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| - I've been shopping at this Menards for over 10 years and am consistently doing over $10k/yr in purchasing here. I own a home, a neighboring rental property, and a small business, so I have non-stop repair and improvement projects.
Menards is better than Lowes and Home Depot in almost every way. For years I used to comparison shop until I finally realized it wasn't worth the time because Menards is always cheaper. The only reason I visit other stores now is to look at wider variety in things like light fixtures and kitchen and bathroom fixtures/appliances and such. For raw materials like drywall, lumber, dry-mix products like concrete, insulation, plumbing and electrical, as well as hardware/consumption items like nails, screws, fasteners, sandpaper, blades, etc... they're always the winner. You can tell just by looking at the quantities they handle. Their stacks of sheet goods move at a rate that makes an embarrassment of Lowes and HD. Menards' stockpile is gigantic. After you figure in sales and rebates Menards beats all in the price war. The only rare exception is using gift card and coupon combos at Lowes.
The things I usually end up buying elsewhere: toilets, vanities, sink tops and faucets, light fixtures, etc... I have and will purchase these things at Menards but I just often find a design I like better at another store.
As far as customer service goes, it's pretty lousy at Menards, but pretty awful everywhere else. You just can't expect to find people in hardware stores who know much about construction. Very few people in the store know anything about what they're selling. It's especially bad in the paint department where you really need some advice on what product to use. There's just one guy at Menards who works in plumbing that knows a lot, and I might go to him with a question. Anyone else need not waste my time. Checkout lanes are generally fast and well-staffed.
The outdoor yard is a great convenience for loading. The big downside is they won't let you in without a pickup ticket. The problem with that is if you just want to look at something before you buy it, you'll have to walk about a mile through the store into the yard and back out. Frequently I'll get a pickup ticket for some 2x4's or something then when I'm in there I can inspect all the other stuff I might want, drive all the end of the yard and walk into get another pickup ticket for the other items. Early in the day it seems there are lots of people to help you load, but in the evening I usually have to chase someone down to help with drywall. It bugs me that they want to check inside your trunk when you leave - if I wanted to steal stuff I could hide it anywhere else in my vehicle, plus I frequently do have a bunch of hardware store stuff in my trunk but not once has a gate guy asked me about it, so what's the point of checking?
I probably do most of my power tool purchasing online because it's almost always cheaper. Menards is definitely lacking in brands since they don't even carry Dewalt. They have some Bosch stuff but in general I feel like their power tools are cheap junk brands. I wouldn't really shop Menards for deals on power tools. I do buy plenty of hand tools at Menards.
I wish propane refills didn't take so long. I wish they didn't play that irritating Menards song in the store. I wish the checkout people would stop asking me if I'm going to pay with my Menards card (I'm not).
Menards has, without question, the best return policy of any store that I'm aware of. They'll take back anything after any amount of time in almost any condition for almost any reason. They'll even do a price adjustment if something drops within two weeks of your purchase.
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