Just curious as to who prefers what and why…
I myself prefer Lowes. Home Depot needed the competition, Lowes cares more about customer service, and I find the clearance deals to be unbeatable!
Just curious as to who prefers what and why…
I myself prefer Lowes. Home Depot needed the competition, Lowes cares more about customer service, and I find the clearance deals to be unbeatable!
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Replies
Seems to depend on what you are shopping for. The HD and the Lowes are about 1/8 mile apart and I mostly use HD. The Lowes store seems a lot cleaner, no junk in the aisles etc, but HD seems to have more in the way of lumber and other building materials. I don't expect any help from the employees in either place, so that part is not an issue.
Bill Koustenis
Advanced Automotive Machine
Waldorf Md
lowes around here is a much cleaner store than hd. hd asiles are full of stuff and displays. quality wise i think lowes wins there too. clearance items,around here neither one does anything special anymore,i think they figured out they could mark something down 15% and someone will buy it.
i go to a hd down in arkansas that is really a nice store ,ao that may vary from store to store
hard for me to give lowes any positives after my little run in friday with them,kinda like a girlfriend in hs,i'm pizzed off,but theres no one else to go to the prom with so..............larry
if a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
Lowe's. It's usually cleaner, like others have said, but I also find it to be better organized in terms of the way things are layed out.
I also have a relative who works at a Lowe's in the area, so a lot of those 10-15% off clearance items will suddenly turn into 60-70% off when he talks to the right person :-)
I use both equally I think. And some are better than others too. I've got three different HD's that I'll visit depending on where I am. One stinks, one's all right, and another has an unbelievable selection of just about everything and always seems to be stocked well....it's also always busy and located in an area with lots of building going on. On the whole, I like the tool selection (both power, hand, and accessories) better at HD compared to Lowe's.
But Lowe's is always a more pleasant experience. Brighter, cleaner, more organized, and seems to just be a 'friendlier' place to shop in general. I've got two of those that I'll use from time to time. I find Lowe's to have a much better selection of nails, screws, and fasteners. I like that I can get Kreg brand pockets screws there in a pinch. Good stainless steel selection too. Especially the hand-drives. And a pretty decent selection of pneumatic nail choices as well. At HD it always seems like I have to compromise with nail choices... they've got 18ga but not in the length I need. But they do have the right length.... in 16 ga. And they've got the length of 15ga I need.... but not galvanized. At Lowe's I usually can walk away with what I was hoping for.
So I use both. But I NEVER custom order anything from either. And I don't rely on their "help" in any way shape or form either. That's just setting yourself up for disappointment.
Help from Home Depot is the oxy moron of the year. Like nutritional content on a bottle of coke, or jumbo shrimp.
Have a good day
Cliffy
I am in NC, original home of Lowes. They have a store about 10 mi from me ( it was their first smaller footprint model) while the nearest HD is about 25 mi. There are some things I prefer to get at HD but for convenience I usually go to Lowes. I do find better markdowns there usually. It is less a warehouse (Depot) than HD, wider aisles, better lit, etc. I find the help about equal. About 50/50 knowledgeable, but usually helpful.
Prefer my local Lumber Yard but selection and range of stuff is so limited. Also see more chicks at Lowes (;-).
gotta be lowes for the positives already listed....
just don't special order anything....
the 3 HD's here are really sad.... but if you only need one or two items and no help it's okay... never any customers to any extent... lowes is always busy...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
The HD here, you can park right by the entrance. They even have big tents set up in the parking lot with garden furniture and such in it taking up a hundred parking spots. Have to park in the back of the lot at lowes nmost times. I pass up HD on my way to lowes, and fight for a parking spot.It's a lot better at lowes, but they always get my goat anyway.
if yur talkin' about the M561 "goat"....
let 'em keep it....
View Image
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I'd be keeping that myself.
I did go to HD yesterday. I'm putting up an antenna for digital TV, and needed some parts. HD didn't have much, but did have a mounting kit left over from the "glory" days. No mast sections though. So I got what they had while the getting was good. There was no price on the mounting kit though. Guess it wasn't still in inventory, so the one checkout person just charged the price of a potted plant for it. That kit used to be $25. Has everything, wall supports, lightning arrestor, transformers, cable holders and hold downs etc.Lowes had the 3 sections of mast I needed. Also the high gain UHF antenna came from Lowes clearance for around $7 a long time ago. Been in the basement for years, never put it up.
I have to agree the customer service is better at Lowes, and they arent always fencing off the isles like HD does.
Just about every time I go to HD there is one checkout line open and 10 customers with carts full waiting in line.
There might be another cashier nearby, but they will usually walk right by the line and out the door to have a smoke break.
I've got 3 Lowe's and 2 HD's to choose from. Both of the HD's suck equally. One of the Lowe's is better than the other two. One thing I've noticed is that there is very little employee turnover at the Lowe's. The same people that worked there 5 years ago are still there mostly. Most of them have good product knowledge and know where things are in the store. Even though it's a large store, many of the employees know me by name and vice versa. Of the three stores, the one with the best customer service is by far the busiest. Must have a good manager.
http://grantlogan.net
"I could have had Miss September...... I couuld have had Miss May. I could have had Miss November, but I waited for December....." ZZ Top.
I am surprised that the this is going so high for Lowes.In the past it has been more 50/50 depending on local managers.And about 2 years ago HD said that they where cleaning up their stores and making them brighter and more woman friendly.But I am mostly in one Lowes and one HD. The HD was an early one in the area and halve of my frustraction with it is know that I will be frustrated going in their.But they have never failed me. Like a manager trying to find something for a customer and not having the slightest idea where it was. I had to show them. The reason that I knew was that I had going through the samething earlier that day and found the drainage units in decomposing cardboard boxes out in the outdoor garden section..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
I also end up going to one or the other depending on what I want. Lowes has better selection of hardware, HD usually has a better lumber selection. Overall I would probably go to Lowes more than HD, except there are three things that drive me nuts about it.
1. The way they try to force me to walk across the store to get out if I don't buy something. I usually just walk up to the one way doors and force them open.
2. Their returns policy sucks compaired to HD's. I like being able to take returns back to HD without trying to dig through dozens of receipts, I don't even mind only getting store credit, because I'll use it soon enough. With Lowes they won't budge an inch without a receipt. The other thing I like is being able to easily get duplicate receipts from home depot, one to give to the customer, or to my employer for reimbursement, one for me to keep.
3. I hate that they are switching all of their tools out to Kobalt, I don't want to buy that ####.
I have never ( at least in past year or so that I can recollect) had a return problem at Lowes. Here they ask you for your phone number if you buy with cash. If you return you just give them the phone #, they punch it in and cash refund. If you used a credit card you do not need receipt either, just give them the card and they punch it in and credit it back to the card. I do try to use only one card though.
I even took a door back that a customer had bought and on that they did give me a store credit. Generally those never make it out of the store as I tend to buy something I probably did not need in the first place.
I find their policy more than fair.
Edited 6/29/2008 5:06 pm ET by rasconc
My HD story,
Went in one evening to get things for the next day, don't remember everything but I did have a prehung door, 2 sheets dw, and other odds and ends.
Waited for the man to get off the phone at the contractor checkout, he then tells me to go to the other end of the store to the self checkout. I left the cart sitting and walked out.
Happened twice. Have not been back and refuse to. Canceled my HD cc and they offered me a 10% coupon for my trouble.
Said no thanks, obviously.
So for me it is Lowes.
John
Over all I liked Menards better. More cabinet maker friendly. Better quality plywood. No Menards around where I live now. Lowes and HD are about the same with just a few differences.
Edited 6/29/2008 6:35 pm ET by larryscabnuts
Menards is getting closer.They now have a store in St Joe.I have seen their ads on KC TV. .
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Need I say more?NAIL IT !!!
San Jose has been HD territory for a long time but there's finally a Lowes coming in and everyone I know is more than ready to greet them with open arms. A new HD opened recently that has actually impressed me (so far, anyway). The place is clean, pretty well organized, and a little closer to me than the old nearest HD - which I would usually drive past to get to another HD.
They have some products that are nicer and some that are about the same as HD and Lowes. Like I said their plywood was better at Lowes or HD. And if I was getting say 10 sheets or more the Mgr would cut me a deal. Up to 2 bucks a sheet for 3/4 oak. I did shop at all 3 when I could. No Menards where I live now.
Edited 6/29/2008 9:37 pm ET by larryscabnuts
have you used any of hd's oak 3/4 ply lately? looks nice with a 9 ply,nice grain. i went over there to buy some and they had to unwrap a new stack,man that china wrap looked bad. when they un wrapped it .1/2 the sheets were mildewed! i finally got down to the bottom of the stack and got me 8 nice sheets,haven't cut them yet so we'll see.larry
oh asked them if they would reduce the blacken stuff,figured i could use it for the bottom of the cabinets,they said no ,someone would buy it if the put it out.....................if a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
I retired in 2004 and the plywood was getting pretty ratty then. I have looked at some lately and it has gotten worse. So your story is true. Even good stuff won't lay flat and the flaws look unacceptable to put out a quality product. I imagine if I were still in business I would have to shop out some good stuff and buy a half bunk of 3/4 and half inch so I could have good looking stuff leave my shop. Maybe get another shop to go in with me on bunks of good stuff.
Edited 6/30/2008 2:49 am ET by larryscabnuts
I am fortunate enough to have a ply plant 5 miles away and know one of their main sales guys. Access to minor imperfects and overrun 1st quality at too low to advertise prices.
My problem is I have about 15 sheets of Ash and Birch that are just too nice for most projects that pop up.
There is another operation across the street that was selling 5x5 probably not true Baltic Birch but "Russian Birch" in all thicknesses for 15-30. They also had many different types of the UV treated and precut drawer sides. I understand that the guy sold off part of the operation so not sure what remains.
That would be a cabinet makers dream.
I figured the post would cause some plywood envy (;-)
Rumor has it Menard'smight be going to Smithville, heard Lowe's might be there too. Can't keep it straight anymore. Think Depot's under construction by the Speedway in KCK and Lowe's is building in Blue Springs and South OP.
LOEWS for sure is best.
I don't know what the deal is at the one closest to my house, and the one closest to my shop. Didn't have too many problems until the last couple of months, but lately they haven't taken anything back without a receipt. Even though at least two of the times all I wanted to do was exchange for a different size.
but lately they haven't taken anything back without a receipt
The Lowes/Menards hereabouts don't need the receipt. They can look up the charges on a certain credit card or purchases at a certain phone number. One of the Menards even has a little kiosk where you can scan a credit card and check out your purchases made on that card.
jt8
"A little 'enthusiasm' and all problems seems small!"
Hi! I'm new to all this, so forgive me if I don't post something right.I don't know if this is common in all parts of the country, but I don't like Home Depot's cryptic product descriptions on their receipts. When I buy at Lowes you know what you bought by looking at the receipt, but when you are wading through dozens of receipts and I look at my wife and say "Honey, what the heck did we spend $50 on at Home Depot on Saturday?" and she'd say "look on the receipt" and then I have her look at it and she says "Oh! - I see what you mean." You have to write your own notes on the receipt so you know which job it was for!I would agree that Lowes is cleaner and brighter, but I go to both depending on what I need.I would go to the lumber yard more often, but their hours aren't as convenient to my schedule as the big boxes.
I don't know.I had one Lowes receipt that listed Crystal White.And I know that I did not buy any drugs their.Turns out that it was their prefinished (white) foam trim.On a Lowes receipt you can put the item number in their web search window and it will usually, but not always ID the product.Not sure about HD..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
What Bill said. I can not remember if it works for HD or not but I have called their main store # and given them the code before the description and they cheerfully told me what it was. Still kind of a pain. There is only so much detail you can print on those things though.
Probably not bad idea to make the notes as you leave the store or soon after.
I agree about the HD Receipts.
I'm looking at one now. I bought 2 items. It lists:
BN18175 <A> $12.39
GRNTPVRCHA <A> 9 @ $1.65 $14.85
And yes, except for the 12 digit sku number, this is the entire product description on the receipt.
This part (together with the tax and total) occupies 1.25 linear inches in a receipt that's 12.75" long
They devote 1.5" to the HD logo and another 6.25" on how to win a $5000 HD gift card, and not in one, but in TWO languages.
But they can't give me a clue as to what I bought.
Runnerguy
Just for grins I went to a receipt and tried on the HD site. The receipt has 12 digit UPC vs a 6 digit (max) SKU. Their site will allow input of the SKU, not UPC. I believe SKU's are pertinent to the retailer wheras UPC is , well, Universal.
Lowes receipts have SKU and will bring it up.
We probably have 8 or 9 spots in the county where Lowes and Home Depot are within a half mile of each other. Every morning every HD store is crowded with contractors loading up. Half a mile away Lowes is empty.
I have had better success with HD in my area. (Western Suburbs of Philly)
My last trip to Lowes, they had 1 of the 5 things I was looking for.
Went to HD for the other 4.
Of the 3 I am semi regularly at, 2 keep pretty clean but they are a little cluttered. 3rd is older store and never looks great but I know where everything is and it is easy in and out.
Stores are individuals as much as we are.We can only post our own opinions based on our own experiences.My experience is:Selection: HD vs Lowes... They are 'differently abled' here. One has a better selection of some things, the other has a better selection of other things.Help: Lowes wins hands down here.Clean store, easy to find things: Again, Lowes wins.
However, some of the 'clutter' at the HD is due to the fact that when Lowes changes "seasons", they clear all the seasonal merchandise out of the store. "selling" it back to the mfgr. HD at least holds onto some things, so you can buy them, even if they are 'out of season'.Credt: Here is one that hasn't been mentioned.
In these days of 'credit crisis' and predatory credit practices... I have noticed that HD's credit practices are more predatory, than Lowes.
To get back to your credit issue -
I do not think Loew's credit is anything special. They are funded by GEMoneybank IIRC. I called them about their 20% interest charges and they told me in no uncertain terms - "We do not negotiate our interest rates on commercial cards." Fine, I'll leave your card in my wallet.
Getting the credit for me was another story. Took about 3 tries. First they said - no way. Then, they sent me a card but it wouldn't activate at the service desk. Then, they said go down to the storer and it's good to go, but when I got there, absolutely not. Finally, after about two years, they got me a card and it works. It's kind of sad really, because I prefer to shop at the local lumber yard.
Don K.
EJG Homes Renovations - New Construction - Rentals
I hardly ever go into either one, closest depot is 25 minutes, closet lowes is 35, have 3 different regular yards that are within 10 minutes.
I have never used big box lumber before, but last weekend I went up to my brothers house to help him put a covered front porch. We started framing and I remarked at how nice the material was, much nicer than what I use every day. It was straight,dry,all corners intact, no cups splits or checks, so asked him where he got it... The Depot! The next suprise was he said that his wife went there on a Thursday, talked to the pro desk, got a contractors discount, and had the stuff delivered the next day!
Most of my projects are on multi million dollar properties, if I had deliveries showing up on HD trucks I would be thrown off the job in a second, but on the next project at my own house I may give them a try.
We had them deliver truck loads in regular 18 wheelers and nobody was the wiser. They were willing to deal, on truckloads that they didn't have to touch!!
Ouch !I guess I am just used to the bad cc companies, and the lowes card seems the best compared to the others.
Politics: the blind insulting the blind.
Click here for access to the Woodshed Tavern
Depends on what I'm shopping for but I've been turning to Lowe's a lot more frequently. I bought several steel doors over the past few weeks and found that Lowe's doors are a far superior quality. One thing is the threashold has plastic inside it, rather than pine like HD's does. Considering it's an exterior door, makes me wonder what the heck HD is thinking.
Most products seem to be about the same quality from either store, and Lowe's offers a way better shopping experience. There are a couple of HDs I avoid like a plague, drive right past them for the next one about a mile and a half farther. But more likely, I just go to Lowe's.
Home Depot seems to have a slightly better tool selection. Lumber is sometimes better too, but not always. I generally go to a real lumber yard for trim and treated lumber, for which both Lowe's and HD are lacking in quality.
--------------------------------------------------------
Cheap Tools at MyToolbox.net
See some of my work at TedsCarpentry.com
I tend to go to HD, I was upset with Lowes 10% off matrch and beat price policy once, and have only gone to one when I was at a Wal Mart in the shopping center.
Our local HD has hired some of the employees from some of the local yards they put out of bussines. This is nice as they know me and what I like.
Whenever possible, I use a local lumber yard, or specialty supplier. I buy tools online whenever I can. I only go to the big boxes when I need something at night or on a sunday.
I've got a Home Depot, Menards, and Lowes within a mile of my house. Have to drive between Home Depot and Menards to get to Lowes which is my preference for most stuff.
Lowes store is cleaner with less clutter and more useful customer service people. They also don't have the self checkout lines (like Home Depot) which drive me nuts. Half the stuff you would buy in one of those places will never fit in the bagging area. Self checkout is fine for the grocery store, not the hardware store / lumber yard.
The other thing that drives me nuts about HD is that every store is set up differently. No two have the same departments in the same order. And whoever had the brilliant idea to turn half the aisles int he middle of the store should have to personally guide lost customers around a store.
My wife tends to like the fixture selection at Lowes better but the ever elusive ceiling fan that she couldn't anywhere ended up being at a Home Depot 40 miles from our house. Funny thing is that the Home Depot around the corner had the same fan but that's another story.
Lumber tends to be more plentiful at HD or Menards. Tool selections are about equal at Lowes and HD depending on what brand you want to buy. HD has a tool rental which is helpful. Basic odds and ends tend to be about the same at all 3.
somebody here once said... "Buying from Home Depot is like sabotaging your own work."
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Lowes has just finally made it to Canada this year but since it is on the other side of the city, I haven't tried it yet but I hear through people that it is better then The Depot. Things I hate about the Depot; as mentioned by others, stuff blocking aisleways- if you give people big carts and sell big merchandise, KEEP THE AISLES CLEAR! Have an employee in each department at all times. I have been there at 7 am and can't find anybody in any department some mornings. If you are going to be a building supply store and cater to contractors then keep more building materials in stock and less that you have to wait 10 days or more for. I know that Home Depot and many of the other box stores cater to the homeowners more then us contractors because many more of them shop there then us but we spend more...a lot more. Plus we refer our customers there to shop for other products as well and yet, the service we get is still bad. Smarten up guys, if you want us to be loyal then you better be loyal.
Nearest HD is 130 miles to the north, 135 miles to the south, or 150 miles to the east (130 miles west puts you 120 miles into the Pacific). I don't miss it at all - between the local yards, the local specialty hardwood place, and Amazon, I'm covered with not all that much price difference. Screw 'em.
I have found that the self check counters at home depot have more personality than some of the live checkers. At least the self Check out machine makes eye contact when handing me the receipt.
The lowes I have been frequenting this past week seem to have stopped the annoying survey #### that adds four times as much paper than needed.
I hate the Home depot receipts too with their $5,000 survey. Firat thing I do when I get in the truck, tear off the bottom half of the receipt and THEN I make the notation of what job it goes to.
When I reply on the Lowes survey that it was for business the survey is usually only 3-5 questions long.But HD's takes a long time, so I am much less likely to fill it out.But TODAY WAS THE EXCEPTION.Trying to get a gas stove connected and I was confused by size of the fitting that was already on the stove.Already stopped at the hardware store and got a 1/2 flex connector and returned it. But by that time they had closed.So I went to HD, which was reasonably close. Got 5/8's and it was too big. At the time there was a line about 2 deep for each of the 3 self checkouts (one was down). And about 4 deep for the lone maned (or womaned) checkout.That one was too big and I wanted to get this finished. So I went back and tried to get a different flared to IPS adapter. Did not have one. So I picked up a different flex connector with different fittings thinking that I could return the first the next day.But they closed the self checkout and the line for the one check out was now 10 deep.Just drop the flex connector where I was and walled out before I became the Late Breaking News on Ch 5..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Heh...heh....heh...sure you still don't want that HD burned down? Talked to some service electricians today, they're going to be working on a Depot wide project....arrangements could be made :o)
After last sunday I might.There is a strip on land on the west side of BS that was suppose to be and HD and then a Lowes. But they ended up building the HD on the east side.And the Lowes in Independence. And this location is too close to that store. But there are new plans to develope that land.But there have been plans in the work for while to build more stores on the east side of BS near the HD and Walmart stores. And a Lowes in there..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Home Depot:Hunt for carts in parking lot.
Lowes: Carts inside, lined up nicely in a row, waiting for you.
CartsOne HD in the area keep'em outside, another brings them inside.Last week I was picking up 6 sheets at HD and some other stuff. got the handful of other stuff first then started looking for a flat cart to drag the dw on to. no epties to be found, inside or out. Every stinking one of them had merchandise on them. NOt nessesarily filled orders mind you but just stock. Asked an OAG where they were hiding the empty carts like the one he had loaded.To his credit he did go outside and looked (surveryed the horizon) to no avail. He said "Huh, We will ahve this one empty in a couple of minutes", I just shook my head said no thanks, I'll just go next door as I sat the handful of stuff down on the bags of concrete.Drove across the parking lot in front of Best Buy to the Lowes and got it all there. Lowes had empty carts but they were hidden. and the RVG doofus driving the forklift must have been a OAG doofus last week. He kept blocking the isle between me and the registers, absolutly clueless to the customers around him waiting for him to ...well ..get off the pot.
TFB (Bill)
I've found each HD different. The one is Rehobeth, DE is snobbish with very little help. Searched for help as all I needed were air filters - 14x30x1. The employee said in this area no one uses that size. Love Lowes in Rehobeth.
The HD in Berlin, MD is clean, employees ask if I need help. Have always found what I needed. Have purchased Anderson sliders and gliders - used their installers. Very happy and have recommended neighbors to this store for the same products.
Used to shop at the HD in Merrifield, VA - hubby and I enjoyed that store and found the employees and parking wonderful. Parking is underground - perfect in the winter.
If we all mentioned the location of Lowes or HD we could get our point across to the upper management.
I had a similar story as your filter in HD. Guy told me after he offerd to help that I could not plumb the sink the way I suggested.(sink is in an old motor home I'm fixing up) . I answered, "No, you can't do it, I will figure out a way to do it and I'll go to Evans to buy what I need"
Every body I know has Home Depot crappy service stories. There are no Lowes near me.
Have a good day
Cliffy
In my experience I choose HD. I find they have better prices - %10 to %40 better on most everything. For instance, looking for nuts for Super-Strut. The 12ga. super strut at Lowes is 17, vs 15 at HD. The nuts are $3.85 at L, but $2.50 at HD. Lumber is always cheaper at the Depot too.
At the commercial desk, the people at HD are always busy, but when they finally get around to me they are very helpfull, even for my odd azzed requests (I always ask for things they've never heard about) They do get me the products I ask about though. The Commercial desk at Lowes on the other hand is never busy, yet they've never been able to help me get a product. They didn't stock it, and had no idea where to get it from...EVEN ITEMS IN THIER OWN CIRCULAR! Where Lowes plays dumb, HD busts a hump to get me what I want.
Sometimes Lowes does have the particular product I'm looking for, but with both stores equally close I'll always hit HD first.
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Save the Whales! and Guns!
I've got two Lowes and two Menards within 15 mins. One HD within 20 mins. I've been to the HD maybe 2 or 3 times. NO positive experiences to be had there. I have to drive further and their prices are higher than Lowes. A $1.04 PEX fitting at Lowes is $1.41 at HD. A $9.98 filter at lowes is $10.99 at HD. etc
The only reason I'd go to the HD would be if they had something that Lowes/Menards didn't carry.
As to whether I like Lowes or Menards better, it just depends on what I'm looking for.
jt8
"A little 'enthusiasm' and all problems seems small!"
Around here (west Ft. Worth, TX) Lowes over HD any day for the reasons above. I go to HD after my real job because it's on the way home. But you walk in and immediately run into blocked isles and pallets everywhere. When I can't find what I want I have to go to Lowes. I have also walked out of HD from the register when they couldn't find the price on something.
The Weatherford Lowes has some good people working there.
The all time best big box store is Jerry's in Eugene, OR. Tops in every catagory, tools, hardware, lumber, service, etc, etc, etc. Jerry's has out boxed the big boxes.
Definitely Home Depot - better customer service, better pricing, better locations.
It seems to vary more by the specific store location than the brand, though.
I prefer Lowes, but go to both. Our Lowes is huge and has a drive through lumber yard which is really nice if it's hot or cold or wet or windy outside.
I like Lowe's better than Home Depot. They just have a better selection than Home Depot.
But, Home Depot has nicer restrooms.
Wait, what am I saying? Home Depot closed a week ago here!
I guess I still like Lowe's better!
Bryan
"Objects in mirror appear closer than they are."
Klakamp Construction, Findlay, Ohio - just south of the Glass City
Here in the mid Atlantic area (Virginia/Maryland), HD used to be great when they were first opening up stores here (about 1990 I believe). Their other big competitor at the time was Hechingers. HD had everything organized with correct pricing labels, great help, no stuff in the way, plenty of open registers, clean stores, etc. It was like breath of fresh air compared to H.
Well, when H went bankrupt, the HD stores soon became like H.
Runnerguy
I would say that Lowes is more homeowner oriented and Home Depot is contractor orient. Myself I avoid both and go somewhere else when possible.
Lowes is cleaner, better lit, usually better stocked and better selection.
And you can actually find someone to ask where something is. Like others, I don't rely on their "expertise" unless I've dealt with someone in the past that I trust.
Wouldn't have a problem with a special order, but would never try it at HD.