No Love for Lowe’s

Over the past couple of years customer service at home improvement stores has been eradicated as if it were a weed. Lowe's used to have decently knowledgeable store personnel but visits to the store over the past year have been painful experiences. These stores have taken a lesson from the airlines and pushed "self-service" to a new level.

Now it appears that Lowe's wants to show that it loves customers...No one has taught management that putting good people on the floor and paying them well is more important than paying themselves well.

Advertising - Lowe’s Puts New Emphasis on Customer’s Wants - NYTimes.com: "In a campaign for spring, which will begin this week, Lowe’s will celebrate its employees, whom the retailer calls associates, by giving the actors who play them as much screen time in the initial commercials as the actors who play customers.

The associates are portrayed as knowledgeable, helpful and friendly — the kind of sales staff needed by consumers who hope to save money by doing more household projects themselves.

The campaign is indicative of the continued focus on value and service among major retailers as shoppers keep pinching pennies. Although Lowe’s and its principal competitor, Home Depot, said last week that they saw signs of a recovery for the home-improvement industry, the monthly poll by the Conference Board of consumer confidence took a steep downturn in February."