I usually shop at a local Ace hardware store, but because I am busy and want to save time and because Lowe's has a bigger selection, I was eager to try the online ordering & in-store pick up service that Lowe's offers. I have also stopped going to the local Home Depot as a secondary choice because the store is disorganized and the employees are extraordinarily rude. I have, up until this point, been very happy going to Lowe's as my second choice store; everything is usually nicely organized, it's easy to buy larger items and park in the convenient lot, and the people that work there have at least been polite although not nearly as helpful as the Ace.
I went into this particular Lowes (on Market Street in Washington DC) to pick up an online order and the dedicated pickup area was closed. No problem - there's a sign on the door that says to proceed to the service desk. So I head in and meet an employee who we'll just call C--- to protect his own privacy. I had problems both with C---'s poor customer service attitude and the store pickup process.
I indicated that I needed to pick up an order and attempted to hand over my military ID. My ID was disregarded and I was gruffly asked "internet?" and was then asked "do you have an order number?" I pulled out my phone, looked up the email and handed my phone to C--- since the email states: "bring your order number or this email". He then said "can you read it to me", which I did. He wrote the number down on a piece of paper, which he then took to another computer terminal. That alone doesn't seem like a very efficient process, but things just got worse.
C--- spent a few moments on the computer and went to the online pickup area and brought my order out. The bag containing my order had my last name written on it in two places in huge block letters. C--- asked for my ID again. At this point, I was getting irritated and said "I already showed it to you but I'll be happy to show it to you again", which I then did.
C--- stated "I need to see a real ID". I indicated multiple times that the card that I was holding was, in fact, a valid form of identification which he repeatedly denied. After repeated denials and me pointing to my name on the ID, which matched the huge block letters on the bag, and the fact that at the top of the ID are the words "United States Government", he gave in and handed me my order.
I then asked if he had a supervisor and instead of getting the supervisor, he started arguing with me about my own attitude. I didn't have time to deal with that, so I left, fortunately with my order.
The online pickup process, therefore, could be a lot better -- why do they need to enter a bunch of information into the computer when they can just check a name on an ID and look at the bag that has the name written in huge letters? Why do I need to educate a worker on what a valid ID is? Why should I have to deal with an employee who would rather argue with me than just do his job?
I give the store 2 stars for the fact that it's clean, the parking is convenient, and there is a big selection. But as much as I'd like the convenience of the online order pickup option, if my experience today is what I could normally expect to encounter if I keep using this service, I'll be sticking to Ace as much as possible. read more