Loew's North of the 49th

[Bob DeWolfe]

In a few months Loews is opening their first box here in Canada. I am only a 15 min drive from the location in Hamilton.

How do they compare to the orange box and what should I expect in service, selection and prices?

Thanks

[Phillip Thorne]

Personnaly I like lowes better...could be we didn't have the orange box in the town i grew up in...i think their prices are a little lower than the orange box...but these are MOHO

[Alan Trout]

In general I think the Orange Box has better prices than the Blue Box. But I also feel that the Blue Box is better laid out and has some stuff that the Orange box does not. Sevice is about the same. They both suck. I find at least in my part of the contry the Orange Box has a bit more buisness.

What it boils down to Is pretty much same Cr*p different Box.

Good Luck

Alan

[Don Bullock]

I have found that Lowe's customer service is better than the Orange Box. The best thing to me, however, is that I can compare prices both at the stores and online. The store that has the best deal usually gets my money. Having both will give you thatchoice that you didn't have.

[Ron Jones near Indy]

When the orange box opened here they had good prices and knowledgeable help. It seemed to me that 3 months later the prices were up and the good help gone. The blue box seems to have a larger selection, better prices and more knowledgeable help than the orange box. My personal favorite is Menards. Seems to me to have better pricing, bigger selection and more knowledgeable help. Wood from any of them is marginal at best. If I want construction grade lumber or plywood, even cheap stuff, I will NOT go to the orange box.

[Clint Winterhalter]

I too had a great experience when the Orange Box opened by my house. Prices were wonderful and the service was first class. Several Months later.. POOF it was GONE.

Lowe's stores are gennerally: Cleaner, brighter and more organized. I've had very positive service from them as well.

I find there prices in line with the Orange box for the most part...

I think you'll enjoy have a Lowes near by..

Regards,
Clint

[Larry Fox]

I pretty much agree with Alan Trout - except I find my local Orange Box laid out better for me.

To summarize our local boxes - I like the Orange One but my wife likes the blue one. I am not a fan at all of either one as I spent a few years working on an old house and they were of NO use to me.

If it is anything even SLIGHTLY off the norm you are not going to find it at either one.

All that siad, I find myself there quite frequently and rare is the day when I get out for less than $100.

[Karl Knoernschild]

Lowes seems to be better at some things, HD at others. HD has a better selection of loose fasteners and better paint (IMHO) whereas Lowes has a better selection of trim, tile, and some other things. I also go to Menards occasionally - they have a much better selection of hardwood and sheet goods. One big caveat, though: stores in different areas may not carry the same stock.

[David G Baker]

I was going to flip houses in California but the only local source for supplies was an Orange Box. After having several horrible problems with the Orange Box while doing a remodel on my home I canned the idea. Left California, moved to Mid Michigan and a year later a Lowe's moved into my old neighborhood about 3/4 mile from where I lived. Now I am back stuck with the Orange Box in Michigan and have to make a 50 mile round trip every time I need something they have. Menard's is being built not to far from where the Orange Box is located. Can't wait. Now if only they would build a Lowe's close by!
David B

[Ernie Hobbs]

I have a Lowes and Home Depot right down the road from me. I prefer Lowes way more than I do Home Depot. I don't exactly know why but, I usually leave HD angry- I guess it is the poor customer service. I can't ever seem to find anyone to help me or answer questions. I'd avoid it altogether but, they carry Norton 3x sandpaper and Lowes doesn't. I think you'll like Lowes. I find they are more helpful, and seem to know at least a little of what they're talking about. But don't get your hopes up- they aren't a woodworking store. They cater to contractors and DIYers. Real woodworking supplies are scarce there.

[John Schreiber]

We have a Menards, a Lowes and a Home Depot all within a mile and a half of each other. Menards is definitely my favorite. Just seems like they have what I'm looking for and sometimes actually have helpful people.

My expectations for service at these places is very low. Even so, at Lowes I am often disappointed. I won't shop at HD any more because often they only allow self checkout. I don't want to do one more thing to make interacting with people unnecessary, so unless there's a checker, I don't buy.

Now at the True Value, they will spend 10 minutes with me trying to find the exact right bits of hardware, then I take it to the counter and tell the girl that I've got 6 of these for 8 cents each, 3 of those for 12 cents each and she takes my word for it. It's like Norman Rockwell.

[Mike Buelow]

The blue box has the orange box beat in power tools hands down. That section is layed out much better and not the crampled two aisles at orange.

One interesting thing about the blue box in MN is that they all are catching up. The Orange boxes had a 15 year head start. Many of the blue staff had NO clue about their jobs for the first 6 months, where I've only found a few people at HD that don't know what they're doing. One gal at the blue box replied to my question "My boss said this was on the test so I should know the answer and he's not going to help me." For real.

For me Menards is almost like another harbor freight. If you know you need cheap commodity items-- go there. There are a few old school menards that are like a drunk layed out the store and feature disheveled outdated ways of displaying merchandise.

The orange box gets a hard time from a lot of folks, but I continue to go back by choice. I've come to count on certain individuals in different departments and I've also never had anything but cheerful help getting a piece of junk plywood onto the free panel cutter. Most of the folks there seem to like their job and want to help.

[Steve Schoene]

While the opinion isn't unanimous, the thrust of this thread certainly shows why there is a job opening at Home Depot. Bob Nardelli has left the CEO position after 6 years at the helm, taking with him a severance package worth an estimated $210 million. Clearly one thing he was good at was negotiating a great contract when he was the fair haired boy. Companies should perhaps consider the implications when they hire someone who wants to have a hugh severance package in his contract. Seems to me as if he had just a bit of lack of confidence in his own abilities to perform when he took the job.

[Benjimin Young]

Bob, maybe when the Blue Box opens in Hamilton they will have some door crasher specials to beat up the Orange Box. Might be worth a drive for me, I'll have to keep an eye open for ads or info. :cool:

Ben, Toronto

[Bill Lewis]

This could potentially be opening a big can of worms. You'll never find any group like this in total agreement over the debate of "Who is better, blue or orange?" Frankly I think it's somewhat of a regional, and even a locality issue.

One generalization I think I can make is that Blue tends to market to homeowners, and Orange markets to contractors. Or put another way, Orange has what it takes to build it, and Blue has what it takes to finish it with a lot of crossover for both.

In my area, I think they both bascally suck when it comes to customer service with the pitifully unknowledgeable staff they employ. As someone mentioned When HD first opened up it was quite a different picture, In our case every staff person greeted you and was helpful. That faded out over a couple of years, and now it seems that they go out of their way to avoid you. Lowe's was behind the curve on this, but quickly caught up to be equally inadequate.

Again I have to emphasize that this is a completely local thing. I have been in some stores in small towns that are completely different. Tons of helpful staff, neat, clean and organized, and this goes for both blue and orange.

If I had to guess, I'd say that these stores use a staffing formula. X square feet of retail space has Y number of employees, regardless of the fact that store A only serves 2500 customers per day vs. store B that serves 15000 customers per day (I shop at store B).

The building boom over the last 10 years or so has also contributed to the loss of good people. So for big jobs, when I want quality building materials delivered to my house I go to a local lumber yard and sit down with a sales rep. He's been there for many years, he knows me by name, and gives me a better price than ordering at the counter. The down side to the lumber yard is that they have limited weekend hours, and finishing materials are practically non-existant.

So if you're lucky, the store will start out great as they are trying to establish a presence, and by they time this fades out you'll know where things are so you won't need the staff later on. Sorry for the cynical rant, I hope your region is better served than mine, I don't wish bad service on anyone. This is the just way it is in my area.

One last story about an experience I had the other day. I needed a router bit, so I go to HD to get one. The one I needed was locked in the (porter cable) display rack. I waited in the checkout line at the tool crib to ask the cashier for assistance. The cashier asked another employee who was there (fumbling with another customer's items) if he knew about opening it, but he didn't either. The second guy left without offering to help, or seek out any further assistance. Then the guy who operates the key machine shows up, and he is asked to help. He gets me the router bit, but does so by using a pair of hand pruners to cut the package from the locked rack. However he won't hand me the ($17) bit, but insists on walking it up to the cashier, who now has a line. The bit goes under the counter, and I wait in line to check out. The thing was, I had a some more shopping that I wanted to do, but obviously I wasn't going to get that bit until I paid for it right then and there. So when it was my turn I had to remind the cashier to get the bit from under the counter I checked out and I left.

[John Bailey]

I live in the middle of a triangle with three "sets" of Lowes and HD. None of them are close. It seems that the demographic that suggest success for one does for the other as well. They're all relatively new and are basically copies of each other. There's also a Menards close to one of them. I find them to all be the same, same prices, same service and same brands. Since they're all 25 mi. or more away, it's much better to just go to the local hardware store, lumber yard and sawmill. I get great service and it's cheaper when you add in the price of gas. There is rarely a time I need the superior selection at the big boxes, and when I need something, I get it on-line.

John

[Thomas Prondzinski]

Not sure if I should post,but I work at the blue box.Left factory job after 23 years,now working as a kitchen cabinet specialist. I love this job, as for service I notice some that know their jobs and others that don't care too. But I think that's true in any kind of work. One thing I can say is I know about alot of home improvement areas. But I have alot of things to learn, you have no idea how many products we stock. So I think I'm trying to say go easy on these people as you have no idea.
One thing I have learned is some customers accept all help and welcome your expertise and other you can't help them,either you don't work in that department so you are not qualified,or they know everything and don't need help. Most of us are there to help thats are job.
Blue box is expanding rapidly in the midwest almost a store a month in Minnesota,I think more stores in Canada


Tom

[Dave Falkenstein]

In the Phoenix area, Home Depot is much more prevelant than Lowe's, so I end up at Home Depot more often. There are five HD's within the same distance from home as one Lowe's. One big difference is traffic - the Lowe's near me is NEVER busy, while the HD is busy most of the time. If you can find a knowledgeable clerk, Lowe's seems more likely to have one available to help you. Checkout at Lowe's is usually faster. I like the tool department at Lowe's better - they seem to have a bigger selection of the things I buy.

[John Schreiber]

Thomas,

Thanks for posting. It is so easy for us to forget the challenges the people working at these places have. Our expectation is that they know the entire store from the first day they work there and that they have specialist knowledge of their department. All that on little pay.

The stores compete on price and service. Since price is easier to measure, hiring and keeping good people is an expense they often feel that they can not afford.

When we choose to shop at these places, we are rewarding a business model we don't like, but we often either don't have or can't afford any alternatives.

[David G Baker]

I have a local Ace Hardware close to me. When I first started shopping there I asked them if I could get a 10% discount because I do quite a bit of remodeling. They gave it to me and if I need something that they do not carry in the store they order it for me and it is always there on Tuesday if I get the order in by Friday. The 10% puts the generally higher Ace price in the same range as the borgs. I also save on gas due to the 50 mile round trip to the borgs. I can also order from ACE on line and have it delivered locally with no shipping charge.
David B

[Lars Thomas]

I know this is sort of off the OP’s question, but. . . .If you've got an Ace in our town, give it a try. I live in my current town for nearly 5 years before I went to Ace. Call it a fluke, but I went in looking for some unique fasteners. I was amazed at the quantity (and quality) of the fasteners they had. They even had an 'old guy' working the aisle - he pointed out to me exactly what I was looking for based on my cryptic description. I now get all my hardware there.

[Don Bullock]

Bob, I forgot to mention one big difference that came in handy at Lowes. One day my wife and I were out running around to a lot of stores getting things we needed for some projects at home. While at Lowes I had to use the restroom. Their restroom facilities are excellent. While this doesn't have any relation to woodworking it is a big plus for me when it's needed.;) :D

[David Cramer]

The Other Side of the Coin, if I may?


I also have worked at one of the big home improvement centers for almost 3 years. Most departments try to have at least one or two "go to" guys (or gals:) ). They try not to schedule them on the same day or same shift. In plumbing/electrical etc........you have to have at least one qualified person who really knows their stuff. But some stores have skeleton crews working and I understand a customer's anger, but it's not the employees fault. He or she is doing the best they can, in most cases.

Yes, some of the people are highly underpaid and made the mistake of accepting what they were offered when they were hired in. Now they find out that Mr./Mrs. Smith working next to them makes $3 more per hour and that doesn't sit well with them. They know more than him/her and work harder, so they're frustrated. Although wages are NEVER suppose to be discussed among employees, they are. The mistake they made is that now they have to wait every year to get about a 50 cent per hour raise, if that. Instead of 12 per hour, they could have started at 14 per hour if they had negotiated and touted their skills during the actual hiring, when the issue of pay was brought up. This is especially true if they really, really need someone and are in a pinch. Don't ask me how I know this. Yes, people have started at 15 or more per hour, but those days are fading fast unless you're really good and they need help badly. Once your hired in at a wage, that's it. They won't fire then re-hire you to get you to a higher wage than you were originally at. Yes, people have tried that (believe it or not). The store managers can do some things, but not near as much as people are lead to believe. Corporate is corporate and they are up on a lot of things because of the 21st century and the technology that it has brought.

I worked in electrical/hardward/and power tools. I have had more than one customer walk up with a LONG list of electrical items that they need. They want me to shop for them. The list comes from their contractor, who didn't want to pick up the stuff himself. He then writes it done and says to give the list to the guy in electrical and he'll find everything on it. Mind you, I have other customers waiting for me who are just as busy as everyone else is. The contractor is wrong to do this, period.

Yes, a lot of it is regional and even local. Things are different at different stores. The pool of employees that they have the potential to hire "is what it is". If they don't have a "go to" guy/gal in a certain department, then they try their best. If not, they might lose a customer if there are better places to go to nearby, or maybe they won't lose that customer. It depends on a lot of variables.

I bust my butt trying to satisfy/help people and I'm not the only one. Unfortunately, you can't satisfy everybody. Example: I was rekeying locks (5) for a nice:cool: lady and a gentleman walked by my by lock desk and was asking for a hasp. I pointed to the nearby isle and said half way down on your left hand side, at chest level. When he couldn't find it, he went to the manager on duty and complained that I wouldn't help him. I got written up, and that my friends infuriates:mad: me. When I got done I would have gladly:) helped him, but he couldn't wait. So he messed with my livelihood and there's nothing I could do about it. The manager didn't want to write me up, but the guy apparently insisted or he'd call corporate. That is the truth. Now after x amount of write-ups, guess what happens to me:eek: ? The sad part is, I had helped this guy on many occassions before this incident. But that day, he was in a crappy mode and I had to pay for it with a write-up.

Sorry for rambling, but I just wanted to shed a little light on the other side of the story. Yes, there are some bad stores with bad employees, but there are some good ones to. If you have a bad store with people who won't help, or can't help because they don't know how, shop somewhere else or do it on-line. That's what I would do if I were in that situation.

Although things evolve, REMEMBER that these stores were orginally designed for do-it-yourselfers from the beginning. Employees were to show customers where things were located and give basic advice at best. Not to show someone how to install a 200 amp breaker panel and to wire everything in their house (yes, I have had people ask me to show them how and to get EVERYTHING that they need). Then they get mad and say, "you don't know what your doing, do ya", in an attempt to belittle me. Or they say, you HAVE to show me how. Don't even get me going on the liability thing with electricity!

I realize this wasn't exactly pertaining to the original post, so if it's considered off topic, feel free to move it. When HD and Lowe's were brought up, I felt the need to make my first post here on SawMill Creek and I hope I haven't ruffled any feathers (sorry if I did). I just thought a little more info on what some employees go through would help people to better understand Home Centers and how they operate (at least how they operate through my eyes:eek: and experiences). Thank you for reading.

Dave

p.s. Yes, I realize that no one forced these people to work there, but that applies to most any job and that is definitely not the point that I am trying to make. Also, I personally think self-serve lines are great for many purchases (not all) and they don't bother me at all. In addition, I don't see a BIG difference between any of the Home Centers, shop where it's best for you. Can I ramble:D or what??

[thomas prevost]

I have 3 oranges and 2 blues within 10 miles. Each store is different. One blue in the 50 year old suburbs focuses on remodel with large areas of Kitchen cabinets, flooring and storage. Plumbing and rough electrical are in one isle each and very limited. The other blue box in a widely new home expanding area is just the opposite, three full isles of each plumbing and electrical. Pex tubing and contractors packs of hardware. Kitchen and bath are half the other. Each have great tool sections. The local oranges appear to be contractor oriented. more framing lumber, roofing and siding. Tools are oriented to the contractor- ie.e only 3 10" blades choices, no fostner bits, etc. The bottom line is that they orient each store to what they determine the customer base is.

[Paul Douglass]

Bob, I forgot to mention one big difference that came in handy at Lowes. One day my wife and I were out running around to a lot of stores getting things we needed for some projects at home. While at Lowes I had to use the restroom. Their restroom facilities are excellent. While this doesn't have any relation to woodworking it is a big plus for me when it's needed.;) :D

If that is important to you, you must be about the same age I am! I went into our Lowes restroom once, reached up an flushed the toilet at the same time I was puitting things away and it sprayed all over the front of me:eek: Now that is embarrassing to say the least. I stood infront of the hand blower dryer thingy for about 20 minutes trying to get dried out before I go back out in public:mad: Lucky for me no one came in during that time, I can guess what they would have thought if they saw me cuddled up with that blow dryer :o

[Ernie Hobbs]

Bob, I forgot to mention one big difference that came in handy at Lowes. One day my wife and I were out running around to a lot of stores getting things we needed for some projects at home. While at Lowes I had to use the restroom. Their restroom facilities are excellent. While this doesn't have any relation to woodworking it is a big plus for me when it's needed.;) :D

I guess if you consider this, then I guess I'd vote for orange. I have two blues and two oranges within 15 miles of me and they each have the same layout. The restrooms at blue are in the back of the building while they are near the front in the lumber area at orange. When you've got to go, it's nice to not have to walk a mile to get there.:D

[Brian Elfert]

The closest Lowes to me is about a 15 mile drive. I've found that Lowes is almost always more expensive than Home Depot or Menards.

I end at Menards most often even with HD down the stree because the prices are better and they make it easy to return excess product if need be.

Brian Elfert

[Michael Gibbons]

I go to HD more often than not because they usually have what I need and I know what part of the store it is located in so I don't ask for help very often. I also have a small chain that is close by but because of their hours ,I can't make it there before it closes: ie 5:00pm during week , 2:00 on Sat ,closed Sun. Small chain 7 miles away, HD 15 miles, Lowes 35 miles. As far as tools go, I don't buy them at the Boxes so thats a wash unless its something non-critical like a pair of pliers or a drill bit.

[michael tessler]

Living in St. Louis, there are plenty of both. I find no real differances between them. As others have mentioned, finding people who are knowledgable is very difficult. Even just finding a person to ask a question to can be difficult. Like too many businesses, they have reduced customer service to keep the prices low. Ah yes......the Wal-Mart way!

[Jim Shaver, Oakville Ont]

Hi Bob,

I have been in a few Lowes and HD's in the US. I have found that my local HD had better store "experts" than most HD's I have experienced in the US, I met little difference in the Lowe's there as well.


My feeling is that Lowes had a different variety of suppliers making the same products as HD.

I will be curious how the Canadian Lowes stacks up against the Canadian HD's. The Oakville HD has Canadian supplied products on the shelf that I have not seen in the US HD's. I think it will be a similar story to that for Lowes, I do not think there will be a direct relationship though between US and Canadian equivalents...and HD had a learning curve here, so will Lowes.

I hope it provides a healthy bit of competition...and staff who are well trained.:)

[Art Mulder]

There's a lot of comments about customer service (or lack thereof) in this thread.

I find it almost impossible to generalize. People are people. Some are nice, and some aren't. Some you click with, and some you don't. Sometimes you catch the person at just the right time, and sometimes you don't.

Rarely do I find that poor customer service is institutionalized.

If I want customer service at a big box home store, be it Home Depot, Canadian Tire, or Rona (those last two are Canadian chains), then what I find best is to go when the store is quiet. Go during most folks' working hours. Go within the first hour of opening on Saturday morning. Do NOT go at 7pm on a Friday, or 3pm on a Saturday, and expect to get a lot of help. If I go at those times, then I expect it to be a self-serve shopping trip.

best,
...art

[Kelly C. Hanna]

They are most always priced identically. You MIGHT find a rare instance where one is lower, but it is generally a slightly different item. I shop them both weekly in my business and have never found a btter price at either one consistently. By the end of the day you find a better deal, the other one adjusts their pricing.

Lowe's is a much nicer store and they treat their employees MUCH better than HD. IT is now showing in their stock prices. Lowe's is going up in value and HD is sliding downwards.

The aisles in Lowe's are much wider and cleaner in most cases and the employees there are much nicer all around. Lowe's also generally has better quality lumber and more choices within the different genres they carry.

I prefer Lowe's hands down, but I can't always shop there cause HD has twice the number of locations if not more here in my area. Lowe's is better suited to contractors but most here won't use them and that's OK with me....less time to check out and much less hassle parking...:)

[glenn bradley]

Compared to Lowes the other guys are rough around the edges in my neck of the woods. However, HD has Jorgies as cheap as I find them anywhere and are good for other things as well. The local Lowes does a much better job of having the larger tools where you can get your hands on them.

[Bill Lewis]

There's a lot of comments about customer service (or lack thereof) in this thread.

I find it almost impossible to generalize....

Rarely do I find that poor customer service is institutionalized...I totally agree.

The point I was trying to make earlier was that poor service can be a regional thing or locally oriented. For example, I live in a large metropolitan area (MD/DC/VA) where the median home price is in the $450k range, and a $15 per hour wage is practically poverty level. The stores have huge numbers of people shopping there compared to some of the stores I have been in small towns and medium size cities. The stores in my area are understaffed with overwhelmed, underpaid, and unskilled employees. Many of these emplyees are also immigrants from hispanic and african countries who have a really hard time with the language. Occasionally you find a gem, but in my area this is rare. Also, lets face it, customers are pigs, they pull something off the shelf and if it's not what they wanted, will throw it back on the shelf seemingly at random. The employees can't keep up with this.
I heard (unverified) that one of the largest grossing HD stores in the country is one of my local stores, and it about half of the size of the HD's that they build today. It was the first one built in our area. It's hard to get in and out of that store any day of the week, let alone weekends.

I still believe that HD needs to go back to its roots. Their employees used to be more motivated, friendlier, and helpful. I'm sure this can be attributed to it's original management style and philosophy, which they seem to have lost. To some degree they have become a victim of their own success. They used to advertise strongly that they had people from the industry working there...etc. This message is not as prevalent as it used to be.

To give credit to Wal Mart, the store that's in the same big box complex as our HD has very friendly and knowledgeable people. Several mornings I have been there I have heard them chanting and cheering through the walls at the back of the store. While this type of motivation technique may seem hokey to some, it does seem to work. I commend them for it.

Rest rooms!? Well I do have to say that stores over the last 20 years or so have finally wised up. When I was growing up about the only public rest room you could find were in restaurants :( or gas stations :eek: , or a stand of trees. :p However, the Lowe's in our area did a remodel and walled off a very, very long corridor that is at the back of the store that you now have to use to gain access to the rest rooms. It takes forever just to get to the rest room there.

Lastly, back in High school I worked in a one of the original big box home improvement stores, Hechinger's. Later in college I also worked in a hardware store.

[Larry Conely]

I am close to HD and Lowes. In fact, their parking lots adjoin. HD usually has better prices, but the Lowes next door always has a much better inventory and selection. I do most of my shopping at Lowes, but would never purchase lumber products from either.

Larry

[Troy Wilkins]

They are most always priced identically. You MIGHT find a rare instance where one is lower, but it is generally a slightly different item. I shop them both weekly in my business and have never found a btter price at either one consistently. By the end of the day you find a better deal, the other one adjusts their pricing.

Lowe's is a much nicer store and they treat their employees MUCH better than HD. IT is now showing in their stock prices. Lowe's is going up in value and HD is sliding downwards.

The aisles in Lowe's are much wider and cleaner in most cases and the employees there are much nicer all around. Lowe's also generally has better quality lumber and more choices within the different genres they carry.

I prefer Lowe's hands down, but I can't always shop there cause HD has twice the number of locations if not more here in my area. Lowe's is better suited to contractors but most here won't use them and that's OK with me....less time to check out and much less hassle parking...:)
I apologize for the fact that this post has nothing to do with anything pertaining to the original question. I just wanted to disagree with the statement made about stock prices. I don't think the way orange or blue treat their employees has much to do with the stock price. Kelly actually nailed the bottom line in his last statement. Saturation is HD's biggest problem. There just aren't many profitable locations left for orange to build. On the other hand, blues is growing like crazy.

[L Smith Laser Arts]

Glad you like Lowes. My wife is a cashier at this Lowes', but is moving onto something else. They have a practice of hiring and promoting the young between 20-30 and so there is no hope for her to learn more. Keep warm.

[glenn bradley]

Seems to be regional so you won't really know till you get there. Lowe's seems to at least be able to get prices on their stuff. The staff seem friendlier if not knowledgeable.

The HD down here has the best price on Jorgies around but Lowe's will blowout Bessy's now and then. The local HD seems targeted at the construction industry (dimensional lumber of questionable quality, masonry, tool rentals, plumbing) and Lowe's is more Home improvement (Lamps, rugs, plants, curtains, bathroom remodel stuff).

Your area could be completely different. Let's hope the Canadian Lowe's has great prices, top quality, expert help, wide isles, organized product selection . . . whoa . . . I got dizzy.