I’m really over the sexist bonehead attitude. Did I ever tell you about the time at Lowes in Delmar when the flooring guy asked me if I needed to get permission from my husband to make a purchase? When I said “umm, no” he went on to further encourage me so that I wouldn’t ‘get in trouble’. I haven’t wanted to kick someone in the groin so badly in all my life.
I spent ALL DAY today running around town(s) trying to acquire the various materials I needed to make my new headboard. I had really psyched myself up to do this and to get over my fear of power tools. I was feeling good. I hit Michael’s and got the batting and spray adhesive and then I went to Joann’s to get the foam core. I headed over to my sister’s house to borrow her truck so that I could get my big board and various other tools (goggles, a staple gun that I was comfortable with, staples, etc.) at Lowes. BIG MISTAKE.
Lowes in Catskill - It started badly, but I thought I could overcome it. I was checking out the tools – even physically picking up circular saws to see how heavy (and intimidating) they were just for chuckles. The guy in that area walked past me, saw me holding the circular saw and started laughing. Yeah, way to bolster my confidence, schmuck. I then headed over to lumber. Ough. I couldn’t quite figure out if the guy in the lumber section was lazy, sexist or mentally challenged. I have come to the conclusion that he was all three. Lucky me. I selected my board and wheeled it over the cutting area. I pressed the “attendant call button” and waited 3-4 minutes till, let’s call him “Mr. Peepers” showed up. Mr. Peepers asked me for the dimensions that I wanted cut. He then told me the board was too short. If I wanted something 84inches long, that a 48inch board wouldn’t work. Mr. Peepers then proceeded to laugh at me. I told him the board was more than 90inches long – he disagreed. This went back and forth till I took the tape measure out of my purse and showed him that in fact – it was longer than 90inches and my cut to 84inches was realistic. Then, Mr. Peppers told me that Lowes will not cut any chemically treated wood (believe this is BS as I’ve had others cut at Lowes for shelving). I asked him to point me to the wood that wasn’t treated. At this point, I was just trying to work around him and get what I needed. He said they didn’t have any wood that didn’t have chemicals. “OK, what do you cut with this machine?” I asked. This question wasn’t met with enthusiasm. He then went on to say that the enormous cutting machine could not cut anything as small as 29inches (my other measurement). I further challenged that since I have in fact had substantially smaller cuts done at Lowes (in Long Island) for shelving. He refused to discuss further and started the “big deep sigh” and rolling of eyes routine. At this point, I left about $250 worth of tools (stapler, staples, groovy ass goggles, tool bag, drill, jigsaw, clamps etc.) and the board on the cart and walked out. I went to Home Depot down the road.
Home Depot in Catskill - Home Depot as a rule has never been good for me (or most people, from what I hear) since they are always short staffed. That’s a management failure. Asking a question or getting any assistance is a near impossibility. I went to Home Depot, found the cart, wheeled it around and reselected everything that had been on my cart at Lowes. I went to the cutting area and waited. And waited. And waited. There was no attendant call button like at Lowes. After 15 minutes, I wheeled everything up to Customer Service. They said they would call someone. I went back to the cutting area and waited. And waited. And waited. At this point it’s been about 35 minutes. I called Home Depot on my cellphone and asked them to send someone back. They said they would. I waited. And waited. And waited. 52 minutes into “waiting” I gave up. I was defeated. I was frustrated. I was in tears.
Don’t feel badly. Neither Lowes nor Home Depot in Chapel Hill, North Carolina are any better…I’ve given up trying to make any sense out of what’s wrong with them. (But there’s a LOT wrong)
I can totally relate to this post. I try as hard as I can to avoid the big box stores, but sometimes the prices suck me in. Makes me appreciate my own small town lumber yard and hardware store that may cost a bit more and have less options but always have spectacular customer service.