Lowe’s Foods, a grocery store chain, began in 1954 in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, with a single store opened by Jim Lowe. The company has grown to become a major supermarket chain operating in North Carolina, South Carolina, and beyond. As of October 28, 2022, Lowe’s and its related businesses operated 2,181 home improvement and hardware stores in North America.
Lowe’s Foods specializes in grocery retail, offering food and household essentials, while Lowe’s Hardware focuses on home improvement and construction supplies. Lowe’s Market is an American regional supermarket chain, primarily in West Texas and South Texas and throughout New Mexico. The company also operates stores in other states.
The Lowe’s story began in North Carolina when Wilkes County farmer LS Lowe decided to start his own store, opening Lowe’s North Wilkesboro Hardware in 1921. Lowe’s Companies, Inc is an American retail company specializing in home improvement. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, the company operates a variety of stores, including Lowe’s Foods, which has more than 1,700 home improvement stores.
In 1954, one of the brothers who started Lowe’s Home Improvement stores decided to open a grocery store and call it Lowes Foods (without the name). Lowe’s Markets is a Littlefield, Texas-based company that has been serving families since 1963.
In conclusion, Lowe’s Foods and Lowe’s Hardware are two distinct entities that have grown from small-town hardware stores in North Carolina to one of the largest home improvement retailers in the world. The brand and logo of Lowe’s Foods and Lowe’s Hardware are distinct but share a common goal of providing quality products and services to customers.
📹 Home Depot vs Lowes – Which is Better?
You’re going to be happy you watched this video! Everyone knows Home Depot is a great place to find tools and appliances, but …
What was Lowe’s called before it was Lowe’s?
Lowe’s story began in North Carolina when farmer L. S. Lowe opened his store in 1921. The store sold hardware, building materials, sewing notions, dry goods, horse tack, snuff produce, and groceries. Lowe passed the business to his daughter Ruth and son Jim Lowe in 1940. After Buchan was discharged in 1943, Lowe offered him a job back home. Buchan realized that soldiers would return home, start families, and need houses. To anticipate this building boom, Buchan decided to focus solely on home improvement products. This idea was successful, and in 1949, they opened a second Lowe’s in Sparta, North Carolina.
Who is Lowe’s owned by?
Lowe’s (LOW) stock is owned by a mix of institutional, retail, and individual investors. Institutional investors own 56. 49 percent of the stock, followed by 0. 96 percent by insiders and 42. 54 percent by public companies and individual investors. The latest TipRanks data shows that 34. 04 percent of the stock is held by institutional investors, 0. 96 percent by insiders, and 42. 54 percent by retail investors.
Who is Lowes Foods owned by?
Alex Lee, Inc. is a leading American holding company based in Hickory, North Carolina, ranked 139 on Forbes’ list of the largest privately held companies in the United States. The company, which owns the Lowes Foods supermarket chain and Merchants Distributors, Inc., supplies over 600 stores in nine states, primarily in the Southeast. The company’s roots date back to 1920 when A. C. Kelly took over Merchants Produce Company of Hickory, a wholesale fruit and produce company.
In 1931, Moses George, a Shelby, North Carolina grocer, bought Merchants Produce for $17, 000 and began running it with his sons Alex and G. L. George. The company became an important distributor of merchandise to independent stores in North Carolina and South Carolina. After Moses George’s death in 1947, his sons Alex and Lee took over the business, which was later renamed Merchants Distributors Inc. or MDI in 1956. By 1960, MDI had over 130 employees and supplied 400 grocery stores within 150 miles.
In 1965, MDI began selling to schools and merged its MDI Foodservice with James Wholesale Company, forming Institution Food House (IFH). After the George brothers’ death, IFH became a subsidiary of MDI. In 1992, MDI reorganized as a holding company, Alex Lee, Inc., with MDI, IFH, and Lowes Foods as subsidiaries named after Alex and Lee George.
What is Lowes exclusive brand?
Lowe’s has launched its first modern style exclusive brand, Origin21, which offers approachable, modern design for everyday living across the entire home. Origin21 is part of Lowe’s “House of Style” campaign, which aims to surprise consumers with unexpected style finds for the whole home. The brand, designed for the stylish, trend-seeking millennial consumer looking to modernize their home style, offers a refreshing approach to home décor, pairing function and beauty through on-trend items each season.
Origin21 includes throw pillows, rugs, patio furniture, light fixtures, faucets, and faux plants, drawing inspiration from various styles. The pieces feature clean lines, soft curves, and natural materials that can stand alone or flow together in a single space. Architectural details and nods to mid-century modern and Scandinavian design round out the collection. Origin21 is part of Lowe’s new “House of Style” campaign, aiming to surprise consumers with unexpected style finds for the whole home.
What is Lowes most known for?
Lowe’s, a leading home improvement retailer, has grown from a small hardware store in North Carolina to one of the world’s largest retailers. The company prioritizes its customers, offering expert advice and services for various home improvement projects. Lowe’s Total Home Strategy focuses on five key areas: Pro, Online, Installation Services, Localization, and Assortment. These areas are pillars of the strategy, aiming to create a seamless omnichannel retail experience for customers.
The company’s mission is to deliver the right home improvement products, with the best service and value, across every channel and community it serves. The company’s Total Home Strategy aims to drive market share acceleration and deliver the right products to customers.
Are Lowes Foods and Lowes Hardware related?
Lowes Foods, established in 1954 in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, commenced operations with a single store owned by Jim Lowe, son of its founder. With 56 stores, it demonstrated superior performance relative to Byrd’s stores in the area, which subsequently became Lowes stores.
Is Lowes food the same as Lowes?
Despite its origins in North Carolina, Lowe’s Foods, founded by Jim Lowe, son of Lucius Lowe, the founder of Lowe’s Home Improvement, is a separate company.
Does Walmart own Lowe’s?
Lowe’s Companies and Walmart Inc. are two distinct retail chains in the United States. They operate independently with distinct ownership structures and management teams, despite being under the same corporate umbrella.
What is the full name of Lowes?
Lowe’s Companies, Inc. is an American retail company specializing in home improvement, headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina. As of October 28, 2022, the company operated 2, 181 stores in North America. As the second-largest hardware chain in the United States, it is also the second-largest worldwide, behind The Home Depot and European retailers Leroy Merlin, B and Q, and OBI. The company previously operated in Australia through the Masters Home Improvement joint venture until 2016, Mexico until 2019, and Canada until selling its operations to Sycamore Partners in 2023.
Who did Lowes merge with?
Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has completed its acquisition of RONA inc., valued at C$3. 2 billion (US$2. 4 billion), marking a significant step in the company’s growth strategy. The acquisition creates one of the largest home improvement retailers in Canada, with 539 store locations and pro forma revenues of approximately C$6 billion. Lowe’s Canada and RONA are well-positioned for continued success in Canada’s growing home improvement market. Richard D.
Maltsbarger, Lowe’s chief development officer and president of international, expressed his pleasure in welcoming RONA and its talented team into the company. The transaction expands Lowe’s presence in the Canadian market and provides opportunities for revenue and profit growth, while also delivering long-term benefits to shareholders, customers, suppliers, employees, and the communities served. Former president and CEO of RONA, Robert Sawyer, expressed confidence in RONA’s future as part of Lowe’s, providing new opportunities and resources to grow its brands and build upon its heritage.
📹 10 Lowe’s Shopping Secrets Too Good Not To Share!
Save a big money at Lowe’s with these 10 fantastic secrets I discovered through my research! I hope these Lowe’s shopping …
I must say when mentioning the return policy, when you are doing a big project that usually ends up taking the average person a lot longer than they anticipated, those extra days really do matter because you would be surprised at the end of the project having a ton of leftover that you’re never going to use really does add up and being able to still return them is really awesome.
Orange or Blue… either can be great or really suck. When a manager hires knowledgeable employees with good customer service skills they’re great. Unfortunately, not their first priority. It’s about keeping store expenditures low = bigger manager bonuses = hire anyone, as long as they’ll work cheap.
I use to work at lowes, if you shop the middle aisles you can get an amazing deal on things called “non stock” aka things they are not carrying anymore (if you look on the price tag there is an N under the price) or something called special order returns (typically they have a was now price tag on them) both types are negotiable if you talk to a sales specialist or manager
I agree on most of your observations regarding the two stores. I really feel that the customer service is better at Home Depot and their displays on small hardware items is definitely superior. I went to the store for Hanging Closet door hardware and found a perfect display at Home Depot and at Lowes I found a horrible display and boxes with parts all over the place.
I was intimidated by HD when I first got into DYIs, but never at Lowes. In many instances I can find an HD across the street from Lowes, but not in my neighborhood, so Lowes wins by default. Now that my knowledge and experience has grown, if there was an HD within the same 5 minute commute, I would probably split my visits to the stores; however, there are certain items for shop and yard use that makes the longer commute a must.
Hi from North Dakota. Let me give you my opinion. If you have a problem (I had a major one) and you call Home Depot HQ to go above the local manager, you can’t get anyone in charge. They have a “customer complaint” dept, that just apologizes and doesn’t do anything. I think you can buy a bag of apologies at Doller Days. If you go to Lowe’s they get a regional manager, who fixed a smaller problem in less than an hour.
I shop at both Home Depot and Lowe’s and my purchases are generally split right down the line as you mentioned in this article. However, sometimes I buy products from Home Depot and I know I would probably have found something better and more aesthetically pleasing at Lowe’s. But, since Home Depot is closer, it got the sale. I am planning to purchase new flooring, a washer, dryer, and a new front door for a property, and this time, Lowe’s is where I am headed.
Great article and while the final preference is given to Lowe’s, I am doing a remodel and have wasted hours in Lowe’s before finding my materials in stock at Home Depot. And BTW: My one investigation of Consumer Reports shows that they rated HD paint higher in most categories than even Sherwin Williams 🙂
I’ve shopped at both for years. Lowes has always been my goto because it’s “nicer” feel. At Home Depot, I feel like I have to be professional to shop there. Plus.. in the past, Lowes has been better at customer service. Home Depot employees always gave me the feeling of “why are you bothering me?” Sadly, as of 01/2022, I’ve felt both places have actually gotten worse. I walked around with a shopping list at Lowes just the other day and I was never once greeted by an employee even though I had a number of them walk past me. Others were too busy chatting with one another to notice me. Luckily, the Lowes app gave me an accurate location of all the items I was looking for.
Lmaooooo…. This is SO ON POINT!!! Being in Home Depot makes you feel BAD-ASS…… unlesssssss you need any help. Then you are LI-TER-A-LLY chasing an employee down!! In Lowe’s, no less than 3 associates asked if I needed help with a 5 minute span. In Home Depot, every associate looks PISSED and they try not to make eye contact with you lest you might ask for some assistance.
I guess it’s all about preference, one thing I’ve always noticed about Home Depot is that even if the employee I asked didn’t know what I needed they were willing to get one that did. At Lowe’s your pretty much left on your own to figure it for yourself…. since most of their employees are only their to stock the shelves.
Thanks, Matt! Something I will add is that recently, Lowe’s has more items out of stock/unavailable items online, less product in stores, and I have had at least 2 instances in the past month where they could not find a sales associate to answer specific questions about products regarding electrical and millwork. A lot of this could be due to the ‘pandemic’ but due to these factors, I have been venturing off to HD and Menard’s even though Lowe’s is much closer to me. And for the record, I have spent quite a bit of time in these stores (and a hoard of money) as I bought my first home less than 2 years ago and am doing a lot of renovation/upgrades. Thanks again for the articles!
I’ve always been a Lowe’s fan; better customer service, cleaner and more organized stores. Home Depot has merch spilling out all over the floors, feels messy, and I often can’t find help. Lowe’s also makes getting a Veteran’s discount much easier online and in store. I love Lowe’s. I do agree with the rentals, however…both tools and trucks, HD wins hands down. However, I did not know about HD’s better return policy. That’s huge. I may check out HD more often.
I have both Lowe’s and Home Depot credit cards. But I prefer a Lowe’s hands-down any day over Home Depot! It’s a little further drive for me to even go to Lowe’s but there’s a Home Depot a couple miles from where I live or Lowe’s might be for miles or so from where I live. LOL but we bought a whole new kitchen appliances at Lowe’s at Christmas and it was a very pleasurable experience. Every time I need a new lawnmower I got a Lowe’s, every time I need a new gas grill I go to Lowe’s. LOL I will run down the road and use Home Depot for a new paintbrush or gallon of paint or something sometimes I guess.But I prefer Lowes over Home Depot much much more!
I am a contractor & prefer both. But I shop more at homedepot because they are everywhere. In Houston TX there’s 25 lowes in 60 miles radius vs 37 homedepot in the same radius. Both have bulks prices, 70% mark downs on lumbers. I applud lowes because they hire disabled people. I’ve had bad and good experiences in both stores with customer services. Lowes has Eaton brand on electrical devices & homedepot carries leviton.
As a newish owner of a fixer upper, my initial loyalty went to Lowe’s. Both stores are about the same distance from my home but Lowe’s is an easier drive and something about it just felt more inviting. Keep in mind, my family owns a small local hardware store so I only shop these stores for what our store doesn’t carry. I purchased a section of privacy fencing from Lowe’s and scheduled the install. Long story short, the fence was installed slightly over the property line (partially my fault and partially the installers fault) and the fence needed to be moved. I emailed with no response so I called to make an appointment. The sales rep no showed. I went to the store thinking I misunderstood and he laughed saying he forgot about our appointment. Again, short version but I happened to have a customer at my job that I knew worked at Lowe’s so I casually complained about the incident. I thought he was a sales associate but turned out he was the assistant store manager and looked into my email correspondence and appointment and ended up agreeing they screwed up and gave me a good discount on having the fence moved. Still cost me several hundred dollars but was very grateful for the discount. That being said, Lowe’s continues to disappoint me. AWFUL customer service. I’ve never had an associate say hello or ask if I need assistance. I recently was looking to purchase a large amount of trim and they were out of stock of the size I could transport so I asked if they could cut literally in half ( no specific sizes) and their saw has been out of commission every time I go.
I consistently appreciate your clips, and the advise you provide. I look for quality, and value. I price compare, do my homework by checking local retail establishments and various online locations before “pulling the trigger” on most purchases. I personally prefer Home Depot far more than Lowe’s, for one extremely important reason. Customer support. Whenever I shop Home Depot, I find sales staff readily available who genuinely invest time, effort and energy to assist me to get what I need and to offer technical expertise on the task I am attempting. On the other hand, I find consistency in one thing at Lowe’s, and it is not a good thing. Locating someone to assist me is like pulling hen’s teeth. No employees are available, and regrettably, my experience has been that when I finally locate a Lowe’s employee, they are not knowledgable about home repairs, and many of them are flat out rude. This is my very generalized observation, but I personally will pay a few dollars more for assistance, knowledge and courtesy. Home Depot is my “to go” preferred location for home goods.
Thanks for this excellent comparison, Matt! We have Lowe’s, Menards, & Home Depot all within walking distance and are often trying to decide between them. We typically end up snagging appliances & paint @ Lowe’s, lighting @ Home Depot, and lumber/construction materials @ Menards. Your insight is helpful as always ☺️
Just an observation: This past weekend I visited 3 different Lowes looking for gravel and top soil. 1 store didn’t have gravel, another had pea gravel, and another had egg gravel (IOW, no store had both kinds.) It was the same with top soil. I have noticed that both stores are subject to what I imagine are management decisions.
Lowes has stepped up its game for contractors. They have a pro desk, bid room, and reward program. Additionally, they offer an automatic 5% discount if you use your Lowes card (this applies to regular consumer card and their pro cards) I use both, depending on which is closer to my job site. But my preference is Lowe’s.
I much prefer Lowe’s over HD for a multitude of reasons, the biggest one being their customer service. As a woman shopper I’ve had several less than satisfactory experiences while shopping in HD. I have had difficulty finding an employee to help (this happened on more than one occasion) and I was even mansplained to once. I will drive out of my way to find a Lowe’s, HD is a LAST RESORT.
I like both for the very reasons you shared. I have bought appliances from both. One thing I do like about Lowe’s more is their employees are much more available and knowledgeable about their store’s inventory. Right now, Home Depot is closer to me in location, so we go there more often. Both chain seem to be doing their best with Covid-19 precautions also.
The biggest difference I’ve experienced is that Home Depot has much better customer service. At Home Depot, I’m constantly being approached by employees asking if I need any help finding anything. I never noticed how often this happened until going into Lowes and being unable to find what I was looking for. Another thing I couldn’t find there was an employee to ask for help. I had to walk to the registers, and wait in line to ask where to find something, and they had to ask someone else. I’ve since returned to Home Depot, and have made them my go-to store.
I have no vested interest in either but find Lowe’s website and location less convenient for me, however their store is well laid out, much cleaner, products better stocked and feels like more variety much better at marking what’s on a shelf than H.D. As stated lumber is better at HD. General pricing about equal.
As A manager at Lowe’s i can tell you that this last year sales were up about 40%for 2020 over 2019, we weren’t allowed to add any extra help to make up for the increased customer traffic. And at the end if each sales quarter we also had to cut hours so bad the store was almost inoperable. With marvin shareholders are more important than Associates.
As a painting contractor, I shop Lowes, Behr paint is the worst product I have ever tried to apply. As a regular Lowes shopper (daily) I have found that as I travel around central Texas shopping different Lowes stores, their consistency in store lay out from city to city helps me in my shopping experience. I just hate searching for products, in Lowes no matter which store I enter all interiors are similar and easy to navigate. the opposite is true for Home Depot, even my local store I shop in (weekly) I feel lost and get tired of looking for an employee to direct me. I heard your comments on the difference in return policies, Home Depot may have a better return policy, but I tell everyone I know, the main reason I shop Lowes is their return desk, no matter the return if I bought it at Lowes I can return it, period. I tried to return insulation today, at Home Depot I used a fathers day gift card, bought R13 roll insulation, meant to buy R19, forgot my receipt and Home depot wouldn’t allow me return the 5 unopened rolls of insulation that I bought just 2 hours earlier, without a receipt, therefore I couldn’t exchange them for what I wanted, they said I needed to prove I purchased it, in other words they accused me of stealing it. Home depot just lost a part time shopper, I will go out of my way to shop Lowes, BECAUSE OF THEIR RETURN DESK.
When my husband and I became homeowners and wanted to do a lot of home improvements packagers was the place to go Harry and Harriet homeowner was how they referred to us I think Lowes picked up more that thing but honestly when Home Depot came along we went there because they were way less expensive pictures of comparison these days I do like Lowe’s better but I still go to Home Depot to
Home Depot sales clerks know their merchandise and can better help the customer with making a selection, also the give classes to further help you with the product and your projects. IE I learned how to install a ceiling fan, and how to lay ceramic wall tiles. You are correct Loews is attractive but the sales clerks can’t help you with making an informed decision on your purchases, that is important to me. For this reason my choice is Home Depot. PS you might rethink your opinion if you ever have to repair something 😉😀
As a Veteran, I appreciate both stores giving me 10% off my purchases; however, I have a Lowe’s loyalty card on my keychain, and it lets me claim my discount without having to dig out my military ID. I also like that both stores have apps, and I use them to find what I need before I go to the store. HD has a clear advantage, however, in that their online inventory updates more quickly and is more accurate that Lowe’s. I have wasted far too many trips going to Lowe’s looking for something that the app says is in stock, only to find that it isn’t because the online inventory is two to three days behind the updated store inventory. Even if it is in stock, you cannot necessarily count on the item being where the app says it is. This is not true with Home Depot; if the app tells me where the item is and that it is in stock, I can depend on it being there when I get there. The main reason that I tend to shop at Lowe’s more than I do at Home Depot is because Lowe’s is not necessarily closer to my house, but I can get there faster. The Home Depot that is closest to my house is also in a less than savory part of town, and I might not go there at all if it weren’t for the fact that there is a Costco directly across the street from home depot, and I often make a shopping trip that includes both destinations.
I just watched your article & enjoyed it. One thing that irks me about Home Depot vs. Lowes is that although both offer 10% discount to military, only Lowes will give 10% when ordering on line. To get the 10% at Home Depot one has to physically enter the store. That sucks I signed on the Lowes site with military info and it immediately honored my service and 10% on all purchases whether in store or web site.
We had a nightmare of a time getting our appliances delivered after our remodel. We ordered a new refrigerator, dishwasher, and gas range from Home Depot on October 21st for delivery on November 18th. Perfect, just in time for Thanksgiving. On the 17th we received a call stating that the appliance delivery would be delayed until December 2nd. Great, no kitchen for Turkey day, but we were going to visit family for dinner anyway so I could live with that. Customer service said they had the range but not the other appliances and they could not split the delivery up. I was assured that they almost never have to delay a 2nd time. December 1st arrives and guess what? Another delay notification. We had gone this long and another week wasn’t that big of a deal. On the 8th we received another delay notification. Fine, but they will still be delivered by Christmas. Or so we thought. On the 23rd we received our last delay notification. I was livid. Customer service tried to give me a bullshit explanation that since we ordered a range with air frying capability and that was a new feature that they were custom built and took longer to get out. What!? That is the one item that you said was in the warehouse. Home Depot really needs to have a better relationship with their suppliers so they can give their customers valid information on when they will be receiving items instead of blaming Covid and their suppliers. I say this was the last delay because I had them cancel the fridge and dishwasher off of the order so they could deliver the range.
I like your articles. I do want to point out one thing about Lowes. They give a 10% discount to veterans every day while Home Depot only does it 3 or 4 days out of the year. If you are not a veteran Lowes has, I believe, some type of “club” that will also get you a discount. There are a few things you can find at one store that you can’t find at the other, but not many. I do prefer Lowes for the feel of the store and the discount, however Home Depot is 7 miles from my house, but Lowes is at least 12 miles away. (small town vs bigger town) Bigger town has both. So depends upon gas and time. Keep up the good work.
I love both stores but my son works at Home Depot and let me tell you that he loves his job and in the store he works in (IDK if it’s like this in all their stores) he has great perks, great managers and so many opportunities to move up in the company! Great place to work AND shop! (Except no employee discount but a “perks at work” program)
We would never buy an appliance at Home Depot again. We bought a counter depth refrigerator at HD. We had explained to the sales person we had a counter on the left side and a pantry wall on the other side. When it was delivered you could not open the door all the way without hitting the wall unless you pulled the fridge all the way out even to the end of the wall because of the way the hinges were designed. This made paying extra for a counter depth a waste of money. The delivery guy said they would take it back in 3 days (don’t quote me on that but it was a short time). We went back to the store and were told they don’t take back appliances. We made a stink and told her the hinge design was a problem and the person who sold it to us should have known the difference between brands. Shockingly we were informed sales persons are trained not to lead customers to buy one design over another because they would be blamed if it didn’t fit properly in the space. We couldn’t believe what was coming out of the managers mouth! We told her the delivery people said they would take it back and she called them and they had a lively conversation.. We weren’t leaving the store and finally she agreed to refund us which took 6 weeks after we had to go back and asked why we hadn’t gotten our refund. We went to Lowes and were told they take appliances back if there is a problem. We paid less at Lowes and got a bigger refrigerator. This HD is in St Johns Fl.
Lowe’s employee here! The return policy is one year IF you use your Lowe’s credit card. Otherwise it is 90-days. Plants do have a one-year guarantee, but you have to keep the tag and the receipt to get credit for the dead plant. (Sidenote: Returned plants must be thrown into the trash compactor as per suppliers’ demands because they might be contaminated with pests that transfer to all the plants in the garden center. So please choose your plants carefully so you don’t have to return them and break our hearts! It’s so painful to see a beautiful tree or shrub get the death-penalty because you and your spouse can’t agree on landscaping.) Purchases over $299 qualify for 6 months of no interest. Higher-priced purchases qualify for even longer periods of deferred interest. But you have to select either the 5% off or the deferred interest. Discounts do not stack, so, if you qualify for the military discount of 10%, always opt for deferred billing. Have a Lowe’s safe day!
Lowes is better than Home Depot (at least for me) when it comes to delivery. Lowes uses Fedex, whereas Home Depot continues to use crappy OnTrac. I’ve sworn never to buy from Home Depot again because I’ve lost the same item 3 times with OnTrac and each time I’ve had to contact my credit card company! Wasted so many hours of my life.
My garage at home is just like going to Home Depot and/or Lowes. There are multiples of each tool and hardware type, but there is never anyone to help me find where they are located. So, it takes me 30 minutes of wandering around by myself to find what I need, if I ever do find what I am looking for. Then, if I can’t find it, …it’s a trip to HD or Lowes to buy another one, and the time consuming process of finding the right stuff starts all over again!
I just found out unfortunately, that HD does not service the appliances they sell, only service tools. I have a Samsung W/D combo front loader set purchased from HD about 6 years ago.;the dryer’s on the blink, and just found out they don’t service it.☹ I don’t know whether Lowes services their appliances. Sears serviced all their appliances forever. They still have a service department.
Thanks Matt. HD has some items cheaper I found. However, a biggie for me…Lowes offers veterans a 10% discount everyday. You just need to register for this perk. HD only offers discounts to veterans on certain holidays. I need to clarify that the term veteran is for someone who served our country, but did not retire. I served 12 years, and therefore did not retire (20 years). HD does not recognize my 12 years service except on certain holidays. In buying supplies for my home, I don’t want to wait for holidays. So Lowes is my choice.
From what I have experienced in both The Home Depot and Lowe’s Home Improvement, Lowe’s has better customer service, a much cleaner layout, the store is generally a lot cleaner, the lumber (atleast at the Lowe’s I go to) is a lot better than at The Home Depot, and they actually know what they are talking about when it comes to power tools.(I do some contracting jobs).
As somone who worked at lowes in night crew. Yeah I call it hood retail for a reason. The store number infact was 0420. I shit you not. My co workers ( I was in night crew) would be angry with custumers before the store closes. Custumer services would cover up major orders that arrived to the store because they dont wanna put in the work of delivering the package. That lead to me volenteering to deliver thw package and having a talk with the mananger about that. People would try to fight me or threatend to stab me just for managers to cover it up. So yeah, Lowes definitely earned the label of hood retail.
I have just watched this for the first time. I actually work at the Lowe’s here in Monroe & I can agree with the majority of my family that Lowe’s is the best place to do your shopping, especially when it comes to doing any projects around the house whether it’s inside or outside or any plant, landscaping or gardening projects & a more selection on other stuff like refreshments, snacks and even treats for anyone who has a dog, the 5% on Lowe’s credit cards & both military and employee discounts. And by contrast, Lowe’s is a bigger hardware store & has better selections than Home Depot.
so as an x depot associate few points. I agree with the article, and your opinion, 99%. When we carried EGO they were actually kinda a PITA to deal with, especially on the repair side. we had a customer that took 3 months to get a switch for his mower in. early on their batteries were pretty craptastic as well. that said i can see why it was dropped in order to prevent competition with a depot owned brand. i find depot to be more shoppable but thats because i worked there. i can walk into basically any depot and know where everything is. paint comes from lowes. Also there is one lumber region where lowes beats depot and thats specialty board. by that i mean poplar, oak, maple, more “exotic” wood choices. If you need a couple feet of poplar go to depot as they price by the linear foot. if you need many feet of poplar go to lowes as they sell by the board and it is a couple bucks less for the whole board. The quality is the same, both depot and lowes use many of the same mills and use the same mill for their “exotic” woods. lastly loosing ego means nothing to tool rental at depot. (i started in tool rental, moved to lumber after a couple years, then to overnight restocking a couple years after that) but we have never had an electric mower for rental, they just arent repairable enough yet. we do rent electric chainsaws tho. Fun depot fact, ACE is their largest competitor, honestly lowes wasnt even on our radar most of the time. While they are similar stores they cater to different crowds, depot to the professional builder/contractor/planner or the more, advanced i guess, DIYer.
I ordered something from Home Depot a Dehumidifier . It value was $349.99 and when it came this Big guy from UPS hid the big hole in the side of the box on my porch. He rang the door bell and was gone. Needless to say this Dehumidifier was damaged. I called Home Depot CS and this very nice lady sent a call tag to pick up at the house, and I ordered a new one and she gave me an extra 15% off. I had to wait 3 days, I had to dry a wet basement floor up but it all worked out. I like Home Depot the Best.
So I actually have been buying a lot of furniture and decor from Home Depot. They only have it online but they have been able to beat other retailer prices easily (same models) in addition to allowing the 10% off coupon. Lowe’s in comparison has almost nothing in their catalogs for furniture and home decor.
I shop at both regularly. They are very different. Home Depot is better suited for people who are skilled or knowledgeable within the trade or very handy DIYer’s. Lowe’s is more catered to people who may not have the experience but are willing to try working on a project…….kind of like a midway point between HD and Target. I often times find that both fall short though, like when I need a certain size of angle iron or certain type of wood (maple, walnut, etc.)……I usually have to drive to the Metal Mart or lumber yard.
Of the four major retailers within driving distance – Home Depot, Lowe’s, Menards, Ace – the one I will avoid at almost all costs is Lowe’s. I used to buy a lot there every year but, really, I haven’t shopped there with consistency in over five years. Why? Because their employees on the floor are lazy and actually run from you when you need help. I’m over 60. I went to buy some 4X8 sheathing for a shed I was building. No one would stop to help me find acceptable pieces through the pile. They were much younger and sitting behind their desks in the corner of the building supplies. After I picked out 10 pieces, I had to hunt for a cart, load the cart, and push the cart to the cashier. It was the cashier that asked me if I needed help… It never came and I loaded the pieces by myself. Never more! Home Depot is mainly good for common supplies and it’s floor people are better trained and sometimes retired contractors. Menards is more like a general store with friendlier floor people that are mainly kids but, their lumber is terrible! Ace Hardware has the nuts and bolts that are needed. And, they will make a modern car key. So, what I am saying is that the nature and attitude and general knowledge of the floor help is a crucial factor that can make or break a business. The rest we can live with.
Having just finished remodeling a kitchen and bathroom, I’ll add this. With the exception of a dishwasher and refrigerators from Lowe’s, everything else came from HD. What the Deal Guy didn’t mention is that HD (in my community) has more “sales advisors” or customer service reps on the floor. At HD, I could get advice on plumbing and electrical questions. At Lowe’s, I couldn’t find anyone to ask.
I’ve had issues with both stores, as well as positive experiences with both places. So for us its a toss up to what project I’m working on, if I need something right away, HD because its closer, but if I have time I’ll check out Lowe’s. FYI our closest Lowe’s has a better tool rental system and more to choose from than our HD. Oh and let me add price matching is a way better process at Lowe’s, in my experience. Had a poor experience at HD for price matching a product from another HD that wasn’t in stock; ya HD if its the same damn product but 1 store is out of stock, why is another HD gonna try to charge me more for the same product? So I guess I’m saying at the end of the day, I slightly prefer Lowe’s. But that could change too. Hey Lowe’s where is my gas range I bought 4 weeks ago? Fingers crossed when this one is delivered Tuesday its not dinged and dented. 😆
I’ll never go to Lowe’s again, spent almost $8000 cash on appliances & they couldn’t get the fridge I wanted anymore & refused to sell the floor model even for full price, bought the fridge they were pushing, they sold it out from under me AFTER I PAID, 3 days later they called to say they were almost to my house but they sold the fridge, I still don’t have it 3 weeks later, they delivered my cabinets a week before that, they didn’t know but the main cabinet that the sink goes on was missing, still don’t have it, the delivery guys smashed my basement step bad & destroyed my hand rail & upright support all at bottom of basement stairs, when I complained & asked for at least material to fix it, crickets, they tinted my paint baby blue instead of grey, & on & on, all in a month span, they are really rude when I complained also, done
I always thought Lowe’s was geared toward builders/professionals. For me they always have the basics. Builders know what they want when they go in, they get out. Plus they have a lot of builder/bulk discounts. Not so many choices that my brain starts to hurt. And builders seem to go in early in the morning or late in the evening, they’re working during the day they don’t have time to go shopping. They don’t have many rental tools cause builders usually have the tools they need to make a living. I always thought Home Depot was geared for weekend warriors, DYI’ers, and CEO moms. They have so many choices there is something for everyone. Nothing that’s really “builder basic”. Too many choices that I can’t make up my mind on which one to choose. The rental tools and equipment seems like they are for someone who needs it for a one time project. I guess if your doing a custom build the selection would be nice. I totally prefer Lowe’s. Usually they have everything I need. When I need wood I go to a local lumber yard. I only go to Home Depot if I can’t find it anywhere else. They always seem to have the specialty item I want. I love Costco too, but for a whole lot of different reasons. I think Home Depot was smart putting their stores next to Costcos. I think that’s why there is such a connection between them. Home Depots are closer.
I prefer Lowes mainly because they always seem to have what I need and a better selection, too. I needed a slim dryer vent. Lowe’s had several choices while HD only had the normal dryer vent option with big tubing. While shopping I get assistance at Lowes, while not 1 employee even said hello at HD. I will say HD is geared more for the homebuilder and Lowes the homemaker.
I bought expensive silicone roof coating at Lowes. When I got home I checked the codes and called the manufacturer (remembering this brand had a shelf life). The manufacturer said nit to buy it, they had expired over a year ago. I took it all back, and informed a supervisor. Days later when I checked those same pails, identified by the codes, were back on the shelf. That is how much they care about customers no matter what the warm and fuzzy commercials display.
And if you are ever at Home Depot and see an employee rushing past you to get to the break room instead of stopping to help you, it may be because they will get in trouble if they stop to help you. My sister used to work there and she said they were penalized for not clocking in and out on time for their breaks- almost to the point of the threat of getting fired if they were a minute late in or out of breaks or clocking out for the day.
I was always for Lowes, but awhile back I ordered a product online. It took an hour to get the item. They had to go to the back of the store and were gone for a long time even though I had an email saying it was ready. I ordered a online order at Home Depot and went to pick up the item, not only did I get the item right away, they knew exactly where the item was. Homedepot has been more of a win for me.
could you please comment how this verdict would be affected in canada? the tool rental of lowes in canada is non existant. Previously i was a very staunch Lowes shopper, but with my current home reno, have found Home Depot to be better stocked, more helpful, and have better brands. The tool section at Home depot is vastly superior.
I go to both regularly and the environment in most Lowe’s is much better than homedepot. I think my favorite part about Lowe’s is that the carts are always inside lined up nice and neat, if you’re shopping at Home Depot you might have to wait in the parking lot for someone to walk out of the store, wait for them to unload and get the cart from them when they’re done.
Went to Lowe’s last Spring when I was planning to replace my roof. I wanted to see the product before having it installed. While they didn’t have the product in stock they were running a promotion – 1/2 price on materials if they did the installation. Total price was more than $11k but… BUT I got the 5% off. In addition, the 5% comes off the price before the sales tax is applied. Now, truth be told, the Home Depot is 25 miles away and Lowe’s less than 5 miles. Regardless, the 5% is still a great deal. There was a time when HD would match it if you showed them your Lowe’s card but that practice was discontinued.
I prefer Home Depot, but that’s because even though I’m not a contractor, I do my own research. So when I go into Home Depot I know what I’m looking for…And what I’m not. Shockingly, I have actually…Ready…NEVER been in a Lowes!!! They really just don’t fot my family…Everything Webbie is Home Depot. Maybe someday we’ll try them but…For now, the Home Depot credit card kinda has us stuck there. Also they closest 3 Lowes are 30 35 and 40 minutes with the closest home depots being…30, 20 and…5. Not kidding. As a kid a loved the 20 minute trip to spend an hour in home depot. As an adult. ..I love the quick drive to grab something and be home on 30 or 40 minutes. And don’t be fooled – My local HD is just vertical instead of horizontal. It might not be as wide, but it goes WAAAAAAAAAAAY back. And don’t even get menatarted on their WHOLE AISLE DEVOTED TO NOTHING BUT LUMBER! Update: You mentioned Ace. There’s an Ace a literal minute away. Need something home depot can’t quite fill? THEY HAVE IT.
As a contractor that uses them frequently, and since they came on the scene, Home depot edges Lowes but; as a veteran; I like the respect I get from lowes…They give us 10% across the board…Home Depot was, for years, only giving us Veterans Day, memorial day and Disabled vets.. the 10 % …Of late; I’ve been getting it every time with my hat and ID at Depot. But; Home depot personnel, at least in the philly area ARE TERRIBLE . They hide, they suck at loading inventory on the floor, etc…Their big departments ( millwork, plumbing, flooring, and often paint, in both lowes and Depot are TERRIBLE too…They are horribly understaffed.
You didn’t talk about Lowe’s notoriously selling old and used/dirty items, repackaging them and selling them as brand new. I’ve returned around 50% of my power tools I bought at Lowe’s last year and ended up buying the same items at HD with a much better pricing deal. BTW, and I have both Lowe’s and HD credit cards so you won’t say I’m biased to one over the other. Also, some of Lowe’s customer service are rude and NOT friendly and they’ll make your life miserable when you return an item. Never had that experience at HD. All of my friends have the same experience with Lowe’s customer service but not at HD. I don’t work for either companies just so you know. So I’m picking HD by a huge margin in terms of customer service and NOT SELLING ME USED ITEMS repackaged as brand new with a brand new price. And HD’s customer service are way friendlier than Lowe’s.
Lowe’s for me and it’s not close. 1) more helpers 2) more knowledgeable help 3) they give a veterans discount EVERY DAY 4) Lowe’s sets aside a few dedicated parking spots just for veterans. That said I’m not a contractor. Home Depot gives contractors very good every day loyalty discounts. Veterans get a small discount on ONE day, Veterans Day. No special parking for veterans.
We love our EGO leaf blower!! I did get this at Lowe’s only because they carried them last year. I’m more of a HD fan. I bought a $500+ generator from Lowes a few years ago. Now having issues and they claim NO responsibility or options for getting it looked at even though it clearly said to CALL THEM at a #800 supplied directly on the generator and because of this nobody will work on it. SO BUYER BEWARE!!!!!!! And I will add, at our Lowe’s in KC it seems the employees run and hide, they don’t like to actually help people. So easy job for anyone searching.
I worked for Home Depot 30 yrs. HD dodn’t care about associates safety when it relates to back protection, Lowe’s care more. Lowe’s even got an appliance lifter. At HD you have to have 4,5 guys to help you out a refrigerator on the customer ‘s truck, and if they are busy you have to do it yourself hoping the customer gives you a hand. But I agree, for the customer pocket HD is the place to be, assuming you don’t care about the associates
Some more information for specific individuals….as far of customer service knowledge from employees, Lowes is clearly more knowledgeable in their trades. Home Depot’s employees seems to be lacking in specific trades (ex. electrical, plumbing, flooring, etc. Also for military members, Lowes is 10% of EVERYTHING (minus the appliances deals already lowered). Example, if you spend $3000 on carpet at Lowes, you can get $300 off. Home Depot only has discounts on certain items or areas. You CANNOT get military discount on lumber, electrical, plumbing, or even online purchases. Home Depot employees will not tell you what items offer the discount. They say, “the computer system automatically does it, we don’t know what offers the discounts. Corporate makes the prices/deals/discounts”. Also if you spend $3000 at Home Depot on carpet, you will only get $50 off. That is the max military members will receive. I do Lowes all day. Home Depot only gets me in for tool rentals.
You want my opinion, so here it is: I HATE shopping online from Lowes. They shipped my pkg via FedEx on March 2nd and I have yet to receive the package and there is no ETA delivery date given. Current shipping status says “no scheduled delivery date available at this time.” Package is currently in IL, and I live in ME. WTF – so much for getting my project done on time. If the pkg is lost, I will be fu*king pissed! This is not even holiday season! This is not the first time I experience super long shipping times from Lowes. I order from Home Depot and they use UPS and I’ve NEVER had any issues. I will never shop online from Lowes again! If FedEx is that unreliable, Lowes should seek other shipping carriers like UPS or DHL
I will give you another difference: HD is the exclusive distributor for consumer grade power tool brand Ryobi. Not everyone needs or can justify $500 Milwaukee, Makita, or DeWalt pro-grade tools for their jobs and Ryobi has just about anything you can imagine for their 18V platform. And for the pros, HD got the expensive stuff too.
Home Depot is not a friend to the military and veterans. At Lowe’s you get 10% on pretty much everything. You can order on line and when you pick up your order they will adjust your purchase to give you your military discount, not at Home Depot. Home Depot just implemented a policy where you only get a military discount on the first $400 dollars for the year. That’s it, nothing more. They know what they’re doing and they don’t give a sh*t. I’ve called the corporate office on several occasions and they always confirm that that is their new policy. This is very disheartening as I spend THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS EVERY YEAR AT Home Depot. I have found that my money is just as green at any other store. In short I’ve voted with my feet and my wallet.
IMO Home Depot has a higher quality across the board. I have experienced durability issues with anything I’ve bought at Lowe’s. Plus Lowes outsources appliance delivery which was a complete disaster for us last year. I’ve also found the floor personnel at Home Depot is MUCH more knowledgeable. I personally I prefer Sams and Home Depot.
Hi, I do most of my shopping at Lowes. Lowes gives me a 10% discount on almost everything on any day. I’m a Veteran. Home Depot will only give a veteran’s discount three days a year. I bought a Honda lawn mower from Home Depot because Lowes doesn’t carry that brand. But I told them that if I didn’t get a veteran’s discount, I was going to leave without the Honda Lawn mower. The quality of paint from Lowes is better and I get perfect match. At Home Depot they give excuses to why they can’t match your color. If I need a quick common item, I will go to Ace Hardware due to it being only about one mile from my house. For a larger purchase I will go to Lowes which is about five miles further. As a last resort, I will buy some items from Home Depot because no-one else has it. And finally I hate the security systems at Home Depot, to the point that I will walk out and not buy anything from them. Nothing worse that a camera / screen that not only shows you on the screen but constantly beeps in your ear while you are trying to find that certain item (brass fitting or whatever) I’m trying to think about what I need or what will work with my situation and that damn machine keeps going BEEP< BEEP< BEEP< BEEP BEEP< BEEP and my mind translates that into YOUR A THIEF< YOUR A THIEF< YOUR A THIEF> and at that point I walk out and spend my money somewhere else.
What about all the price gouging going on. Especially on lumber. Also I order two patio windows from Lowe’s nov 11 2020; and they opened putting it back two weeks since I ordered them. Now they say March 26 2021 they say they will be in. That’s over 4 months waiting for them. If I didn’t need them I would cancel but it’s getting ridiculously long.
I’ll challenge your Sam’s/Cosco Home Depot/Lowe’s statement! I love shopping at Sam’s and Home Depot!! So HA! Lol. I will say though, for holiday decor, Lowe’s takes the cake over Home Depot! But during the pandemic/only do curb side delivery stuff; I did buy something at Lowe’s that Home Depot didn’t have and used their curbside, NOT impressed at all! Maybe it was just my Lowe’s by my house? But I got the text that it was ready, went there, spots not clearly marked. Waited for several minutes and no one came out. Finally flagged someone down and he had to go inside and get it off the shelf! No one had actually filled the order! So nope. Home Depot it is! Unless I’m decorating for holidays lol.
Deal Guy – in the Lowe’s vs Home Depot decision – go to Home Depot for that which is better and cheaper at Home Depot and go to Lowe’s for that which is better and cheaper at Lowe’s. Obvious. Not so obvious: get a price book (either the notes section on your phone or a real notebook). Write down each item you need (with a major project divide it into categories like lumber, electrical, etc.) create price columns to the right of the items. One for Home Depot, One for Lowe’s, one for the local contractor supplier, one of Craigslist, one for Habitat for Humanity ReStore, one for Facebook Marketplace. Make shopping your obsession. It is easy to fill in prices from the large retailers, so when you come across a bargain at the ReStore or Craigslist – you’ll know what the savings are. Sometimes the ReStore employees make a mistake. I once pointed out that their price of insulation was actually more than the on-sale price at a local big box store, and they promptly cut the price by over half. Keep shopping until you have everything on the list crossed off. Keep your purchases organised (no good buying at a bargain if you lose it in the bottom of a pile at the back of the garage!) I mark down the location of each purchase on the list (i.e., electrical wire on the shed shelf; baseboards in the garage rafters, etc.) I completed a $40,000 renovation on my home for less than $20,000 (the $40,000 value was the assessment of an experienced appraiser BTW). Over $20,000 in savings for a few weeks of obsessive shopping?
I worked at lowes for 6 years but it’s true—- Home Depot has better lumber but lowes has better hardware. Also when lowes acquired craftsman from sears the prices sky rocketed and my favorite brand slowly went away — Kobalt. However recently I seen the 24v battery lineup of Kolbalt tools but as I found out it’s now all made in China when before it was made in Chicago. Disappointed ☹️. Home Depot though has Milwaukee, Ryobi, and Rigid, but both has Dewalt, who Stanley makes. Overall, I love lowes because I worked there and I still have half my friends that work there and gives me my employee discount.
I’ve been a maintenance tech for almost 20 years. For the first 10+ years I knew that lowes had a better selection and home depot had better prices. But it seems like in the last few years the selection has diminished at lowes and their prices have come down a little. So I’ve always been a home depot customer but i find myself in lowes a little more often than I used to these days.
Granted it was in 2000, We were building our house agreeing with the contractor that I would purchase and install all of the electrical wiring, panels, and fixtures. With checkbook in hand, I purchased most of the items at Home Depot. The order came to over $3000.00. I heard over the loudspeaker that you got 10% off your purchase for applying for a credit card and using it to make the purchase. Since I didn’t have a HD CC, I did decide to go this route and saved over $300.00 bucks on my order. The $300.00 paid for the Electrical Inspection fees. We paid the card off within the “six month no interest deal” and the rest is history. I must add, God blessed us all the way through the build. Whenever we needed anything, there was never any issue getting it.
I find Lowes website stock and pricing relative to my local store to be absolutely abysmal. I am renovating my entire house from ground up. Everytime I shop I preview both websites for Home Depot and Lowes and note in-stock details and even aisle location with quantity listed before I make my trip. After 5 or 6 recent consecutive wasted shopping escapades throughout the Lowes warehouse, not finding my listed items from that days website viewed from my home PC, Lowes my frustration was overwhelmed. I don’t know if it was deliberate false advertising or a realy terrible web host in IT, or perhaps bad management with inventory control. Either way, I’m done with that outfit until I learn that they have cleaned up their act. My home refurb is a major project so I’m buying supplies weekly. I don’t have time to be running after bad ads or bad listings. After 5 or 6 frustrated shopping sprees consecutively I think anyone would have doubts about Lowes management, at least here at my closest local store. I don’t do social media, and I don’t carry a cell phone everywhere caz I hate its tracking and advertising BS. And frankly I’ve been so busy refurbishing that I haven’t received confirmation of any others experiencing similar issues. For now, I simply bypass Lowes and do all my construction shopping at Home Depot. But I did enjoy your smart comparison article, thank you.
I think it depends on your local HD or Lowes. Our HD does not have much to offer for rentals. You have to drive an additional 30-45 mins away to get HD rentals. Sometimes Lowes peeps are more helpful and other times HD peeps are more helpful. Having a need to use a bathroom in either store. Hmm. Been to both where the seats are coming off the hinges. This can be dangerous. Both stores and no fixes? Not talking right away fixes either. One of them, over a year and no fix? It’s not like either store hires only men. So …. like Mounds/AlmondJoy commercial, lol, some days you feel like a nut, some days you don’t.
The Home Depot has a lot more selections on things where Lowes I find very limited. I Always go to The Home Depot first. As far as Ace, I only use them in an emergency. They Carrie a lot of stuff, but there prices are ridiculous. Costco has fallen in the last 3 years or so. They have way less choices of Your everyday items than BJ’S. And a lot of Costco’s Bakery items you have to Buy 2 items you can’t just buy one. Love Your website, keep up the Good Work
I dont think the paint comparison is valid. Sherwin Williams has varying quality of paints, ProMar 200 is not comparable to Behr Premium Plus for example. Paint is too broad of a category to rate like that. As somone who’s use more than I’d like to acknowledge of cheap Sherwin Williams paint as well as better quality, you get what you pay for.
TTI Makes parts and Ryobi and probably many other brands. Like most of my Ryobi tools except mower which died in one month. Maybe you could do us all a favor and get TTI to pay attention to short comings and complaints. Glad it died within 90 day so HD gave me all my money back. Warranties should be longer. Longer always better. Electronics failure rate have a bathtub curve, (side view of tub), very high at first then tapers off to some steady state for a decade and then starts to rise again. WorstBuy electronics store should give you a warranty that covers at least the first 300 hours of use, the burn in time of most electronics. Motors on the other hand are rated MTBF Mean Time Between Failure. So think hard disk or vacuum 10000 Hours MTBF, so if use vacuum 20 min once a week it should out live YOU! Lowes is much brighter, strange since HD has the better lighting selection, Lowes at times seems easier to find a sales associate, but ones in HD better trained. I started this ramble to ask you if TTI might pay more attention to you about upping their quality? Fewer price points of vastly superior quality even better.
Just FYI, based on my conversations with Home Depot employees at a handful of locations in the Midwest, they no longer offer refunds on plants – at least not for tropicals and/or house plants. According to staffers, this is because HD no longer owns their nursery stock. Apparently, it is consigned from the vendor. This means HD, according to what I was told, also lacks the flexibility to price adjust for damaged plants. I don’t know whether this applies to outdoor plant selections, nor whether it is policy outside the area of northern Illinois and neighboring states. Last confirmed Spring 2021. YMMV
Home Depot is heads and shoulders above Lowes. Just bought a fixer-upper home in Ocala, FL. Lowes would not deliver appliances and I’m in the same town. Lowes would not take my paint order and credit card over the phone. I had to give my painters (who I barely knew) my credit card). I brought my countertop measurements into the Lowes store 2 weeks ago. No one has gotten back to me. Their carpet department was a ghost town. Was ready to spend $$$ no one around to take my order!!!!!!!! Lowe’s is a joke!
I appreciate what you had to say, but I prefer the Behr Marquee paint to SW. I also found more helpful associates at HD vs Lowe’s where I’m mansplained. I have also found for my electrical and plumbing repair needs that HD had more than Lowe’s. Also the Lowe’s lumber was horrible quality. I will say, I liked the quality and variety of plants and garden supplies at Lowe’s. Also Lowe’s gives veteran discounts online and in store, vs HS is in store, and only select items.
I had to log on just to say this post clearly must be based on your location in the country. I live in southern California and of the 25 Home Depots and 6 Lowe’s I’ve used, because I not an idiot to expect anything different after not getting service 6 times in Lowe’s, Home Depot has so much more in inventory and support then Lowe’s ever has. I hear you trying to show a balance but NO, Not even close. Monday through Sunday Home Depot is packed, people only go to Lowe’s if Home Depot’s parking lot is packed, and then to wait for a working self check out machine and hours of trying to find someone in the store to help you. I’m a contractor and because my wife says so I’m also a home improvement person, hands down, and I love blue, Lowe’s sucks and takes days to check out with 1/4 the customers, if you find a working self terminal. They have 1/2 the inventory Home Depot has in plumbing, lumber, and tools. Clearly a position of country. And I get pissed at Home Depot when they block the isle, this has never happened at Lowe’s because they have no customers!
Lowe’s is closer to my home, but Home Depot is close too just a bit farther away. We’re supposed to get a Menard’s but not here yet. Nearest is 40miles away. I love their paver stone materials and loading area. I love the Lowe’s parking lot and hate the HD parking lot. I have a mutual fund that is invested in Lowe’s so it’s always my first choice. Contractors who worked on my home said they only deal with Home Depot. I did interact with HD Pro Desk a few times during that work and they were amazingly smart and helpful! I now visit both often and I’m grateful to have a choice. If I can’t find it here, I can find it there. 🙂
I shop Lowes for location. Lowes is half the distance for me. 18 miles vs 40 miles. Welcome to small town America. I haven’t seen many commercial companies use Ego brand. I have a sneaking suspicion that they are more of a prosumer brand. I see more small lawn care companies use Ryobi and the bigger companies use Stihl. As for construction tools they all have their followings. I’ve heard heated debates over Milwaukee vs Dewalt and Hytachi vs Makita.
I disagree with the Sams analogy… I love Sams and I love Home Depot… Lowes is a nice store and feels more like a Macy’s of hardware, however, customer service is really bad..2 times dealing with a return issue and Lowes didn’t want to assist until I asked for the store manager.. However, Home Depot customer service is way better…and they instantly give you discount when you have any issues without even asking.. so I give A+++ customer Service to HD… I do admit that Lowes can get you something faster in those “I need it like now” (like a washer or dryer) but overall, I would rather buy at Home Depot as the experience with staff is top notch and I love how HD displays their items with wider isles and less clutter… HD is number one in my book…
Lowe’s does offer the 1 year garden plants guarantee same as Home Depot Plus You know those Mickey Mouse receipts that fade away in a month? Well at Lowe’s you can get a “my Lowe’s card” which keeps track of your purchases such as an 8 month plant that died as where Home Depot for example, my wife purchased a Rigid cordless power drill with lifetime warranty. In 1-month the battery died, the receipt was faded beyond recognition and Home Depo would not honor the warranty as they were the only store too carry that tool and boasted about the lifetime warranty at Christmas, I was far from happy. Also customer service, I was at Home Depot and had a question about a product, 5 HD employees standing in a circle shooting the crap as I stood there staring at them for almost 10 minutes before I purchased a $3 key chain in order too leave feedback on the horrible service. They have gotten better after my review but Lowe’s still out does HD in customer service. I have a bad ankle and knee and prefer Lowe’s smaller lay out.
I like my Home Depot because it’s in the line of sight across the expressway from Home Depot’s Home Headquarters Building in Metro Atlanta. I hear that the upper brass frequently drop-in, and I have never had such incredible service. I’ve always been partial to H.D. but probably everywhere I’ve lived, for some reason, they were much closer to me than Lowes. I don’t dislike Lowes, but I just never have a reason to go out of my way when Home Depot always seems to have what I need and they are close by.