Between my home with all the updates I've done in the past ~2 years, and Psychology CT LLC (our business), I've spent a huge amount of money on hardware stores. Here's how Lowe's and The Home Depot compare:
Both have similar prices (sometimes identical to the penny!), both are similarly sized, and both have similar selections.
Here's how they contrast:
The Home Depot's customer service is consistently better, and when issues arise, Lowe's is far more reluctant to "make it right". Here are some of the most recent examples of what happened at Lowe's:
1. I returned a defective hammer drill to the Lisbon, CT Lowe's, which cost $30 more than Amazon for the identical item, btw. It took two cashiers, one head cashier, and the assistant store manager to figure out what the problem was (yes, I had my receipt). The item wasn't in their system (though it was in the online system and perhaps some other stores). It took about 40 or 45 minutes to do what should have been a 1-2 minute return. I was offered nothing to make up for that. I asked the corporate office and they said as they did give me a gift card last year, they'll not do so for this.
2. I ordered Composite decking and the "square edge" type, but it came as a grooved edge on its ends. That issue may have been the vendor's being unclear, however, but I still ended up with something I didn't think I had ordered. Oh well, I'll just have to make due, as they don't carry a non-grooved one in the same style, plus my contractor had already cut some of the boards.... I asked about discounting it, and they said no.
3. Lowe's in Dayville, CT was a 1.5 hrs wait for a small internet order for what was in the store. It should have been ready upon arrival, anyway, but to add 1.5 hours is incredible! Talking to the corporate office, I was offered nothing. My contractor, who picked up the order, said he doesn't want to back there again.
4. I bought driveway cold patch from Lowe's in Waterford, CT & asked for bag/liner, the associate said none & it said would be fine, I put in car, & a tar looking stain was found there when I got home that I've tried a lot to clean, but only got in better shape. Shouldn't they lend me some kind of carpet cleaner to clean it or pay a cleaner to fix it? I was told "no" by their corporate office.
Now, there were plenty of successful transactions at Lowe's, with the above being a fraction of the many times I was there. But Home Depot has been very different. Home Depot has not only attentively listened to me when something came up, but they were always ready to offer me something to make up for any incident. This is in stark contrast to Lowe's, who's representative said this to me when I said I'd go to the Better Business Bureau:
"Good evening Sam,
Thank you for your email.
I apologize we have been unable to meet your needs as a consumer. We appreciate the feedback that you have provided and take the information seriously.
As a consumer it is of course your right to file a complaint with the BBB. However, I do need to advise you that the Executive Customer Relations office would be assigned to follow up regarding the matter and the resolution will remain the same. I do apologize any inconvenience.
Thank you,
Benjamin
Executive Customer Relations "
At this point, unless the pricing is significantly better at Lowe's, and often times Home Depot will match prices, anyway, I will actively avoid Lowe's. One more thing: I find The Home Depot will honor competitor coupons (of any value!), while Lowe's won't unless it meets a lot of restrictions (including, per a store I talked to, not more than 10% off). read more