Lowe's Vs. Home Depot

Today I finally decided to see the difference between Lowe's and Home Depot.  I have to disclose that I obviously have been to both chains in the past, but this time was different.  This time I actually was looking for something more than a key to cut or a plant to kill (this kill is always by accident, I swear).

Before I go any further let me express my want for a locally owned stored that I can purchase these things at, but it's really hard to find and narrow these things down.  Ooh, new idea after all this is done, helping locally owned stores market their services and products in one place, by location.

Ok, focus, focus, focus.

Funny thing is, I picked a Lowe's location that shared a parking lot with a Home Depot.  So if they were going to show me what they had, I figured this would be it.  As I entered the store I realized that it was very similar to Home Depot and decided to walk around a bit.  Wandering the aisles I could tell I picked a lucky day, inventory day.  Therefore not only are there a bunch of people that looked like they worked there that didn't, but the employees were distracted by the event.  No big deal, I've been through inventory, I can sympathize.

I was tempted by a half off outdoor carpet for the deck.  You should see that poor deck, it needs to be dressed. Then off to the bathroom vanity area where I found a great vanity, with a laundry wash tub and faucet.  The price was great, but I couldn't find anyone to tell me the width (I really need a tape measure in that mammoth purse I own).  I stood around awhile until an employee finally approached the desk in the bath area.  I guess he was busy, he picked up the phone, looked around and then walked away.  I guess me standing staring at him, then the vanity, then back at him, didn't really give him the hint.  Since the tag on the display lead me in the wrong direction, I was just happy to accidentally stumble upon the box only to find that it was not going to fit into our laundry room.  No big deal, I kinda had a feeling that it was too good to be true.

On to washer and dryers, only to confirm that Lowe's does not carry LG.  Well, sort of.  I asked a friendly employee that approached me if they carried LG and much like many people that try to provide customer service, she was not really trained in it.  Simple rule, when you don't know the answer, don't make it up, just say you need to ask.

Now my favorite part, paint colors.  I have to give Lowe's props for having a much larger selection of paint colors.  I was very excited to spend some quality time trying to figure out how there could be two hundred shades of yellow.

Last stop, front door handles.  We are looking into the ones that have a keypad and still had some questions.  Sean already knew the answer, I had the questions.  Winner, winner chicken dinner, a person that approached me, offered me some input and loudly chewed gum the whole time.  Ok, two out of three isn't too bad.

Bubble wrap and two magazines is what I left with.  That's fine, I'll have to try a Lowe's closer to the condo so I'll know what caliber of employees I'll be dealing with.  Plus, Sean found a fabulous deal on the washer and dryer we want and I won't have to buy it from Home Depot.