Customers sing Lowe's praises

Home Channel News, Dec 11, 2000 by Scott Larson

Prior to the Nov. 20 Monday Night Football game between the St. Louis Rams and the Washington Redskins, the television network ESPN ran a short profile piece on Rams defensive tackle DeMarco Farr. Pitching its subject as a down-to-earth guy despite his emergence in the living-large world of the NFL, ESPN sent one of its reporters and a camera crew along with Farr for a day as he went about his off-the-field life. One segment involved Farr on a "honey do" (honey do this, honey do that) shopping excursion to Lowe's.

"I love coming here," crowed Farr as he entered the store. "I always buy things I don't need."

Judging from the dozens of consumer interviews the editors and writers of NHCN conducted for our year-end look at Lowe's (see page 19), much of America agrees. At least about the "I love Lowe's" part.

In parking lots from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Long Beach, Calif., shoppers sang Lowe's praises, pointing to the retailer's clean stores, wide aisles, broad selection of merchandise and relatively sterling customer service. To be fair, such parking lot interviews are by their very nature somewhat selective. It only makes sense that consumers loading carts of merchandise into their cars would have at least a few good things to say about the store they just left. But the extent to which a large number of shoppers genuinely seemed to like Lowe's -- not just prefer it over the other home improvement options -- speaks volumes about the retailer's ability to connect with its customers.

Consider the couple from Deer Park, N.Y., who drove four hours to spend $400 at the nearest Lowe's in Scranton, Pa. Or the two Miami couples that routinely pass a Home Depot on their way to a Lowe's some 20 miles away (page 45).

To be sure, Lowe's has it warts. Perhaps too many of its shoppers are still driven by price and prone to comparison shopping. And perhaps too many customers still find themselves lost in the warehouse environment, as did Fan when he reached paint on his list.

In one of the ESPN piece's funniest moments, Fan is seen repeatedly asking for directions to the paint department. Finally, after crisscrossing the store numerous times, he stops in the middle of an aisle and shouts for help.

Mugging for the camera aside, Fan's journey through Lowe's with a TV audience in tow reinforces what Lowe's preaches -- and shoppers around the country acknowledge: the battle for customers is won in the aisles.