Seems to me, here in SE Pennsylvania at least, that these two retail giants
have their respective eyes set on each other.

Both are Southern companies, so the personalities are similar.

(I do this for a living, so take my word for it)

But, has anyone had any preference over the other in terms of

Service

or

Price?

I think I'd have to go to Home Cheap-O for both. They sell more, so have
more buying power. Plus, they seem to train at least some of their employees
to *pretend* they are interested in keeping their jobs.

But, as Lowes is 1/4 mile away, and Home Depot 3/4 mile away (this is
suburbia mind you, not the city), I think my 1st choice is Lowes. Geography.

As I am one to save budget where I am able (I do not make a great living) am
I really losing out on dollars and cents by not shopping at HD?

Signed,

Mr. Curious

Yea, I was wondering this very question recently too. My recent
experience found a happy medium. I found Lowes to be more expensive on
some wood I was buying and a couple dollars more on some other items,
but the selection of the quality of the products at Lowes was greater.
Lowes had a nicer selection, but it costs a little more for the look
and quality. I would suggest regular items go to HD, but if you want
character and style on some stuff go to Lowes. Example, buy light
bulbs at HD, but buy track lighting at Lowes.

Example:
20 1"x6"x10' - Lowes $5.99 and HD $5.29 (adds up when you buy 20 of
them)

On Wed, 6 Sep 2006 16:48:55 -0400, "ng_reader"
wrote:

Seems to me, here in SE Pennsylvania at least, that these two retail giants
have their respective eyes set on each other.

Both are Southern companies, so the personalities are similar.

(I do this for a living, so take my word for it)

But, has anyone had any preference over the other in terms of

Service

or

Price?

I think I'd have to go to Home Cheap-O for both. They sell more, so have
more buying power. Plus, they seem to train at least some of their employees
to *pretend* they are interested in keeping their jobs.

But, as Lowes is 1/4 mile away, and Home Depot 3/4 mile away (this is
suburbia mind you, not the city), I think my 1st choice is Lowes. Geography.

As I am one to save budget where I am able (I do not make a great living) am
I really losing out on dollars and cents by not shopping at HD?

Gutter screws were cheaper at Lowe's. Maybe 50 cents cheaper for 10.

On Rte 40 in Baltimore, both stores within a half mile.

Signed,

Mr. Curious

Seems to me, here in SE Pennsylvania at least, that these two retail
giants have their respective eyes set on each other.

Both are Southern companies, so the personalities are similar.

(I do this for a living, so take my word for it)

What on earth do you do for a living? Are you unaware they have had they
eyes set on each other nationally for years. Are you unaware that the
founders of HD are from California? (though probably from the NE before
that...)

I thought one of the HD founders was from Atlanta. He donated a ton of
money to the new Aquarium in Atlanta.

This mirrors my experience pretty well. I find Lowe's has a better
selection when style is an issue. Most recently, I was looking for a
flush-mount ceiling fan, and HD had only one cheezy looking model, but
Lowe's had several in all price ranges. I like the look of our Lowe's
better, too -- brighter, cleaner, and more welcoming. HD seems to have
a slightly broader range of large appliances, though, but I'm not sure
either of these would be my first pick for those.

Jo Ann

johnnymo wrote:
Yea, I was wondering this very question recently too. My recent
experience found a happy medium. I found Lowes to be more expensive on
some wood I was buying and a couple dollars more on some other items,
but the selection of the quality of the products at Lowes was greater.
Lowes had a nicer selection, but it costs a little more for the look
and quality. I would suggest regular items go to HD, but if you want
character and style on some stuff go to Lowes. Example, buy light
bulbs at HD, but buy track lighting at Lowes.

Example:
20 1"x6"x10' - Lowes $5.99 and HD $5.29 (adds up when you buy 20 of
them)

There isn't a Lowes (yet) in my area. I went to HD yesterday to get a
piece of 2" styrofoam. They refused to cut it for me (8 feet is too big
for my car) so I went to a nearby lumber yard for it.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

ng_reader wrote:
Seems to me, here in SE Pennsylvania at least, that these two retail giants
have their respective eyes set on each other.

Both are Southern companies, so the personalities are similar.

I live within walking distance of a Home Depot and a Lowe's, and I quit
going to Lowe's because of all the pricing mistakes, lack of employees
(10-minute waits to get anybody, even when the store isn't busy), and
lack of knowledgeable employees. I had to speak to three people before
finding one who knew where the window air conditioners were -- in
Arizona in July. A person who had worked in the plumbing dept. since
day one asked another employee, "Do we have anything called 'copper
fittings'?" And when I shopped for a washing machine, no employees
could answer my questions but simply referred me to their appliance
catalog, which didn't cover the models I was looking at. One person
also recommended that I use PVC pipe for hot water. Don't you mean
CPVC? "They're the same thing, except for color."

Home Depot people seem to be better trained, whether they're
moonlighting tradesmen (they're the ones who don't smile much) or
regular employees.

"ng_reader" wrote in message

But, as Lowes is 1/4 mile away, and Home Depot 3/4 mile away (this is
suburbia mind you, not the city), I think my 1st choice is Lowes.
Geography.

As I am one to save budget where I am able (I do not make a great living)
am I really losing out on dollars and cents by not shopping at HD?

They both suck. Don't let something as little as a half mile travel be the
decider; try both and see what you like. You'd be better ff in the long run
with a good local lumberyard/home center. As for who is worse, that varies
from store to store. For the most part, both chains stock the same products
at the same price. A few may vary a few pennies, but not very much.

Both chains draw fro the same pool of applicants for their help. If you
catch the right crew, you are going to be OK, but in a few weeks, faces
change and so can service. It is rare that either store has more than two
good people in the store at any given time.

Both have very neat and clean stores, both have very cluttered and dumpy
stores. That will vary depending on where you live and how interested the
manager is in keeping a nice store. Stores do have "personalities"
depending on the management. Pick the one you like best after a couple of
visits.

On Wed, 6 Sep 2006 16:48:55 -0400, "ng_reader"
wrote:

Seems to me, here in SE Pennsylvania at least, that these two retail giants
have their respective eyes set on each other.

Both are Southern companies, so the personalities are similar.

(I do this for a living, so take my word for it)

But, has anyone had any preference over the other in terms of

Service

or

Price?

I think I'd have to go to Home Cheap-O for both. They sell more, so have
more buying power. Plus, they seem to train at least some of their employees
to *pretend* they are interested in keeping their jobs.

But, as Lowes is 1/4 mile away, and Home Depot 3/4 mile away (this is
suburbia mind you, not the city), I think my 1st choice is Lowes. Geography.

As I am one to save budget where I am able (I do not make a great living) am
I really losing out on dollars and cents by not shopping at HD?

Signed,

Mr. Curious



Home Depot is about 2 miles away. Lowes about 17 miles. I'd use 2
gallons of gasoline ($5.50) more just to go to Lowes than Home Depot.
They are talking about putting a Lowes next to the HD which would be
great for the customers.

"ng_reader" wrote

As I am one to save budget where I am able (I do not make a great living)
am I really losing out on dollars and cents by not shopping at HD?

Signed,

Mr. Curious

The answer is yes, no, definitely, and maybe.

You have to know what you're going after. You have to know what it costs at
more than one place. You can find bargains everywhere. No one place is
consistently better/worse than another.

Steve

On 6 Sep 2006 15:52:08 -0700, "larry moe 'n curly"
wrote:

One person
also recommended that I use PVC pipe for hot water. Don't you mean
CPVC? "They're the same thing, except for color."

That's right. That's what CPVC stands for. Colored PVC.

ng_reader wrote:

Seems to me, here in SE Pennsylvania at least, that these two retail giants
have their respective eyes set on each other.

Both are Southern companies, so the personalities are similar.

(I do this for a living, so take my word for it)

But, has anyone had any preference over the other in terms of

Service

or

Price?

I think I'd have to go to Home Cheap-O for both. They sell more, so have
more buying power. Plus, they seem to train at least some of their employees
to *pretend* they are interested in keeping their jobs.

But, as Lowes is 1/4 mile away, and Home Depot 3/4 mile away (this is
suburbia mind you, not the city), I think my 1st choice is Lowes. Geography.

As I am one to save budget where I am able (I do not make a great living) am
I really losing out on dollars and cents by not shopping at HD?

Signed,

Mr. Curious

In my area the Lowe's and Home depot are essentially across the highway
from each other so no advantage either way distance wise and no issues
splitting purchases between the two for the best prices.

Lowe's seems to have a better selection on a lot of things, but I still
find for any larger project I end up being able to find 1/3 of what I
need at Depot, 1/3 at Lowe's and the remaining 1/3 I end up having to
chase after from "real" suppliers.

Other than the odd time when one or the other has ****ed me off and
gotten themselves on my 6 month black list my shopping is pretty evenly
split between the two.

Pete C.

"ng_reader" wrote:

....

Of the two, I think Home Depot is more politically correct. That's one
reason I like Lowe's.








Signed,

Mr. Curious

Example:
20 1"x6"x10' - Lowes $5.99 and HD $5.29 (adds up when you buy 20 of
them)

But then cheaper at Lowes once they take the "competitive" 5% discount off
the HD price. Just tell them how much they are charging at HD.

I find that no matter what job I go to HD to get material for, they are
ALWAYS out of at least one item I really NEED to finish the job...
Then I go to Lowes and get ALL the stuff with the 5% discount off HD prices

R

John Doe wrote in news:u4NLg.21905$kO3.5673
@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com:

"ng_reader" wrote:

...

Of the two, I think Home Depot is more politically correct. That's one
reason I like Lowe's.








Signed,

Mr. Curious






Good one!

"ng_reader" wrote in
:

Seems to me, here in SE Pennsylvania at least, that these two retail
giants have their respective eyes set on each other.

Both are Southern companies, so the personalities are similar.

(I do this for a living, so take my word for it)

But, has anyone had any preference over the other in terms of

Service

or

Price?

I think I'd have to go to Home Cheap-O for both. They sell more, so
have more buying power. Plus, they seem to train at least some of
their employees to *pretend* they are interested in keeping their
jobs.

But, as Lowes is 1/4 mile away, and Home Depot 3/4 mile away (this is
suburbia mind you, not the city), I think my 1st choice is Lowes.
Geography.

As I am one to save budget where I am able (I do not make a great
living) am I really losing out on dollars and cents by not shopping at
HD?

Signed,

Mr. Curious




I've gotten to know most of the people at HD. Who and who not to ask stuff.
I have trouble finding anyone to get to know at Lowes.


HD is 3 mi closer to Lowes. No big deal right? Well my junker pickup has
one of those can't kill'em big 5.7 li. 350's. 10mpg with a tailwind. 900lbs
of stone in the back and you never know it until you have to jamb on the
brake and it comes through the back window. Now a 6 mi extra round trip at
three bucks a gallon comes to a buck 80. I DO consider that.

mm wrote in
:

On 6 Sep 2006 15:52:08 -0700, "larry moe 'n curly"
wrote:

One person
also recommended that I use PVC pipe for hot water. Don't you mean
CPVC? "They're the same thing, except for color."

That's right. That's what CPVC stands for. Colored PVC.



LMAO!

Al Bundy postmaster 127.0.0.1 wrote:

John Doe jdoe usenetlove.invalid wrote in news:u4NLg.21905$kO3.5673
newssvr12.news.prodigy.com:

"ng_reader" wilgrow_co hotmail.com wrote:

...

Of the two, I think Home Depot is more politically correct. That's one
reason I like Lowe's.

Good one!

Huh?









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Newsgroups: alt.home.repair
Subject: Lowes vs. Home Depot
From: Al Bundy postmaster 127.0.0.1
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In NC, Lowes stores are bright and cheerful. HD stores remind me of the
inside of a paper bag. Lowes will meet HD prices.


"ng_reader" wrote in message
. ..
Seems to me, here in SE Pennsylvania at least, that these two retail
giants have their respective eyes set on each other.

Both are Southern companies, so the personalities are similar.

(I do this for a living, so take my word for it)

But, has anyone had any preference over the other in terms of

Service

or

Price?

I think I'd have to go to Home Cheap-O for both. They sell more, so have
more buying power. Plus, they seem to train at least some of their
employees to *pretend* they are interested in keeping their jobs.

But, as Lowes is 1/4 mile away, and Home Depot 3/4 mile away (this is
suburbia mind you, not the city), I think my 1st choice is Lowes.
Geography.

As I am one to save budget where I am able (I do not make a great living)
am I really losing out on dollars and cents by not shopping at HD?

Signed,

Mr. Curious

If you are buying an extended warranty on an appliance, they are cheap at
Lowes compared to Sears.



wrote in message
ups.com...
This mirrors my experience pretty well. I find Lowe's has a better
selection when style is an issue. Most recently, I was looking for a
flush-mount ceiling fan, and HD had only one cheezy looking model, but
Lowe's had several in all price ranges. I like the look of our Lowe's
better, too -- brighter, cleaner, and more welcoming. HD seems to have
a slightly broader range of large appliances, though, but I'm not sure
either of these would be my first pick for those.

Jo Ann

johnnymo wrote:
Yea, I was wondering this very question recently too. My recent
experience found a happy medium. I found Lowes to be more expensive on
some wood I was buying and a couple dollars more on some other items,
but the selection of the quality of the products at Lowes was greater.
Lowes had a nicer selection, but it costs a little more for the look
and quality. I would suggest regular items go to HD, but if you want
character and style on some stuff go to Lowes. Example, buy light
bulbs at HD, but buy track lighting at Lowes.

Example:
20 1"x6"x10' - Lowes $5.99 and HD $5.29 (adds up when you buy 20 of
them)

Lowes used to be crap but they have improved dramatically over the last
decade or so. I remember a grand opening of a new store in Cary, NC 20
years ago and all the management was there. I told them their stores were
crap and showed them how they had bolts without matching size nuts and visa
versa. I told them how I could make a ton of money opening a hardware store
right next to their store. I doubt they were listening to me but obviously
they got the message from somewhere.


"Phisherman" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 6 Sep 2006 16:48:55 -0400, "ng_reader"
wrote:

Seems to me, here in SE Pennsylvania at least, that these two retail
giants
have their respective eyes set on each other.

Both are Southern companies, so the personalities are similar.

(I do this for a living, so take my word for it)

But, has anyone had any preference over the other in terms of

Service

or

Price?

I think I'd have to go to Home Cheap-O for both. They sell more, so have
more buying power. Plus, they seem to train at least some of their
employees
to *pretend* they are interested in keeping their jobs.

But, as Lowes is 1/4 mile away, and Home Depot 3/4 mile away (this is
suburbia mind you, not the city), I think my 1st choice is Lowes.
Geography.

As I am one to save budget where I am able (I do not make a great living)
am
I really losing out on dollars and cents by not shopping at HD?

Signed,

Mr. Curious



Home Depot is about 2 miles away. Lowes about 17 miles. I'd use 2
gallons of gasoline ($5.50) more just to go to Lowes than Home Depot.
They are talking about putting a Lowes next to the HD which would be
great for the customers.

ng_reader wrote:
As I am one to save budget where I am able (I do not make a great
living) am I really losing out on dollars and cents by not shopping
at HD?

I prefer Lowes because no one at HD seems to know what exterior
plywood is. I needed a couple of sheets of exterior, sanded BC ply,
best they could come up with was "sheathing"...CDX. Guys at Lowes
knew what exterior ply was, even knew it was marked with a different
color on the ends. They also knew what "BC" meant.

Screw HD.


--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Lowes has a better selection of items, is more likely to have them in
stock, and carries better quality merchandise. For example, I only use
stainelss steel hardware. Most Home Depot's have very little, if any,
and charge $1 for a bag of 4 screws. Lowes whas a wide selection of
stainless steel hardware, and I often go there to get their bags of
metric stainless steel hardware to use on my car. You don't find the
metric stainless steel at very many places. The wood is a higher grade
at Lowes also.

Home Depot stores are a mess in my area, and they're always out of stock
of basic items. Hell, I went to buy a quart of satin f***ing
polyurethane, and they were out. How can you be out of that?

My wife was going to buy me a tool belt for my birthday so I'd be more
sexy. Home Depot's selection was dirty, dusty, mixed in the wrong bin,
you couldn't tell what was what.

I've given up on Home Depot.

Funny this should come up since I am in the middle of a kitchen remodel
and I have been doing pricing between the two stores emphatically.

And my conclusion - depends on the item, and sometimes it is
significant.
As a store I prefer Lowes, it is cleaner, brighter, easier to find
items and easier to find assocaites (cut wire, bring down top stock
items).

However here are a few of my recent pricing comparisons (I live in
central Mass.)

Vinyl 34¼ x 41¼ double hung window:
HD: $125
LW: $102

½ Copper ball valves w/waste:
HD: $8.47
LW: $6.79

R-13 Roll Insulation
HD: $10.78 / Owens Corning
LW: $18.80 / Johns Manville
This was CRAZY, same R value....more or less getting a role almost free
by going with OC rolls.

2in Sofet Vents (bag of 6)
HD: $8.50 (Plastic vents)
LW: $6.40 (Metal Vents)

On and on the list goes. Some are not all that impressive (10ft
lengths of copper being .40 cheaper a run at HD) but if you are in a
big project and the distances are the same between stores it literally
pays to know the prices.

That being said do not underestimate your local stores!

3Mil contractor bags I found for $5 cheaper a box from the local guy
and this was my other mind blow, 250ft of 12-3 wire (no not stranded
the real solid copper 4 line run) was $112. Where it was $80 from HD
for 100ft. More then 50% less per ft!

-Mike-

Al Bundy wrote:

"ng_reader" wrote in
:

Seems to me, here in SE Pennsylvania at least, that these two retail
giants have their respective eyes set on each other.

Both are Southern companies, so the personalities are similar.

(I do this for a living, so take my word for it)

But, has anyone had any preference over the other in terms of

Service

or

Price?

I think I'd have to go to Home Cheap-O for both. They sell more, so
have more buying power. Plus, they seem to train at least some of
their employees to *pretend* they are interested in keeping their
jobs.

But, as Lowes is 1/4 mile away, and Home Depot 3/4 mile away (this is
suburbia mind you, not the city), I think my 1st choice is Lowes.
Geography.

As I am one to save budget where I am able (I do not make a great
living) am I really losing out on dollars and cents by not shopping at
HD?

Signed,

Mr. Curious



I've gotten to know most of the people at HD. Who and who not to ask stuff.
I have trouble finding anyone to get to know at Lowes.

HD is 3 mi closer to Lowes. No big deal right? Well my junker pickup has
one of those can't kill'em big 5.7 li. 350's. 10mpg with a tailwind. 900lbs
of stone in the back and you never know it until you have to jamb on the
brake and it comes through the back window. Now a 6 mi extra round trip at
three bucks a gallon comes to a buck 80. I DO consider that.

Your junker pickup needs a tune-up. My non junker pickup with the 7.4L /
454ci and 4.56 axles gets 11.5mpg under nearly all load conditions.

Pete C.

I only *wish* there was a Lowe's nearby. Only rencently Home Depot
opened a store about 5 minutes away from my current home. I bought a
house (only 9 yrs old but thoroughly trashed by previous owners) a
couple of months ago and began interior remodeling.

Right away after I bought the house, I went to HD and ordered Mills
Pride Cabinets (about $5k worth) and a Corian countertop (about $3k.)
In the last 2 weeks alone I have spent over $15k at HD. Here's what I
have got for my money:

I have had to repaint the house interior THREE TIMES because the Behr
paint they sell is CRAP. (I will say that even Behr recognized the
problem and is refunding the cost of the paint - but that doesn't
address all my labor) Their "flat" paint is NOT flat, by the way; it's
an eggshell, and their "Flat enamel" is a satin. Don't let the labels
fool you.

My cabinet order was delayed (they are SUPPOSED to come in today -
we'll see!) two weeks because HD is now discontinuing Mill's Pride and
switching to a different cabinet company to replace them. Now the
countertop contractor tells me they can't [won't] even "template" (a
fancy word for measuring) my job for 3 weeks, and they tell me that
they need ANOTHER 2-3weeks to fabricate. According to my HD contract
(for the cabinets and countertop) this should all be DONE by September
20. I CLEARLY stated and made it a condition of sale, that all this
would be done by the end of Sept. because I need to MOVE IN. Now I
don't have kitchen countertops - HD called at this late date and said
that they cannot supply them in time. Why couldn't they have told me
this when I ordered everything??

Now what? My wife is in tears. I wish there was a Lowes nearby.

Jeff

Mike Plate wrote:
Funny this should come up since I am in the middle of a kitchen remodel
and I have been doing pricing between the two stores emphatically.

And my conclusion - depends on the item, and sometimes it is
significant.
As a store I prefer Lowes, it is cleaner, brighter, easier to find
items and easier to find assocaites (cut wire, bring down top stock
items).

However here are a few of my recent pricing comparisons (I live in
central Mass.)

Vinyl 34¼ x 41¼ double hung window:
HD: $125
LW: $102

½ Copper ball valves w/waste:
HD: $8.47
LW: $6.79

R-13 Roll Insulation
HD: $10.78 / Owens Corning
LW: $18.80 / Johns Manville
This was CRAZY, same R value....more or less getting a role almost free
by going with OC rolls.

2in Sofet Vents (bag of 6)
HD: $8.50 (Plastic vents)
LW: $6.40 (Metal Vents)

On and on the list goes. Some are not all that impressive (10ft
lengths of copper being .40 cheaper a run at HD) but if you are in a
big project and the distances are the same between stores it literally
pays to know the prices.

That being said do not underestimate your local stores!

3Mil contractor bags I found for $5 cheaper a box from the local guy
and this was my other mind blow, 250ft of 12-3 wire (no not stranded
the real solid copper 4 line run) was $112. Where it was $80 from HD
for 100ft. More then 50% less per ft!

-Mike-

I'm totally with you, John. When I first saw self checkout I thought
"Cool! Nice to have an alternative when I'm just picking up a few
small items." Then HD delivered on the other half of their new
checkout model. They cut back their staff and now only keep one
register open. This means that whenever I need anything oversized,
weighed, measured, special ordered -- in other words, whenever I need
anything expensive -- I go to the blue store.

Their model basically states that it's much better for you to have to
stand there waiting than have a register worker be idle during parts of
the day. The way I see it, they're saving money at the expense of my
time. Of everything I consider when doing a project such as
engineering, labor, materials, cost, and ROI, my time is the most
important asset. It's the asset I can't replace.

I once spent 2 hours loading a cart with all kinds of renovation
supplies; probably about $250 worth of stuff. I had everything from
stove burner elements to crown molding. When I went to check out, I
sat at the one register for 10 minutes and got ****ed off and walked
out. I left the cart sitting where it was. It was childish, but damn
it felt good.

I still go to HD for door knobs and such. It's my "convenience store."
Lowes gets my big business (windows, shower enclosure, water heater,
tools, etc)

Their selection's better anyway.

Quality, definetly Lowes. The wood is straighter and cleaner.
Everything else the3 quality is much higher.

I had many issues with HD. One of which, most recent, I purchased a
electric fireplace/heater. I took it home, installed it, and the heater
thermostat was defective. Brought it back, got a new one, installed
it........same thing. Brought it back....made them open it and test it
there at the store.........same thing.........all were bad out of about
5 they tested.. After #5 , I got a refund and went to
lowes..............its been running now for 2 years without a glitch. I
wont ever go to HD again for anything. As far as Im concerned, they
sell crap.

Never buy a load a wood from them without checking it first....most
will be not straight, water loaded, or splintered.

Just my thoughts :-)

Oh, one other thing ...

I'm not sure if it's like this everywhere around the country, but at my
HD in SE Pennsylvania (same as the OPs) the tool section is in a
secured area. They have their own register and make you buy it before
you can carry it out. I've been in the situation where I was buying
other things and had to wait in line twice because the tool guy refused
to ring my other purchases.

Lowes doesn't treat you like a criminal.

Jeff,

get your money back or get some kind of refund for neglection of
contract..........or go to Lowes online, and buy it from there.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productList&Ntt=kitchen%20countertop&Nt k=i_products&category=Cabinets%20&%20Countertops&N =0+5000303&Ns=p_product_description|0

ng_reader wrote:
Seems to me, here in SE Pennsylvania at least, that these two retail giants
have their respective eyes set on each other.

Both are Southern companies, so the personalities are similar.

(I do this for a living, so take my word for it)

But, has anyone had any preference over the other in terms of

Service

or

Price?

I think I'd have to go to Home Cheap-O for both. They sell more, so have
more buying power. Plus, they seem to train at least some of their employees
to *pretend* they are interested in keeping their jobs.

But, as Lowes is 1/4 mile away, and Home Depot 3/4 mile away (this is
suburbia mind you, not the city), I think my 1st choice is Lowes. Geography.

As I am one to save budget where I am able (I do not make a great living) am
I really losing out on dollars and cents by not shopping at HD?

Signed,

Mr. Curious


Good thread. In my book, Loews wins on all counts. And I used to be a
devout HD shopper.

I'm in the Portland/ Tigard Oregon area.

I suspect that a goodly art of folks reactions to either HD or Loews is
a result of individual store managers and regional zone district
management, and that there is no universal rule that fits all Loews and
HDs everywhere.

That said, I have some observations that I think are in line with most
comments here.

First, my eyes aren't the best in the world. I have some vision issues
but hell, I'm 65 so thats to be expected. Bu my nearest Home Depot
(Tigard, OR) is dingy. The lighting is bad. Its not comfortable on
the eyes to shop there. Other HDs in Beaverton, and Sherwood, OR are
almost as bad, but the Tigard HD is just dingy. By comparison, Tigard
Loews is brighter. I can see well in the Loews.

Clutter is a parallel story. The HD store's aisles are badly cluttered
far too often. The Loews aisles are wider and not a frequently
cluttered, in my experience.

Second, there appears to me to be no uniformity to the internal layout
of the HD stores. I am most used to the Tigard store and sort of "know"
where each department is. If I'm out and about and am nearer the
Beaverton HD or Sherwood HD stores, and don't want to make an extra trip
to the Tigard HD, I can't find anything in the Beaverton of Sherwood HD
stores. Each of those is set up internally differently from the
Tigard store and differently from each other. Very frustrating and a
wast of my time

I have only ever been to the one Loews store, so I don't know by
personal experience if the Loews stores are internally organized in a
uniform fashion.

In any event, even though the stores are on different sized and shaped
plots of land, it strikes me that an effort should be made to have
uniform internal layout. Easier on customers, and in the long run
cheaper for operation, easier to transfer crews around and avoid some
learning costs.

Third, self checkout. An abomination. I will not use it at HD or at
any of the local grocery chains that use it around here. I ran a
small professional service business before I hung up my cleats and
retired. I never had a computer come in and engage my professional
services. Only people. Whenever I have a choice, I'm going to get
service from a person, not a machine. If the vendor doesn't give me that
choice, I probably won't shop there at all. I think of it as "paying
forward" when I deal with a human being. That human being is going to
o out and spend her / his wages, maybe some of that with me. HDs
computer isn't going to spend jack with me. I'm the same way at a bank
when it comes to service by a teller vs. service by an ATM. (And with
banks, though you are saving them operating costs when you use an ATM,
the %$#^%&^%& banks charge you an extra fee for the dubious
"convenience" of the ATM.) I guess you can just call me old fashioned.


Somewhere up thread, someone commented that self checkout was HDs way of
transferring part of its operations costs to his precious time. That
is absolutely correct. In addition, as bad as HDs pay for a cashier
is, its still a job for a real live human being. Jobs, all jobs, are
important.


Pricing used to be in favor of HD around here. They were usually about
10% lower overall on stuff than Loews. Here and there one item was more
at HD, but the general trend here was HD was cheaper. Over the last 12
- 14 months it "feels" to me as if that has changed, with Loews being
consistently cheaper than HD by about 5 %.

Quality of products. Live plant materials seem to me to be better at
HD. I suspect thats a local issue dependent upon local wholesale nursery
vendors. Lumber seems to be cheaper at Loews, but locally our Loews
doesn't stock as many shapes and varieties of molding, chair rail,
crown, baseboards. I generally try to get that at two local yards,
"Elmo Studd's" (yes, thats the name) in Durham, OR, or another place
who's name I can't remember, maybe McCoy's Lumber and Millwork, I think,
in East Portland. I can drive you right there, but can't remember the
name until see their sign.

Hardware, screws etc are over priced at both HD and Loews, and the
selection is lousy. I get that stuff at Faulk Ace Hardware in
Beaverton. Great selection and fabulous staff, they really really know
their sock and their stuff.

Which brings us to staff. When the HD first opened here, what 12 - 15
years ago, their staff was uniformly excellent. Now, the HD staff is a
joke. The Loews staff is almost, but not quite as bad. Loews still
has a few competent folks in building materials. Neither has any
competence in paint department. HD is ahead in the plumbing department
if you get the right guy. Loews is ahead in the plumbing department,
but only if you luck into the right guy. If the right guy is not on
duty in either department, you are SOL.

Overall, consistently bad, bad service on the floor at the Tigard HD,
and horror shows trying to check out with cartloads of "stuff" and the
cashier not knowing how to ring up stuff which is advertised at a sale
price, with the HD computer insisting on overcharging, and waiting 15 -
20 minutes for a "manager" to show up in response to a cashier's call
for help has driven me the the local Loews. I have left several hundred
dollars of stuff on carts at the Tigard HD and walked out and gone to
Loews at least twice in the last year because of that. No, I don't
think its childish. Last time, June 2006, was the last time I set foot
in HD.

In my book, Loews wins. YMMV.

Jim McLaughlin wrote:

ng_reader wrote:

Seems to me, here in SE Pennsylvania at least, that these two retail
giants have their respective eyes set on each other.

Both are Southern companies, so the personalities are similar.

(I do this for a living, so take my word for it)

But, has anyone had any preference over the other in terms of

Service

or

Price?

I think I'd have to go to Home Cheap-O for both. They sell more, so
have more buying power. Plus, they seem to train at least some of
their employees to *pretend* they are interested in keeping their jobs.

But, as Lowes is 1/4 mile away, and Home Depot 3/4 mile away (this is
suburbia mind you, not the city), I think my 1st choice is Lowes.
Geography.

As I am one to save budget where I am able (I do not make a great
living) am I really losing out on dollars and cents by not shopping at
HD?

Signed,

Mr. Curious

Good thread. In my book, Loews wins on all counts. And I used to be a
devout HD shopper.

I'm in the Portland/ Tigard Oregon area.

I suspect that a goodly art of folks reactions to either HD or Loews is
a result of individual store managers and regional zone district
management, and that there is no universal rule that fits all Loews and
HDs everywhere.

That said, I have some observations that I think are in line with most
comments here.

First, my eyes aren't the best in the world. I have some vision issues
but hell, I'm 65 so thats to be expected. Bu my nearest Home Depot
(Tigard, OR) is dingy. The lighting is bad. Its not comfortable on
the eyes to shop there. Other HDs in Beaverton, and Sherwood, OR are
almost as bad, but the Tigard HD is just dingy. By comparison, Tigard
Loews is brighter. I can see well in the Loews.

Clutter is a parallel story. The HD store's aisles are badly cluttered
far too often. The Loews aisles are wider and not a frequently
cluttered, in my experience.

Second, there appears to me to be no uniformity to the internal layout
of the HD stores. I am most used to the Tigard store and sort of "know"
where each department is. If I'm out and about and am nearer the
Beaverton HD or Sherwood HD stores, and don't want to make an extra trip
to the Tigard HD, I can't find anything in the Beaverton of Sherwood HD
stores. Each of those is set up internally differently from the Tigard
store and differently from each other. Very frustrating and a wast of
my time

I have only ever been to the one Loews store, so I don't know by
personal experience if the Loews stores are internally organized in a
uniform fashion.

In any event, even though the stores are on different sized and shaped
plots of land, it strikes me that an effort should be made to have
uniform internal layout. Easier on customers, and in the long run
cheaper for operation, easier to transfer crews around and avoid some
learning costs.

Third, self checkout. An abomination. I will not use it at HD or at
any of the local grocery chains that use it around here. I ran a small
professional service business before I hung up my cleats and retired.
I never had a computer come in and engage my professional services.
Only people. Whenever I have a choice, I'm going to get service from a
person, not a machine. If the vendor doesn't give me that choice, I
probably won't shop there at all. I think of it as "paying forward"
when I deal with a human being. That human being is going to o out and
spend her / his wages, maybe some of that with me. HDs computer isn't
going to spend jack with me. I'm the same way at a bank when it comes
to service by a teller vs. service by an ATM. (And with banks, though
you are saving them operating costs when you use an ATM, the %$#^%&^%&
banks charge you an extra fee for the dubious "convenience" of the
ATM.) I guess you can just call me old fashioned.


Somewhere up thread, someone commented that self checkout was HDs way of
transferring part of its operations costs to his precious time. That
is absolutely correct. In addition, as bad as HDs pay for a cashier
is, its still a job for a real live human being. Jobs, all jobs, are
important.


Pricing used to be in favor of HD around here. They were usually about
10% lower overall on stuff than Loews. Here and there one item was more
at HD, but the general trend here was HD was cheaper. Over the last 12
- 14 months it "feels" to me as if that has changed, with Loews being
consistently cheaper than HD by about 5 %.

Quality of products. Live plant materials seem to me to be better at
HD. I suspect thats a local issue dependent upon local wholesale nursery
vendors. Lumber seems to be cheaper at Loews, but locally our Loews
doesn't stock as many shapes and varieties of molding, chair rail,
crown, baseboards. I generally try to get that at two local yards,
"Elmo Studd's" (yes, thats the name) in Durham, OR, or another place
who's name I can't remember, maybe McCoy's Lumber and Millwork, I think,
in East Portland. I can drive you right there, but can't remember the
name until see their sign.

Hardware, screws etc are over priced at both HD and Loews, and the
selection is lousy. I get that stuff at Faulk Ace Hardware in
Beaverton. Great selection and fabulous staff, they really really know
their sock and their stuff.

Which brings us to staff. When the HD first opened here, what 12 - 15
years ago, their staff was uniformly excellent. Now, the HD staff is a
joke. The Loews staff is almost, but not quite as bad. Loews still
has a few competent folks in building materials. Neither has any
competence in paint department. HD is ahead in the plumbing department
if you get the right guy. Loews is ahead in the plumbing department,
but only if you luck into the right guy.


Thats Loews ahead locally in plumbing department regarding staff, HD
ahead locally in electrical regarding staff. Sorry about the brain fart,



If the right guy is not on
duty in either department, you are SOL.

Overall, consistently bad, bad service on the floor at the Tigard HD,
and horror shows trying to check out with cartloads of "stuff" and the
cashier not knowing how to ring up stuff which is advertised at a sale
price, with the HD computer insisting on overcharging, and waiting 15 -
20 minutes for a "manager" to show up in response to a cashier's call
for help has driven me the the local Loews. I have left several hundred
dollars of stuff on carts at the Tigard HD and walked out and gone to
Loews at least twice in the last year because of that. No, I don't
think its childish. Last time, June 2006, was the last time I set foot
in HD.

In my book, Loews wins. YMMV.

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On 09/07/06 12:08 pm trbo20 wrote:

Oh, one other thing ...

I'm not sure if it's like this everywhere around the country, but at my
HD in SE Pennsylvania (same as the OPs) the tool section is in a
secured area. They have their own register and make you buy it before
you can carry it out. I've been in the situation where I was buying
other things and had to wait in line twice because the tool guy refused
to ring my other purchases.

Lowes doesn't treat you like a criminal.


I've never been in a Lowe's that treats me like a criminal, but HDs vary
according to the location. Of the various HD stores at which I shopped
on Long Island, NY, some had a separate secure area for the tools while
some did not. One HD store even had a security person who metaphorically
frisked everyone as they left the store; is it purely coincidental that
the racial mix in that community was different from most of the others?

Perce

On 09/07/06 11:01 am jeffreydesign wrote:

My cabinet order was delayed (they are SUPPOSED to come in today -
we'll see!) two weeks because HD is now discontinuing Mill's Pride and
switching to a different cabinet company to replace them.

I find this report very strange, because HD was the only place that sold
Mill's Pride, and if you go to the Mill's Pride Web site it still shows
HD as the only place to buy their stuff.

Perce

Percival P. Cassidy wrote:


SNIPS


I've never been in a Lowe's that treats me like a criminal, but HDs vary
according to the location. Of the various HD stores at which I shopped
on Long Island, NY, some had a separate secure area for the tools while
some did not. One HD store even had a security person who metaphorically
frisked everyone as they left the store; is it purely coincidental that
the racial mix in that community was different from most of the others?

Perce


Wonder what the loss ratio and inventory shrinkage in the store with the
security guard at the exit is compared to most of he others?


Try shopping at a computer / electronics emporium on the Wes Coast calle
dFry's , or at ant Costco store, in any color neighborhood if you want
to know wnat being treated like a ciminal is.


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On Wed, 6 Sep 2006 16:48:55 -0400, "ng_reader"
wrote:

Seems to me, here in SE Pennsylvania at least, that these two retail giants
have their respective eyes set on each other.

Both are Southern companies, so the personalities are similar.

(I do this for a living, so take my word for it)

But, has anyone had any preference over the other in terms of

Service

or

Price?

You'll have to try 'em both on for size and decide for yourself. I
live in the Eastern burbs of Cleveland. The closest HD is about a
mile away, the closest Lowes is much farther afield. I greatly prefer
Lowes: much better selection of tools and accessories; employees are
far more helpful and knowledgeable; never a long wait at the checkout.
If all I need is a box of drywall screws, or a few light bulbs, I hold
my nose and go to HD. If I need a big order of stuff, I head down the
road to Lowes.

"larry moe 'n curly" wrote in message
oups.com...

ng_reader wrote:
Seems to me, here in SE Pennsylvania at least, that these two retail
giants
have their respective eyes set on each other.

Both are Southern companies, so the personalities are similar.

Home Depot people seem to be better trained, whether they're
moonlighting tradesmen (they're the ones who don't smile much) or
regular employees.


uh-huh, right. The only 'tradesmen' that work at that kind of store aren't
really tradesmen. they are wanna-be tradesmen, much like the Storming
Moron. That kind of store can't afford to really pay tradesmen.

ng_reader wrote:
Seems to me, here in SE Pennsylvania at least, that these two retail giants
have their respective eyes set on each other.

Both are Southern companies, so the personalities are similar.

(I do this for a living, so take my word for it)

But, has anyone had any preference over the other in terms of

Service

or

Price?

I think I'd have to go to Home Cheap-O for both. They sell more, so have
more buying power. Plus, they seem to train at least some of their employees
to *pretend* they are interested in keeping their jobs.

But, as Lowes is 1/4 mile away, and Home Depot 3/4 mile away (this is
suburbia mind you, not the city), I think my 1st choice is Lowes. Geography.

As I am one to save budget where I am able (I do not make a great living) am
I really losing out on dollars and cents by not shopping at HD?

Signed,

Mr. Curious

Hard to say... by and large, I find whichever store is newest in the
area is better until they get sloppy, so it leapfrogs a bit. The Lowes
around me is further away so I go to it less, but since I find myself
going there monthly or thereabouts, that indicates that the much closer
home depot isn't providing all my needs. For instance,
recycled-rubber-tires mulch, both loose and as edging and tree rings,
which I will be ever grateful to Lowes for selling, and cheaper than
the online mailorder outfits.

Meanwhile, a couple of months after the Home depot opened up near me,
the nearby sears hardware announces it's departure. Didn't even try to
put up a fight. Sad, because I kind of liked it more, despite many
shortcomings. Anyway, they immediately seem to have deleted all the
staff, some of whom knew their stuff, and replaced them all with idiots
who hate customers. Must be closeout specialists. And, hilariously
enough, all the things they never had in stock, like **edger blades**
have all of a sudden appeared out of God knows where and are hanging on
the walls in gay profusion. All kinds of dolts like me staring at them
and swearing under their breath as they grab a handful.