HD vs. Lowes – A Lo-Fi Wire Saga

Tour2ma

During a little shopping run today, that included purchase of a RS SPL meter, I dropped by Home Depot to pick up a little, 500’ spool of 12-2 speaker wire (sounds like a lot of wire, but I’ve got my eq. in room next to my HT room).

Here are the facts of my saga:
- I got no help at HD, although I asked passing employees twice for assistance; no attention at all until I climbed an “employee only” ladder to reach a stretch wrapped spool of the wire I wanted (that got some attention quick enough). :rolleyes:
- I bought the HD spool for $207 + tax.
- Just for grins I went across the street to Lowes where I stood in front of their wire, looking for help for about a minute before I noticed a little “call for help” button; once pushed, help arrived in less than a minute.
- Lowe’s had the same wire for $0.35 per foot (quick mental calc --- x 500’ = $175); they did not have a 500’ spool in stock, but they could order and have it in two days.
- I explained I’d already purchased at HD and asked for a quote I could take to HD to get a price match… “No problem”, I’m told. :cool:
- After a couple minutes at a computer a print out is handed to me and I am told I get the “contractors discount” for buying bulk…. Final price for the Lowes spool? $120 + tax.
- Back across the street, after some pissin’ and moanin’ by the “wire supervisor”, e.g., “can’t be the same quality” (my God, I can get this at Club Polk… yup, same wire), “their price is below my cost” (better buyers I guess), and “theirs must not be shielded” (no, it’s not, but neither is yours), I walk out with the same HD spool still in my trunk for $108 + tax (their policy is to beat the competition by 10%).
- Total “savings” $107.42 including tax.

Maybe it’s just me, but my HD experiences have been going downhill for a quite a while now. Thought they used to set the standard for both service and price, but not any more. I’ve returned 3 of last 5 purchases because I found lower prices at Wal-Mart. This saga makes it 4 of 5 altered purchases. Guess it means I should check #5, too, a post-Christmas, 18V Ryobi cordless kit.

I’ve read where Lowes is gaining on HD, and I think I just learned why. I gave substantial feedback to both stores’ Managers. I think I’m a Lowes guy now. The HD hassle was not worth the added $12 I saved vs. Lowes.

Any way the wire looks really great, transparent insulation revealing bright copper, no green, with individual strands gathered into six twisted bundles that are in turn twisted together to form each lead. Checked for faults before I left HD the first time, finding a VOM was the only help I did receive.

I’m ready to wire.

MxStYlEpOlKmAn

Over the weekends, and summer me and my dad make countless trips to both HD and Lowes. We will tell you first hand that Lowes IMO is one EL of a company, HD is now like a flea market warehouse with people hired off the streets. No one helps you! We went to HD and I had to go find someone and pull them over to my dad for him to get help to find such and such. Hmm sad thing was the dude didnt know where it was! But Lowe's is a MUCH MUCH better company than HD. IMO

Make sure you run the TIN (silver side) on the black, and the COPPER on the red...

Jstas

My personal experiences with Home Depot have always been pretty poor. They claim to hire only experienced contractors to work the floor but I've corrected them concerning things like building codes when they were talking to OTHER customers and I happened to overhear.

I don't think I have ever gotten good help at Home Depot unless I started flirting with one of the amply endowed cashiers or customer service people of the feminine persuasion.

Lowes on the other hand, man, all you have to do is stand in the isle and yell "Can somebody help me please? and at the end of either isle people with blue smocks are running to help you out! It's like tehy are eager to help you. Also, the Lowes has just as many people in it every weekend but I have neve had to wait more than 15 minutes in even the longest line at the register. Thier parking lots are huge too so there is never any trouble finding a decent spot. They don't yell at you and treat like an idiot when you try to roll a cart full of lumber to your truck instead of fighting with the people at the contractor entrance to load your purchased goods.

One other thing, if you go into a Home Depot, the PA systems is blasting and echoing off of the tin roof along with the ventilation systems and everything else. It's incredibly noisy. Lowes has the same kind of "decor" but they are surprisingly much more quiet. I asked the manage of a local Lowes they just built, why there was such a desparity between HD and Lowes in that respect. I mean, you can hear yourself breathe in a Lowes but you can't hear yourself think in an HD. Well, the manager said that they coast teh inside ceiling with an insulation that is kind of like a spray on foam and they don't use the typical cheap 12 inch full-range speakers in the PA system. I thought that was a cool idea to put sound deadening on the ceiling. It's little details like that that make the biggest differences.

I'll keep going to Lowes and less and less to Home Depot. I never liked Home Depot anyway, they were just the only one in the area after they put Grossman's, Rickels and Channel out of business