Until we got there.
When we got to the house for the first time, the very first thing we noticed was a HUGE rut in the front yard. Once we got out and started looking around we noted that there were 5-6 ruts in our yard in total. We thought some kid must have driven their truck around in our yard or something like that but a neighbor said that it was actually the Lowe's delivery team. They use a small 3 wheeled fork lift to take the pallets of wood off the back of the delivery truck and place them in the yard. Now, rather than do all of this in the street and place the wood in the yard, they drove it in the wet grass and left the ruts. Our neighborhood is a bit rural so we do not have curbs or sidewalks. The grass simply ends where the asphalt starts. So there was nothing in the way of them keeping the forklift on the road instead of in the grass.
We emailed Robert back and said we were not happy with the state of the yard. He emailed back saying that because the yard was wet the 3 wheeler left ruts and there was no other option except to delay the project until the yard was dry (this was after the fact and we were not given any option to delay). He said he hoped it wasn't too big of a problem and that he saw them but didnt feel it was major. Here is what the yard looked like when we arrived...
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| The spray paint can is for scale. |
There were ruts similar to these along the side of the yard and in the back as well.
We called Lowe's and spoke to the Store Manager named Angela who said she would get to the bottom of it and make it right. We then received a call back from a man named Gary who was the Install Sales Manager. He said he wanted to come out and take a look. He came and looked at the ruts and said that he would send someone out to correct it.
At that point Beau went out of state for work for 5 weeks and we ended up under 9+ inches of snow for weeks. So after he got back and the weather had improved enough, we called Lowe's back to make sure someone was still coming out. They weren't able to tell us when someone was coming but they assured us someone was.
A couple of weeks later, I was standing in our kitchen when a white, unmarked truck pulled up and a young guy got out and started working on the yard. He was out there for a while or so then I noticed that he had let himself into our back yard to fix the ruts there and my dogs had a fit. We have 2 very large Rottweilers and it made me very uncomfortable that he did not ask to be let into the yard and make sure the dogs were put away. He had made eye contact with me several times through the kitchen door and both dogs had been watching him work from the living room window and barking. So he knew I was home and that we had the dogs but he did it anyway. This was a huge concern of mine because of the dogs. What if they had decided he was a up to no good and bit him? Or run out of the gate while he had it open?
I was home alone with my infant and as he was obviously not a Lowe's employee, I wasn't comfortable just going out and confronting him myself. He left us no instructions about what was going to happen next or what we needed to do. He just filled the ruts in and put a bunch of straw over them. Beau got home that night and discovered that the dirt this guy had used was full of rocks and very hard lumps of clay so the entire area was very uneven. He had a lot of difficulty mowing over it later on.
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| This is one after about a month after they "fixed" them the first time |
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So we again called Lowe's back (after giving them a week to call us first but we never heard from anyone). We told them that it was not fixed correctly and someone needed to come out and do it again. Gary again came out and looked at them and said he would speak with the owner of the landscaping company and get back to us. Never heard from him so we called the store manager Angela. Once she got involved again, Gary finally got back in touch and sent someone out to "fix" it again. This time I wasn't home when they came. I was gone for an hour and fifteen grocery shopping and no one was there when I left, and no one was there when I got back. But there was straw all over the yard again. How they managed to shovel out all the bad dirt, replace it with new dirt and spread the straw and seed in that short a time I have no idea, maybe they brought a bunch of extra people. But they again let themselves into our back yard (I've ordered a Beware of Dog sign and am putting a lock on the gate...) AND missed a huge rut on the side yard. We never heard back from Lowe's to check how things went or to give us any instructions on how to care for the grass.
At this point, we were done with the store so we decided it was time to call corporate. Beau called the 1-800 number and spoke to a customer service rep who was astounded that this was not dealt with the first time. Beau said he either wanted cash/store credit and we would just fix it ourselves or for it to just be done right. She assured us that our complaint would be sent to the district and this would be taken care of ASAP. A few days later, Beau got a call from the store's delivery manager Mike who asked to meet him at the house so he could take a look. He looked everything over and said no this is now how we do things and that he would be back the following weekend to fix it himself. Sure enough, he was here when he said he would be and spent several hours doing the work himself. He was very, very pleasant and also left us with clear instructions on how to care for the grass seed so it would take properly. He also left us with a bag of seed/fertilizer to treat the spots in the fall to fortify the grass.
Overall, this Lowe's was just hopping we would give up and go away but at the end of the day, we paid thousands of dollars for a product and service from them and part of that service was that everything would be left the way they found it after they were done. The fence install and product itself is fine. But the lack of professionalism and caring about providing a good experience for us is just disappointing. We have a lot of loyalty with Lowe's. We have used them for new windows, a bathroom remodel, new carpet twice and now the fence. The Lowe's in San Diego we dealt with were prompt, professional and would bend over backwards because they wanted us back for more projects. And we expected the same service here.
While we will still, and have since, used Lowe's again, we will not be returning to this particular Lowe's for any product or service again. We would not recommend this store.
The Lowe's is the Lowe's located in Bedford, VA, Store #2809.
Also see:
Lowe's Flooring Install Part 1
Lowe's Flooring Install Part 2
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