Grrrrrrr.... the arrogance

[AndyBarnhart]

Originally Posted by JimmyC

Treat people as you would like to be treated, because you never know what they're are going through until you walk a mile in there shoes.

Jimmy

Like the old saying says:

Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that, who cares? He’s a mile away and you’ve got his shoes!!!

It never ceases to amaze me how people mistreat wait staff. They have a better day and make more money if the customers are happy, yet people seem to assume the waiter/waitress went in the back and asked that the steak be burned and put on a dirty plate.

[dancam]

There is a difference between HD and Lowes.

Last year I was in HD and LOML saw me eyeing the Ridgid 6" Jointer. She promptly told me, if you need it why not get it. I always like to strike while the iron is hot so I talked to the clerk and he advised that they were out of stock and they only had the floor model (slightly dented w/scratches). I asked to speak to the manager and asked for a reduced price to take the floor model...he promptly answered that the reduction would be that he'd not charge for assembly. After fruitless discussion I walked away from the jointer and manager.

At Lowes I went to purchase a replacement 16" Poulon chainsaw and the particular model I wanted was out of stock but the display model was available. Unfortunately someone had relieved the model of its gas and oil caps. The clerk suggested I speak to the manager who quickly said I could take 20% off and he gave me a chit for the cashier to do this. I went back to p/u the model and the clerk had found a couple of caps and replaced them. I said the manager had already compensated me w/a disount...his answer was that now I had a really good deal.

It all gets back to good customer service. Additionally I agree w/a number of the previous comments... the clerks are not the price or policy setters and the best way to deal w/the managers is with respect (even if they have none in return).

Dan C.

PS...regarding the jointer, I waited and got the 8" GO490 Griz and boy was I happy the HD manager was a jerk

[JimmyC]

Dan,
It's funny how things worked out with the jointer, isn't it ? As far as HD and Lowes is concerned I completely agree with you, if there weren't things that HD had different from Lowes I would never go there. I went to HD the other day for a few small items and decided to pick up some things that I would normally buy at Lowes including birdseed. I couldn't find any bird seed( looked inthe outdoor section for 10 minutes) so I went to ask an associate who told me that he didn't work in that dept.. I asked him if he could tell me where I might find an associate in that dept. he told no and walked away.

I proceeded to buy just what I came for and get the rest from Lowes because I had to pickup the birdseed anyway. At the register, there was a pleasant woman who asked me if I found everything that I needed and I smiled and said no, but I'm sure I'll find it at Lowes. She said that she was sorry, and I said that's okay it's not your fault and I walked out, still smiling. I knew what to expect, which is what I got, that is why I go there as little as needed.

Jimmy

[Mike Davis]

I got my mitre saw at HD. It was a display model with stickers all over it and a couple parts missing and no manual. When I asked about getting one the clerk said there weren't any, it's discontinued and there won't be any more. I said what about that one? He said it's a display, we can't sell it. I said if it's discontinued you don't really need a display, do you? He said that's store policy.

So, I asked for the manager, told him what the clerk said and asked if it really made sense to him to keep a display of a discontinued product? He said no and pulled out a calculator. Marked off about 60% and helped load it in the buggy.

Sometimes it's just luck of the draw and a little persistence.

[AndyBarnhart]

I think this sort of thing varies by location, but at Crossroads in Cary, where they are practically across the street from each other, a peek at the parking lots early on weekday mornings says a lot. Far more more work trucks will be at Lowes. But I don't think that is just because of customer service. This is a bit of a generalization, but it seems like Lowes is heavier on raw materials and HD is heavier on finished goods.

[jerrye]

(Deep breath...)
OK, no one understood my post. I was making the same point Jim did in the first post in this thread. Customer service is greatly lacking, especially at the retail level. Many act like mindless drones: thus my suggestion is a way to get their attention. I've had four jobs dealing with the general public, in direct customer service, so I feel I qualify to comment. At no time did I simply pass off a customer with a problem. It hardly happens today that anyone cares enough to take their time to find a solution to a customer's problem. They can't be bothered. In Jim's case the clerk, if they didn't have the authority to do so, should have called a manager up to the register and asked for the posted price. I'm sure the clerk had a way to enter a corrected/lower price in the register. As for wait staff, I also tip heavily, usually 20%, when someone goes out of their way to take excellent care of my table. If they suck, so does their tip. I see a tip as a reward for good service, not an obligation. If you really want to see wait staff and others perk up, learn their name and call them by name. Usually the customers that complain the most are the ones that don't care enough about the person serving them to learn & use their name.

The truth of why customer service people need to go out of their way to take care of people is in this simple statement:
"Employees are overhead. I, as the customer, am profit. Which one should be taken care of?"

[junquecol]

Bruce you obviously spend way too much time in Lowe's I suspect that you knew that already

Dave[/quote]Me, spend too much time in Lowes? Never, no way, not any day. Was in Lowes by 8:30 this morning for my first visit. Had to get a lock rekeyed. Waited till after lunch to make my second visit. Picked up plywood for some counter tops for a friend. Tomorrow, they are having a commercial customer appreciation lunch, so I might just stop by for a hot dog. Unfortunately I won't leave the house early enough for the doughnuts tomorrow though.

[SteveColes]

Ok, this thread seems to be treading right on the brink, before it really goes south. So I'm closing it