Tech
Well-Known Member
Yep, worked several years ago. Department I was in would have a dozen workers on weekends. Don't think anyone is assigned there now.
Lowe's Of St. Mary's
- Thread starter L'Town.girl
- Start date
NorthBeachPerso
Honorary SMIB
Wait! What?
These big box stores are what you all wanted, and bothered and berated elected officials about, for years and years and are still doing it over here in Calvert. Now you're complaining because these stores don't meet your needs.
People like me who point out that these stores aren't the be all and end all are insulted by people and called *******s and anti-progress.
Well, as the man said, "You can't stop progress". Well you got it.
These big box stores are what you all wanted, and bothered and berated elected officials about, for years and years and are still doing it over here in Calvert. Now you're complaining because these stores don't meet your needs.
People like me who point out that these stores aren't the be all and end all are insulted by people and called *******s and anti-progress.
Well, as the man said, "You can't stop progress". Well you got it.
Well, if having Lowes around keeps all the f'heads out of Dysons and True Value, better for me.
PeoplesElbow
Well-Known Member
It is the execution, like I said it is the worst I've ever been in. The Lowe's in my hometown is excellent, but of course they have competition with Home Depot and now a Menards, all in a town of 8000 people.
All three stores there have clean clutter free aisles, helpful employees, a few are my old neighbors and people I went to high school with. The management is where problems lie, whether the store manager or regional. This Lowes has to be a high volume store so you would think they would be on it.
Sneakers
Just sneakin' around....
That's a big part of it. You get complacent when there is no need to extend. I was not terribly in favor of having a Home Depot down here when they talked about it, thought the area was just to small for another big box warehouse store. It would, however, give Lowes a reason to clean up and be better.
As far as the clogged aisles, you have to remember Lowes is a working warehouse. The shelves ARE the storage area and inventory. During this pandemic, things sold out and were not on the shelves. The "answer" to that is for the store to order a lot more stock when they can to keep everyone happy. But since the shelves are the storage areas, excess winds up in the aisles. I'm not defending them, they really need to do a much better job of reducing the clutter while keeping stock on the shelves.
If we can just keep small businesses open long enough until enough people get disillusioned with the boxes and go back to patronizing locals....
Unfortunately people do what the TV tells them to do, so the mindless masses will still shop where they're told. But folks are getting fed up with all our newfangled doodads, and that includes the internet (social media in particular), so hopefully we'll be seeing a shift back to community (real ones, not FB ones).
I still get all my ebooks from Amazon, which annoys the crap out of me. It would be nice if local bookstores - the 2 or 3 left in existence - or even public libraries sold/lent ebooks. I'd never use Amazon again for anything.
But wait! I have more!
That's what's nice about rebellious disillusioned young people: if you hang in there, the next generation will overturn the social decisions of their parents. Currently the much maligned (deservedly so) millennials are rebelling against their parents by pretending boys are girls and black people need white saviors. Their parents are like, "Are you effing crazy?" but are powerless against the pop culture. However, their kids will grow up and go, "Are you effing crazy?" and change it back because they'll be the new owners of the pop culture.
At least I hope that's how it works.....
PeoplesElbow
Well-Known Member
That is crap, the St Marys Lowe's is the only one I've seen that. Maryland just seems to have lower expectations, the restaurants are shittier, the Walmarts are shittier etc.
Sneakers
Just sneakin' around....
Can't disagree with that.
PeoplesElbow
Well-Known Member
I just don't get how big box drives small businesses under in a place with a large population that also happens to be underserved like St Marys.
If we can just keep small businesses open long enough until enough people get disillusioned with the boxes and go back to patronizing locals....
As I mentioned 8000 people, three big box retailers but we also have two Ace Hardware and a TruValue nearby, an 84 lumber and a local lumber yard about a 20 minute drive away.
St Marys has a far greater population density and about double the median household income.
I don't understand this post. I started to reply to what I thought you were saying, then I re-read it and determined you were saying something else.
PeoplesElbow
Well-Known Member
Sorry, middle paragraph was about how my hometown of 8000 people can seem to support three big box hardware stores, and a few local hardware and lumber yards at the same time. The county has half the median household income of St Marys and the population density is slightly more than half of that of St Marys county.
As someone who works for Lowe's, have wondered why the county fire marshal has not cited them for blocking access should there be a fire. My car can barely get through there safely, it is likely emergency vehicles could not.
May not apply to you, but for anyone else reading this the St. Mary's County Library has a huge offering of ebooks/audiobooks and you can manage it all from home on their app without having to step foot in the building. It's a great library and got me through school 20 years ago.
I did not know that! Thank you, I'll look into it today!
Clem72
Well-Known Member
I went to a walmart in new jersey that was possibly the dirtiest store stateside I have ever been in. The average roadside toilet in Mumbai was cleaner. It's no wonder they have such a poor opinion of WM in the northeast.
sunshine98
Active Member
As a Lowe's stockholder, it pains me to see anything that makes products hard to find. Long lines mean people get frustrated and leave without buying. Dead plants are negative profit. You would think corporate would do inspections periodically.
I occasionally try to shop the smaller places, but usually come up empty or the store is closed by the time I have time to get there. Sunday's foray to Meadow Farms, however, was great - had the plants we wanted with one person in the checkout line ahead of us.
I occasionally try to shop the smaller places, but usually come up empty or the store is closed by the time I have time to get there. Sunday's foray to Meadow Farms, however, was great - had the plants we wanted with one person in the checkout line ahead of us.
I will offer my observations, having worked for Lowe's since just past the turn of the century. These are my thoughts and do not reflect Official Lowe's Corporate Policies or Positions in any way. Many of these observations can be gleaned from news stories in various of the business magazine online editions.
I come from the era when corporate management valued employees as an asset, and the magical, mythical beast known as Shareholder Value was not the main driving force behind corporate think.
I was hired due to my track record of excellent customer service, and ability to meet the needs of the customer insofar as a complete package of products to get their job done. Also, my store manager at my previous employer called the Lowe's manager with a recommendation.
I've never been one to push the extras, like credit or extended warrantees, will help the customer obtain such if they want them. I like to see the money, but only what the customer needs to spend. I can work with someone who is fulfilling wants, too.
Old saying in maritime culture, the fish rots from the head.
I've been through the many changes in the C & E-levels of Lowe's corporate structure, it's like I have worked for several different companies with each big dog marking their new territory.
The latest era started when Lowe's hired Marvin Ellison away from JC Penney's, where he succeeded in slowing the sinking of the Titanic. He is CEO and President of the Corporation, but not also Chairman of the Board like his predecessor Robert Niblock.
Almost the entire slate of big bosses from Regional Vice President on up have been replaced. It started with the elimination of the COO position. The person holding the job had been in office just 8 months. That position was replaced with an EVP Stores.
Payroll is their favorite expense to squeeze. Difficulty in finding someone to help, the cluttered aisles, the pallets of freight...and more, are a result of that. Also, remerchandising the store, shuffling products around, about 1/3 of which made sense.
Yes, as some have observed, tenured, knowledgeable people are getting scarcer and scarcer. In example, one high dollar product department, which should have 3 specialist and 3 regular associates, has one of each. Part of that, I think, is Lowe's history of cutting back on employee benefits. There had been a replacement program for the commissions/spiffs, which was 1/2 the old money. Marvin took that away 2 years ago and there was a large migration of knowledgeable, long tine people to new jobs elsewhere.
One used to be able to earn commissions and spiffs (basically a kickback from the manufacturer) on big ticket and special order items. That is mostly no more. Used to get a bonus for having good inventory numbers, no more. Used to get a little extra holiday gratuity for Thanksgiving and Christmas, no more. Still get a quarterly bonus, if the store as a whole meets the metrics.
When I came on board, the employee slogan was "Power of Pride." The benefits structure, including employee stock plan, was under the banner of "Retire Rich." The company slogans were, simply, "Improving Home Improvement" and "Let's Build Something Together." Lowe's was know for clean, wide aisles. Merchandising standards were adhered to, to keep it that way.
Then there were the "Build and Grow" sessions for the kids. The "How To Do It" clinics for the adults.
No matter what noises the company makes about caring and charity, they are truly only interest in the bottom line of the profit and loss statement.
I come from the era when corporate management valued employees as an asset, and the magical, mythical beast known as Shareholder Value was not the main driving force behind corporate think.
I was hired due to my track record of excellent customer service, and ability to meet the needs of the customer insofar as a complete package of products to get their job done. Also, my store manager at my previous employer called the Lowe's manager with a recommendation.
I've never been one to push the extras, like credit or extended warrantees, will help the customer obtain such if they want them. I like to see the money, but only what the customer needs to spend. I can work with someone who is fulfilling wants, too.
Old saying in maritime culture, the fish rots from the head.
I've been through the many changes in the C & E-levels of Lowe's corporate structure, it's like I have worked for several different companies with each big dog marking their new territory.
The latest era started when Lowe's hired Marvin Ellison away from JC Penney's, where he succeeded in slowing the sinking of the Titanic. He is CEO and President of the Corporation, but not also Chairman of the Board like his predecessor Robert Niblock.
Almost the entire slate of big bosses from Regional Vice President on up have been replaced. It started with the elimination of the COO position. The person holding the job had been in office just 8 months. That position was replaced with an EVP Stores.
Payroll is their favorite expense to squeeze. Difficulty in finding someone to help, the cluttered aisles, the pallets of freight...and more, are a result of that. Also, remerchandising the store, shuffling products around, about 1/3 of which made sense.
Yes, as some have observed, tenured, knowledgeable people are getting scarcer and scarcer. In example, one high dollar product department, which should have 3 specialist and 3 regular associates, has one of each. Part of that, I think, is Lowe's history of cutting back on employee benefits. There had been a replacement program for the commissions/spiffs, which was 1/2 the old money. Marvin took that away 2 years ago and there was a large migration of knowledgeable, long tine people to new jobs elsewhere.
One used to be able to earn commissions and spiffs (basically a kickback from the manufacturer) on big ticket and special order items. That is mostly no more. Used to get a bonus for having good inventory numbers, no more. Used to get a little extra holiday gratuity for Thanksgiving and Christmas, no more. Still get a quarterly bonus, if the store as a whole meets the metrics.
When I came on board, the employee slogan was "Power of Pride." The benefits structure, including employee stock plan, was under the banner of "Retire Rich." The company slogans were, simply, "Improving Home Improvement" and "Let's Build Something Together." Lowe's was know for clean, wide aisles. Merchandising standards were adhered to, to keep it that way.
Then there were the "Build and Grow" sessions for the kids. The "How To Do It" clinics for the adults.
No matter what noises the company makes about caring and charity, they are truly only interest in the bottom line of the profit and loss statement.
Clem72
Well-Known Member
Same deal, my hometown has TWO sets of home depot & lowes, one on either side of town plus some smaller shops like Yard Birds and TSC. And that town has maybe 30k people if you count areas well outside the city limits.
My sister worked for home depot for most of the 90s. When she first started you had to know your crap. She was hired because she had 20 years experience as a contractor installing flooring, tile, and wallpaper and the HD job was a great gig as it paid well and had good benefits.
