My questions are really centered on employment and corporate culture/climate but opinions from the customer perspective won't hurt.

1. What do you do and how are they to work for?
2. What can they do better?
3. Would you recommend them to a friend looking for a career?

Thanks,
Dwayne

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quote Originally posted by 1MohrFiero: My questions are really centered on employment and corporate culture/climate but opinions from the customer perspective won't hurt. 1. What do you do and how are they to work for? 2. What can they do better? 3. Would you recommend them to a friend looking for a career? Thanks, Dwayne

Dwayne,

I don't worke for Lowe's and don't know anyone who does, but I'll offer an observation.
We have both Home Depot and Lowe's in my town. Less than a mile apart on the same road.
Although Lowe's is a bit more expensive, it always provides a more pleasant shopping experience. (Did I just say that?)
At Home Depot, I usually have to walk around and look for somebody if I have a question.
At Lowe's, people are usually genuinely helpful, and will ask if I need help with anything. They seem to care more.
Of course there are exceptions but in general that's how it is.

If nothing else, the people at Lowe's seem to have a higher level of "give a damn".
There's got to be something to that aside from just my perception.

THanks, Steve. It is almost identical here with both stores close together and the huge difference in customer service and appearance. I have often wondered how the Home Depot here stays in business. The parking lot is usually empty. Our Lowes is a lot like you decsribe and the place is usually packed.

Okay, back on topic...

My dad worked for them for ten years until he retired, and he got a lot of stock during that time. He worked the floor in plumbing, did kitchen counter design, and did a little in lawn/garden over the years. He was requested for setting up new stores in the area (southeast PA) because he's a pretty smart guy. His 30 years of experience as a lanscaping contractor was used occasionally, but he intentionally stayed out of that for the most part (people will plant what they want, no matter what advice you give them, so he stayed out). Lowe's did him well, as my parents lived within their means.

Politics as usual, but he never hated going to work, and he never really had anything bad to say about the company as a whole. They took good care of people who did good work. And my dad was one of those guys who generally hated working for anyone else.

I have to agree with the perceptions that were mentioned as a shopper, too. I prefer Lowe's over Home Depot and Menard's any day. Unfortunately, Menard's is all I have without driving 70 miles south to Kirksville for HD, or 95 miles to Iowa City for Lowe's. I can't wait to sell my house and move...

[This message has been edited by 2birds (edited 05-02-2009).]

Thanks, 2Birds I am trying to get an idea about how they are to work for and some insight on what they can do better.

I worked for Lowes during 2000-2003. I was in college in the time and worked part time during the school year, and full time in the summers. I went to school in TX, and spent my summers in OH, and Lowes was very nice about transferring me seamlessly between stores.

1. Worked in Plumbing. Was "certified" in Appliances and Electrical. They are a fair employer. Expect typical retail-level wages. Benefits are decent, as others have mentioned they have good stock purchasing plans (worked out really well for Lowe's employees when the company really grew). The culture was positive, and I feel I was treated fairly by management and HR.

The best kept secret in Lowes is selling appliances. Appliances have commissions, but there is no reduction in your base wage. So basically you get paid extra to sell appliances. Obviously, the higher margin units have a higher commission. Working next to the Appliance department in Plumbing, I could slide over and sell a couple of appliances and add the equivalent of a couple of bucks to my hourly rate (on a good night). For example, $10 for a fridge, $8 for a dishwasher, etc...it seems like a little bit, but it adds up.

2. The HVAC system for the store is controlled by Lowe's Corporate in NC. So when the store closes, the HVAC system goes off. Sucks when you work at a store in TX, and it's still 90 degrees out at 9pm, and you are stocking shelves for an hour. Employee discount is only 10%. It used to be more but the employees voted to lessen it in exchange for some better health benefits.

3. I don't know what your friends career aspirations are, nor experience. They hired "Lowe's Pro's" who were experienced in their respective field (Plumbing, Electrical, etc) that got paid fairly well. Not sure what management makes either (Department Manager, Zone Manager, Store Manager). If your friend is interested in a retail/retail management career, Lowe's would be a good employer in my opinion.

quote Originally posted by 1MohrFiero: My questions are really centered on employment and corporate culture/climate but opinions from the customer perspective won't hurt. 1. What do you do and how are they to work for? 2. What can they do better? 3. Would you recommend them to a friend looking for a career? Thanks, Dwayne

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86 Fiero 2.5L, 5spd.
00 Ford Focus 2.0L 5spd
66 Chevrolet C10 250 cid, Powerglide

quote Originally posted by Raydar: Dwayne, I don't work for Lowe's and don't know anyone who does, but I'll offer an observation. We have both Home Depot and Lowe's in my town. Less than a mile apart on the same road. Although Lowe's is a bit more expensive, it always provides a more pleasant shopping experience. (Did I just say that?) At Home Depot, I usually have to walk around and look for somebody if I have a question. At Lowe's, people are usually genuinely helpful, and will ask if I need help with anything. They seem to care more. Of course there are exceptions but in general that's how it is. If nothing else, the people at Lowe's seem to have a higher level of "give a damn". There's got to be something to that aside from just my perception.

I agree with Raydar, most if not all of my experiences with Lowe's, both Corporate and Local, have been good.

Thanks everyone. Good comments. Keep them coming.

I have been with Lowe's for 11 years, working allmost all departments.

They are good to work for depending on the management you have in that store.

I'll post more later when I have time, I'm going to pick up a parts Fiero this morning so I have to get the truck ready.

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1987 Fiero GT
1994 Impala SS
2006 GSX1300R Hayabusa - Just sold

I work with a couple of former Lowe's employees. Both sold appliances there. One also worked at HD, but didn't talk too much about that. She is no longer with us (employment-wise). One still works with me, and makes more at an independent dealer than at the chain.

They had talked about having to grab an appliance yourself from the warehouse stack for the customer. Especially difficult for the 5' 1" girl. Washing machines aren't light. Having to refer people to manufacturers of third parties for service (800 numbers). Limited availability, if the customer wanted a specific model, then special orders took a long time.

It's better than Sears, I guess. A while ago, they capped their electronics and appliance employees to $30K.

I worked Home Depot for 4 years, 2 months. Will be with Lowes 4 years in July. Hands down Lowes. It does suck sometimes. Morons get hired and call off which create shortages. Sometimes scheduling gets messed up. Different stores and areas will always be different. Inner city vs. upper class area it will be greatly different in the products and customers. Inner city types= cheap goods, more cops, and stolen stuff. Upper class= higher end products, ego's, snobs, etc. I am a department manager in Tools currently. It pays the bills and isn't too bad except there weren't too many hot cashiers hired this season hehe. The company has good business goals through these hard times and they are trying to keep as many people as possible. I like it. Store #1883 gets a + from me.

Departments to work in are appliances and millwork. They make a killing in commissions! I might make $4 more an hour, but when you sell a $1200 fridge and get $30 out of just that one sale it adds up FAST over 2 weeks.

i worked for Menards for about a year when i was in college. i'm still fairly loyal to the store because they treated their employees great, as well as the contractors. menards i think needs to possibly go for higher end products/service and that may help them. i enjoyed shopping at lowes because it seemed a bit "nicer" than menards until the day me and the wifey were looking at dishwashers.

when we got to lowes we had already hit a few stores and had a model picked out that we wanted but were looking for a good price. we asked the lowes associate if they carried that specific model and he informed us that they didn't. that's fine, i asked if they had anything similar and he then pointed in the direction of the dishwashers and told me to "look" and then walked away from me...haven't been back since.

[This message has been edited by fastblack (edited 05-05-2009).]

Guys, thanks for the info. I have been doing some interviews with the company and was looking for some background information to use when I talked to them. I don't think anything will come out of it since it is one deep position and I am not the only candidate. Although I have most of the qualifications I don't think it's a complete fit. I like the company and would be happy if this works out.

I saw a lot of negative stuff when I did a search on google and some other search engines but most of the stuff you have given is positive. I mark that down to the fact that very few people give feedback when they are happy. People that answer surveys or post negative stuff usually have an axe to grind. Taken in context info like that can be useful but I was worried there might be a darker side to Lowes lurking out there.

If you are interested there is a lot of really dumb youtube stuff available online.

Thanks again.
Dwayne

I'm a department manager at lowes on the verge of hopefully getting promoted to zone in the very near future. Lowe's is a great company..but like any large company there are some bad stores. I worked in one before coming to my current location. They're is plenty of oppertunity to move up if the retail world is for you. The money isn't bad with lowe's and we have some of the best benifit packages around. I could kick myself for not coming here in the 80's. We have people who retired millionaires and never made more then 13 or 14 bucks and hour. Back then lowes was giving away stocks like candy at halloween.

The best deal is appliances..the above posts sorely underestimated what those guys make! Its a lot more then 7 to 10 dollars for an appliance. Right now for example samsung has been giving $150 bucks for every fridge you sell. For some reason we sell a lot of them! They are the biggest pieces of **** on the market...I know because I run delivery currently and were constantly picking them up lol Another example is whirlpool duet washer and dryers. If you sell one it's a 75 bucks. If you sell the pair it's a 200 dollar bonus and we sell a lot of them! Are two aplliance specialists make about 18 bucks an hour but with there spiffs they're pulling 70 to 75 thousand a year. Not bad for standing there doing nothing for a majority of the day. lol Special orders are also very good because lowes profit margin is high so not only will you get a spiff from lowes but the manufacture will kick in cash also.