Emailed Lowe’s CEO and got a quick response
While reading through my Google Reader feeds, I happened upon a post with Robert Niblock’s contact information. Robert is the ” First Vice Chairman, Chairman, President & CEO” of Lowe’s Corporation. I decided to email him.
But I wasn’t emailing to complain. Rather, I was emailing to praise Lowe’s. Here was my email, with some identifying information edited out:
Subject: Cheers to Lowe’s
I found your email via consumerist.com. I just wanted to say that I actually enjoy shopping at Lowe’s, specifically when compared to Home Depot. The stores are always clean and well laid out, the workers are helpful and courteous, and the prices are usually better. I just wish that Lowe’s was closer to us in Rockville, MD. The closest is in The Kentlands in Gaithersburg, MD, which is about x miles away. In comparison, the Home Depot is only about x miles away. Sadly, I must give them my business due to time constraints and the cost of the extra gas. I wish there was a closer, more convenient Lowe’s to the xxxxx zip code!
And just 9 minutes later, I got a response from ole’ Bob’s blackberry:
From: Niblock, Robert – Robert A
Micheal, thanks for your feedback. We will continue to try and get a store more convenient to your home. Take care.
————————–
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld
He actually spelled “Michael” wrong, but that’s ok. I can understand how his thumbs might be tired after probably receiving a few hundred emails already, thanks to The Consumerist. Honestly, I didn’t expect any email back, although I WAS hoping for a coupon (hint, hint). Looks like I will have to settle for my Home Depot for the time being until a Lowe’s is built closer to me.
In the meantime, consider getting a $50 Lowe’s gift card at Amazon for someone who would appreciate it.
I really do like shopping at Lowe’s, just like I said in my email. I’ve visited about 5 different Lowe’s across 4 states, and probably the same number of Home Depots, and the comparison is always the same between the two. But my father-in-law explain it to me that Lowe’s is more for professional contractors who know what they want, need fast access to it, and don’t tend to carry stuff around needlessly and drop it wherever they want. Home depot is, well, the opposite.
What are your thoughts on shopping at Lowe’s? What about Home Depot?
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Yep Lowe’s rocks! They eve have a military discount if you are active military, reserves, or retired. Just show your ID!
One time in Lowe’s service sucked. I started to walk out and shouted, “If I wanted to be ignored I’d go to Home Depot!” In seconds the manager was there and he corrected the staffing issue in that department.
It’s great to see a company where the employees take pride in their work and do not just feel they are here until their shift is over.
I just find the people at Lowes to be more informed and helpful than at Home Depot and overall it just feels like a better experience every time we shop at one. Based on my experience my preference is for Lowes over Home Depot
Always nice that a busy executive can find time to respond to customer email. Guess I’m spoiled that I have a Lowes 5 minutes away, and another 10 minutes away.
Wow – that’s very impressive. If only i can get MY boss to respond to messages that quickly 😉
i don’t think professional contractors use home depot or lowes, they go direct to specialized supply houses (plumbing suppliers, tile/flooring stores, lumber yards, etc)
I’m also a Lowe’s fan. Home Depot was actually created for contractors, while Lowe’s strategically decided to cater to everyday homeowners. That’s a big part of the reason why tons of homeowners prefer Lowe’s–especially women, who they actively court. I love that the CEO wrote you back, but I’m kind of surprised you didn’t receive any kind of special offer or discount.
I find it hard to find prices posted in Lowe’s, so I rarely go. Besides, I prefer to shop at locally-owned stores when possible.
You don’t ever need a coupon for a 10 % discount at Lowe’s. Here’s an insiders secret: every sales associate is authorized to give a 10% discount to any customer who says they saw it for less somewhere else (no documentation required) or who gives any other plausible reason.
I would rather shop at Home Depot any day, and they are conviently located directly across the street from the local Lowes. The help at HD is nicer, and they are there and not nearly as understaffed. I asked about a veteran’s discount on Memorial Day – they confirmed that they had one, but wouldn’t give it to me because I didn’t have my discharge papers on me. The discount would have been $2.00. Way to make friends and win customers. I won’t go there unless I absolutely can’t find it anywhere else. I would rather shop at Wal-Mart, and I hate that place.
Ann, I’m not sure if you’re saying Home Depot was better than Lowe’s or if Wal-Mart was better than all of them, but you still hate it. While I would rather shop at Lowe’s, I find myself at Home Depot most often because they’re 4 miles closer, sadly.
Dear President of LOWES,,,dude.
I have been very loyal to Lowes for years. Two years ago I redid two bathrooms, I deliberately went to LOWES instead of HOME DEPOT because of the great service and because you had a one year charge with 0% interest. I thought I could pay it off in 1-2 years…not expecting the interest rate to be excessive. I miss paid a wrong amount several months ago….today I received my bill. YOUR interest rate is 26.99%. I almost vomited.
In light of the terrible ecomony and the new credit card rates I felt you…LOWES….out of everyone would keep your credit card rates at least 10-15%. Im totally shocked and dissapointed…I want to pay off my bill totally…but at 26 % interest Im in real trouble….
You could really improve your integrity by having a standard low rate on your credit card debts to help people pay off their total bill………….What do you think? You were here once….step up to the plate and the right thing for your company.
Bring down your interert rates…..Keep you customer loyalty…or we will ALL go under.
sincerely….dude…..g
Im a Lowes install contractor.I had a detail job order the other day for an attic stair .well i made an appointment with the customer and went to the residence. The attic stair was a wood model he had and it was shakey.To my surprise the nuts on the side were covered with caps. I asked the homeowner for a screwdriver since we were in his garage . I then removed a cap exposing the nut. I removed a couple more caps while he tightened the step bolt nuts on only the last ladder section with 3 steps. I told him to try the steps now. The guy said i was a lifesaver and money saver.The 30inch wide special order would cost him over 350 plus install cost.Well i felt good about it til the next day I found out the person who was going to make the sale of the stair was angry with me cause i didnt measure and sell the job like i was there to do.Sir , this stair looked like it was steped on twice since installed. I told the employe’s in the install office.My job is a satisfied lowes customer and keeping them in your store. Believe me ,when this guy wants windows ,new doors and etc. he will be back .I would like to think my honesty and not lying had something to do with his return and possibly making a much larger order for this sales person.This is my 18th year self employed .I never had to lie to get a job.I will not lie for Lowes.
This is the email I sent him just moments ago.
Mr. Niblock:
My name is Retta and I opened a business account with your Baytown,
Tx. store on Garth Road 2 months ago. Since then I have spent around $4,000
and have paid it off. I went to your store to buy insulation for a bakery I
am opening. My husband told me how many rolls I needed, but I didn’t write
it down so I asked for assistance and was told Mike would help me. After
finding out where he was, I was dismissed by Mike 3 or 4 times without him
even asking what I needed. Then he helped someone with a forklift.
Afterward he then said he was too busy to help me. I have two people a man
and a woman I didn’t even know who saw the whole incident and stayed with me
until the end. The man found a paint person to help and he was very
helpful. He even loaded all the insulation in two trucks for me. At the
time my friend was not at the store with his truck, he came after the
incident and wanted to show Mike how to treat women, but I am not stooping
to Mike’s level. I was checking out at the customer expert center where
Mike supposedly is an expert. Certainly not at customer service. Mike then
asked me if we had a problem two or three times, the checkout lady remembers
this. I kept asking him to leave me alone. The two witnesses were still
there with me. Mike finally said Well, I guess we don’t have a problem,
threw his apron across the desk and said he was going to lunch. That is
when I told him “Now we have a problem.” I then asked the cashier for a
manager, preferably a woman, she said she had already called for one. Other
employees at that store told me he was a complete jerk to them and actually
encouraged me to talk to a manager. A lady manager came and I pointed out
Mike (who was going out the other door at the opposite end of the store
going to lunch, except he was running). He knew he did something wrong.
The lady manager gave me a discount and said I would get an apology from him
the next time I came to the store. The next time I came Mike wasn’t there
and an employee encouraged me to speak to Jerry, the Store Manager. He
wasn’t available so I called him and left a message. He returned my call,
said he was working on the issue and I would get an apology when I returned
to the store. Today I returned to the store to purchase something and saw
Mike. He stared at me for about 10 minutes, never apologized. Now if I
treated someone degrading and saw them I would immediately apologize. Then
I asked for Jerry. He was paged three times and never came. I tracked him
down to the breakroom and saw him sitting at a table, I asked an employee
to tell him I was here and would wait for him. He came out and told me he
never promised an apology and he said he would handle it. Unbelievable. I
then cancelled my business card by telephone and spoke with customer
service. We still have a credit card personally, but as soon as that is
paid off it will be cancelled also. I can’t shop anywhere that degrades
women. I then went to The Home Depot across the street and everyone in the
store greeted me, asked me if they could help and I actually accidently met
the store manager who introduced herself as Jessica and the store district
representative Rich. I didn’t know these people and they didn’t know me,
but if you need anyone to teach Jerry and Mike how to treat women, send them
across the street to The Home Depot.
The customer service person said you would handle this if you received
notice of it. I’m waiting and hoping they are correct.
I hope you can assist me in this so I don’t have to say anything to anyone I
know in the community if ever I am asked about your store.
Sincerely,
I waited ALL DAY for the delivery of my new Freezer and called at least three times when someone assured me they were still out delivering and that I was on the paper work and they would eventually show up. It is after 6:00 when I call back to see if they are still coming and am told NO they went home. I am on the schedule for tomorrow! Maybe they don’t care if they lie or whatever they have to do to put you off, but this is the third time I have bought appliances from these jerks and the LAST time I will work with their delivery dept.I realize things happen but this is EVERYTIME at Lowes!I think a little common thoughtfulness and a phone call earlier than 6:00 would do a lot for their customer service!!!!!!
My check was denied at lowes for 39.95 by Certegy. The personnel at the store get crappy and can’t answer any questions. They only say it isn’t Lowes fault. I call certegy and always get someone that I can only understand half of what they say. The best I can understand is I have a new account and I can only write (one) check a month. Its true I have a new account. I recently changed banks. There was $16,000 in the the account at the time. I have written over a million dollars in checks to Lowes in the past. Does Lowes no longer want my checks or business
I paid almost $200 extra to have such a horrible experience….
Thursday 11/14 my $900 dryer quits drying,, hmmm must be the element went out, guess I need to track one down and replace…
Wait a minute, I bought the extra 4 yr service plan… lets give them a call and save me the money and the headache (so I thought)… So the wife calls and they can’t get someone out until Tuesday 11/19… crap that’s 5 days of going to the laundry mat etc.. oh well, we will deal with it, everyone’s busy these days. Wife get’s a call 6 hours later from the actual people coming to check it out… they say, Sorry but we are very busy and can’t get out until Tuesday 11/26!!!! WHAT, almost 2 weeks??? Wife goes ahead and schedules and then informs me later that evening when I get home. I say, that is crap… when they sold me the service plan they told me- to call the number if I ever have a problem and they will be out asap and fix it etc…
So I make a call back to the service dept Friday morning 11/15… spoke with a gentleman and explained the situation… he agreed, crazy to have to wait 12 days just to get someone to look at it… put me on hold and made a few calls, when he returned he told me that “they should be out…, NO, let me re-phrase that.. They WILL be out on Tuesday 11/19 as originally scheduled” and they they were filing a complaint with the company, blah blah… I said fine, and he scheduled it for a morning appt and informed me that they would call me before they came etc..
So here comes Tuesday 11/19… wait til about noon… haven’t heard from anyone??? Let’s call the service dept again to follow up… I make the call and learn that the repair company supposedly ordered a part and will be out on 11/26 like they originally wanted (because they were busy)!! OK, Now I am mad… no phone call, sitting around waiting on them to come…. now they have wiggled there way around and got what was convenient for them.. I ask to speak with a Supervisor.. Lady gets on and basically tells me the same thing… I tell her that I never would have bought the dang extra service If I were told it would take a few weeks to get someone to come and look at it! She acted surprised that they haven’t even been out yet… I said, NO… they haven’t been and I think it’s crap they are now saying they have ordered a part without even making a visit! The lady told me that she would put in another complaint etc……… Hell man, I just want it fixed! I asked her if I can just get my money back for the “extra service” I bought and that I would just get online, find the heating element, overnight it and replace it myself! She said she could reimburse me a prorated amount blah blah… bunch of crap! She then said another Supervisor would be in contact within 2 business days…. REALLY??? This is the way to take care of a problem and satisfy a Customer…..
So, I got off the phone, found the part ($58) and am overnighting it so that I can get some clothes washed before traveling for Thanksgiving!
I’m a business owner and I would be totally embarrassed if one of my Supervisor’s took care of a Guest in such a way…. especially one that is having such a bad experience…. I would JDA (Just Do Anything) them!
So I will fix it myself sometime tomorrow!… but I am awful disappointed with this experience and I will share it with everyone I can! Hopefully someone with Lowe’s can take this experience and make some improvements in the Service area of your business and retain some of your current Customers when things go wrong!
I am very dissatisfied with you customer exchange policy. I purchased a Blackhawk compressor in mid 2014 on Amex Business card. Today the compressor failed and I went to the Lowes that I purchased it from with my monthly Amex statement for three summer months in ’14. The woman at the return counter was very polite and told me that the receipt records I needed were no longer on hand. What she could tell me by looking at her computer was that I did purchase a compressor but because I did not have a receipt I could not exchange the broken one. When I got home I called Lowes customer no care service department and talked to three different people that sang the same song (what loyal and dedicated employees).
Their pat answer is that it takes up to 5 days to search for the info and to email it back to you ( it does not take Lowes that long to open up a credit account for you).
Being a contractor it is important to know who your business partners are that are willing to help and work with you, Lowes is not one of mine. My son told me the big orange colored stores are much more user friendly. So I went there and purchased a new compressor.
Lowes will no longer be a factor in my business for supplies or Memorial Day flowers.
I am a former employee of the #1008 store in Clinton Twp. MI (Hall Rd). Let’s just say that after working there and witnessing what really goes on behind the scenes, I will never shop there again (or at any Lowe’s) for that matter!! That is a real shame, as I used to spend a lot of money there. Remember folks, LOWES BLOWS!!!!! Avoid that place like the plague!
I had a complete kitchen renovation started in 2014. I paid in full in August 2014, the work didn’t start until October 2014 (after I called about). It’s still not finished (6 months later), with a LOT of problems with the contractor who actually damaged our new countertop and sink and left the job unfinished/inferior work. We now have a second contractor who is good, but the work still isn’t finished. We have had to order new cabinet doors 5 or 6 times (they keep coming damaged). It has been a complete nightmare. This ruined what should have been a good experience for us. We spent almost $19,000 on this renovation. The whole project was handled horribly from the beginning. I believe we should be reimbursed quite a bit of money for everything. I cannot possibly write down everything that went wrong in the past 6 months.
I always shop at Lowes, but I am wondering why you do not have any discounts for senior citizens. We are usually home owners and need lots of fix me uppers. A 10% discount would be very appreciated.
DEAR MR ROBERT NIBLOCK. WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF PROBLEMS WITH LOWE’S TO FINISH OUR KITCHEN. THEY STARTED ON JANAUARY 5, 2015 AND WAS TO BE DONE JANAUARY 9, 2015. MESS UP OUR CEILINGS. AND WON’T FIX THE PROBLEM THEY MADE.
THEY DID CUT OUR WALL OFF TWO TIMES BECAUSE THEY DID NOT MEASURE RIGHT. AND NOW WANT US TO PAY TO HAVE THE PROBLEM FIXES. COULD YOU PLEASE HELP US.
I am spending nearly 45K for kitchen renovation, bamboo floor, appliances, and new windows with Lowes.
The window installer did an outstanding job, finishing in one day. However, the kitchen cabinet installer (the best installer Lowes told me) did not know what he is doing.
He did the measurement incorrectly so the cabinet were ordered with the wrong sizes (after 4 weeks of waiting). Lowes reordered them and I have to wait for another 4 weeks for the cabinets to arrive. Seem like Lowes can not control their contractors (installers) and there is no accountability from Lowes nor the installer for the mess.
I am waiting to hear from the store manager before sending an email to Mr. Niblock and Lowes executive team.
Thinking about calling American Express to cancel the charge
I order A DOOR 2MONTHS AGO JUST GOT IT PUT IN.NO ONE KNOWNS WHAT THEY ARE DOING THERE.I CALLED SO MANY TIMES I WILL NEVER GET ANYTHING FROM THIS STORE AGIAN.IN ARNOLD MO.THE GUY THAT CAME WAS NOT FRIELY AT ALL.I GUESS HE WAS UP SET THAT I HAD TO KEEP CALLING THEM.VERY UN HAPPY PERSON
Online assistance was phenominal BUT dealing with the local store was a disaster. I was told by numerous people that the store manager would be contacting me & I am still waiting. How do you expect to compete with Fleet Farm, Menards & Ace when you do not follow thru with customer service?!
John Nieman, because all of those businesses you named are even worse about follow through.
hi mr Niblock,In gug of 2015 i have gotton a new washer and dryer stackable.i could not use this machine for 4months due to it not working.i have had 3 service man here to find the problem.after 4months they found the problem,i have contacted the store on this and they said that they would make it right by me.i now get interest on my bill for over a 100.00.unit.i dont feel i should have to pay this interest due to not beable to use this machine for 4 months,i have always payed 100.00 a month even when i could not use it.i love to go to lowes i have brought all my washers and frig from your store.i feel that they could a least remove the interest off my payment .due to have to go to laundry mat till it got fixed.i now owe 728.00.when sending 100.00 for payment only 34.00 goes for my payment.i dont feel that this is fair to me after all i went though. thank you Roberta