Just wanna say Lowe’s is the worst!

[HomesteaderWife]

Such a shame to see this kind of experience. But I will say this - it has to do with people's work ethic, not the business as a whole. Don't let the behavior of few impact the opinion of all. I bet there are some fine Lowes workers out there who do their best to help people. But yes, as we can, support those local hardware and feed stores

 

[Wolfie2]

Our local Lowe's store is pretty good @ helping load stuff. I get help a lot with heavy and bulky items that I think I cannot manage by myself. I recently bought 12, 24"x24"x 3" cement pads to go under my garden shed. Darned things weighed about 80 Lbs each. I asked for help as they were still inside the fenced area and I Darned sure didn't want to tote each one 100 ft to my truck. Guy brought "em out on the pallet with a fork truck and loaded the whole thing into my truck and started to drive away. I let him know there were more than 12 on the pallet. He just shrugged and drove away. Told another employee who was in the vicinity and he did the same. So I got a 3 freebees.

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

Our local Lowe's store is pretty good @ helping load stuff. I get help a lot with heavy and bulky items that I think I cannot manage by myself. I recently bought 12, 24"x24"x 3" cement pads to go under my garden shed. Darned things weighed about 80 Lbs each. I asked for help as they were still inside the fenced area and I Darned sure didn't want to tote each one 100 ft to my truck. Guy brought "em out on the pallet with a fork truck and loaded the whole thing into my truck and started to drive away. I let him know there were more than 12 on the pallet. He just shrugged and drove away. Told another employee who was in the vicinity and he did the same. So I got a 3 freebees.

Loving this "great resignation" / to-h*ll-with-the-employer period of American History. What a ride.

 

[gtaus]

I know this is an old thread, but it popped up and caught my eye. I sympathize with the OP, but I suspect it's not so much the store but rather the management and employees working there. FWIW, I buy all my feed at local stores where they will load it into the car/trailer for me. I'm an (older) guy, so I don't mind having some 20 something strong back young man load up the order for me. When I get home, I'll have to unload it by myself. But I know which of my local stores will help with load out, so I take advantage of that service. I know some people who need that carryout job, and I like to keep them employed in my own small way.

But speaking of the worst stores, I think WalMart is on top of my list. Not only did they not pay their checkout people very well, but now they have basically replaced all of them with self checkout machines. I hear lots of people are pretending to scan items but just bagging them up. Since nobody is there to check at the self checkout, it's on the honor system. A few months ago Dear Wife was using the WalMart self checkout and her total came out with about an additional $45 worth of items she had not purchased. Evidently, the person before her scanned the items, bagged them up, and left the store without paying. WalMart corrected the overcharge, but someone left the store with $45 of unpaid goods. We all pay for theft as the expense is passed on to the customers, so it's not like WalMart is losing the money. And at our local WalMart, you will never find anyone to help carryout anything. I guess the only thing worse than a bad employee, is no employee at all. End of mini rant....

 

[Secondof9]

Well, I can't resist adding my experience from a while back:

One morning I went to a big box home improvement store (Lowe’s) to get mortar mix for the cement board seams in my shower. After wandering around the store, mostly near the cement board display trying to find the mortar appropriate to it, I gave up and started looking for an employee to ask. When I located an employee here is the actual conversation that ensued (no embellishments or exaggeration I promise!):

Me: can you tell me where the mortar is located to use with Hardiebacker cement board and maybe what kind is recommended?

Employee #1: What???

Me: (repeat the above)

Employee #1: What kind of party are you having? What is it?

Me: Not party…Hardiebacker. It’s cement board.

Employee #1: So, you’re building a fence? (But now is consulting her handheld device.)

Me: No, I’m using the cement board in redoing my shower. I need mortar for the seams and want to know where it is in the store.

Employee #1: What are you looking for?

Me: Mortar to use with Hardiebacker.

Employee #1: So, what letter does it start with?

Me: Hardiebacker is “H” and mortar is “M”.

Employee #1: (still looking at handheld device) so does “mortar” end in “t-a-r”?

Me: Yes. Where is it located?

Employee #1: Ummmmmmm.

Me: Would it be better if I went up to Customer Service and asked there?

Employee #1: Yeah, ‘cuz I don’t understand…….

Me: (at Customer Service) can you tell me where the mortar is located to use with Hardiebacker cement board and maybe what kind is recommended?

Employee #2: What is it you want?

Me: (repeat question for 4th time)

Employee #2: What do you want to do with it?

Me: It’s cement board for my shower. I need mortar for the seams and want to know where it is in the store and maybe what kind would be best.

Employee #2: Just a minute, I’ll call someone.

**She does and the nice man actually knew what I was talking about and had an ANSWER! Yay! Fortunately, I found intense humor in all this.

 

[Isadora]

Well, I can't resist adding my experience from a while back:

One morning I went to a big box home improvement store (Lowe’s) to get mortar mix for the cement board seams in my shower. After wandering around the store, mostly near the cement board display trying to find the mortar appropriate to it, I gave up and started looking for an employee to ask. When I located an employee here is the actual conversation that ensued (no embellishments or exaggeration I promise!):

Me: can you tell me where the mortar is located to use with Hardiebacker cement board and maybe what kind is recommended?

Employee #1: What???

Me: (repeat the above)

Employee #1: What kind of party are you having? What is it?

Me: Not party…Hardiebacker. It’s cement board.

Employee #1: So, you’re building a fence? (But now is consulting her handheld device.)

Me: No, I’m using the cement board in redoing my shower. I need mortar for the seams and want to know where it is in the store.

Employee #1: What are you looking for?

Me: Mortar to use with Hardiebacker.

Employee #1: So, what letter does it start with?

Me: Hardiebacker is “H” and mortar is “M”.

Employee #1: (still looking at handheld device) so does “mortar” end in “t-a-r”?

Me: Yes. Where is it located?

Employee #1: Ummmmmmm.

Me: Would it be better if I went up to Customer Service and asked there?

Employee #1: Yeah, ‘cuz I don’t understand…….

Me: (at Customer Service) can you tell me where the mortar is located to use with Hardiebacker cement board and maybe what kind is recommended?

Employee #2: What is it you want?

Me: (repeat question for 4th time)

Employee #2: What do you want to do with it?

Me: It’s cement board for my shower. I need mortar for the seams and want to know where it is in the store and maybe what kind would be best.

Employee #2: Just a minute, I’ll call someone.

**She does and the nice man actually knew what I was talking about and had an ANSWER! Yay! Fortunately, I found intense humor in all this.

That is a painful story. Glad you were able to find humor in it

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Well, I can't resist adding my experience from a while back:

One morning I went to a big box home improvement store (Lowe’s) to get mortar mix for the cement board seams in my shower. After wandering around the store, mostly near the cement board display trying to find the mortar appropriate to it, I gave up and started looking for an employee to ask. When I located an employee here is the actual conversation that ensued (no embellishments or exaggeration I promise!):

Me: can you tell me where the mortar is located to use with Hardiebacker cement board and maybe what kind is recommended?

Employee #1: What???

Me: (repeat the above)

Employee #1: What kind of party are you having? What is it?

Me: Not party…Hardiebacker. It’s cement board.

Employee #1: So, you’re building a fence? (But now is consulting her handheld device.)

Me: No, I’m using the cement board in redoing my shower. I need mortar for the seams and want to know where it is in the store.

Employee #1: What are you looking for?

Me: Mortar to use with Hardiebacker.

Employee #1: So, what letter does it start with?

Me: Hardiebacker is “H” and mortar is “M”.

Employee #1: (still looking at handheld device) so does “mortar” end in “t-a-r”?

Me: Yes. Where is it located?

Employee #1: Ummmmmmm.

Me: Would it be better if I went up to Customer Service and asked there?

Employee #1: Yeah, ‘cuz I don’t understand…….

Me: (at Customer Service) can you tell me where the mortar is located to use with Hardiebacker cement board and maybe what kind is recommended?

Employee #2: What is it you want?

Me: (repeat question for 4th time)

Employee #2: What do you want to do with it?

Me: It’s cement board for my shower. I need mortar for the seams and want to know where it is in the store and maybe what kind would be best.

Employee #2: Just a minute, I’ll call someone.

**She does and the nice man actually knew what I was talking about and had an ANSWER! Yay! Fortunately, I found intense humor in all this.

It's like that King of the Hill episode where Hank goes to the Mega-Lo-Mart
"I'm looking for a tap and dye" (I'm probably spelling that wrong)
"What is it you're trying to do?"
"I'm trying to find a tap and dye!"
"OK...tap and dye...but what are you trying to do?"

 

[avjudge]

It's like that King of the Hill episode where Hank goes to the Mega-Lo-Mart
"I'm looking for a tap and dye" (I'm probably spelling that wrong)
"What is it you're trying to do?"
"I'm trying to find a tap and dye!"
"OK...tap and dye...but what are you trying to do?"

LOL - you'd be that employee! It's "tap and die" set.

Though I have to admit I have just a vague idea of what it is (though I'm pretty sure it has to do with cutting threads into something).

Here we go: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tap_and_die
and since we're talking about Lowe's,
https://www.lowes.com/pl/Tap-die-sets-Taps-dies-Hand-tools-Tools/4294857624

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

LOL - you'd be that employee! It's "tap and die" set.

Though I have to admit I have just a vague idea of what it is (though I'm pretty sure it has to do with cutting threads into something).

Here we go: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tap_and_die
and since we're talking about Lowe's,
https://www.lowes.com/pl/Tap-die-sets-Taps-dies-Hand-tools-Tools/4294857624

Annnd that's why I'm not allowed to go to Home Depot for my husband anymore

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

If you want an added challenge, try being a woman at a home improvement store. I'm pretty sure that's where the word "mansplaining" came from, like the time an employee tried to convince my mom that the product she needed didn't exist -- although she's used it countless times before.

Honestly though, I think Hawaii's Home Depot fails only at the national level. The local staff are really good -- sometimes surprisingly so. Lowes is another story.