Lowe's - Bastrop

We did a complete remodel of the house. We considered a tear-down, but my wife loves this house so we did a remodel. And let me distinguish between Lowe's and the workers who did the work. The workers did excellent quality workmanship--which is why we gave quality an "A"--and they hated Lowe's too; late getting paid, last-minute scheduling, etc. FYI, I have 17 years in construction lending; I know what a proper estimate should look like and is acceptable by the lending industry. Lowe's has NO clue! 1) NO written estimate for any portion of this job. Their explanation? "We just give you a lump sum figure". For a $200,000 remodel??? They adamantly refused. Finally, after badgering for months I got a slopped-together jumble of undecipherable papers that I doped out some figures. 2) Massive over-charging for interior painting; $20,000 reduced to $5,000 when I complained. 3) Massive over-charging for Hardie-Plank siding; $80,000 for a 2,700 sf home? After I complained, cost was reduced to $45,000. (I must be fair and say the workmen were superior; tear-down the old, put up the new in 10 days, the work was PERFECT!!) 4) Near-custom kitchen cabinets were ordered incorrectly 4 times. And we never did get what we ordered, we finally said screw it, we'll keep what they sent. Redesign of the kitchen layout was not what we asked for. And no adjustment on price. 5) $4,000 for a shower door. Seriously? We chose a different one for $700. 6) We decided to change the flooring material and the guy from Lowe's comes out with two samples and could not quote prices on any of it. What salesman goes out to a client meeting unable to quote prices???? GAH!!!!! A waste of our time. 7) Schedules were not kept, workmen came and went as they pleased with no communication at all. They showed up when it pleased them. BUT...they did good work when they were here. There is just no portion of this project that was done in a professional manner by Lowe's. We would walk through the house with the salesman detailing what we wanted and he took no notes. Wrote nothing down. I challenged him on that, and only then did he pull out a pen. When this torture ended we asked for a reconciliation of the financials and they basically refuse. We are going to have to take it to arbitration. I am used to detailed materials and cost estimates, down to the board and nails. Lowe's only gives lump-sum estimates. They told us "We'll eat any changes or unexpected problems". NOT TRUE! We got invoices reflecting changes. I could sit here all night describing our nightmare. Suffice it to say Lowe's is just the worst. They use a 1980's DOS-based construction accounting system that is impossible to navigate, which is one reason they could not give us written estimates, yet they seemed able to demand more money when they determined costs went over their "estimate". No 3-D design software, no on-site estimate capability, etc. etc. Amazingly, the work was superior. No complaints about that at all. In fact, we grilled burgers for the siding guys because they worked really hard in 100-degree-heat and did an excellent job. But Lowe's remodeling division is run by the Three Stooges. Idiocy prevailed throughout all facets of our interaction with them. I wouldn't have them build me a doghouse. And we are still going to have to bring this to arbitration to force them to provide a cost reconciliation. Do NOT let Lowe's run your remodel. You are forewarned!

The customer service was good and the steamer was great.

I walked in to the store and looked at doors. I was looking at doors and saw signs for a $500.00 gift card and they wouldn’t honor it because the offer was expired, even though the signs were still hanging. Then, the man came out to do the estimate and gave me the estimate, but he forgot to include the paint. They then told me that I couldn’t have an itemized estimate until after I paid the full price. They were unwilling to help me in any way.