Lowes vs. Home Depot?

[lh4x4]

I no longer go to HD. Every time I bought big ticket items they screwed up multiple parts of every transaction. The manager would not even come out of hiding to hear of the problems.

No one seemed to know what was going on even when the had the paper work in their hands.

 

[rharman]

I'm a general contractor and I prefer Home Depot. Lowes is more home owner oriented. I couldn't tell you how many times I went to Lowes to get something and ended up back in the truck heading to Home Depot!!

This, exactly. But, I'm a homeowner. Still have the same issue. Lowe's seems to cater to more "basic" DIY'ers.

There have been occasions I've found something at Lowe's that HD didn't have, but that is pretty rare.

 

[metalmagpie]

Which big box hardware store I go to depends on what I'm looking for. If I want cheap plastic chairs, kiddie pools, crummy BBQ tools or Christmas ornaments, I'll go to Lowe's. If I want actual hardware, I go to Home Depot.

metalmagpie

 

[evildky]

I manage and own rental property and spend about 3k per month at these stores. I tend to favor Lowes because it's generally cleaner and better stocked, and they actually have at least one human cashier working at all times unlike THD. Lowes also keep their carts inside where I need them, THD leaves theirs outside to weather, it's nice to not have to be their cartboy. THD does tend to keep their plumbing stocked better. Prices for the most part are a dead match and they of course will price match each other. Ultimately I go to whichever is more convenient, in he case that they are approximately equidistant I go to lowes. THD just always seems rundown.

 

[cain]

I prefer Lowe's then Menards, depends what I'm looking for and how much is in my wallet.

Biggest reason for disliking HD is their location in my town. Its at the busiest intersection in with the worst WalMart in town. I will admit I had to go in there to get a gift card for a Christmas present and was pretty impressed in their tool section layout.

 

[phil du jour]

I like Lowe's for a really superficial reason - I like the color blue. Hah!

Although since moving up here to Michigan and discovering Menard's, I've been going there for most things that I need, the one in Norton Shores is very nice. I'm not familiar with Menard's overall, though, and I imagine all their stores look the same much like Lowe's or HD. Menard's also carries the most AMAZING soda I have ever had in my life... Sprecher's Orange Dream... ugh it is amazing. Real sugar, all that. It tastes like soda should taste. After drinking it, Coke is tasteless.

 

[cagullett1]

Lowe's doesn't sell Milwaukee, Channellock, or Ridgid. My brother in law is the local Lowe's store manager... yup, even with the discount he gives me, I still prefer HD.

 

[RalphInCA]

I like Lowe's for a really superficial reason - I like the color blue. Hah!
.

LOL. I resisted going to target for a long time for almost that same reason. The color red they use in that store just bothered me for some reason.

I have since gotten over it.


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[kluckfab]

we have menards in MN all over the place but to me they are lower quality compare to Lowes or HD. I did buy my unfinished cabinets from HD they did a good job and they look pretty nice. Only bad part for me its a 40min drive to closets HD or Lowes store.

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[HeelSpur]

Lowes all the way, I'm jealous of the lady at the HD, she grows a better beard than I do.

 

[toolin' around]

No clear preference, since one has a better range in some departments and the other in others, so I usually check both mobile apps before I go.
But since I live close walking distance to A HD store, that usually wins out!
The mobile apps are great though, easy to find what you want, if it's in stock, and where it is in the store. Just wish HD would fix the slow start up on theirs!

 

[Krash Kadillak]

Between the two, probably HD.

Distance to nearest HD: 9 miles
Distance to nearest Lowe's: 12 miles
Distance to Jerry's: 4 miles

Guess who gets most of my business?

Jerry's is a local (2 store) big-box home improvement chain that started from a regular hardware store in the early 60's. Somehow, they compete quite favorably with the big guys. They've got everything, too - appliances, lumber, hardware, flooring, carpet, sheds, garden tractors, log splitters, paint, etc.

I'm not quite sure how they do it, but they're pretty successful. Prices on average could be a small bit higher (I had to go to Lowe's to get the good string trimmer I wanted). They're friendly and very helpful.

 

[ShaneMSnyder]

Both but mainly HD for the sheer fact it's closer.

 

[Revere Cycles]

Lowe's doesn't sell Milwaukee, Channellock, or Ridgid. My brother in law is the local Lowe's store manager... yup, even with the discount he gives me, I still prefer HD.

The Lowe's stores near me all carry Channel Lock, so does the website.

 

[justin1795]

i will share my dislikes with both
hd
a few cents higher. self checkouts. they tend to stock things in the middle of peak hours shutting down multiple isles to stock things. at our store you enter one side then exit on the other side making you way far from your car

lowes
customer service has taken me over a hour at one point in time. multiple checkouts but never open. had a bad experience buying my fridge and stove there. was lied to to make a credit card sale.

one thing i like about home depot is they rent tools. and dosent seem as dungen like as our lowes is.

 

[justin1795]

i will give my experience of lowes. we moved to a new home and needed appliances asap. we live about 30 mins from lowes. i went and purchased a fridge and stove. i had a 10 percent off moving coupon. the lady tried to sell me the credit card. i told her i had 10 percent off she said well you get another 5 so 15 total. so she signed me up. the next day delivery was 7 days out. how can you call it next day. the stove had to be ordered and that was ok and they would deliver it when it came in. the customer service lady went to ring me up and said i couldn't use the credit card. i imdiatly got the manager and they said no. i said i don't want it then and they said ok but it already dinged your credit score.(they called the lady who told me it would work and she told her boss i never said that) they wouldn't do anything else. when i went to get fridge no one knew where it was at everyone said it was somewhere else. i spent well over a hour chasing it. (its in appliances wait.....no its in pick up..... ect) to find it was dinged in the back. i asked for a different one and waited 30 mins to find that one worse off. i had to leave the store at one point i was so angry and my mother in law handled it for a bit.

on to the stove. i got a call a few weeks later my fridge was ready to pick up. i called and everyones at lunch no one ansers the phone. finally the next day i get someone. yes its my stove it was a mistake. now they want 7 more days to deliever. so i had to go pick it up also.

i called the manager and he said he would look into it and send me a gift card for the delivery problems. he never did nor did he ever return any of my calls back. haven't been to lowes since.

 

[mygarageone]

We only have Lowes and Manards here. If I want cheap , cheap it's Manards other wise it's Lowes.
But I have a big complaint with all of the box stores , when they first open there doors , you walk in and they have people all over the place asking if you need anything ? But give them 6months and walk in and try to find someone to help you , no one to be found !

 

[justin1795]

they don't know anything anyways. I asked someone about a plumbing piece and he just started reading the packages. had another guy tell me they didn't make what I was looking for. I told him I had one I needed another. told me he didn't know where I got it from but they don't make that.

I like the older menards where you get the stuff outside. the new ones are two big and require you to go threw furniture and every other non lumber store section to get to the other side. strategic placement.

 

[shocksandstrutz]

where I live there are 10 to 20 of each within a 40 mile circle, I like building supplies and tools better from HD, they are just priced better and its not worth it to me to go to lowes and ask for a price match when its directly across the street; and they always seem to have something clearanced out when I'm in there that I have to buy too, LOWES on the otherhand is losing fast in the work I do and I rarely go there anymore unless im at target next door and its a common thing and a quick run

 

[TractorJeff]

Menards for large purchases of materials. 30 miles one way.
One stop shop for ALL stuff!
Home Depot for stuff you know Lowes doesn't have. 12 miles one way.
Have better lumber than Lowes.
Lowes because it is an emergency home maintenance repair! 5 miles one way.
Easier to find Lighting and Plumbing repair parts.

 

[dmw319]

lowes for me! cant really give a good reason. just always liked it better.

 

[Orange65]

Depends on where I am. I have two houses-one in MS and one in AL. In AL, Lowes is less expensive. In MS, HD is less expensive for me. Don't ask me why....

I like the way Lowes are laid out better.

 

[Stainless169]

I always thought Lowes until a recent bathroom remodel. When it comes to selection and keeping shelves stocked in my area.. Home Depot has been great.

 

[Whirnot]

I travel quite a bit, and it depends on where we are. In some places Lowes is better, in some, it is the other way around. If I need something specific I don't want to search for it, I ask someone and expect to be told where it is. In some towns they will immediately take you to it, at Lowes, but not at Home depot. In other towns it is the opposite. Stores are not designed identically so this is important. So I ask the locals.

In my Home town I wouldn't even go in Home Depot anymore because they didn't train their people as to where things were, and once in a while I would ask a question and the idiot would make up an answer even though it was obvious he didn't have a clue.

But lately I have had to go there for a few things that Lowes doesn't carry, and new management has turned the place around. I go to which ever is closer at the time. I did find out recently for specialty items such as decent clear plywood, HD's Quality is far better.

 

[Gus68]

I just finished building my garage, and got EVERYTHING from lowes. I went all over with my materials list, and lowes came in just a little under menards. Then they bundeled it all together and called it one of their "kits" (even though it was all the materials I specified) and took off 10%. When ever I needed something for my project, they jumped to it like I owned the place! I couldn't be happier with them. Since then when ever I buy something big I always use my Lowes card, you get 5% off!!!!

 

[ihateminimumwage]

I've enjoyed the newer Kobalt Taiwan hardline tools I've picked up from Lowes on sale in the last couple of years. Home Depot for Milwaukee M12 and Husky USA torque wrenches.

Overall experience buying lumber and misc stuff, I'll go with Lowes (always found more straight 2x4s per bundle, vs the garbage HD has).

Lowes is also known for taking better care of employees. A buddy I was in school with was working at HD for a bit, and they wouldn't even give him a discount on tools. The local Lowes would give their employee discount to HD employees. Damn good thing to do for competition-sake.

 

[pacecar]

whenever I get the weekend project that has to be finished I find myself going to both as neither store is ever fully stocked

 

[jd_1138]

Lowe's all the way. Around here their stores are better staffed (which helps me find what I need and it helps the local economy), and they have better inventory management, so they have what you need.

 

[brickG-man]

Neither. Both of their tools sections are loaded with Asian ****!

 

[ronc2]

Lowes markets women and HD markets men

 

[jonti48310]

Lowes for me. Closer and better quality IMO. Market to who you want, I care about getting stuff done.

 

[Scott H in Wheaton]

Lowes is also known for taking better care of employees.

I think the victims of the Lowes store closings in the Chicago area would disagree with this statement. Closed stores in Elgin, Aurora, and Oswego.
Employees were told there was going to be a storewide meeting after closing time. Everyone worked their shift, showed up for the meeting, and were told the store was closing and as of this moment you are all out of jobs. Security is here to ****** you to your cars.
Disclaimer: I wasn't there, but this was told to me by someone who worked there.

Here's the Lowe's press release from Monday Oct 17, 2011 listing the stores that closed the night before:
http://media.lowes.com/pr/2011/10/17/lowes-closing-20-underperforming-stores/

 

[bucannon]

HD i notice has a more industrial feel when you go inside, while lowes has painted floors and seems to be more female oriented. but in my home town if HD doesnt have it i go to lowes next door.

What matters is that i get my project done with the right parts!

 

[Richard D]

Lowes *****. Usually the employees are clueless. I also heard Lowes was designed for women, and I believe it.

 

[tbone1004]

Lowes is a bit closer to me, but I am regularly in the shopping center that has HD. Lowes is about 12 miles away, HD about 15. In Maine at least, the Lowes have been much much better than HD. I grew up a HD fan and can count on one hand the times I was in a Lowes with my dad. That being said, I am a fan of Bosch tools and HD doesn't carry them. The tools section in our HD is also VERY VERY limited. One of my parents neighbors in Charlotte, NC is a contractor and has the policy that has been mentioned before. When building a house, go to HD, when decorating a house go to Lowes. He also buys most of his tools from Lowes. It's a crapshoot, but I usually end up in Lowes up here just because the people that work there are a lot better and the atmosphere is better. I'm also restoring a truck right now and Lowes has a much better air tool/accessory selection than our local HD. Dogs allowed in both, so my 70lb hunting poodle comes with me

 

[AZ Pete]

Neither can be counted on for having all the items I need. I bought a water softener at HD and they didn't have the pipes to connect it....wanted to cobble up a hundred dollars worth of fittings to do the job of a $25 kit. On another occasion I had to go to two different HD's to get enough coat hooks to do a job. Each store only stocked about 5 of each of the styles they offer. I often find myself in Ace or True Value or Best hardware to get odds and ends that the big box stores just can't seem to stock.

 

[dankicksass]

I prefer Home Depot. They hire people who actually do their jobs in my local store, and they treat them like humans and give them wage increases and benefits so they can actually stick around and learn the product and actually try to help. They staff the place adequately and keep it tidy, and actually change out product so there's always plenty of deals to be had there. Lowes on the other hand is terrible, take all the stuff I just said and reverse it for Lowes.

I am a fan of Bosch tools and HD doesn't carry them.

My local HD carries quite a bit of Bosch.

 

[Arps]

Im a Lowes guy. It started because Lowes was 1/2 as far of a drive as HD, now I continue to go because I just like them better.

 

[exmaxima]

Which one do you prefer, and why?

I needed a new water and I didn't have a truck/van to buy one and dispose of the old one. As much as I hated the idea of paying someone to do a simple plumbing job, my heater was leaking bad, and my wife claimed she needed hot water.

I checked models and prices at Lowes, HD, and several independent plumbers. I was ready to order from HD based on my sister working there (though they have NO employee discounts), I ended up with Lowes based on the installation service (installation and disposal of old).

HD wanted nearly $500 to install the heater, and that did not include the permit---I needed to handle that on my own. Lowes was about $300 for the install, INCLUDING THE PERMIT, and they did a great job---in fact better than I think I could have done myself. It was a gorgeous clean install that impressed even the city inspector.

So, Lowes for me....

 

[draglink]

LOWES every time...our HD ***** hairy stinky balls. Employees know NOTHING and will go out of their way to not help.