Sutherlands HomeBase

"Let me preface with I am a disabled middle aged man walking with a cane and a backpack. I cannot drive and some days cannot walk. When I can, I'll walk to Sutherland's and United as I am only a couple of blocks from them. I am not a big spender in there, but do buy little project stuff to try to keep busy. ( paint, little this and that) I've done this a long time. Recently, I have seen customer service turn to absolute garbage. My first problem was a couple/three weeks ago. I went to buy some large nails. They are priced at 2.99/lb. They wanted to charge 2.99 a piece because they don't have a scale (what hardware store doesn't have a scale to measure out their products like this? I mean I have one in my kitchen). They finally did sell them for about the right price. They weighed average 3.8 ounces each and I paid for four ounces each. Lots of unnecessary arguing. My second problem was last week. I needed a brass water fitting for my refrigerator water line. The shutoff broke. I don't know where that is in here so I'm looking. An employee actually asked if I needed help and I told him what I was looking for. (I'm in the plumbing area just looking for this cut off) . He tried to send me to the back of the store with lights. Quote " they're actually back there somewhere" and pointed at the light section. Today, I go in to get a piece of wood and a brass pin, was stopped halfway through the store, and asked... politely...but with authority, to relinquish my backpack. Not going to happen. You didn't ask for the woman's purse that walked buy me. It's not posted on the door and I will not give anyone access to my possessions. Strike three for me. This is 2023, and your competition, which I am sure you realize there are quite a few, ship straight to house. Home Depot can do it same day and Lowe's is free shipping most of the time. Let's not forget Amazon, ace hardware, etc. My few bucks a week will go somewhere else."

"Got a new stove and went to get some parts on my bicycle. As I walked in I wasn't greeted but just told I needed to leave my backpack. Now this is normally no problem and I had already removed it and the lady goes on to tell me "it's a new law". We all know it's not but I shook my head and went to find my part. The only other employees I seen made sure to avoid all customer eye contact and interaction. Never found what inwas looking for and went back to the front and was greeted again with some about me being a "trouble maker" from the lady and condescending apology. Told her I just wished I'd had some help and left. Now get this as I was unlocking my bike a dude walks out with his chest puffed out sarcastically asking what I was looking. Told him "I'm not a thief just from a city used to riding my bike and carrying a backpack." Went to Home Depot. Got help and the parts I need."

"This place is a mixed bag. Pretty good selection of things and prices are not too bad. Occasionally you can get good customer service but more times than not, it's between useless and horrible. Many employees don't seem to know where anything is. Worst is getting someone to help you load heavy things (like soil). Take a young strong back with you if you're going to get a truckload."

"I rarely go out of my way to write reviews unless they are positive but Sutherlands lost some business today to an incompetent and rude employee working in the garden center. It would be in a businesses best interest not only to hire well educated workers for their specific departments but also ones who are open minded to learning new and more accurate information. I called inquiring about the availability of Vitex plants. Vitex (agnus-castus) which is a fast growing and hardy tree sometimes classified as a shrub. It’s known by a multitude of common names and layman names including chaste tree and “TEXAS LILAC” among a handful of others. This woman put more effort into arguing with me over what a common lilac (syringa vulgaris) was than she did into doing her job while I simply tried to politely explain what I’ve listed above in case the plant was listed or labeled differently in Sutherlands inventory to make the call more efficient and easier on whoever was searching for me as a courtesy. She then hung up on me after I said thank you and tried to inquire about what size the vitex you had available was. I was at Lowes during this time just trying to price compare. I ended up buying my vitex at lowes rather than go out to sutherlands after that unprofessional and ignorant behavior and I’ve included a photo of the tag on the plant to support my point that vitex is in fact also known as Texas Lilac. A quick google search on what a “Texas lilac” is will also back these claims. Please educate your employees and stress the importance that there is always new information to be learned and that just because they aren’t educated on the matter doesn’t mean there isn’t someone out there who is more experienced or better studied than they are who they could obtain more knowledge from to better serve your customers rather than getting defensive from a closed minded stance. And finally their lack of knowledge is a very poor justification for blatant rudeness and unprofessionalism. I would love to continue shopping at Sutherlands in the future due to your great variety but this type of employee behavior should certainly be addressed within any company or business."

"Amazing place with a great plant selection! From flowering trees, to shade trees, bushes, and fruit trees...they seem to have it all! Some of the staff can be a bit friendlier....but most are pretty nice. I would highly recommend checking them out for trees that are priced very well. We got 3 trees and two bushes for $100!"