I wish that I could rate this location LOWER THAN ONE STAR.
In late 2008, I contracted with Lowes in Hillsborough to complete a moderate bathroom renovation - laying new ceramic tile and installing a new vanity top. At Lowes' suggestion, I paid $70 extra for a "detail" for each project - on-site visits by the sub-contractors that would perform the work to ensure the services in the contract included all the work required - and $50 for delivery charges - as the store did not have enough of the selected ceramic tiles in stock to complete the job.
Several days after my purchase, the tiles arrived at the store and Lowe's called to schedule the delivery. The following day, I took the day off of work to await the delivery. When the ceramic tiles were delivered by Lowe's -- it turned out that 2 of the 8 boxes of tile delivered were the wrong color. I called Lowe's to complain. The rep I spoke with found the correct boxes of tiles at the store and offered to schedule another delivery on another day or to exchange them at the store. As I couldn't take another day off of work to await a 2nd delivery, I loaded the 2 boxes of tiles in my car and drove back to Lowes. When I arrived at the store, I went to the service desk with the wrong tiles and my receipt and explained the situation. At first, the customer service rep refused to exchange the tiles - as these tiles were not listed on the receipt. I clarified that, the 2 boxes of tiles I was trying to return were not on the receipt - because the receipt had the RIGHT tiles and Lowes had delivered the WRONG tiles. He said, "Well, I can't refund something you haven't bought." I tried to explain the situation to him again, but he was adamant that he couldn't refund my money because the tiles weren't listed on my receipt. I asked to speak to the manager who quickly handled the exchange without incident. I asked him whether I could receive a credit for the delivery charge since I'd wound up making the trip to Lowes to return the tiles due to their error. He said he couldn't do that, because Lowe' had delivered tiles - regardless of the fact that they were the WRONG tiles.
As for the ceramic tile installation, I specifically requested the quote to include demolition and removal of the existing tiles, which had several cracked tiles. Lowes charged me an additional amount for ripping out and removing the old tile. On the day of the installation, the sub-contractor arrived (90 minutes late) and began their work. After two hours, the installers took a break for lunch. I took a look in the bathroom and noticed they had been laying the new tile on top of the old tile. The installers told me they could not rip out the old tile because the floor underneath was 'mud-backed' not 'wood-backed' as they thought when they came out for the estimate -- and if I had an issue I should speak with Lowes. I called Lowes to complain - but I was told, "Sometimes installers have to change the scope of work when they start the installation." I reminded them they had charged me extra for the demolition and removal. Lowes said they'd speak with the installers and get back to me. Several days later, I still hadn't heard from Lowes, so I called again and spoke with the "Installation Manager" and the Store Manager. Again, I was told that "Sometimes the installers have to change the scope of work when they start the installation," and there was nothing more Lowes could do. The Installation Manager suggested that, if I had any further issues, I could discuss it with Lowes Corporate Office when I complete my post-project survey.
Finally, the day of the vanity installation arrived.. When the installer arrived, he informed me he wouldn't install the new vanity until I removed the mirror attached to the wall above the old vanity -- although the mirror was firmly attached to the wall. Again, I'd paid extra for the installer to come out and prepare the estimate on-site, but removing the mirror wasn't discussed until the day of the installation. Lowes refused to intercede - Lowes blamed the installer and the installer blamed Lowes. The installer recommended All County Mirror & Glass who quoted me ~$600! to remove the mirror (almost as much as the labor to have the vanity installed) and told me I'd have to wait a week for an appointment. Another vacation day wasted, thanks to Lowes. Eventually, I found a local glass specialist who removed, stored, and re-installed the mirror for $200.
Throughout the process, it felt as if neither Lowes nor I had control over the installers. Whenever I complained to Lowes, complaints fell on deaf ears - once they had my $8000 in-hand, they did the bare minimum required to complete the projects. No one has responded to my emails to Lowes Corporate and no one ever contacted me for a post-project survey.
I'll NEVER contract this type of work with Lowes again.. read more