Customer Service Review: Lowe's in Lynchburg, Virginia

Visit #1 - Two years ago, I was installing something that required the use of a hole saw. However, I didn't know what that was. I called Lowe's and spoke with a man in that department. After asking what I was cutting through, he told me what size hole saw was needed. He, however, never really said what a hole saw was or what it looked like. He only told me to ask for him when I went to the store.

Entering the store and finding the section with the tools, I asked for the man who I had spoke with. Since he was on lunch, the man decided to help me who was covering for him. But I had to wait for him to finish his conversation with a small group of men who were already there. From what I could gather, it was a friendly conversation that had nothing to do with Lowe's.

Once he decided to help me, I explained again why I was there. He handed me the hole saw, and I looked confused at him. Looking at it, I asked how it worked. He said simply that it makes a hole in stuff. Still not seeing how this thing worked, I became frustrated. After asking a few more times, he admitted that it was actually a drill attachment. By this time, his friends were laughing at our conversation. I told him that I would also need a drill and he helped me pick one of those out as well.

I explained to the man that I also need a fifty foot extension cord that was for something big. If the extension cord is pulling more power than it is meant to, it can be a fire hazard. He recommended an extension cord that was meant for an air compressor. Then he pointed to the cord and I grabbed it. Once I got outside, I was confused about what I had been charged. The total had been far cheaper than what the man helping me had mentioned. Noticing that the extension cord was only $10, I realized that while it was a fifty foot cord, it wasn't the bigger kind meant for something that pulls a lot of power. Not wanting to return to the store that same day, I went to another store and bought the correct cord.

Visit #2 - When I decided to paint my bedroom three years ago, I decided to go to Lowe's. I knew nothing about painting a room. The guy who helped me was very understanding. Telling him that I wanted red, he sold me a cranberry color that was the perfect shade of red. It had been mixed up for someone else who decided they didn't like the color, so they sold it to me for very cheap. The sales associate helped me get everything I needed and even gave me painting tips. I really appreciated his help.

Visit #3 - I don't believe I've gotten more angry in Lowe's than during a visit there two weeks ago to buy two shelf brackets. The store that I had planned to buy a compact fridge at didn't have it in stock after all. So, while I was in Lowe's for the shelf brackets, I decided to look at their compact fridges. I didn't want a freezer compartment, but I was willing to buy a compact fridge that had one from Lowe's since no where in Lynchburg had the no freezer ones in stock.

Seeing a sales associate, I told him that I was considering buying the stainless compact fridge. Busy closing off the aisle that I was on, he ignored me the entire time that I was speaking. The aisles were being closed as they were using a forklift to stock the shelves.

I asked if this meant that I would have to wait to make my purchase. He said something hateful-sounding under his breath that I couldn't make out. I asked him would they also help me load it in my car, and rather disinterestedly he said that someone would. Someone? The way he said it sounded like I'd need to beg other customers in the parking lot for help.

I told him that I also wanted two shelf brackets that match the ones I previously purchased at another Lowe's. But I didn't know where in his store that they were. He insisted that they were on aisle ten, but I told him that I know they have shelving stuff in more than one place in the store and that I'd already been on aisle ten. Then he decided it was aisle eleven or twelve.

I left the store without buying anything. I'm glad that it happened because I ended up getting exactly the compact fridge that I had wanted to begin with; however, I did have to drive to another city to get it. As for the brackets, I purchased those at another Lowe's location.

I do not recommend the Lowe's in Lynchburg. The sales associates are much more friendlier at the Lowe's in Madison Heights.