Lowe’s Home Improvement

Ludicrously absurd «customer service»…
Went to buy a refrigerator today. ONLY one person at the entire appliance area… He was tying things up with a couple who were there before me. Phone rings… Hence he stays on the phone for ten minutes while we wait. BAD tactic. Taking about another ten minutes for him to work with the sale of the couple. I am standing and waiting. and waiting. Would not be so bad but FOUR other Lowe’s employees are sauntering about doing NOTHING while I stand there. What IS THAT ABOUT?
NOT good… not good at all. I am not impressed.

I made an online order for 2 items that they don’t carry in store– one a special rough-​in size toilet for a spare bathroom and another for some replacement sliding closet doors. I had to come on two separate occasions to pick these items up because of the timing of them coming in– which was slightly annoying– it would have been easier to just pick them both up at once, but one took significantly longer to get here, which isn’t the store’s fault.
What IS the store’s fault is that on BOTH occasions I got the impression that 1.) Of all the employees they have milling around the store– there isn’t anyone assigned in the ‘back’ or inventory section of the store that can be paged to find/​pull orders and bring them out and 2.) possible because of 1, it didn’t seem like anyone knew exactly where my items were. The toilet didn’t take too long, but for the doors they had to search around for 30+ minutes to find them. Now, I’m no shipping/​receiving/​warehousing expert or anything, but I’m pretty sure when that stuff comes in they should assign a shelf, or row, or bay etc. and put that in the computer system so that the order is easy to find and pull later.
I don’t think that if I have anything that I need ordered again that I would have it shipped to this store.

I made an appointment with a kitchen designer and arrived to the store on time. I waited 10 minutes for help and finally went to find someone in a neighboring department who told me the kitchen designer had called in sick, and so no one was there to help me. No one attempted to call me and let me know, even though my appointment was late in the day. I left the store and then called the store manager to relay the situation. He was in no way discourteous, and agreed it shouldn’t have happened, yet didn’t bother to get my name or make a suggestion on how to make the situation right.
Employees follow the lead of their management, and based on my experience, this management team isn’t ready to offer customer service driven retail.

This review is solely based on my experience inside of the garden center earlier today. I will update this when I visit the inside of the store.
After purchasing a load of grass seed from Southern States yesterday, I made the grave discovery this morning that I was completely out of garden soil, so to make the 3 hours I spent seeding yesterday worthwhile, I headed down to this Lowe’s to buy some.
Finding the necessary products wasn’t as easy as I would’ve liked. One would think that the garden soil would be right next to the one-​step fertilizer, but not here. In fact, they were on complete opposite sides of the garden center. It is really annoying, especially on ridiculously hot days such as today, to deal with a disorganized product arrangement, so it would be nice if that could be fixed.
The staff, however, was jovial and helpful, making my time spent here pleasant; the employees here are much friendlier than those at the nearby Home Depot. Checkout was also quick and easy.
My largest complaint is with some of the prices. I scored a terrific deal with the 2-​cubic foot bags of garden soil. For $ 8 each, it is a deal that can’t be beat. However, the prices on the flowers that I bought were exorbitant to say the least. Each hanging potted plant that I got cost me $ 29, which is at least 2x more than I should be paying for such a product.
Overall, you could be doing much worse with a hardware store, but I strongly recommend you shop at the superior Home Depot, which has much better prices than those on display here. The garden center earns an official 3 stars out of 5.

Typical big-​box Lowe’s, good selection and a huge flooring section in particular. But very unhelpful staff. They seem a little thinly staffed, and the ones I do see are often texting, avoiding eye contact, or just glum. The Home Depot further north on 15 – 501 has immensely superior service. I’m giving up on this Lowe’s.

My Dad and I went in here around November 16^th, looking for a door bottom. We didn’t know where to find them so we asked a couple young men who were standing around talking. One of them said he didn’t know where they were, giggled to the other guy, and just kept standing there, looking around absently, not caring to help us at all. The other guy seemed to have an idea and disappeared, but we didn’t know whether to trust him given both men’s lack of sociability. We asked an older man and he was friendly, but knew nothing. He led us down to the lumber section, which we knew didn’t have door bottoms because we’d um… been in a Lowe’s before. Then the quiet young guy returned to us with a door bottom, which he had quickly found in the correct aisle and showed us where they were. We thanked him and felt bad for doubting him. But given the attitudes we saw in the beginning we decided we’d been justified.

I tried to buy carpet from them twice this week. The first time nobody was working in the flooring section… I rang the bell and nobody showed up… a man next to me told he he had been there for ½ hour, that he had called the store from inside the store, and he couldn’t get anyone to help him. So I left.
I went back today and there was one person working in flooring on a weekend. She was helping a customer who had five questions for every new question, and after I don’t know how long I stood there without getting help… I left again.
Maddening. I give up on buying carpet from Lowe’s.

This is fine, but the address is very misleading! This isn’t just a Unilocal problem. The same address is listed on the Lowe’s website. I wonder how they get their mail!
Anyway, punch in intersection of Sage and Cosgrove to your GPS and you’ll find it.
We only stopped by because our normal Lowe’s was out of something and they said they had it in stock here. We were in and out in just a few minutes. No problems.

Dang, man, the Durham Lowe’s is a cut above this one, plus they have a Bojangle’s in the parking lot. This one is modestly smaller, no restroom, and I didn’t have anyone stop me to ask me if I needed help, and I did. It’s still a Lowe’s, so you’ll find what you need, but if the Durham one is closer, or just another 5 min. drive, go there.

I came here looking to buy some foam or caulking product, but wasn’t exactly sure what I needed. I roamed the store and couldn’t find any employees free to assist me, so I finally walked to the customer service department where two employees were leisurely chatting. I asked them about where I could find my product, and with the attitude I was bothering their conversation, they said «Oh I don’t know, I think those things are in Aisle 6». I’m not big on persuading people to help me when they don’t want to (especially when they are already paid to do just that), so I left and went to a local store (Ace Town & Country) near Trader Joe’s. They were helpful and appreciated my business, and I got the product I needed. It is not likely I will be returning to this Lowe’s again.

Kind of funny Unilocaling about a Lowes store. But for those making a big purchase, like an appliance, I recommend shopping around. After waiting a long time to get the attention of a store clerk, I was quoted a price on a new natural gas range/​oven. The clerk didn’t go out of his way to make the sale, but nonetheless I was on the verge of buying it until I went to the Appliance Center in Durham and found the very same range for almost 40% less. And that was their normal price, not a sales price. Plus the service at App ctr is about 100 times better. If the big box stores can’t beat the small guys on price, then what other reason to shop there???

I’m in here at least once a day for work and I can confirm that the employees are always above and beyond courteous and helpful. Even if you have a complicated need and are working with a staff member who isn’t an absolute expert they can find someone who is. Norm in plumbing is amazing as well as all the people on the lumber/​building supplies side.

Very nice & helpful staff. Thanks to them I was able to get all of the PVC and coupling pieces needed for that ll important plumbing project in the word of my ten year old… a ping-​pong shooter.
I must give the guys at Lowes credit as well, they didn’t even bat an eye when I told them what the parts were for!
Seriously, thank for helping to find all the various pieces needed. You were a big help!

Good selection of garden tools and stuff for your garden. I was disappointed that at least 5 workers went past me and no one asked if I needed help. I also had to put bags of soil in my own cart and I am very petite. Would have been nice if someone noticed.

Super-​helpful staff upon a recent drop-​in visit for some work supplies.
After stopping by the Customer Service desk, getting my directions, and wandering off, one of the reps had a better idea of where to find what I’d asked for, and followed me, apologized, and led me to another section of the store, where I found *exactly* what I’d needed.
Customer Service — done right.

Did you know there was a study done that showed women have a preference for Lowe’s over Home Depot? They cited that it was because of the color scheme and organization tactics. I think since then, the HD has upped their organization skillz — but the damage was done, and I will always walk into a Lowe’s first.
All you DIY weekend warriors (like Kyle and I) can usually come here for a one-​stop have it all shop. However, you MUST beware anything electronic in open packaging. As we saw this weekend, even when they offer it to you at a good discount — its not worth the time you spend installing the thing, finding it doesn’t work, having to troubleshoot, and finding out it just didn’t work in the first place. ;)
The plant selection is decent, and the staff is always ready to help you find what you need for the random household project you are taking on this weekend (wood, outdoor carpet, patio furniture. Halloween decorations? Yes!)
Taking on a painting project and checking this place out for inspiration? They’ve got TONS of color samples, palettes, and reputable quality non-​VOC paint brands that aren’t basically colored water you slap on the wall. You’ll find what you need here.