A lot of people love their system. I don't know how much clout or oversight they have over their stores but a few bad experiences at one or two HD stores can turn away a lot of business. Someone needs to pay attention.
I heard an employee in Houston say, they run the air conditioning settings from corporate headquarters in Atlanta and that it must still be cold in GA. Now if that is true, they better come out of their offices and take a look at what's going on locally.
You're right about paying attention, especially with Lowes breathing down their necks. It may be a situation in which the available customer support base has halved between the two stores causing both to starve.
The one that can hold out the longest wins.