Lowe’s employees help stranded vet
Michael Sulsona, a veteran who lost his legs in Vietnam tells the story in SILive about what happened when his wheelchair broke while shopping in Lowes;
On the evening of July 7, my wheelchair fell apart again, while shopping at Lowe’s Home Improvement Center in on Forest Avenue in Mariners Harbor.
Three employees, David, Marcus and Souleyman jumped to my assistance immediately. They placed me in another chair while they went to work.
They took the wheelchair apart and replaced the broken parts and told me, “We’re going to make this chair like new.”
I left 45 minutes after closing hours in my wheelchair that was like new.
When he tried to thank them, their response was that it had been their honor to help him. I’ve always found Lowe’s employees to be some of the best and helpful young Americans around. This story just reinforces my perception.
Thanks to Bob & Sgt K for the link.
Category: Support the troops
Nicely done guys, makes me want to head out and get some new tools at Lowes!
I knew I shopped at Lowe’s for a reason!! Way to go fellas.
With all the negative stories out there about businesses doing Veterans (or anyone really) wrong, it is nice to see some examples of businesses doing things right
Awesome story!
Kroger’s also has some fantastic people working there.
Almost a year ago I moved back to my home town (a small town in rural Ohio.) One evening I stopped by the local Kroger’s to shop. While fumbling with a small hand-held shopping basket at the main entry the main automatic door shut on me. The edge of the metal door frame caught my wheelchair right between the joystick-controller module and the arm rest, cutting the controller cable in two.
(Let me tell you right now, there’s a bunch of fine wires in that bundle that run between the joystick and the computer chip box. They control a lot of different functions.)
As soon as that cable was cut I was dead in the water, stuck in the entry way.
A couple of fantastic employees (both in their late teens to early 20s) jumped in to help. One of them took my list and did my shopping. Another, armed with a boxcutter and electricians tape, spliced every one of those fine wires back together. In less than 45 minutes I was back up and rolling.
It’s people like this that give me an occasional glimmer of hope that America is still here.
Additionally:
When I lived in the DC Metro area I used to go to the casino/racetrack in West Virginia on a regular basis. One of the parking valets always took care of me (and the group of ladies I traveled with.)
One night I blew an inner-tube (which I always carry a spare) on the wheelchair and he grabbed tools and changed it. Another night my wheelchair lift decided to not operate properly, and he grabbed tools, took it apart, and got it running again.
Now that is what I call a nice story!
I have a relatively new Lowe’s about a mile down the road from me – it’s a great store and has everything you need including polite, respectful, helpful employees.
Last year I bought a new Weber NG grill and the salesman asked if I was a Veteran – I showed him my VA ID card and got a 10% discount off the price! He asked me if I was a Veteran!!
I don’t nickel and dime them, but when I spend a few bucks I present my VA card they don’t even bat an eye….10% off.
A lot of businesses have that policy.
I don’t know about shopping online through their website, but if I go to an Apple store for anything computer related they always give me a Veteran’s discount.
That must be a local discount; supposedly the national chain does not have that according to the folks here in Houston. I believe Home Depot, however, does. (If Lowe’s DOES have that, they owe me about $60 on a dishwasher….)
disregard my last… quick search shows I’m headed to Lowe’s
I was in a Lowes almost a year ago and I was in a hurry. About 2 people in front of me in the line to check out was an old man with a WWII Veteran Ballcap on. This guy was quite elderly, he moved slowly and he “shuffled” more than “walked”. When it was his turn to check out, he asked for the veteran’s discount. The gal at the register asked him for proof of veteran status. He didn’t have any and he seemed confused by the question. So the Lowes employee pages her supervisor. About this time I am beginning to roll my eyes and stomp my feet thinking they should just give this Veteran his discount and move on. Well, the supervisor shows up, a man in his 30’s or so. He says hi to the old timer, briefly explains to him that he can have the State put his veteran status on his TXDL… and then, the Lowes Supervisor gets out his own wallet, takes out his own military ID (TXARNG I think), and scans it with the register, thus applying the veteran discount to the sale. Made me proud to be a ‘Merican and proud to be a Lowes Shopper on that day.
For those of you that live in Texas that are Vets, the State can print your Veteran status on your Driver License. Not sure about other states but it might be worth asking.
Yeah, Maine does that as well. They have a special background that looks like the blue canton from the national flag with white stars. Pretty neat.
Maine also has a policy that you need to bring your original DD-214 to get the veteran’s designation. They already have seen enough of the fakers to know it’s a problem.
I try to shop at Lowe’s above all others if I get the chance. They’re always friendly and helpful and respectful.
With all the craziness going on these days, it’s good to see some good old-fashioned respect and courtesy. I have to concur with the opinions here about Lowe’s. I have always found their employees to be helpful and that 10% discount has come in handy on some major purchases over the years.
Good story. We all need as many good stories as we can find these days. But they are out there.