My Thanksgiving Gratitude To Lowes

thank you

In the spirit of Thanksgiving I feel the need to express my utmost thanks to something outside of family, good health, church, job, etc etc.  While I am eternally grateful for these people and entities, there is one organization who left an indelible impact on me recently.  Lowes, yes the hardware store, but in particular Jimmy in the lawn care and landscaping department.  Jimmy went out of his way to make my experience an exceptional one, and because of it, I feel the need to pay homage to him and the company who had the wherewithal to hire such a quality individual.

Here is why I will be going back to Lowes for my hardware needs.

I had a large tree fall at the house, not on the house (another thing I am thankful for) but in the yard, making quite a mess.  After the sticker shock of talking to a couple tree companies who happened to be covered up with work due to the storms that came through recently, I figured I might be better off clearing the tree myself.  Now, I’ll be the first to admit, I am not very well versed on the use of a tool which has the capability of lopping off my hand in a matter of seconds.  But, like all things gas powered, I respect it and handle it with the utmost care.  I have to admit it though, because of my lack of experience I gave heartfelt consideration to paying the exorbenant cost the tree companies were demanding.  Ultimately though, I decided I would rather spend $169 on a chainsaw that I could use again in case this happens in the future.  I mean, how hard can it be to rip through 30′ feet of  fallen hardwood 14″ in diameter and scores of branches?  Turns out, harder than it looked!

There are many things I learned along the way, like making sure to cut all the branches off first then work on the trunk.  Reason being, if all the branches are gone when you attempt to cut the trunk, then the likelihood of getting bitch-slapped by a swinging branch if the trunk moves, is drastically reduced.  My neighbor gave me this advice, another thing I am thankful for.  When I got to the point where I had about 8 feet left, I hit a snag.  I was cutting from the top when the trunk shifted and pinched the cotton-picken chainsaw with so much pressure I was not able to remove it.  I couldn’t lift the trunk and pull the chainsaw out in one motion, I needed a little neighborly help.  Lucky for me, my neighbor who gave me the advice about removing the branches first, was available and he came over to help.  He lifted the trunk, while I tried to whittle the saw back and forth to get it out, but it wouldn’t budge.  We carried on with this for what seemed like an eternity and judging by the sweat pouring off of us, this tree was getting the better of us!  After wrestling with this saw for about 20 minutes, it finally broke free, but not without a casualty.  The chain came off, which was no big deal, it had happened before, but this time when I went to put it back on, I noticed that the small hook (for lack of a better term) which tightens the chain, broke in half.  No problem right?  Well, there wouldn’t have been if the bolt that it was connected to it wasn’t bent to the point where I couldn’t get it out.

Here is where Jimmy impacted my life.

Since I bought the chainsaw a Lowes, I figured I would consult them to see if they could order me a new piece, or maybe provide me with some helpful advice on how to get the bolt out, without breaking the plastic surrounding it.  This is where I had the good fortune of meeting Jimmy, he made my night!  He told me to bring the piece in and they will take the same one off of a new saw.  I said Jimmy, I’ll be honest with you, I bought this saw about a month ago.  He said no worries, it’s our policy. I told him I didn’t have the piece with me, but I could come in with it the next day.  He said he wasn’t working that next day, but he wrote two notes of instruction, one for me in case anyone questioned it, and the other for the person on staff the next day.  It worked as Jimmy had set it up to, I came in the next day, and because Jimmy took the time to write those notes, they replaced the piece without question.  This was something I never expected to me, Lowes and Jimmy went above the call of duty, and for that I am thankful!

So in the spirit of Thanksgiving I hope Jimmy and all the fine people at my local Lowes have a wonderful Holiday season, and I am eternally grateful for them going above and beyond the call of duty!

In an effort of full disclosure, I am not being paid in any capacity to endorse the Lowes brand, I am just thankful and wanna share my positive experience.