Tanya Rucosky sent a message to Robert Niblock that said:
Tanya Rucosky
111 Cape Split Rd.
Addison, ME 04606
Sept 22, 2020
Dear Mr. Ellison,
I am writing to request your help in a matter concerning my father (Walter Rucosky) with regard to a transaction he had a Lowes. My father is about to turn 81, and though heâs quite mentally fit, heâs lost a significant amount of his sight and hearing over the years. Thus, he has asked me to write to you in his stead.
Back in February of this year, my father contracted with and had a deck installed on his house through his local Lowes in Somerset, PA. The project was a pretty big one, and he tells me all up it was in excess of $14,000 worth of work. As a thank you for his business and encouragement for him to do other home renovation projects through Lowes, he was given a rebate of $1,500 in the form of a gift card.
Unfortunately, just as he was lining up to use this gift card in May, my mother unexpectedly died. It was a chaotic time for our family as my sister and I live over 800 miles away, Covid was happening, and as I said, my father doesnât see well. When all of the turmoil of her loss had settled down a little bit and my sister and I managed to return home, my father let me know that he could not locate the gift card. My mother used to handle all the important paperwork because my father cannot see well, but has a dangerous penchant for, âcleaning up.â (You can see how cleaning while nearly blind is a recipe for trouble.) Sadly, my mother was no longer around to protect him from himself.
I encouraged my father to keep looking, and also call his local Lowes to see if they could void out the gift card and send him a replacement. He was told by your very helpful staff in Somerset that it would have to âgo up the chain of commandâ but that it shouldnât be a problem. He provided my email as a contact, as he doesnât use email. He was told an email would arrive explaining what needed to be done in 3 business days.
That was in June.
Of course, Covid has made everything harder and slower, so we waited some time to hear back, but we never did. On July 25,th I called Lowes and wended my way through a very circuitous phone tree to eventually land at the rebate department. I was told the situation was a bit challenging, but that I would hear from them via email in 5 business days.
On August 11,th when I still hadnât heard back, I called again, spent quite a lot of time working through the phone tree (some of which just puts you into an endless loop of messages) and again talked to someone. They assured me the issue could be elevated to a higher priority, and that I would receive an email in 5 work days. However, no email was received.
On August 24th, I again called Lowes, was referred to the rebate center and again told I would receive emails to sort out the issue. I was told the case had been marked to be âelevatedâ but had not actually been. I was told now it would be dealt with at an expedited level. I received an email saying the case had been noted that day, but nothing else has followed.
My poor father just wants to really get moving with this flooring project. Heâs trying to put his house in order to sell now that my mother is gone. Heâs keenly aware that at 81, he canât dawdle about anything. From the conversations Iâve had with your staff, I understand the rebate center is managed by an outside contractor. They do not seem to be managing things well or expeditiously. My family and I have a lot of respect for Lowesâthe way you all business, and the excellent level of customer service you offer. However, I fear you are being let down by this contractor.
Could you please help us? My father would simply like the lost card to be voided, and a new one issued so he can get back to what he really wants to doâapparently tear up the kitchen floorâinstead of what heâs been doing for the past 4 monthsâwhich is nagging me to nag you all.
Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Kindest regards,
Tanya Rucosky
