Yea I use hd because of the military discount hassle at Lowe's. I'm sure it's a simple process to setup but it's not as easy as NOT having to set anything up
Yea I use hd because of the military discount hassle at Lowe's. I'm sure it's a simple process to setup but it's not as easy as NOT having to set anything up
I get the discount in both places, never had to show DD-214. Once you're in the system you're in the system. I show a badge once in a while but rarely asked.
I try to buy everything I need from a local/regional building supply company (Manning Building supplies) near me. Their prices for things like lumber and nails are comparable to HD/Lowes (sometimes cheaper) and they offer free local delivery. So, they're really $150+ cheaper than HD on most orders if you aren't picking it up yourself. They definitely cater to contractors and have weird hours, but it's great to just talk to an expert and have the order placed. I recommend them all the time.
I was a Lowe's purist for years. I have a large CC balance with them that has been revolving since I bought a house 15 years ago. They are about 5 miles from my place.
Sevenish years ago I took my current job with a company that sells to Home Depot but not Lowes. Since then I've been moving more and more of my business to HD. Initially this was simply because of loyalty to the hand that feeds you, but over the last couple years the Lowes by me has become nearly untenable. Don't have what I need, can't get decent help, crowded as heck and understaffed. The HD across town always seems to have better stuff at cheaper prices, and has staff that I can work with. This kind of pisses me off because it's easily 3x further away. Honestly, if HD's credit card people would buy out my balance I might never go back to Lowes here.
Having said all that, I do think this is very location-dependant. I think the individual store level management has a MUCH bigger influence over it than the corporate level.
Can't say I've ever had a bad experience at either, I used to just go to whichever one was closer. But Lowe's won me over when I bought my house.
And they handled my screwup when I bought my house far better than to be expected. I measured the opening for the fridge, we went to the store, picked out the fridge, they delivered the next day. After having to take the front door off the hinges, then assemble the doors on the fridge, we got it into place to realize one of the doors wouldn't open all the way because of the wall.
I didn't take into account the door opening wider than the hinge, the guys that delivered said, "Hey don't worry, happens all the time. Just keep using this one, go back to the store and pick out a different one. When we deliver that one, we will take this one back."
No extra fees, charges, or anything. Made the whole process super simple. I thought that was fantastic customer service to not penalize me for my own mistake. I was fully expecting to pay a restocking fee, or something similar.
Find a real lumber yard in your area, and patronize them.
In reply to stuart in mn :
There are darn few lumberyards left. Their prices are calculated on carrying the contractor until the house is closed and paid for. If I were building my house again I’d go directly to the local sawmills for wood. Lumber there is less that 25% the cost of even the cheapest big box stores.
The downside is you have to figure out the order.
Most of the hardware, plumbing electrical can be found on line for as little as 50% of the price of big box stores.
z31maniac said:Can't say I've ever had a bad experience at either, I used to just go to whichever one was closer. But Lowe's won me over when I bought my house.
And they handled my screwup when I bought my house far better than to be expected. I measured the opening for the fridge, we went to the store, picked out the fridge, they delivered the next day. After having to take the front door off the hinges, then assemble the doors on the fridge, we got it into place to realize one of the doors wouldn't open all the way because of the wall.
I didn't take into account the door opening wider than the hinge, the guys that delivered said, "Hey don't worry, happens all the time. Just keep using this one, go back to the store and pick out a different one. When we deliver that one, we will take this one back."
No extra fees, charges, or anything. Made the whole process super simple. I thought that was fantastic customer service to not penalize me for my own mistake. I was fully expecting to pay a restocking fee, or something similar.
Home Depot was a good store to do business with when I built my home. Their prices shattered the best I could find on Anderson Windows. And various things such as plumbing, wiring, but HVAC was easily beat on line.
More than a decade after some of my screens suffered from Pets and needed replacement and Home Depot was worthless even though I had the original model numbers and even the tiny little numbers etched into the corner of the glass.
Went on line and it took less than 10 minutes to order them delivered to the house in 4 days cheaper than our local glass guy could replace the screens in 2-3 weeks.
I'm just happy they are finally building a Menards near me so i don't have to drive across town.
In reply to EvanB :
I prefer Menards. Their clerks are required to drop whatever they are doing and take you to where you need to go to find it.
They stay until you’ve either selected which one or decided not to buy ( no pushy sales-people )
their prices will always beat Home Depot or Lowe’s
and best of all they are racers! Nice guys too!
frenchyd said:In reply to stuart in mn :
There are darn few lumberyards left.
And going to Lowes or HD just speeds that process up.
Woody said:I have found that on the rare occasion that I have a problem with something from Home Depot, it is generally the result of some (other) douchebag customer who had previously bought and then returned the item. Home Depot has been too good to me too many times for me to ever write them off.
I find that Lowe's stores may be a little cleaner and have slightly nicer stuff, but Home Depot was here 10 years earlier and I know exactly where everything is, so they are still my first choice.
Build one house from top to bottom and that sort of thing tends to happen.
I opened a shower wall kit and it was broken, returned it, went back for another the next day and the one I specifically told them was broken when I returned it was back on the shelf taped up. Anymore if it’s something that can be opened i do in the store and check. Too many times have been bit by stuff missing a piece or two.
My favorite reply so far in this thread is the “i hate them all at different times.” So true. They’re all as good as the employees, and people generally suck and are stupid, so.....
Locally, the hardware selection at Lowes blows away the selection at Home Depot.
I think I've read general disdain for the Blue and the Orange, but the few of us that are fortunate enough to have Menard's (Yellow?) in town seem to be pretty happy with them. I'll drive across town to go to Menard's, when Blue and Orange are just a couple miles away.
RealMiniNoMore said:I think I've read general disdain for the Blue and the Orange, but the few of us that are fortunate enough to have Menard's (Yellow?) in town seem to be pretty happy with them.
Yes?
Mostly. Their “go out back to the warehouse with your truck and wait 20 minutes for someone who knows how to use the forklift so they can move a bunch of E36 M3 out of the way of the thing you need” system is annoying. Also I ordered 2 boxes of railing parts for a customer shipped to my house to save time, totally ups or fedexable sizes, and they sent them on a pallet on a freight semi so i had to waste a day off work waiting for a freight delivery on my hilly 45mph scary street.
My biggest issue is to get my preferred materials for something like a composite deck with vinyl railing and white pvc trim, I have to go to Menards for the railing i like best, lowes for the pvc 12” wide trex trim, derpot for certain fasteners because i am picky, and then have the lumber and decking delivered by the local lumber yard because their quality is superior.
In reply to Patrick :
True, the outdoor lumberberk is a pain in the ass.
Depot wanted to charge me $50.00 to deliver a dishwasher. Told them I owned a pickup truck, was told it had to be delivered anyway.
Drove to Lowes, paid less for the same dishwasher, paid no delivery fee and drove home that day with the dishwasher in my truck.
1st rule of retail: NEVER make it difficult for someone to give you money.
See minor rant thread.
Still fuming about HD scheduling a delivery on Tuesday, then when I checked in it would be Wednesday, on Wednesday probably Thursday, but waiting for it to arrive at the carrier, where it had actually probably been since Tuesday.
To their credit, they refunded the $55 delivery charge without my asking, but it's not a fragment of making up for failing to deliver for three days and then dropping it off while I was out of town after I talked to two people to try to avoid that. I spent probably three hours on hold or talking to someone at HD last week.
Many apologies to anyone who already waded through that in the minor rants...
Reading these I’m glad I live in the land of Menards. Orange closed up here years ago so we have blue and green with little Reds sprinkled throughout. I always go green first, supposing they don’t have it I’ll go blue or skip right to Red and expect to pay more but talk to someone who knows what they are saying.
The first rule of red is- we are the most expensive. The second rule of red is- we learn everything. Now I am not an electrician- or a plumber. But- I can make your paint (yes, full custom too) make your keys, reprogram them, and tell you how to unberkeley your irrigation system. It always freaks people out when they ask me for TV hardware and I know they're hanging a Samsung by the size hardware thet ask for. It's what keeps me entertained. I went to blue once and was trying to bounce ideas off a guy about hanging a door. He told me to hire someone. Motherberkeleyer that's why I'm here. I'm the one hired!
stuart in mn said:frenchyd said:In reply to stuart in mn :
There are darn few lumberyards left.
And going to Lowes or HD just speeds that process up.
That process started long ago. Smalll lumberyards got bought up by bigger ones nes starting in the 1960’s.
Remember Knoc lumber?
chandler said:Reading these I’m glad I live in the land of Menards. Orange closed up here years ago so we have blue and green with little Reds sprinkled throughout. I always go green first, supposing they don’t have it I’ll go blue or skip right to Red and expect to pay more but talk to someone who knows what they are saying.
Green and Red?
CJ said:I'm a bit peeved at our HD - they have gone to all self-checkout... at a building supply... SERIOUSLY?
I guess it's not just HD. It's everywhere. They want me to come into their store with my business and then make me work to pay them? Guess they want to save having to pay a minimum wage salary?
If they are saving money, they should at least make their prices low enough to make it worthwhile for me to do their job.
Here's how I look at it: I have to stand in line whether it's self checkout or cashier. No time advantage either way. I think I'm more efficient than 90% of the cashiers, so the advantage goes to self checkout. Unless I specifically need to have a live body for some reason, I almost always go to self checkout.
For big box home improvement stores, I prefer the Lowe's in my area, but their self checkout doesn't do military discount without getting the attendant. I usually just use the shortest cashier line and suck it up.
frenchyd said:stuart in mn said:frenchyd said:In reply to stuart in mn :
There are darn few lumberyards left.
And going to Lowes or HD just speeds that process up.
That process started long ago. Smalll lumberyards got bought up by bigger ones nes starting in the 1960’s.
My dad always took us to a lumber yard when we needed something when I was growing up. Last time I was in the area and needed a couple pieces of wood, I look on the phone for a lumber yard. None around. Menards, here we come :/
914Driver said:I get the discount in both places, never had to show DD-214. Once you're in the system you're in the system. I show a badge once in a while but rarely asked.
Home Depots are going the same route as Lowes with that. I think they are slowly rolling it out by region; but, the last time I went to a Home Depot here in VA they said "we'll give you the discount now but you need to register online." Went back the next day, different associate, denied the discount because I hadn't registered online. Ordered the same power tool off amazon the same evening with a cheaper than HD+Vet discount.
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