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View Full Version : Menards - no customer service?



Rich Engelhardt
10-10-2019, 8:03 AM
Our local Menards (Cuyahoga Falls Ohio) is horrible. They don't bother to put sale items on the shelf, they only have one register open on weekdays and seldom open another even when the lines are 8 people deep, very slow to mark sale items/prices - as in 3 or 4 days after the sale has started, the employees have obviously not been trained at all in anything, they don't bother to stock shelves, they insist on putting scrap material (sheet goods, lumber, etc) on the top of decent stock causing you to have to dig and discard a lot of material before you get to an item that isn't pure scrap.......and all in all ,,, a rather unpleasant experience to shop at.

The store has been open well over a year now & the employee turnover has been tremendous. Unusual for a company that has taken pride in the fact that their average employee service time has been over 10 years.

Every single time we go there, my wife and I comment about how we should contact the corporate office and complain about the store's management and how poorly the store is being run.
Based on my 25 years in retail, I'm well aware of how poor management results in every one of these problem areas.
To drive that point home, the store 20 some miles away (Massillon Ohio) is a pure pleasure to shop at. Plenty of registers open, plenty of stock on the shelves, sale items properly signed and stocked and the people are all eager to help customers. (plus I noted over the couple of years we shopped there - the same faces are always there).

I'd like to contact the home office, but, I can't find anywhere a listing for customer service. They have none on their website & it appears (based on comments) that they never bother to respond to comments on their social media.

I'd really like to see this store succeed - Lord knows we don't need another big giant empty previous retail store, thank you very much....but, I can see this store folding up if something isn't done and done quick.

Any ideas how to get the home office to take a look at how poorly this store is run?


Ok - edit to add a link:

https://www.menards.com/main/contactUs.html

After hunting high and low, I found a contactus link. Despite what the link says, I can't find that link anywhere on the main page.
Judging by the comments on social media, I suspect it was removed so Menards doesn't have to deal with customers.

Pity - but - it sure looks like there;s trouble brewing and I don't think it looks good for Menards long term.

Matt Day
10-10-2019, 8:12 AM
That’s a bummer Rich. I’m happy to have 2 Menards within 10 miles and they are both good stores as far as I can tell.

Have you tried calling on the phone and just keep asking for the next manager up?

George Bokros
10-10-2019, 8:18 AM
There is a Menards in Warren also Rich. Only been there once, wife found a ceiling fan she liked for the master bedroom so we had to go get one. We were to the one in Cuyahoga Falls once also but it was just after it opened. They do have a larger variety of merchandise. Surprised to even see some food items.

Earl McLain
10-10-2019, 2:55 PM
There is a Menards in Warren also Rich. Only been there once, wife found a ceiling fan she liked for the master bedroom so we had to go get one. We were to the one in Cuyahoga Falls once also but it was just after it opened. They do have a larger variety of merchandise. Surprised to even see some food items.

I'm no help on the customer service or contact info for Rich--but in response to George, the food items we see here are usually priced well. Also...if they bring Sprecher's Root Beer (Wisconsin brand), that is worth a try. Downside is that it's 16 ounce bottles, but i don't mind drinking it. If i could find Hank's (Philly?) i'd do that over Sprecher's (especially their Birch Beer!!)
earl

jack duren
10-10-2019, 2:58 PM
I've seen no problems with the one in Independence, Mo. Sometimes those great deals on clamps are a lil thin when moneys burning holes in my pocket...

Mike Kreinhop
10-10-2019, 3:53 PM
I'd like to contact the home office, but, I can't find anywhere a listing for customer service. They have none on their website & it appears (based on comments) that they never bother to respond to comments on their social media.

I'd really like to see this store succeed - Lord knows we don't need another big giant empty previous retail store, thank you very much....but, I can see this store folding up if something isn't done and done quick.

Any ideas how to get the home office to take a look at how poorly this store is run?


Ok - edit to add a link:

https://www.menards.com/main/contactUs.html

After hunting high and low, I found a contactus link. Despite what the link says, I can't find that link anywhere on the main page.
Judging by the comments on social media, I suspect it was removed so Menards doesn't have to deal with customers.


On the Home page, go to the bottom and click on the "Help Center" link. On the next page, select "Contact Us". Then choose your email or mail method to contact Menards.

I didn't find a phone number for the Eau Claire main office, but the Conference Center appears to be in the same complex. The phone number for the Conference Center is (715) 876-2552, and someone there might be able to help direct your call.

Jerome Stanek
10-10-2019, 4:23 PM
I go to a lot of different Menards there is on Brookpark road in Brooklyn OH, Avon OH, Mansfield OH Massillon Oh and the one In Cuyahoga Falls Oh the only one I haven't been to is the Cuyahoga Falls one and all the rest have great customer service. All of them are about 24 miles from me.

Paul F Franklin
10-10-2019, 4:33 PM
Gosh Rich, I shop at that store at least once a week, often more. In fact, I've been getting get well cards from lowes and home depot since that store opened. I have certainly had my frustrations with the store, but generally my experiences have been positive. Can't really comment on the sale item/prices you mention as I don't bother looking at the sale ads since doing so tends to result in me buying stuff I don't really need. I rarely find more than 1 or 2 folks ahead of me in a line. There was once late evening near closing time when the single open line was long, but they did open another line a few minutes later.

There have been two or three times when I have asked an employee for help locating an item and rather than telling me where it was, they walked me across the store to show me. That seems to be a menards "thing".

OTOH, there were two times that I special ordered something and got the notice that it was at the store, but they were unable to find it in the storage area even though their system said it had arrived. They had to reorder the items!

What I like most about menards is the selection of less common or more pro-oriented building materials, electrical, plumbing, etc. For example, they carry MDO and 6" SDR pipe (although lowes does also now). They carry expansion type PEX pipe and fittings.
Their construction lumber is much better than the competition.

What I don't like so much: Power tools are mostly off brands and selection is poor.
Finding stuff in the store (HD kill at this with their Aisle and Bin numbering on the web site) The menards app helps a little, but it's still often really hard to find stuff.
Although I like the frequent 11% sales, I hate the mail in rebate nonsense.
To many times the cash register doesn't have a price for items when scanned. When this happens, the associate whips out their cell phone and looks up the price online!

So, definitely room for improvement, but they are getting most of my big box building supply business.

Larry Frank
10-10-2019, 7:37 PM
I have couple of Menards near me and have no issues. Prices are good. I especially like that they store plywood flat and not on arms like other big box stores.

Adam Grund
10-10-2019, 8:52 PM
I’ve never been to the one in the falls, went to the warren store once. Alright experience in the end, but it did kind of annoy me it took an hr to get a hot water tank I located on the shelf even before I ever found an employee.
Both stores are about equal distance too me, but rather inconvenient in my daily flow.
Brimfield might have the best shot at getting my business because that’s an area I’m in fairly often, but then again the traffic might drive me to stay out of brimfield all together when it opens. Traffic around the location is already horrendous at times.
For me, If I’m shopping big box, it’s hard to venture past lowes and hd since both are within 1/8 mile of work

Jerome Stanek
10-11-2019, 6:34 AM
I don't think I ever had a bad experience at a Menards. I have gone to maybe 100 different ones all over when I was installing drug stores going back to 1995. I did like Builders Square and Home Quarters back then also better then Home depot.

Gary Thinglum
10-11-2019, 8:29 AM
Rich, sorry to hear about your bad experience with Menards. Ours in Escanaba, Michigan is a great store. We own a house in Florida and needed some lights for the bathroom and could not find them at Home Depot or Lowes so, I ordered them from Menards online. Two of them were too larger so when I got home, I returned them to our local store. No questions asked. What I like is about the Menards stores are how clean they are, along with the aisles are not blocked with pallets full of stock like a few of the "BIG BOX STORES". I have shopped at many Menards in: Milwaukee, Davenport, Iowa, Kalamazoo & Menoninee, Michigan. I have never seen anything but a "First Class Stores" in any of them. I would agree with you to contact Corporate about your store. Sounds like they have a poor management issue.

Brian Elfert
10-11-2019, 7:06 PM
The only problem I ever have with Menards is them putting taped up packages back on the shelves. I believe Home Depot for the most part sends that sort of stuff out of their stores. I shop at Menards all the time with minimal issues.

I had a problem once with them improperly loading my special order into one of their rental pickups. I wanted them to lay the items down in the truck, but they just loaded the pallet into the truck. I didn't even make it 100 feet still in the yard before the items fell out of the truck. They knew it was their fault and they reordered everything at no cost to me. Luckily, I did not actually need the doors yet. What kinda upset me was they had allowed me to special order all of the doors the first time even though I only needed one or two in a non stocked size. Getting them all on a pallet meant the doors didn't get dinged up by employees putting them on the shelf, or by customers digging through them. The second time they required me to get the stock sizes off the shelf and only ordered the non stock sizes.

Stan Calow
10-11-2019, 11:01 PM
When all else fails, call the store and ask for the name of the general manager and or the district manager, and addresses. Mail a hardcopy letter to them. I've done this when I wanted to commend an employee at Lowes, for example, and it was easier than finding an email.

Rich Engelhardt
10-13-2019, 5:27 PM
I have certainly had my frustrations with the store, but generally my experiences have been positive. Can't really comment on the sale item/prices you mention as I don't bother looking at the sale ads since doing so tends to result in me buying stuff I don't really needPaul - we were at that store this past Tuesday. I wanted to pick up some Speed Squares - they had the for "Free" after a rebate. Their computer showed they had 97 of them in stock - but - no less than three employees tried to locate them and we wasted a half hour while they searched for them.
That's been our experience with the Cuyahoga Falls store since it opened.

Their selection of decent quality lumber is pretty poor too.