Tuesday evening was another marathon adventure to Lowe's. This time I must say their customer service gets very mixed reviews.
A week or so ago, we found a ceiling fixture that we liked for the hallway. It is a Craftsman/Mission style, and it is not what is commonly called a "boob” or “nipple” light (those ceiling fixtures that have a finial or a screw right at the TIP). Anyway… these were out of stock at our Lowe’s. The employee checked and said there were 2 on order and they should be in next week. At that time, we opted to wait for them to come in.
Well, last night we decided to do what we needed to do to get the fixture ordered so we would be sure to get what we wanted. I worked with Andy this time, and for the record Andy was EXCELLENT to work with. He looked up the light in the computer, and set it up as a special order which we would pay for at the register – then we were to be called when it came in. However, after looking at it more, he found that they were being discontinued at some stores, and suggested that perhaps it would be hard to get. I asked him if I could just buy the display model. He said that was fine if I wanted it. I told him that as long as the light was in good shape, I’d take it.
Andy got a ladder and got the fixture down. It was dirty, but at first it just seemed to be dusty with finger prints. After he took it all apart, he handed me the glass globe to examine, and I saw that it had what looked like a pen mark right in the center (almost making it a boob light!) He got a rag out from under the counter and tried to wipe it off – that didn’t help. He said the only cleaner he had at that counter was sort of a Goo Gone type stuff, and he was afraid that might damage the finish on the glass (it is frosted). So, we walked over to Paint to get some cleaner from them. Theirs had been taken by someone else, so they had none. Next we walked to the Service Desk and asked for cleaner. All they had was what they use to clean their counter – we tried it – it did nothing. At that point we both decided that we might as well try the Goo Gone because I wasn’t going to buy it as it was, and if it marred the surface, I wouldn’t buy it anyway, so it really didn’t matter.
Andy used his cleaner (I think it was actually called Goof Off), and it seemed to work! He got the pen mark off. Then we needed to get the Goof Off stuff off to make sure the surface was ok… We needed soap and water. I said I’d take it to the restroom and wash it. Well… first of all, the sink in the women’s restroom was not made for washing light fixtures. It didn’t have normal sinks; it had what I would call group-trough sinks where you get a little squirt of water in a very shallow space. It was impossible to get the globe under the water spray, so I had to sort of scoop the water in. Of course, quite predictably, there were no paper towels in the dispenser, so I had to use my hands to rub the soap around and try to rinse it off. Since there were no towels, I also had no way to dry the globe… except under the hand-dryer! So there I stood as other customers came and went, drying my light globe under the hand-dryer! I felt like I was on an episode of Candid Camera!
I was able to clean the globe sufficiently to believe that it was quite usable. I will wash it again before we put it up, but the surface was fine. When I took it back to the Light dept, Andy said he would give me a discount. The light was originally about $50, so I figured he might take $5 or $10 off. He gave me the light for $15! I was stunned – and thrilled!
Now while all this was happening in Lighting, Hubby was sitting at the Wall Paper counter waiting for service. He pushed the button once, and someone came. That someone said he knew nothing about wall paper, and we should wait for the clerk to come back from break in 10-15 min. Hubby waited. After about 20 min, still no one had come. Another clerk happened by and informed him that the clerk had another half hour to go. (I don’t know why she was taking that sort of a break at 8:30 pm – I’m thinking she was gone.) So this clerk went in search of a manager. The manager came back and helped Hubby with our wall paper order in about 5 minutes. He ordered 4 rolls, we paid for them when we checked out, and they should be in in about 15 days or so.
By the way, we decided to go with a textured wallpaper in the entry hall instead of textured paint.
And so, we had a good experience with service in one department, and not so good in another. That is very typical of Lowe’s. Their staffing is very inconsistent. If you happen to be there when the right person is working, it’s fine, but the odds of that happening are slim.
In addition to buying the light and ordering wallpaper, we also got the tile we need for both the bathroom and the entry way, and we picked up a grab bar that will be put in one shower. We think we finally have all the supplies that we can get. The workers are going to pick up doors and bead board that won’t fit in our car. I think they will be doing that this week.
This afternoon, the painter came again to get a key and our color choices. He will be starting tomorrow at 9 am in the garage. Tonight we took down all the curtains and rods. A friend of mine took some of them and the rest will go to Good Will.
The next time I see the house, changes will have been made by someone else! I will keep you updated with before and after pics, so stay tuned!!!
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