When they exploit veterans for profit but don't fully explain policies
I needed a new lawnmower & had a choice, go to Lowe's which offers a 10 % Veterans discount, or Mernards, which offers an 11 percent mail-in rebate. I chose Lowe's but they didn't give me the discount
By Ray Hanania
I know that many veterans are old, and we’re not as quick as we once were in fighting to defend our nation.
But I hate the way we are exploited by businesses trying to get an edge.
First is the issue of being recognized as a veteran. Several years ago, I finally got a “card” that identified me as a veteran because so many businesses offered veteran discounts.
Why not take advantage of them?
Recently, I was able to get my status as a “veteran” added to my driver’s license, which really makes it convenient. I’ve registered at a veteran at stores that encourage registration, like Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Target. Menards does too, I believe, but I already get an 11 percent rebate on all purchases — no exclusion.
This week, my lawnmower literally started on fire. Never seen that happen before. It was a Husqvarna 22 in ch wide with a Honda motor. I can’t complain about it because it only cost $259 when I bought it 8 years ago.
How my lawn looks is important to me. It’s a reflection of yourself to the public. If your grass is constantly ragged and full of weeds, or looks “rugged,” it makes you look irresponsible. If you don’t care about your lawn, maybe you don’t care about anything else. I mow it and edge it every week, and several times a year, I fertilize it.
Mowing the lawn is great exercise, too. I walk about 4,500 steps each time I mow, and another 1,000 when I trim.
The Husqvarna served me well. It had All Wheel Drive, front and back, using grips on each side of the push bar. It mulched the grass efficiently and without a mess. So many other products fall apart after a few years and require expensive repairs.
So I tried to get another lawnmower, but none of the big box stores sell the Husqvarna model anymore.
After some research, I decided on a Toro recycler, 22 inches wide, but it only had Front Wheel Drive. Ok. I can do without the back wheel drive, too. It was priced at $499, marked down from $519. Not cheap at all, reflecting how Trump has really screwed up our economy this past year. Last year, it was cheaper.
So, should I go to Lowe’s, which brags about giving veterans discounts of 10 percent — plus a special parking place in their parking lot, or should I go to Menards which offers an 11 percent rebate on all purchases, but you have to mail in with a special form.
The 1 percent savings was irrelevant, so I decided to go with the store that brags about respecting veterans. Little did I know I was screwing myself.
Lowe’s is very tricky.
The 10 percent discount would have saved me $50. But to prevent it from qualifying, Lowe’s discounted the lawn mower by $20, claiming to cut the cost from $519 to $499. Online, they pitched it at $499 to make it competitive.
I bought it and at the register added my veteran’s number to the sale, thinking it would reduce the price.
Well, being old and taking it for granted that Lowe’s loves me as a veteran, I didn’t look. It turns out you don‘t get the veteran’s discount on that item, because they “discounted it” by $20.
If I knew that up front, I would have gone to Menards, where I would save money all the time.
The Lowe’s trick bothers me. If they want to exclude a big-ticket item from being discounted to veterans, all they have to do is upcharge it, and then “discount it.”
Yes, it’s my fault for not carefully examining my receipt. I’m getting old at 73. My bad. Easy target. Too trusting.
I don’t think I will go back to Lowe’s again.
Besides feeling ripped off by the so-called veterans discount, the lawnmower is cheap. When you mow forward, it’s great. But it is so lightweight that when you pull it back to cut grass (you know, in those weird yard sections that are cluttered with stone designs, swing sets, and small gardens, the front lifts up and you have to push it forward to cut it right.
The Husqvarna was perfectly balanced and cut forward and backwards evenly and cleanly.
It reminds me of what I have always known. The engineers and mechanics who design these products probably never use them. They design them based on “concept,” “theory,” and “weighing all the options.” They don’t design them based on personal experience, like mowing their own lawns. Eggheads are often idiots who lack common sense.
The Toro is a victim of that lack of precision in design and missing practicality.
And, so is Lowe’s.
It only takes one bad experience to lose a customer. From now on, I will go to Menards, where I know the terms of my 11 percent discount are firm and they live up to their word. I don’t have to constantly read the fine print every time I shop.
It’s kind of ironic for me because next week I will honor my dad, George, who served in the US 5th Army (OSS) during World War II (or World War Elevent as Ilhan Omar calls it), and my Uncle Moses, who served on a battleship during World War II in the North Atlantic battling the Nazi scourge.
“Thank you for your service,” Dad, Uncle Moses, and all you veterans out there. It’s a phrase that should have meaning, not serve as a form of economic bait.