section of instructions with measurements; minimum distance to this, to that, etc.

I realize that I don't have enough space between my door being open & my ceiling for the track to fit.

I hadn't unpacked anything aside from the instructions, so I close the box back up and call my parents to get the receipt; which turns out my dad lost.

So I head back to Home Depot where he bought it in the first place. They tell me "No problem, we can give you store credit without a receipt." I figured it was fine since I shop there all the time. Well, the lady hands me a store credit card for $135; when my Dad paid $192 for it.

I question the $60 discrepancy, and they tell me they can only give whatever amount the product last sold for. Apparently, they stopped selling the item in store, and the last time they sold it in-store, it was on sale for $135. HOWEVER (and this is the part that pisses me off), the door opener was STILL being sold on homedepot.com for the $192. I even pulled it up on my phone right there. They said "sorry, we don't match online prices".

That was it. I made a scene, was asked to leave, took my $135 card. I haven't shopped at home depot since. They even said if I bought it online for $192 and returned it to the store, they'd refund me the full price. It still seems sketchy to me; what they did.

I agree with the OP. Businesses gain customers and loyalty by making things right. It'd be pretty easy for Lowes to see if it was sitting outside for 6 months in the elements OR being stored in the shed for 6 months.

Usually, manufacturers will be pretty good about it though if you stomp and shout enough.

How are they supposed to know the person who bought it paid $192?

Jesus Christ people this shit isn't hard to understand.

 

[MissionMan]

How are they supposed to know the person who bought it paid $192?

bingo, my wife lost a receipt for jeans, brought them back and got store credit for the recent sale price of the jeans. I was there with her, we didn't complain because we were grateful enough for the store credit without being able to prove what we paid for them because we are logical people. :beer:

p.s. - HD nor Lowes has ever done me wrong.