10 Things People Hate About Shopping At Lowe's

No matter which home improvement store has your heart, there are both things to love and hate about the shopping experience. Regardless of which location you visit, odds are, something will go wrong at some point. A bad day, or a bad attitude, can ruin your shopping experience at Lowe's, and as it turns out, that's a common situation.

A single bad experience — or a buildup of small issues culminating in a huge and expensive disaster — can cause shoppers not only to jump ship to another store, but also leave angry comments online. Reviewing a store location is one thing, but many shoppers at Lowe's hated the experience so much that they took to sites like the Better Business Bureau, TrustPilot, and Consumer Affairs to report their interactions with Lowe's staff and the shopping experience as a whole.

Lowe's, a publicly traded company, does a fairly good job of responding to shopper feedback online. However, that doesn't mean consumers always walk away happy. There is plenty that people hate about shopping at Lowe's, and they are not quiet about it, either. Here's what they hate the most.

When you have a massive home improvement project in the works, it might make sense to get delivery and installation. Lowe's offers installation for various products, including flooring and appliances. However, installation is not done by Lowe's itself. Rather, a "professional independent installer" will arrange and carry out the service.

According to many BBB and TrustPilot reviews, said independent installer service is wildly unpredictable in terms of timing, quality, and customer service experience. Multiple customers submitted BBB complaints noting that installation service was subpar. Not only that, but consumers claimed that communication between Lowe's and the third-party installers was low to non-existent. Other consumers commented that they were kept waiting while Lowe's worked to find service providers to handle requests.

One complaint even noted that an installation team plugged a brand-new refrigerator into the wrong type of outlet, resulting in the appliance no longer working. At that point, the customer reported having communication issues with Lowe's, despite the installation happening under the retailer's guidance.

Though consumers generally hope for a "what you see is what you get" experience, that isn't always the case. One major point of contention for Lowe's shoppers is the fact that they may wind up paying more than they anticipated for certain things, like installation. Consumer Affairs customers often report dealing with extra charges when it comes to those third-party installation professionals. In fact, "high installation costs" is a top complaint about Lowe's overall.

Beyond price increases for services, some consumers also had negative experiences with installation professionals causing unnecessary costs. For example, one customer reported via Consumer Affairs that their installation professional broke a circuit breaker, costing the homeowner thousands of dollars in repair costs.

Another Consumer Affairs complaint focused on an upcharge for moving furniture during carpet replacement. The consumer was unhappy to find out they would be charged more, but also commented negatively about the communication of the process and charges.

True, you will encounter free perks at Lowe's, from complimentary paint matching to design services. However, while every shopper loves a good discount, some policies at Lowe's leave a little something to be desired. Specifically, military discounts are only for "eligible purchases," wording that explains unsatisfactory consumer experiences, specifically when buying appliances. Military members receive discounts on "most full-price items," per Lowe's discount terms.

As the word "most" implies, there are many exclusions, including major appliances, installation, and other miscellaneous items (like "commodities"). Seasonal discounts are excluded, too, since discounted items are not full price.

That said, there are still plenty of discounts to be had, military or otherwise. One of the mistakes people make when shopping at Lowe's is not reading up on all the available discounts, including a price match guarantee. Exclusions apply there, too, but a partial discount is better than no discount.

Based on customer feedback, delivery times with Lowe's can be unpredictable. Sometimes, consumers don't receive their items at all, and wind up having to re-order. Delayed deliveries are not only inconvenient (ask me how I know this), but can cost money when you're working on a project with a strict timeline.

Unfortunately, consumers have reported to BBB and TrustPilot that delayed delivery times disrupted their projects and, in some cases, cost them money. For example, one consumer complained to the BBB that it took them almost a year to receive the doors they ordered, due to delivery delays and damaged product. Another customer claimed via the BBB that they waited three weeks for an appliance delivery, but Lowe's staff never actually ordered the items.

Summing up Lowe's feedback, TrustPilot described an overall unhappiness with delivery from Lowe's. Common issues included delays, damaged items, and a stark lack of tracking information and other details during the shipping and delivery process.

If you're a consumer who dreads the returns process at most stores, the fine print on your Lowe's receipt might not make your day. Though many items can be returned with a receipt for as long as 90 days (sometimes longer), per store policy, appliances are an entirely different matter. Appliances at Lowe's are only returnable for 48 hours after purchase, which makes for a tricky experience with returns.

Based on BBB and Consumer Affairs submissions, users don't love the returns process and policies at Lowe's. Numerous BBB submissions complained about not receiving refunds for not having a receipt or having used a third-party service (such as Instacart) for pickup.

There are plenty of cheap Lowe's tools worth keeping, and many items that you can return if you run into issues. With appliances, however, you'll want to make sure you test them as soon as you get them home.

Like the narrow returns window, the Lowe's Return Policy is a point of frustration for many consumers who reviewed the business on BBB, Consumer Affairs, and TrustPilot. Most returned items can be refunded under the original form of payment, but there are exceptions, and according to consumers, those exceptions are not always clear.

For example, one consumer received an Instacart order they later decided to return. Though the customer had a receipt, Lowe's employees reportedly only offered store credit, not a refund to the original payment method. The exceptions, per the store's return policy, do not specifically mention services like Instacart. That could mean user experiences may vary from store to store, as employees may interpret the guidelines differently or follow differing rules from management.

As far as what Lowe's does with its returns, some stores have returned appliances in a special discount aisle. At my local Lowe's, washing machines with cosmetic defects are often discounted, as are mismatched sets of appliances. What happens to returned tools is far more interesting, as you can actually purchase returned Lowe's tools at a discount elsewhere.

While Lowe's Return Policy explains the details of which products can be returned and in what window of time (some plants can be returned up to a year after purchase!), that doesn't mean you'll get your money back in a hurry. Consumers on BBB and TrustPilot reported waiting for what they felt were excessively long timeframes for refunds to actually process.

Some forms of payment can only be refunded for store credit, but beyond that sticking point, consumers are unhappy with how long credit card refund processing takes. Credit card refunds, in general, can take around two weeks because of the steps involved, but some users reported waiting over a month for a refund from Lowe's, often with little to no communication from the store staff, despite reaching out.

Timelines of multiple weeks appear to be common refund complaints, via the BBB and TrustPilot. One consumer even wrote on TrustPilot, after a failed delivery attempt by Lowe's, that they weren't even sure how to get their refund — a common refrain when it comes to deliveries.

Customer service at any establishment can be a bit hit or miss. After all, people do have bad days. Yet, an overabundance of negative reviews for poor customer service plague Lowe's listings with Consumer Affairs, TrustPilot, and the BBB.

One of the top cons reported by Consumer Affairs, based on shopper feedback, is "poor communication from staff." Amid all the other concerns shoppers have about Lowe's, customer service is a common thread. In most cases, consumers have run into problems with either products or delivery, and then go on to say that customer service is poor or nonexistent.

Of course, when you visit the Lowe's website, you can chat with the Lowe's AI guide for a lot of things. If you're planning a project, it might be a helpful way to plot things out. However, if you're hoping to talk to an actual human, the experience could be great or absolutely terrible.

In a complaint that goes hand-in-hand with customer service issues, unsatisfactory solutions to shoppers' problems is another common sticking point in reviews. Lowe's representatives have a good track record for responding to BBB complaints, which is part of what makes up the business' overall rating (the BBB notes that its rating is based on how the business is likely to interact with customers). However, that doesn't mean the issues are resolved to customers' satisfaction.

In numerous cases, consumers submitting complaints to the BBB responded to the Lowe's representatives' comments, noting that they were still dissatisfied. In some cases, customers declined the proposed solution from Lowe's, and explained why. On TrustPilot, feedback from Lowe's shoppers is similar. Unfortunately, a common theme was the store not offering what consumers felt was a fair resolution. In one case, a consumer believed they had not been given an appropriate refund (via gift card), but had a hard time getting Lowe's representatives to look into the issue, despite promises that they would.

Although some Lowe's customers name-drop Home Depot as their go-to alternative when issues come up, Lowe's and Home Depot warranties are fairly similar in many ways.

If you have ever arrived at Lowe's to buy something you scoped out online, you might understand why some people hate shopping at Lowe's. Even if something is listed as being in stock online or in the Lowe's app, that doesn't guarantee you'll be able to track it down. It's not just in-store items that have stock issues, though.

Consumers have complained via the BBB and on TrustPilot about deliveries that never showed up. It's one thing to go into a store and not find an item, but ordering online seems like it should circumvent this issue. The thing is, consumers report that — sometimes — stuff just doesn't show up at all.

Not only that, but sometimes, consumers aren't able to cancel an order, even after it's been established that they won't receive the items due to supply problems. Shopping at Lowe's might be convenient, but many would-be consumers seem to have sworn off of it after negative experiences.

To determine what people dislike the most about shopping at Lowe's, we looked at business review sites like BBB, TrustPilot, and Consumer Affairs, and collected the issues most commonly reported by Lowe's customers. When present, we referred to the site's overview of consumer reviews, on top of reading the individual reviews.