This morning, April 4th, I purchased a bath mirror (Allen Roth 30"H x 36"W Castlebrook Light Golden Rectangular Bath Mirror) at store #2480 in San Antonio for $99 with my Mastercard. I bought the mirror to match the Allen Roth vanity I purchased at that same store last week. As I was pulling the mirror out of the box at home, it slipped out of the frame and fell to the bottom of the box. Luckily, the mirror glass did not break. I did discover that the cheap staples which are supposed to hold the mirror and the back to the frame had pulled away from the back.
I packed the mirror back in the box and returned to store #2480 later in the afternoon with the intent of exchanging it for a new one. The customer service cashier put the refund on an in-store Lowe's credit card. Then I found out that the store did not have another mirror. One other store fairly close by had two; one that was on display and another that was damaged. The next closest store with that particular mirror was over 20 miles away. I went back to customer service and requested a refund back to my credit card so that I could purchase a mirror from another retailer. The customer service cashier told me there was nothing else that could be done as the money was already refunded to the Lowe's in-store credit card. I told him that I did not want to buy anything else from Lowe's and that I wanted a refund. Miguel repeated that there was nothing that could be done. I asked to speak to his supervisor. His supervisor also told me told me nothing could be done. I asked for a manager. The assistant manager also told me the refund was already on an in-store credit card and nothing else could be done. After arguing with him for several minutes he finally relented and made arrangements for me to get cash back. When I asked him why he and the other employees originally told me there was nothing else they could do about refunding my money he lied and said he never told me that.in addition, the customer service supervisor also lied and said she never told me that there was nothing that could be done.
I was already frustrated because I had to return the mirror only to find out that neither store #2480 nor any Lowe's store nearby had one to exchange. Then, when I was told by three employees (including an assistant manager) that nothing else could be done since the refund was already on an in-store credit card I was infuriated. Essentially they were telling me that my money already belonged to Lowe's and I had no other choice but to use the in-store credit. On top of all that, I WAS lied to! If these employees did not tell me there was nothing further that could be done, then why did I have to elevate the issue to the management level then argue with them for several minutes before they finally agreed to give me a satisfactory refund?!?
I have never been so outraged by an experience at any retail store in all my life! I feel like this particular Lowe's store and its employees were trying their best not to give me a refund other than the in-store credit.
Finally, Lowe's needs investigate this particular product. It is defective and dangerous, not to mention over-priced. Do you think cheap staples alone are a safe way to hold a 30"H x 36"W mirror in a wooden frame? God forbid one of these mirrors falls off a bathroom wall and seriously hurt someone.
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