Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

...buying curtain rods for the living room (just had it painted...in fact, we're having just about the whole house (inside) painted...I'd do it but I just don't have the time)  and on the way out, I hear another customer arguing with one of the employees.  He had just bought a new snowblower (Troy Bilt (MTD ) 8.5 HP, $798).  Apparently, the cashier had neglected to charge the $25.00 assembly fee which the Lowes Employee was attempting to recover.  The "discussion" went on for aboutt ten minutes until the customer finally cancelled the whole deal and walked out.

On the way out, I mentioned to him that (1) it was good that he didn't pay the assembly fee since it wasn't assembled correctly (or at least not adjusted).  The scraper bar was riding on the floor while the skid shoes were raised almost an inch.  With the first use, the scraper woudl have been ruined and the edges of the housing certinaly scraped up if not bent...and open to premature rusting, and (2) he'd probalby be better off with a dealer but with 10" to 16" of snow predicted for tomorrow (which meand I'll get to use the Toro again, bringing the cost down to about $333 per use), he wanted to take one home last night (9:00 P.M.) so (3) I sent him to Home Depot down the block and told him to get the Ariens 8526 as it's a better machine and with the current Home Depot promotion, about the same price.  Also, I happened to have a Lowes 10% new mover's coupon in my pocket which I gave to him (I printed an extra to use at HD), telling him HD would honor it.

I used to prefer Lowes to HD but at least at this particluar store, it seems that service is a thing of the past.

LL

LL, I see your point, but even with an assembled machine the user should adjust the skid shoes and scaper bar to their conditions before the first use. That was good advice steering him toward the Ariens.