I am so mad at Lowes right now..

[disneysnowflake]

My elderly parents drove an hour to a Lowes on Tuesday. My mom wanted to special order wall border from the special order books they have in their wallpaper/paint dept.

My mom chose the border. The woman at Lowes said payment needed to be up front. There was a form filled out. My parents paid around $80 with a check for the border.

Several hours later, after my parents were back home, Lowes called to say the wall border was no longer available. My parents would have to drive 2 hours roundtrip to pick up their check. The woman who originally helped them special order said the manager would have the check and to just stop at the service desk to pick up their check.

The next day my parents drove back to Lowes. They were told they couldn't have the check back because it was cashed, and since it's a check they can't get their money back for 2 weeks. The border was not in stock. Nothing was even ordered, so why did they cash the check?

The manager told them once they write a check to Lowes, even for a special order that is not available, they gave permission to Lowes to cash the check.
They can't give the check back since it was cashed. They also can't get a refund for 2 weeks. Lowes gets to keep the money for 2 weeks for absolutely nothing.

My dad asked why he was told to drive back over to pick up the check. The manager told him that it's his decision what happens to the check, not the girl in the wallpaper department.

Is this the way it usually works with stores?

 

[WhatATreat]

OMG! I am so mad for your parents. I don't know if this is how things usually work, but I have to say the wallpaper person should have checked to make sure they could get the border before she wrote it up and took a check.

 

[ducklite]

Please write a letter to Lowes Corporate and let them know what happened. This is absolutely inexcusable! Witht he cost of gas these days, your parents should at least be given a gift card to compensate them for what truly amounts to out of pocket expenses.

Anne

 

[java]

I would be calling that manager. How dare he talk to them like that. And if the wallpaper "girl" doesn't have the authority to tell them to come pick up the check then why did she call. And yes what did they need the $ for they didn't order anything? BAD customer service. Plus they should have told your parents they would mail it back in the first place. It was their mistake in the first place for taking an order for something that is no longer available. I would ask for some kind of reimbursement for their gas(at least a % off coupon or something!)
Sometimes a manager may need to hear what he could do to make it right. Give him some options that would be acceptable to your parents. They wasted their time, gas and money.

 

[Erin1700]

I am sorry for what happened!! Thanks for the heads up, we are getting a Lowes near me and now I will know how they operate!

 

[Patch'sD]

How This

I went to Lowes to purchase a new fridge. We found a model we liked in a great color Grey with a slight sparkle, right size 33 1/4 Width, right model Side by Side, On Clearance. Supposedly had two in stock. Salesman went back to check, Could not find units. Asked to purchase floor model. Ok, it was scratched. Unit was Original $936 Got Salesman down to $500. Ok I will buy it. Salesman says must take it now and we won't deliver it. I don't have the right car and the store is closing. Can't I purchase it and you hold it till tomorrow morning. No, Store Policy is that you must take it right now. But don't worry it will be here tomorrow. Get there next day, big hole where fridge was. They sold it. I talk to another salesman to see if maybe the guy hid it somewhere. Nope they just sold it. I tell them the story and it turns out the salesman lied. They would have held it and they would have delivered it. Now I was livid. Since they discontinued it, I was out of luck and no other stores had it. Well after about two hours of bantering and yelling I was able to get a white fridge of lesser quality for about $ 250 off after working my way up the food chain of managers. I was disappointed, but needed a fridge. Lowes was having a special where if you purchased an appliance of greater than $299 you got interest free and no payments for a year. Yesterday I got my statement which had interest charges and a minimum payment. Now I have to call credit services to get that straightened out. What a bunch of idiots. Now I have to write a letter to customer service and try to get more money back.

In my opinion Lowes Stinks

 

[java]

Please write a letter to Lowes Corporate and let them know what happened. This is absolutely inexcusable! Witht he cost of gas these days, your parents should at least be given a gift card to compensate them for what truly amounts to out of pocket expenses.

Anne

Great Idea! and you could call too!

Here is the public relations number
Lowe's Public Relations
1000 Lowe's Boulevard
Mooresville, NC 28117
Phone: 704-757-9210

When I was having "issues" with a tv delivery and Circuit City - the only time I got my TV was after I contacted the Circuit City PR person. They put me in touch with someone that could help and he DID!!

 

[QueenGoblin]

It never hurts to write a letter/make a phone call to corporate when this stuff happens. I have never left empty handed after doing so for legitmate complaints. Your parents deserve some sort of compensation for their time/hassle/gas spent and the company needs to learn doing things that way loses them money, so maybe they will change/put in better policies for their employees to follow.

Tell your parents to be specific in their letter...dates, times, names, etc.

 

[hercamore]

I would certainly address my complaints to a manager. Should be reinbursed for cost of gas at least.

Timely thread here. Lowes just opened a store here, and I was just about to go see what they have for dehumidifiers.

I am actually looking at wallpaper, too. Home Depot doesn't caryr wallpaper anymore.

herc.

 

[Goofyzgurl]

My dad asked why he was told to drive back over to pick up the check. The manager told him that it's his decision what happens to the check, not the girl in the wallpaper department.

Another vote for writing to corporate and maybe a call to the regional manager too.

Another question, if it was up to the manager's decision what happened to the check then why didn't the manager decide not to cash it then?? What an idiot! I'm sorry this happened to your parents.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Don't base all your expectations of Lowe's on these two negative posts. DH and I make a lot of purchases at Lowe's even though we have a Home Depot literally less than 100 feet from the beginning of our subdivision. Lowe's has always come through for us.

I would go up the chain until you get the results you would like starting with the reginional manager.

We purchased a side-by-side refrigerator less than a month ago. DH was home when they delivered it and didn't notice the scratch on the refrigerator side door or that the top of the door was dented. I called the next morning and the day after that they delivered and installed a new door.

Also, we just finally got the water hooked up to the refrigerator and the water dispenser was leaking a bit. I called Lowes and they said they would replace the refrigerator. The problem has since resolved itself, but it was nice to know.

 

[java]

Don't base all your expectations of Lowe's on these two negative posts. DH and I make a lot of purchases at Lowe's even though we have a Home Depot literally less than 100 feet from the beginning of our subdivision. Lowe's has always come through for us.

I would go up the chain until you get the results you would like starting with the reginional manager.

We purchased a side-by-side refrigerator less than a month ago. DH was home when they delivered it and didn't notice the scratch on the refrigerator side door or that the top of the door was dented. I called the next morning and the day after that they delivered and installed a new door.

Also, we just finally got the water hooked up to the refrigerator and the water dispenser was leaking a bit. I called Lowes and they said they would replace the refrigerator. The problem has since resolved itself, but it was nice to know.

Sounds like this is a new fridge. And you have already had 2 problems with it? That doesn't sound good to me. Where is the leaking water going now? A leak usually doesn't seal itself I would be concerned that it was leaking someplace else.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Sounds like this is a new fridge. And you have already had 2 problems with it? That doesn't sound good to me. Where is the leaking water going now? A leak usually doesn't seal itself I would be concerned that it was leaking someplace else.

The first problem was cosmetic. The second problem was resolved by flushing the system. The drip was coming out of the water dispenser tubing where you fill your cup not any other place.

But thank you for your concern.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I am sorry,

I have to agree with all of the many others who have posted here in the past who have had problems like this with LOWES.

Don't even wanna go into my story here, except to say that they completely screwed up our order, and then even charged our credit card AGAIN when they re-ordered. (We are talking a major purchase here, high $$$, which really caused some problems and some real work on DH's part to get cleared up with Lowe's and the Credit Card Co.) And, don't get me started on how I have my washer and dryer now, but can't get the pedestals because they 'failed' to tell me that they had to be installed when the units were delivered or they would not do it. On and on and on....

I have learned thru experience about dealing with these huge chain mega-stores... The right hand doesn't know, or care, what the left hand is doing... The idiot (girls in the wallpaper department) associates do not even know about the system or the products they are handling.

Go to a local store that specializes is appliances/carpet/whatever and who actually cares about customer service and their PR in the local community.

 

[LindaG4458]

My elderly parents drove an hour to a Lowes on Tuesday. My mom wanted to special order wall border from the special order books they have in their wallpaper/paint dept.

My mom chose the border. The woman at Lowes said payment needed to be up front. There was a form filled out. My parents paid around $80 with a check for the border.

Several hours later, after my parents were back home, Lowes called to say the wall border was no longer available. My parents would have to drive 2 hours roundtrip to pick up their check. The woman who originally helped them special order said the manager would have the check and to just stop at the service desk to pick up their check.

The next day my parents drove back to Lowes. They were told they couldn't have the check back because it was cashed, and since it's a check they can't get their money back for 2 weeks. The border was not in stock. Nothing was even ordered, so why did they cash the check?

The manager told them once they write a check to Lowes, even for a special order that is not available, they gave permission to Lowes to cash the check.
They can't give the check back since it was cashed. They also can't get a refund for 2 weeks. Lowes gets to keep the money for 2 weeks for absolutely nothing.

My dad asked why he was told to drive back over to pick up the check. The manager told him that it's his decision what happens to the check, not the girl in the wallpaper department.

Is this the way it usually works with stores?

Just my opinion...

The person who was at fault was the woman who took the special order,. She should have checked to see if the border was still available before completing the order and taking payment. She probably intended to take the check to customer service for pickup. However, likely, the check was seen outside the register and someone else, not knowing why it was there, put it into the cash drawer (good practice - don't want those checks hanging around loose like that). Once it was in the register it went through the usual cash handling process. Unfortunate, but better cash handling technique.

I would have requested that the clerk mail the check back to me rather than make the 2 hour trip back to the store. Also, I would have put a stop payment on the check to be sure that it was not cashed. That would not have cost any more than driving back to pick it up.

But that's just me.....

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

I work for one of Lowe's competitors so I would guess their policies are the same as ours.

About the check -- my guess is that since the check was already validated at the register, they had to deposit the check. Otherwise, their paperwork and bookkeeping would have been off. Where I work, refunds of payments by check are processed through the corporate HQ by a check mailed back to the customer. I wouldn't blame the manager for following company policy. If he had not deposited the check and given it back to your parents after being validated, he could have been fired.

I don't know how long the woman in wallpaper has worked there, but it sounds like she's fairly new and doesn't know all the procedures. She should have made sure that she gave them the right info, and when she found out she gave them wrong info, she should have called. One manager may have said "sure we can do that", but a higher manager may have said "no, we can't."

I don't know if complaining will get the check back faster, but a complaint to their corporate might get a gift card to make up for the gas used for the wasted trip.

As for the discontinued border -- Unfortunately sometimes things become discontinued and word doesn't filter down to everyone on the sales floor. The salesperson may not have known it was discontinued until a co-worker noticed something about the order and told her that pattern may not be available. The whole thing there sounds like a training issue and bringing it to the attention of the DM and corporate can't hurt.

About the fridge -- that's ridiculous!! Won't hold it if you pay and won't deliver?? Sounds like a salesperson who was getting off work when the store closed and didn't want to be there past his shift dealing with paperwork. That, or he's on commission and selling at the lower price hurt his commission rate.

 

[Wishing on a star]

My thoughts exactly...

An immediate 'stop payment'.

That would have been cheaper and easier than making the trip back and forth.

 

[Wishing on a star]

About that missing refrigerator....

I was thinking that either the salesman, or somebody he knew may have liked a new fridge, and when he saw how low that they came down on that price, snatched it up himself. How could that fridge have just disappeared overnight????

 

[Nancy]

Did your Dad go back the same day? If so I seriously doubt the check was already cashed. It might have been 'cashed' as in put into a register, but that could easily have been refunded as a return and the drawers would not be short. I work in a grocery store and checks are not depostied into the bank as soon as we get them, they are processed at the register, but that is not the same as deposting them. As long as it is still in the store we can refund it and take another form of payment. Since there was no service paid for with this check I have to guess there are ways to refund it back to the customer and not have the drawers balance. If anything cashing the check against a no sale will result in the drawers being over since there was nothing purchased.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

About that missing refrigerator....

I was thinking that either the salesman, or somebody he knew may have liked a new fridge, and when he saw how low that they came down on that price, snatched it up himself. How could that fridge have just disappeared overnight????

Yeah I thought that myself.