Three Strikes and You Are Out (I am talking to you Lowes)

I wrote about Lowes delivering my very big and heavy bathroom vanity to my new condo......on the front sidewalk.....without telling me......in the rain! That was strike one! I drove from Detroit to Grand Rapids a week later for another scheduled delivery from Lowes for my gas stove and dishwasher. I made sure that they would be actually bringing them into my house this time. I was given a 12 hour delivery window which the night before they narrowed down to a 4 hour window. Luckily I am retired and flexible with my schedule.

The delivery came at the very end of the 4 hour window. Neither of the two delivery people spoke English. The language barrier wouldn't have been a problem if everything was ok with the items. As soon as they unboxed the stove I knew it was the wrong one because I ordered a red stove and the one they unboxed was stainless steel. I tried to communicate this to them and finally ended up using my computer to pull up my order. They gestured for me to call Lowes. I called my local store and they basically told me that since I ordered online they couldn't do much for me. They did say to refuse the delivery which I did. Strike Two!

My inspiration picture is still just a dream......

I had been told they would not install the dishwasher so was planning on my son doing it for

me. I was so undone by the stove fiasco that I did not have them unbox the dishwasher. I did confirm on the box that it was the right brand and color (white). Later that night my son came over and we unboxed the dishwasher. One one side there was insulation missing. On closer inspection it looked like the edges of the insulation "hole" were burnt and melted. When we opened the dishwasher it had water in it! Strike Three!

I decided to cancel the order completely. I was out of patience. I called customer service at the corporate level. They arranged for Lowes to pick up the dishwasher the next day. I was told between 4pm-8pm. About noon I received a call that it would be between 3pm-7pm. I did have some plans which I rushed thru and instead of having lunch out with my friend, we took it to my condo. Good thing because Lowes showed up 45 minutes early! By the way when the guys took the dishwasher they dropped one end of it on the sidewalk at one point and dropped the front panel and bag of parts that had been attached at another point. Oh my! I was never so glad to see them go. Oh, and as they were driving their truck out of the condo association, they broke off a rather large tree branch with the truck (not my tree but on the condo property).

I looked on the internet for other people who had things to say about Lowes deliveries and there were so many people who had similar and worse stories. I spoke with a local Lwes employee and he also said my story is way to common. Do yourself a favor and don't use Lowes delivery. If my refund comes through in the 3-10 days they say it will, I might shop at Lowes again but I will never order something that has to be delivered!

Who knew getting appliances would be such a hassle? I thought the hard part would be picking them out. Stay Tuned for updates on my appliance saga!