I have worked for Home Depot, four stores in the 12 years with them...back when Arthur Blank was owner... stock was terrific... till he left...not soon after so did I.Then they carried good tools, now they are of cheap grade...I laugh when they say Husky is the toughest name in tools! Good advertisement but who is the toughest tools in tools? Special orders good luck to get it right on the 3rd time! You have to wait 3 weeks for it ...times 3..whewww! That pissed alot of people off! I never understood why they have like 10 or more cash registers but only 2-3 open ...man I have seen people really mad...lines all the way down the isle and around the corner...my friends and I had worked side by side ...beers after work kind. Who made it to regional and vise president...LOL they really cared nothing about Home Depot's customers but the boomming stock at the time. Lowes is nice in 'n out no one in my way..no long lines but limited on variety..but I get along ..and stay Farrr away from Home Depot.

I just Started Working at Lowes, my opinion is Lowes is Cleaner, that is a rule to keep it clean, employees are supposed to ask to help when you walk by them (if they dont askto help go to the manager on duty), and customers are first no matter what, I am a cashier and when we are not busy checking people out, we stand in front and greet the customers to make sure they got everything all right, If you have any complaints, contact the mod about any employee not asking to help out, it is there job...other than that, I will admit Lowes employees some of them are careless, but most of them are not, dont let one bad apple ruin your experience....

I respect everones opinion on this subject. I work for HD and love every minute of it. Lowe's and HD are two completely different animals. Lowe's like many posts have said, are clean, and focused on finishing touches and the female customer. HD is focused on men and small/large construction companies. I cannot say either way about associates. My HD store has nothing but knowledgeable associates. Cannot comment on Lowe's associates. Since the resignation of Bob Nardelli, HD is returning to its old identity. This includes the return of the Master Plumber/Electrician positions in the stores.

I will NEVER shop at HD again. I could care less about clean, wide aisles or even if they carry 10 particular brands of an item. What I do, however, care about is people appreciating my business. I live 10 minutes away from HD & Lowes (they are right across the street from each other) so I could go to either one. We bought a new house last year so of course were making several trips to both stores. Not once (and I am in the customer service industry so I keep track) has anyone at HD ever said "thank you" to me as they are cashing me out. I can choose to spend my money wherever I want and I want people to recognize that I am spending my money in their store. I feel the same way about some supermarkets as well. I find the employees at HD to be very unhelpful and uncaring about doing their job. Tonight I had to listen to 3 employees talk about where they were going drinking after work while 1 cashier was ringing up a line of about 10 people. 3 of the people in line actually put down their items and walked of the store. People vote with their wallets and right now, at least in my neighborhood, Lowes is winning.

I work at Home Depot. first off Home Depot's being around, the first time i seen Lowe's and went into one, I didn't get any help neither. Also their specialty employee's get paid commission which they will make you dig in your pocket. i sale doors and window's that doesn't mean i will try to sale the customer the most expensive door. I will sell the one that meets the customer's needs. Also most of the Lowe's stores here in San Antonio are new, wait after ten years. $200 million to Nardli, trying to up prices get him out, Close 15 stores wait to see where that money goes, close Huges and get 3.5 billion, shut down Builder's Square 1996, open HD Supply store's, Huges Supply, and Expo Design. And 08, Lowe's want's to up prices say's their supplier thanks Bush!

As a current Lowe's employee and a veteran shopper of Home Depot, I feel that Lowe's is definitely ahead of the game. Customer service is our key focus and we will do whatever it takes to get the answers you need. Before when I shopped @ HD, the staff were not as knowledgeable and not as customer oriented. I have been with Lowe's for three months now and just started as a CSA (Customer Service Associate) in plumbing three days ago, and already have learned so much from our sales specialist, who is a jack of all trades, our team leader, who is a retired plumber, and our department manager, who is over plumbing and electrical, and has worked both as a plumber and as an electrician. Lowe's truly values knowledge and getting the customer on the right track the first time. Take it from me as someone who LOVES their job!

Something you have to remember about these employees is that they are RETAIL SALESPEOPLE, not plumbers, not electricians, not contractors who build houses. If they pour concrete, wire rooms, install toilets, work on lawnmowers, paint houses ... they are doing that as a hobby, in their free time, AFTER their jobs. I work at Lowe's as a cashier and most of what I and my coworkers know about our departments, we learned from knowledgeable customers over time.
But as another commenter said, if you aren't getting good service at Lowe's, you should be contacting a manager. It's our job to help out the customer. If you're waiting in a line of 3 people or more, you should be contacting a manager. It's our job to make sure that there are enough cashiers. Everything depends on what store you're in, not Lowe's or Home Depot-wise, but specific employees and managers who care (or don't.)

Excellent description of Home Depot and Lowe's. We are equally distant from each of them. Home Depot seems far more in touch with small contractors. There are plenty of employees, often going to and from something or somewhere. Often not easy to find someone to help you. Lowe's appears to have gone after the upper 1/3 of the Home Depot market. Stores are cleaner and employees more avaialble, knowledgeable and helpful.

I live pretty close to both stores and visit both often. I can't say I like one more than the other--each has its purposes. Home Depot has more hard core supplies for projects. But Home Depot has a very limited selection for each item it stocks. In other words, if you want a sump pump, Home Depot only has one, maybe two, brands of them. But there may be 25 different companies who make those pumps. But you won't see that choice in Home Depot. I wish HD had more variety on its shelves.

And everything in both stores is made in China. That is our national downfall.

Both stores about the same distance. We usually go to the Home Depot. There seems to be plenty of seasoned vets and knowledge there. Great tool selection!

Their both "big boxes", Home Depot has the poorest safety record on injuring or killing customers than
Lowes. Lowes is still a growth company continuing to take market share away from Home Depot every year. They continue to expand into Home Depot's territory, i.e. expansion into Canada this year, thus making the "Pie" from Home Depot sales much smaller. This trend will continue for years to come. Lowes is definitely amore friendly, cleaner and shoppable environment for familes versus Home Depot.

Being a former Lowes employee of 6yrs it is apparent that Lowes caters to the female and h/d caters to the male .Lowes twinks everything thing to make it sparkle . The female makes 98% of the choices in the home ( it's her castle ).h/d has more older employees .But lowes has a co-match 15%discount on stock purchase & 10% employee discount
& a retirement program that kicks butt. I'm proof.

As a female, I prefer Home Depot. I find there employees more knowledgeable and they have workshops and for kids also! Lowe's is more for the finishing touches which mostly the women like to pick out, but for me, Home Depot is my store of choice and both stores are equally distant from my home. Plus Lowe's is in the practice of treating their employees awfully and there is a class action lawsuit against this problem as I type. So unless absolutely necessary (which is almost NEVER) do I ever shop at Lowe's. Again, being a female, I would LIKE to know how to do something, rather than just pick out something. I have learned to do sheet rock, build things and fix toilets, replace plumbing, install garbage disposals, hang doors and the list goes on.....Plus, men are not the only ones that do this type of work. Doesn't Trading Spaces have a female carpenter? Just my 2 cents worth, thanks.

home depot is dirty, aisles crammed like a flea market with misc. junk. i have found good help in both stores. but at least in my area, lowe's is spotless, bright, and the bathrooms are spotless and up front which is handy. contrast that with dirty home depot where the bathrooms are almost impossible to find and filthy.

and i have news for you. i have almost never found something at home depot that lowes didn't have more of. and usually lowes offers an upgrade model whereas home depot only has builder grade stuff. i did a tear down and built my own house last year, and was at one of them morning, lunch and evening six days a week feeding my carpenters material. i bought literally everything for a 4000 sf house there except the hvac equip.

the home depot was 10 minutes away and on the way home and back. the lowes was 20 minutes out of the way. but i only went to home depot if i absolutely had to. (or for tool rental)

and i got news for ya. i bought the first batch of studs and plates at home depot and my carpenters almost revolted. twisted, knotty, and brittle. lowe's top choice lumber is far and aways better, and always the same price. it's hard to believe how filthy home depot is too. i could never walk out of there without greasy dust all over me, esp in the lumber stacks. lowes is amazingly clean.

used to be comical that i'd spend so much time in there picking out lumber that i'd go in while it was light and come out pitch dark.

one story is telling. the contractor desk guys got used to me coming in and loading up flat carts with hand picked studs/plates/plywood. they'd always watch for me at the checkout and grab the forklift so i didn't have to hand load two carts by hand onto my trailer.

one miserable rainy night the guy looked at my soaking wet 8 ft trailer overloaded with 12 ft 2x4's and knew my cheap tiedowns weren't gonna cut it. so he told me not to leave, he'd be right back. he came back with a banding machine on a pallet and banded my lumber to my trailer. i hardly ever went to home depot again. i'd stop at taco bell and use the extra ten minutes to eat lunch. just my personal opinion and experience.

also ever try to get a fully loaded cart through home depot? good luck even in the commercial aisle. it's a joke. the more i think about it home depot just sux. lowe's is everything home depot wants to be.

also also when i didn't need to hand pick lumber, lowe's delivery was way better. home depot had a contractor who would not take the forklift off the street unless you begged him. the lowe's guy would put it wherever i wanted, even on top of my scaffolds we used because he couldn't put it on my second floor because it was to high. the home depot guy almost had a heart attack when i asked for that. i was lucky he'd bring it down the driveway and then we'd hand load the scaffolds. god home depot drove me nuts before i just started planning better and going the distance to lowe's. by the way there is a new lowe's right across from home depot now. i cruise right past HD and chuckle as i pull into lowe's.

but that's just me. lol

As a Home Depot employee, I can't disagree with what a lot of what's being said here. However, I would blame upper management for most of the problems at Home Depot. With the release of Bob Nardelli, and Frank Blake taking over, many improvements are being made to improve customer satisfaction. Home Depot is going back to their "Old Ways". Each store is once again hiring certified master plumbers and electricians. I know in our store the staff is very knowledgable in each department. I cant disagree that our store is not as clean as the local Lowes, but they don't have the foot traffic either. It is very hard to clean up after 3000 people a week, trust me!! If you haven't been to a Home Depot lately, try again. I think you would see vast improvement. Though the store may still be a little cluttered, we as HD employees are making every effort to assist customers. You can always voice your opinions to Home Depot Corporate too.

As a woman I prefer Home Depot. Their employees are very knowledgeable and willing to go above and beyond to help you. As an added bonus Home Depot is now becoming a "green" company, which to me, is very important

I prefer Lowe's.....I can take my dog in there shopping with me!!! I prefer dog friendly stores. Besides, Lowe's has a clean crisp atmosphere, great product selection and good pricing. My dog loves walking up & down the aisles. The employees are friendly & helpful.

Having worked at both Home Depot and Lowes, I would like to have a say. H/D has better trained employes than Lowes . If I spent over 5 miunts with one person I would be called on. At Home Depot
I stayed with one customer for over 1 hour, at the same time anwsering questions for other customers.

H/D has a better trained staff than Lowes, because they pay 3 to $5 more per hour along with standerd over time, were as Lowes pays Chananess O/T. As a manager at Lowes I would be paid as little as $2.13 an hour, I'm talking 20 hours of o/t. When I moved over to The Home Depot I would take home as much as $250.00 a week, for the same hours. Employees at H/D are paid to help the customers and not to just sweep floors. What more can I say.

Home Depot is my choice. Plenty of help and knowledgeable stock personnel. There is a great workshop there for the kids too.