The employees at his local Lowe’s store were pretty great, reader Tony tells us, but ordering his stove online with multiple store gift cards wasn’t such a good idea. When he hit “Submit,” the order didn’t go through, and the Lowe’s customer service buffoons weren’t able to tell him what had happened. A visit to the local store resolved the situation, resulting in the actual delivery of the stove. Which was damaged.

My wife and I had been looking for a new electric range to replace a very old but still functional one. We found one on Lowes.com on March 18. It was 10% off and the sale was to end on March 19. I had some gift cards worth several hundred dollars so used them to make the purchase through Lowes.com. The process was easy enough and I entered the information for the gift cards. Everything was fine until I hit the submit order button.

The wheels fell of the wagon at this point. There was some type of glitch and my order was not completed nor did I receive an order confirmation. After allowing myself a few moments to process what had happened, I called customer service. I explained the situation and the CSR confirmed there was no order based on the information I gave. I was then transferred to another CSR in gift card support and told the story again. The CSR was helpful and asked if she could call me on March 19 as additional research into the problem was required to which I agreed.

On the morning of March 19, the CSR called to inform me that the problem would be fixed but still needed some additional time. I inquired if an order confirmation would be sent and was informed that it would. The day expired without a call. I allowed a day to pass and called customer service on March 21. I recounted the story to date. No order had been completed but the CSR did confirm there were notes concerning my issue on file. She suggested I wait. On March 22, I once again called customer service but there was no resolution. I also tried to contact the CSR from gift card support but could not reach her.

On March 23, we went to our nearby Lowe’s where the range was to be received to talk to the manager on duty. We explained the situation and the service desk clerk contacted the manager. While waiting another service desk clerk happened by and was informed of our situation. At that moment some good news finally arrived. The clerk was on duty on March 19 and was apparently contacted by the gift card CSR. She left and came back with an email from this CSR and finalized the order for us. We set up delivery for March 29.

On March 29, the range finally arrived and it was damaged. The driver put it back on the truck to return to the store so a new one could be ordered. He said I should be contacted on March 30. I explained what happened to my wife, put the old range back in place, plugged it in and made dinner.

We are frustrated but there are obviously worse things going on in the world. A simple phone call or email explaining that the problem was fixed would have saved me the time wasted trying to contact customer service during the week. I called on my lunch break from work and the wait time was minimum 30 minutes before I could talk to a representative.

Of all involved, the staff at the local Lowe’s was the most helpful. I could make the blanket statement that I will never make a major purchase from Lowe’s again but the store is close to home so only time will tell. I am done purchasing anything through Lowes.com with gift cards though.

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