In the middle of washing clothes today my washing machine broke. During the spin cycle the tub broke loose and fell down inside the machine. I'm not a mechanic, but I didn't think that would be a quick fix. It was only a $299 machine anyway, so I went to Home Depot to get a new one so I could finish washing clothes. They had rows of machines and when I picked out one, the sales clerk asked me when I wanted it delivered.
"I'll take it with me" I replied.
"We don't have any in stock" replied the clerk.
"None at all?"
"Well we have this display unit of a discontinued model. We usually don't keep them in stock at the store. We deliver them from the warehouse."
"When can you deliver one?"
"January 5th would be the soonest."
So I left and went to Lowe's, where they had plenty in stock.
We inherited a 1990 washer. It broke last year. Looked around for a new one but they were too expensive. Ordered about $25 worth of parts online and fixed it ourselves. Knock on wood, it’s still working.
Another thing at Lowe’s I have occasionally taken advantage of in washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, etc., marked way down because they got a ding or a scratch down one side in transit. My washer and drier, and my refrig., all slide into an alcove where you never see the sides, so I always check out the cosmetically “damaged” units first. Also, Lowe’s gives a 10% discount if you served in the military, which my husband uses and it makes a nice discount on large purchases.
I remember going into Home Depot stores many years ago and being very impressed, they had people who knew what they were doing and were eager to help the customer. I actually thought they might run Lowe’s out of business then but now they seem to be running far behind Lowe’s in nearly all respects.