We-is....

[Clem72]

The supply chain has had trouble the past couple of years, especially as Lowe's corporate has decided to farm more and more service to 3rd parties, instead of Lowe's employees. I think in spite of COVID driven record sales, there has been a cash flow problem in some areas due to "programs" current corporate keeps trying out. One of those cash diverters, Billions of dollars in stock buybacks the past few years to try and pump up the "shareholder value" of the rest.

Installations is one "farm out" for instance. We used to have an instore installs department that worked with locally owned and managed companies. Previous corporate regime decided to centralize, which HD had done. However, HD looked for and bought a well-run, national level project management company. Lowe's built call centers and hired off the street. They also started shacking up with regional and national installation companies.

Another thing to go was in-house delivery drivers and assistants. Lowe's hired regional level dispatch companies who hire 3rd party 2 men and a truck type "companies." We have a delivery coordinator in the store, who is basically a load puller. They are also trying to go to direct delivery of big ticket items, like major appliances, from a regional warehouse, part of why some items will be in short supply in the store.

In house custodian (did all the janitorial and much of the light repairs) and assembly went away, too.

A 3rd party they did away with, the company that came in quarterly to make sure our carts and ladders are in good repair.

Sounds like a business in decline honestly. When growing it's always "what more can we do to increase sales, what else can we sell". Once a business has hit critical mass it becomes "how do we provide the same or similar service for less money", and finally once they take that mentality too far it becomes "how to we make more money without completely destroying the company in the next two quarters".

 

[spr1975wshs]

Sounds like a business in decline honestly. When growing it's always "what more can we do to increase sales, what else can we sell". Once a business has hit critical mass it becomes "how do we provide the same or similar service for less money", and finally once they take that mentality too far it becomes "how to we make more money without completely destroying the company in the next two quarters".

Circuit City comes to mind.

 

[Clem72]

Circuit City comes to mind.

Yes, their biggest issue in my opinion was keeping the commissioned salesperson model well past it's best-by date. Once the internet was more prevalent and people became more informed about technology and were researching what they want well in advance of purchase they didn't need a guy to tell them they should buy SVHS instead of VHS for the additional 200 lines of resolution.

I do have fond memories of when our local Circuit City and Montgomery Ward were going out of business at the same time and were competing to sell their electronics inventory. This was right around 2000 and while our CC closed I think some of the stores struggled on for several more years (kind of like there are still some Radio Shaks around). I must have bought 100 gen1/2 TIVOs and hard drives to upgrade them to anywhere from 100 to 500 hours and then sell them on eBay.

Couple of hours each weekend and easily made 2-3k extra income a week for the better part of a year.

 

[SamSpade]

Attending the self checkouts is about the only job I can do at Lowe's in my post-cancer, lessened physical ability state. I'm not ready to hang it up yet.

It's about to get worse there. We'll have 8 - 12 SCO machines after they re-work the front area, leaving only 2 - 3 regular cash registers. There will continue to be 2 in outside garden and 2 - 3 down at the lumber end.

Can you imagine the chaos there would be if lumber and garden were self-checkout?

But Lowe's IN GENERAL is a place where self-checkout is crazy, where easily half of what you're likely to check out isn't going to easily fit in that tiny area left for scanning. If they do that, chances are good I will take some of my business elsewhere.

 

[spr1975wshs]

If they do that, chances are good I will take some of my business elsewhere.

It will take a combination of losing sales and very many people letting corporate know it is because of the shift to self checkout for change to occur.