A good experience

So with all the complaining, it is good to mix in some stories of places who seem to do things the right way. Lowe's has been very good to us in the last few months with allowing items to be returned opened, beyond 60 days, and without receipts. Here is how it has gone.

Back in November of last year, Erin, myself, and many helpers, constructed a new railing in our house. The prep for this project began in the fall, with the wood pieces being stained and sealed. We had one large trip to Lowes in September in which we dropped $1200, including a coupon which got us 10% off. As part of this trip we bought not only all the wood pieces we would need, but also an array of hardware we thought we might use to do the install. Of course, this was based on just some basic internet research into building and installing a railing, something none of us had ever done.

By the time we finished the install in the middle of November, we had numerous ideas that did not pan out (several of them are well documented in photos on facebook for those interested). At this point however, we were past 60 days since the purchase had been made, so it was tough to say whether they would accept these items back.

I took them to Lowe's, with receipt at least, and the woman told me that the items were beyond 60 days, but she could see it was a big order, so she issued me a store gift card for the returns (which was for only about $30). This was such a good decision, since we had spent so much money, and only wanted to return a fraction of it. Why chase someone to a different store over such a small amount?

Later, Erin and I decided to remodel our powder room. Another trip to Lowe's, another $1200 on the Lowe's card. This time, when the project was over, we had just a few small items to return, but I could not find the receipt of hand. I recalled that if you had the card you charged it to, that was enough, and receipt would not be needed. So off we went to the store. 3 of the items returned without a problem, but a 4th, which was one piece of crown molding, would not come up. He scanned it again, and again, to no avail. I was sure that it was on this credit card, but it jut wouldn't work. Erin and I decided that the problem was we have purchased 4 of what we thought were the same items, but it turned out that we had 2 of one color and 2 of another slightly different color. As a result, they had different UPC labels I am sure. When we checked out though, we just told the woman we had 4 of these, and handed her one to scan. There was a good chance this item was never really checked out. So what do you do?

Well, it was a $3 item, so the guy just decided to hand me the cash. I feel like there are other stores (Radio Shack) where this would not be the case. But for Lowe's, they were willing to take these items back with barely any questions asked. What does that do for them? Well, by my best guess, in the last year, I would say Erin and I have spent well over $4000 at Lowe's, and roughly $150 at a Home Depot not far away. Good customer service will bring the fans back.