Zero stars if that were an option. This was my worst experience at Lowe’s and one of the worst customer-service experiences I have had anywhere.
I went to the West Plano Lowe’s (Store #0665) to return three basic, unopened tools, each costing $40 or less, because the project I purchased them for fell through. I politely asked employee Saba whether the return could be issued as store credit because I needed a different tool and refunds to my original card normally take five or more days. He told me store credit was not an option for tool returns.
Although I disagreed with that policy, I accepted his answer and asked to exchange the items for the tool I needed instead. Saba replied, “Yeah, I told you to do that anyway.” I clearly told him to proceed with the exchange, and he agreed.
While he processed the transaction, I asked whether it would remain open while I retrieved the replacement tool and whether someone could help because it was locked up. Saba looked at me as though the question made no sense and told me to find an employee when I was ready to purchase it. He then pressed a key and printed a receipt. When I asked why I would make a separate purchase when we were doing an exchange, he revealed that he had refunded the money to my card instead.
That was exactly what I had repeatedly and explicitly told him not to do. When I asked why he disregarded my instructions after agreeing to an exchange, he responded, “Because I told you that’s what I could do.”
I asked for a manager—something I have done perhaps twice in my life. Before calling one, Saba said, “Yeah, I’ll get him, but be prepared that he’s gonna tell you that we won’t do anything anyway.”
When manager Eddie arrived, Saba’s first words, directly in front of me, were, “This is the guy I told you about.” Saba then gave him an incomplete account, saying only that I wanted store credit. I explained that I had accepted the store-credit refusal; the actual issue was Saba agreeing to an exchange and then processing the refund I specifically declined.
Eddie confirmed Saba had processed the refund and said, “We processed the refund back to your card. We can’t do anything for you. What do you want?” I explained again that this was precisely the problem: it was processed against my instructions, leaving me unable to purchase the replacement tool until the credit clears.
Instead of addressing what happened, Eddie questioned why I was returning unopened merchandise. I explained that the project had fallen through. He then gave several contradictory explanations about exchanges—first suggesting he might exchange only for the same item or one costing exactly the same, down to the penny, and then saying he would exchange only a damaged item for a like item.
I asked Eddie to show me where the receipt’s return policy imposed those restrictions. He read the policy and stated that I “just need proof of purchase.” I pointed out that he was holding my receipt. His response was essentially, “Yeah, no. That’s your receipt. You can only get a refund with that.” Saba then interjected that I could “CLICK the LINK on the RECEIPT”—apparently overlooking that it was a paper receipt.
Neither employee made any meaningful attempt to acknowledge the error, correct it, apologize, or help me purchase the replacement tool. Instead, I received dismissive comments, contradictory explanations, and condescending treatment throughout the interaction. Saba’s failure to listen and perform the transaction we had expressly agreed upon was unacceptable, and Eddie’s response made the situation worse.
Lowe’s should review this transaction, retrain both employees on returns and exchanges, and address how customers are spoken to at this location. Moving forward, this store has lost my business, and I will purchase my future tools and home-improvement supplies elsewhere.
