Mickey's Musings

We have so much to do and I'm justnot moving to do it very fast.

Our tenants were slobs. How do people live like that? How do people let other people *know* that they lived like that?! The oven and stove top look like they haven't been cleaned in two years. There *all* sorts of "junk" under the top of the stove top, she probab;ly didn't even know that it lifted up. And the refrigerator - ugh! I don't know how they could stomach eating food out of something that was so dirty, i'd get the heebs just opening the door. The freezer was actually worse than the fridge, I'm not even sure what it is thats growing in there. And the bathroom....how do you survive without cleanimg the alls to the shower? The acrylic insert is extremely discolored now, which brings me t my rant about Lowes Their policy - "Improving Home Improvement" proved to be quite a joke for us last night.

Here's the letter that I sent Lowes -

I called the (town deleted) store last night because I was having problems cleaning the acrylic tub liner in the rental house that we own. I wanted to know if there were products available that would help with the problem. I was transferred to plumbing. Here is the ridiculous exchange that followed.

"I'd like to know if you have products that clean tub inserts."
"Acrylic or fiberglass?"
"Acrylic."
I can't recommend anything, we aren't allowed."
"Excuse me?"
"I can refer you to outside companies,(he named two) I have one for fiberglass and one for acrylic, but I can't recommend any products."
You're kidding right? I don't want to pay someone else to do this, I want to do it myself."
"I can't recommend anything."

pause

"Okay...can you at least tell me if you carry products that do this?"
"Yes...no."
"Which is it? Do you carry cleaners?"
"Aisle 4."
"Oh, so you have cleaners then?" (I wanted to clarify.)
"I don't know."
"You don't....can I speak to the store manager please?"

He then put the phone down and I was subjected to listening to conversations in the store etc until I hung up about 10 minutes later. I called back, asked for the manager, was transferred the phone rang about 30 times, no one picked up. I called back again, this time I was put in hold, then told I was going to be transferred and was put back on hold for 10 minutes. I hung up.

I called Home Depot, they were very helpful, told me what I needed, what section it was in and how to use the product and how to maintain the insert after it was throughly cleaned.
Wow.
Guess where I went to buy my tub cleaner?
And guess where I'll be going to buy a tub insert for our other house? And where I'll be going to purchase all our other construction/household needs?

Your store is around the block from my house, I could walk there if I wanted to. I have to drive to Home Depot, it's even in a rotten location, but I guess I'll be shopping there if Lowe's store policy is that they can't help their customers find the products they need to maintain the products that they purchase there. Just this weekend alone for this rental house I need floor tiles, ceiling tiles, light bulbs, flood lights and various odds and ends, screws, nails etc. We'll be heading over to to Home Depot.

Just FYI, the call was placed Saturday night March 27 at approx 9 PM.

Do I think they'll care, probably not. But I guess I'm tired of not speaking my mind about things like this. I'm tired of customer service being a joke. It's not my fault that they only pay you minmum wage or slightly above. I think I should make what ball players make, your life can depend on how well I do my job, but I don't, I get a decent salary, nothing to write home about. Teachers should make more, they don't. We entrust our children to them, yet we pay TV performers, you know, TV, the thing that parents try to drag their kids away from, far more than we do their teachers. But that's a whole 'nother rant and I've got ceiling tiles to figure out.

Posted by Mickey at March 28, 2004 3:26 PM