Massive Fail at Lowes Yesterday

[Hermann]

Yesterday the Lady Friend and I went to Lowes for shelf brackets and wood to make painted shelfs.

First the shelf brackets. The ones Karen (her real name) wanted were supposed to have 18 in stock. She wanted 12. After the only helpful employed gave up trying to find the extra box with 12 brackets, she snagged the area manager. He spent 20 minutes looking for the extra box of 12. Another computer inventory malfarktion. Either that or stolen. He arranged for a dozen to arrive today and to hold them for her. More on that later.

Now the wood for the shelves. Went to the Cust Service in that area and asked for assistance. Noticed 4 people standing around doing nothing. Went to the wood to wait for someone to cut it for us. 10 minutes later I went back to the CS desk and again asked for assistance. Same four people standing around doing nothing. Went back to the wood cutting area. Another 10 minutes pass and still no help. Karen asked the Cust Service if there was a problem. She had no answer. Karen then proceeded to walk to the middle of the store and at the top of her lungs screamed is there anyone one here who can cut wood. Likety split a floor manager up front came over and asked what the problem was. The floor manager said the only person trained and cleared to cut wood quit earlier in the day. Apparently the CS folks didn't even realize the wood cutter quit several hours earlier. Is it ever going to get better. The clueless leading the clueless. We spent nearly an hour there and came away empty.

 

[brianl703]

Is it ever going to get better.

Nope.

 

[CKN]

I'm sure the OP feels better venting his experience. I on the other hand find my Lowes very well run and always have people there to help you. These Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, Auto Zone, etc. are all area specific and serve no other purpose than to serve
as someone blowing off steam.
From a safety standpoint it makes perfect sense for a few to be train on how to use the saw. It's an insurance thing.

 

[Hermann]

I'm sure the OP feels better venting his experience. I on the other hand find my Lowes very well run and always have people there to help you. These Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, Auto Zone, etc. are all area specific and serve no other purpose than to serve
as someone blowing off steam.
From a safety standpoint it makes perfect sense for a few to be train on how to use the saw. It's an insurance thing.

Karen was so upset at being ignored she stood next to Customer service shaking uncontrollably and I had to comfort her as she was on the verge of a breakdown. Her and myself are getting tired of being treated this way just because we are senior citizens.

 

[CKN]

Karen was so upset at being ignored she stood next to Customer service shaking uncontrollably and I had to comfort her as she was on the verge of a breakdown. Her and myself are getting tired of being treated this way just because we are senior citizens.

I am a Senior Citizen too. (all though I don't relate to those who play the Senior Citizen Card). They were having an off day. It would have been the same if you were in your 30's.

 

[brianl703]

They were having an off day.

Some folks seem to be having an off decade or century.

 

[nomas]

It had NOTHING to do with your age .

 

[RooflessVW]

Karen was so upset at being ignored she stood next to Customer service shaking uncontrollably and I had to comfort her as she was on the verge of a breakdown. Her and myself are getting tired of being treated this way just because we are senior citizens.

Hmm

 

[CarDoc66]

This is the world we live on folks….,I can sympathize with your frustration. I had a similar incident at “Hole Depot” waiting almost 45 minutes for an associate to climb a ladder and get something off the top shelf.
I moved the ladder from another isle and got it myself just as a manager comes by. She proceeded to scream at me and I just ignored her and went to the self checkout.
I’m tired of bad service when I’m trying to hand them my hard earned money.

 

[Hermann]

This is the world we live on folks….,I can sympathize with your frustration. I had a similar incident at “Hole Depot” waiting almost 45 minutes for an associate to climb a ladder and get something off the top shelf.
I moved the ladder from another isle and got it myself just as a manager comes by. She proceeded to scream at me and I just ignored her and went to the self checkout.
I’m tired of bad service when I’m trying to hand them my hard earned money.

Exactly. Karen would have spent over $200 if she could of.

 

[Hermann]

It had NOTHING to do with your age .

Don't be so sure about that. Elder discrimination is very real everywhere.

 

[Leo99]

This is why I order so much stuff from Amazon. I tired of the incompetency years ago.

 

[demarpaint]

Typical, you should try shopping at HD in Valley Stream or Elmont.

 

[Jason2007]

That is a clear failure of management

 

[Oillover]

Don't be so sure about that. Elder discrimination is very real everywhere.

If it's not age discrimiation it's gender (or lack thereof), color, height, weight etc.

At the end of the day, the staff were shortstaffed.
Nothing less and nothing more.

 

[BHopkins]

Sorry to hear of your bad experience at Lowes. Inventory issues can be such a hassle. It would be nice to think that in this day and age, a store could manage inventory better than that. But, as you point out, things happen. But it sounds like the employees put a good effort into trying to help you find them.

It is unfortunate that you local Lowes had only one person trained on the saw. This sounds like a little of a management failure. Hopefully they learn from the experience.

I don't get the claim that it has to do with being a senior citizen, though. I also fit in the senior citizen category. I have never felt that I get poor customer service because of my age. If anything, sometimes I am humored by how I get special treatment just because of my age. It's great to see that there is good in the world, but I don't feel I need any special treatment, just because of my age.

I had a Lowes experience yesterday too. I was browsing the light bulb options to find an LED replacement for a PAR 20 halogen. A Lowes employee came up to me and asked if I needed help. This young lady assisted me in looking for the right bulb.

 

[TMoto]

I get it and have been in situations where I'm extremely frustrated but it helps to put things in perspective. I've had a really ****ty last couple years, one thing after another, but I tell myself in these types of situations that if this is the worst that happens today, we're going to be alright.

 

[nomas]

Don't be so sure about that. Elder discrimination is very real everywhere.

Obviously it happens . I'm not convinced it was the reason for his poor service in this situation .

 

[Dave Hess]

This is the world we live on folks….,I can sympathize with your frustration. I had a similar incident at “Hole Depot” waiting almost 45 minutes for an associate to climb a ladder and get something off the top shelf.
I moved the ladder from another isle and got it myself just as a manager comes by. She proceeded to scream at me and I just ignored her and went to the self checkout.
I’m tired of bad service when I’m trying to hand them my hard earned money.

Yep. That’s why I buy 90% of what I need on Amazon.

 

[andrew_j]

I just order stuff and do curbside pickup. They let me know if out and reserve it for you.

Memorial Day weekend mulch dropped from $6 to $2/bag. Reserved 25 when 1000 in stock. We needed two more same day at night. All gone despite showing 97 in stock. I noticed a Jeep pickup with trailer loading the balance.