The Menards I go to never plays anything over the loudspeakers, however there is one not to far away that constantly plays that jingle. I really do wish that more stores would adopt this policy. Customers don't like to be kept waiting at check out lines, this discourages customers from coming back. Menards understands this and hopefully soon many more retail chains will come to understand this. Good customer service = more repeat customers.

Lowe's makes the same pledge with a sign hanging over every register. It makes my blood boil every time I find myself 4th in the shortest line, with plenty of employees milling about, but none of them opening another checkout lane. It happens almost every time I shop there. I have never seen them keep that promise.

Standing in long lines is annoying. Standing in long lines while staring at a sign that makes empty promises about opening additional registers is doubly so.

Menards is way better about this than Lowe's. They set the bar pretty high, though. They're bound to fail from time to time. It wouldn't be such a big deal if they didn't shove it in your face. It's an empty promise to every customer who is ever 3rd in line.

With that cross over it, doesn't the sign say no no waiting for savings? Is that anti no waiting?

That's like the anti Wal-Mart protesters in Vermont or wherever that had badges that said "NO WALMART" with a cross over them.

Do they have Menards in New York, Meaghann, or is the earworm Menards jingle a leftover from your more wholesome midwestern days?

But yeah, amen, Menards! Can be a pain in the ass to get service in the aisles, but checkout is always fast at mine.

Just like Mike_, I've seen this sign before, though in a K-Mart years ago. And I was fifth in line for a very long time, with no other lines opening up. At the level of a corporate policy-maker, this must sound great. But across hundreds of stores, it can only breed resentment when it's inevitably broken over and over again by a short staff or employees who don't care quite so much about the entire corporation's reputation.

I live in Texas and haven't been to a Home Depot in 3 years, mainly because of this issue of checkout lines. Typically what I find is TWO registers open on a Saturday, servicing 25 other customers and their flotillas of oversized items. There was one day in 2004 where things weren't moving, and I basically said "screw this" and left my cart and walked out and have never been back since.

These days I'm a Lowe's man. It's just another big box but I really have not had the problem with lines like at Home Depot. I don't know what it is but lines, if any, seem to move along. I agree with what Mike_ said about them not honoring their checkout lane pledge (wtf?) But after the Home Depot experience, Lowe's is gravy.

Typically what I find is TWO registers open on a Saturday, servicing 25 other customers and their flotillas of oversized items.

Timmus, I had the same problem at our local home depot. It started happening just after they installed the "self-checkout".

It was quite obvious that they were pushing people to the self-checkout. I have nothing wrong with self-checkout personally. The problem I have is that most people are totally clueless as to how to use them which makes waiting for one to open-up unbearable.

The irony to this is just after they pissed off everyone with this tactic, a shiny new Lowes opened down the street. Plenty of humans at the registers. Guess where I always go now ?

Menards rocks. Where I live, everywhere there is a Home Depot or Lowes, there's a Menards less than 2 blocks away. They're consistently lower on prices of all the "small" stuff that people pick up at the hardware store.

Though I must admit, for all my patronage, I do use them to take advantage of HD's "price match + 10%" policy for stuff (generally over $100) that they have in common.

I like the Jingle! But which one bothers you, the "country" one with the banjo or the regular one?

I think the reason they can give the guarantee is because their stores are almost always empty. I've never been in one where I've seen more than 45 people walking around

The real question is whether they also apply this policy to express lanes. Stores often don't, which means you have the choice waiting behind two people with carts piled to the sky or 10 people buying 10 items each. Either way, you lose.

I cannot hear or read the name "Menard's" without immediately thinking "My Nards" and giggling like a twelve-year-old at a dirty joke.

At the Menards I took this photo at I have never ever been in a line of more than 2 people. They keep very true to this sign.
It might help that this Menards is located in an upscale part of the county, the other Menards which is in the lower part of the county doesn't have this sign.
Their long check out lines, constant annoying jingle over the loud speakers and very poor lighting does a pretty good job at discouraging customers from returning.

Target has a policy where they're supposed to open another register if there's one person waiting. That is, one person currently being worked on and one waiting, per register. Oh, well. It's a good idea when it works. I only add this because Target was metioned in the article.

I love Menards, their stores are a little messy but they carry more than most Home Depot's and Lowes put together, and like they say; you almost never have to wait in line.

The problem is what do you do if they don't keep this promise? Do you get a discount? It's an empty shell of a promise because if they don't keep it there are no consequences and no benefits to the customers.