This weekend has been devoted to a lot of spring cleaning and I needed a specific sized storage tote.

Check Lowes site and the store close to me showed 14 in stock. Great, I go to store and find an empty hole on shelf. 20 minutes later I find an employee who has no good answer but agrees that they should have 14 on the shelf. He goes off to find someone and comes back with no good answer.

I could understand this if it said they had 1 or 2 (they did this too me over the holidays with some tools) but 14 is a lot to be off?

I called customer service and their solution was to try and send me to a store that was 45 min away.

I love wasting time

Matter of fact, was looking online at Lowe's for a particular model lawnmower this weekend. Web site showed 3 mowers on Aisle 24 Bay 8. Got there and bought the last one they had (on aisle 24 bay 8) ... online, they still show 2 in stock.

Couple of years ago, was looking at Lowe's for a spare tire for the utility trailer I'd bought there some time ago. Inventory appeared incorrect since there wasn't one in sight. Lowe's helper found it for me in the general area of where it should have been, but stored way up high and away from where it should have been.

I've been bit by that several times as well.

Not only is their inventory tracking off, but the aisle and bay locations listed online are often off too.

Hence you end up having to do exactly what the online inventory system is supposed to prevent in the first place: Wandering the aisles to try to find the item you want, hoping it's still in stock.

The sign that was next to the phone when I worked at Pep Boys:

Every call results in a visit!

The idea is to get you into the store so you can buy a whole bunch of crap you didn't need.

Lowes recently took in Craftsman and have been re-arranging the tools section. Had similar experience with four of the store's help trying to figure it out. I should have videoed the experience, sped it up and added Boots Randolph's Yakety Sax track to it.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Lowes recently took in Craftsman and have been re-arranging the tools section. Had similar experience with four of the store's help trying to figure it out. I should have videoed the experience, sped it up and added Boots Randolph's Yakety Sax track to it.

Ace Hardware now carries the Craftsman line, and the Ace floor people know a heck of a lot more about the stock in their store, than the average Lowe's person.

quote:

I called customer service and their solution was to try and send me to a store that was 45 min away.

Yeah. I placed an order for pickup at Home Depot for some stuff we needed at work. Showed ten in stock. I needed eight. They could find four.

"Well, the store at (30 miles from here) shows four in stock." you mean, using the same system that's screwed up at THIS location?

BTDT at lowe's. Several times!!! recently.

About the only reason I still go there is that they MIGHT actually have what my innerweb search said they have.

3 trips now to get something (which their online inventory said they had is stock) and they didn't have what I needed. Store manager could GAS!

Menards is the same. Asked the clerk about it once when their website showed many in stock but none could be found in the store. Response was “Oh, that department hasn’t been updated on the website for about two years.” Duh!