Completely Floored

Last night, our Lowe's flooring salesperson phoned to tell us that the store is now offering interest-free financing up to 12 months, in case that would prompt us to make a decision on the bedroom carpet we've been considering. In addition, there's a $199 installation special going on, but we've known about that, and it was one of the reasons we went to Lowe's in the first place.

The salesperson gave Paul a grand total we both liked, so, this morning, I went to Lowe's to open a charge account and arrange everything. Our salesperson wasn't there, so another one helped me. When he gave me the written-up estimate, it was $300 more.

"That's for big furniture," he said, noting that our regular salesperson added that on.

This didn't sit well with me, and I made it clear to the salesperson. I phoned Paul at work, and told him what was happening. Equally as annoyed as I, he told me to feel free to walk away from the deal.

The salesperson who was helping me noticed that I was looking at the fine print on the $199 installation sign. It said, "Includes normal furniture moving."

What we have is normal furniture: beds, dressers, end tables. If we had two bedrooms filled with safes, vaults, medicine balls, elephants and mercury-filled hot tubs, I could see the problem.

"What constitutes 'normal' furniture for Lowe's?" I asked. "A card table and a folding chair?"

He shrugged. I could tell he understood why I was angry, but he didn't want to ruin the deal for our regular salesperson, either. He told me that our regular salesperson would be back after 1, but I was not about to kill a couple of hours in Danbury.

Paul spoke with her this afternoon and, at first, she said, "I know I spoke with you about this."

No, she really hadn't, and Paul told her as much. He also said he would just forget the whole deal and walk away ... but not without speaking to the store manager and perhaps making an even bigger deal out of it first.

She said she'd get back to him.

Funny how things suddenly change: We're getting the $199 installation. But, like everything, it was a fight. We had to threaten to kick it up a notch.

And this is why, dear readers, I hate having any kind of service performed. There is always a zinger built in. Always.

Good thing Paul and I both have big mouths.