Lowe’s

It pains me to write this after having positive experiences in the garden centre this summer. I went in to look for an electrical appliance. Two team members were having an intense personal conversation in the aisle. After 20 minutes I had to ask for help. The team member was not helpful and was actually condescending. After not being helped I went to the customer service desk to ask for help. That was also fruitless as the team member explained that the device didn’t have the function I needed and suggested I went back to the same aisle where one team member was sharing his life story with another team member who was ignoring me. I promptly told her I had been in that aisle for half an hour already and then I walked out. Horrendous customer service.

This place has gone downhill. Every time I’ve come in the last year the customer service is non existent, none of the staff know what’s going on and it takes 10 – 15 minutes for the cashiers to cash you out. Today I walked into the garden centre and three of the staff were standing at the front chatting. I said hello since I walked in right beside them and they just stared at me without a greeting or a nod or anything.

bought a summer outdoor set online and went to this store to pick it up. Head cashier Kimberly was friendly, and everyone at the store was friendly and efficient. (far cry from the one at Vaughan). great job folks!

I have had mixed experiences and will describe the good, the average and the poor.
First, the good — the store layout and initial customer service were good. We were greeted on coming into the store, and helped to the location (storm doors) that we were looking for. All staff were pleasant and tried to be helpful. And both the prices and the checkout were good/​smooth.
The average — the first person to show us storm doors was not knowledgeable, but to his credit he then noted that and called over someone else. The person we ended up dealing with was good (though didn’t know about replacing glass, or what kind of glass the doors had). He was able to confirm everything we needed.
The poor — we arranged for installation and they were supposed to contact us in 2 business days. On business day 4 I called and the person didn’t seem to know anything about it (but did leave a note). On day 5 I called again and finally got a reply… saying that it would be up to another 4 business days before they could come out and confirm the size/​installation. This seems pretty poor to me — both the timing and the not having people who can check on the status of the order.
So overall an ‘average’ for me, though if you’re just looking to pick something up they seemed to have pretty good selection and prices so I would rank slightly higher.
2015÷03÷30 Update: Well, it’s been 3 weeks and still no installation arranged, so don’t count on much on that front from this store!

Renovations’ got me running back and forth between Home hardware stores and I’ve got to say Lowes needs to open more locations!
The staff here are so much more knowledgeable and well trained in their respective departments and not as difficult to locate as the staff at Home Depot. The staff at Lowes are also much more personable and eager to give you a hand even when you don’t need it. My numerous visits to this location has always been positive!
They are pretty flexible with return and exchange policies — as long as you come back with the credit card you used to make the purchase, you don’t need to bring the original receipt.
They’re open 6am till 10pm on weekdays, which is awesome for those working late. In terms of pricing, they seem to be generally cheaper than Home Depot, but they will price match and give you an additional 10% off if you find anything lower.
I’m now a fan of Lowes — the staff here makes the whole shopping experience efficient! Props to excellent management!

Went to purchase bunch of stuff for a bathroom reno. Marie served us and was wonderful. Knows her products well. We selected paint and was advised the entire order would be ready for pick the next morning. When my contractor arrived he was told the paint wasn’t ready. I called and spoke to Alex, the store manager, he popped into his car and delivered the paint to my house in the afternoon. Excellent service all round.

Popped in this morning to pick up some tile cleaner. The store was fairly quiet.
One of the benefits of Lowes is that all of them are laid out in the same manner… so consistency is the norm. I knew exactly where the product I needed was.
Was in and out of the store in 5 minutes, utilizing self check-​out. Only interaction was with the cashier at self check out. She was friendly and wished me a good day.
Pleasant experience in a clean, well stocked store.

What is disappointing is in the 8 – 10 visits to the Etobicoke store, customer service levels are consistently shockingly poor.
In those visits to the Etobicoke store in every case, most of the associate were rude and surly and are extremely disinterested with poor body language that project a contempt for the customer and generally exhibit poor manners. Basic customers service usually requires general greetings such as Hello, May I help you? Please and Thank, which do not appear or seem to be deemed important to Lowe’s service culture. This is most pronounced at the customer service desk were were I waited for some time to be myself treated with disdain, I witnessed staff member after staff member, pass by an elderly lady who kept trying to get some ones attention. There was no acknowledgment of her, and certainly there was no basic acknowledgment «I am just helping another customer, I will be with you shortly.» This was an older lady clearly on her own.
In only one case during my visits did an associate seems genuinely interested in providing great customer service. He went above and beyond trying to help me find a very minor product outside of his immediate area of responsibility. He spoke with various other associates to try to assist me, and in every case what struck me is how they seemed annoyed and disinterested in helping him help me.
This level and lack customer service is a disgrace to both the store manger and the Regional Managers who oversee and are responsible to ensure a consistent positive customer experience.
Although Etobicoke Lowe’s is well stocked and very well displayed and merchandized with a wide range of products at competitive prices with excellent print and various Marketing. Customers have many choices when it come to retailers, and in particular Home Depot and Rona
This is an EXCEPTIONALLY UNPLEASANT ATMOSPHERE and customer experience. Unfortunaly too many place in the GTA operate on this particular model. Toronto despite trumpeting itself as the Cultural Center of the Universe, and a New York want to be, another GTA business again falls flat on customer service.
Boycott crap service.

Not a bad spot at all for house stuff. Finding stuff was oddly painless, despite how gigantic it is. I found ceiling hooks for a lamp I have, vacuum cleaners and garden stuff (in the garden centre, duh) quite easily. Staff were very helpful and friendly. It also just feels cleaner than a Home Depot.

A nice alternative to The Home Depot, Lowe’s is essentially the same thing, but only with a few key differences in the customer service department.
The staff seem happy, as though they might actually like their job. You don’t have to traverse the whole store just to find one who can help you and they know how to answer your questions.
I actually had one staffer greet me with a ‘Hello’ before I could even say anything as I approached. That has never happened to me before at a Canadian Home Depot. Never. Ever. They must be doing a better job of training staff at Lowe’s Canada, because the better quality customer service is noticeable.
There’s a lot of overlap, product and selection-​wise. This location does still have a bit for shiny newness that the HD directly behind it.
I won’t be a regular anytime soon, since The Home Depot/​Canadian Tire/​Rona still has them beat for convenient locations. Unless they’re putting a Lowe’s in the new Stockyards-​Junction mall development or they want to take over the old Zeller’s at the Dupont St. Galleria, in which case, hello!