Youve all heard the commercials, youve all received the emails from Marvin. On how Lowes has invested into getting Pro business? Well, here is what they have done to better serve the Pro customer:
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Rolled out the program where the Pro Supervisor drives around home depot parking lot taking pictures of contractor trucks, then back to Lowes to call them and ask them why they shop at HD and not with us. Our pro supervisor after 1 day then tried telling us it was the pro specialists responsibility to do this using our own cars. Meanwhile, we have HALF of our PBM accounts in the status of "never contacted!". That means, people who DO want to shop at Lowes and who HAVE opened accounts, are receiving NO service at all. The contractor trucks in our parking lots are not called, or even spoke to because guess what? We are at home depot! Great plan mooks. This lasted 2 weeks, and we havent heard a whisper about it since but at the time, it was pushed and pushed and pushed.
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Scheduling: Plain and simple, we Pro Specialists (PSS), PRO-CSA's, and loader are never at our posts because we are tasked, all over the store. We have been told we are expected to cover lumber, and lumber will not be staffed. We unload all the lumber trucks per week, sit on the panel saw on weekends, run registers. We never do any PBM, or Pro tasks. We are scheduled on weekends for store coverage, not to work Pro. Then off weekdays when contractors need us. Contractors have been filing complaints left and right about not being able to get anyone on the phone, nor at the counter.
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Staffing: Our Pro-CSA has not worked a single day in Pro, ever. He is used for cycle counts, IRPs, and lumber down stocking only. He cannot do the simplest Pro tasks, nor qualify a customer properly. The PSS new hires come from outside retail, with zero experience. They are unqualified, and untrained. Management does not even know if we still do Red Vest Ready training. After 5 months, one PSS still asks what screen does he go int to sell. But none of this matters anyway, because as stated, our superiors have told us we are expected to work lumber anyway. But when we are paged to the desk, and customers have already been waiting and irate, no one knows how to help them anyway.
I could go on, and on, honestly speaking about policy and procedures, on how Lowes has subordinated our Pro depts in region 30 / market 7 all day long. Its across the board.
For years now, Pro staff has been allocated elsewhere, and we work at best 7% a week at pro and that is a very conservative guesstimate. Its more like 0%.
Just know, there is no "push for pro", and its all posturing. Corporate KNOWS too! We've properly reported the problems, they have fielded the contractor complaints, and do nothing.
The accounts Ive gotten, I am unable to service. Deliveries that are pulled and schedule did never go, and contractors are p-ss-d. Every area of operations is broken, and worsening. We have managers who simply lie, make excuses, and perpetuate the downhill cycle. There is nothing we can do to serve the Pro customers by not being at the desk so why even try?
Lowe's has failed me, and its customers. Lowe's provides NOTHING to either, and it shows.
Dont let Lowe's fool you contractors. You'l only waste your time in opening an account, then never being able to get service. You'll get so frustrated, you'll leave. So do everyone a favor, and steer clear of Lowe's until they make REAL, HONEST, changes to the Pro desk starting with staffing.