FYI-Veteran Discount Issues

[stash]

A couple weeks ago a friend told me that Lowe's, Home Depot, etc., gave a 10% discount to veterans on purchases. Based on that info, I decided to send my DD214 to DPS and get imprinted on my TDL the word "veteran" for future purchases. Last week I went to Lowe's to pick up a shower that I had ordered about 3 weeks ago and while there I inquired about the discount. I was told that they due give a discount but they do not accept the TDL with the word "veteran" on the face which kind of surprised me. So now I will have to go through the hassle of getting a VA ID card. Guess I will just hold off on getting the TDL.

[Abraham]

I used to use a copy of my DD214 at Home Depot for a 10% discount.

After a year or so elapsed, they told me they only accept a card that you have to go through some hassle to get.

I don't where to start to get the card - the explanation I got from the H.D. people was so discouragingly convoluted that I just said "to heck with it"!

[Right2Carry]

I have never had an issue using my DL with the Veteran identifier on it. I have used it at Lowes, Home Depot, and Cabelas.

[MeMelYup]

Write to their home office and ask what is policy and what is needed. A lot of stores personnel don't know the policies or requirements.

[n5wd]

I have never had an issue using my DL with the Veteran identifier on it. I have used it at Lowes, Home Depot, and Cabelas.

Ditto those three plus a couple of others, including a free meal at Applebees! It may be that the cashier you talked with at Lowes was uninformed. A quick letter, not email, to the Lowes's corporate office with a copy of the receipt is likely to get you a partial refund in the amount of the discount.

[Right2Carry]

If you run into a problem always ask to speak to a Manager. Cashiers Canberra new and uninformed of the policies.

[cdc101]

Never once been questioned at Lowe's or Home Depot. I use my TDL with 'veteran' printed on it.

[jimlongley]

I don't know about other places, but I work at Home Depot and I can assure you that: A) Cashiers have been trained before they hit the floor and are SUPPOSED to know the policies; and B) Home Depot's policy is to offer veterans' discounts only at certain times of the year although the various stores can and do offer veterans' discounts whenever. To obtain the discount some manner of identification is required, which may be the sticking point as some managers (I'll get back to that) go so far as to require an actual US Government issued ID.

That said, HD does not offer it in combination with other discounts, so don't expect to get 10% + 10% (which is 19% NOT 20% as I have had people argue with me about) you will get whichever is the better discount. A bunch of years ago we "stacked" discounts one Memorial Day, only to discover that we were selling appliances for less than what they cost the store.

Points about the points above. A) Even veteran cashiers have trouble with the policy about veterans because store policy is variable, and they got trained and pushed on the floor in a hurry and they see very few veterans asking for the discount, so they forget. B) See 'A' as policy has tended to wander a bit over the years.

And as far as the managers knowing: A few years ago a couple of us asked a manager for a ruling on a discount for a particular customer. This customer is in our store regularly and has IDed as a veteran in the past, but a cashier was refusing to give him a discount because he wasn't providing ID. The first manager approached said that an ID MUST be produced each and every time and rattled off a short list of acceptable IDs. That manager left and a second manager was asked, and we got a different answer. Then the store manager showed up and gave us a modified version of both of the previous answers and told us to go ahead and give the discount anyway. Remember that all of these people are just people and their understanding may vary, including if they themselves are veterans.

I have a co-worker, a veteran, who thinks the discount should only apply to disabled veterans.

And back to managers knowing. A few weeks ago on a pretty hot day one of our (pretty) cashiers showed up for work in what could be considered less than presentable attire. The young lady in question kind of redefined statuesque as in sculptors never imagined a model of her dimensions, and there was not quite sufficient coverage for all of her. She was sent home to put on more suitable attire, and has since quit and gone to work at a better job.

Immediately after this incident one of the managers posted a copy of the dress code on the break room wall, with appropriate highlights. Noting that the dress code was wrong, I started to add highlights of my own and went for more than a week before finally approaching the manager and asking if I was supposed to comply with that dress code to the letter. She responded that I did, at which point I asked her where the flag on my apron was. She pointed to the flag that HD issued me to indicate my veteran's status, and then I asked where her flag was, and she told me that she was not a veteran and thus did not have a flag, so then I asked how she could comply with a dress codse that said that her years of service badge was to be worn on the left side of her apron "above the flag"?

Then I pointed out several other discrepancies, finishing with the fact that the dress code posted was the 2010 version of the CANADIAN stores' dress code (before I pointed out that it was the Canadian version, she argued that it was the latest.) Canadian HD aprons have maple leaf flags on them, along with a couple of other items that render their dress code inapplicable to us US associates. I provided her with a more recent copy (2013) of the actual US dress code and she took down the offending one and never bothered to post the real one.

In her rush to get a dress code up she didn't bother to stop and consider whether the one she located online was the correct one, she just posted the first one she found and selectively ignored the parts that didn't apply. Don't count on the managers to be right.

[oohrah]

My experience with Lowes and HD. Retired military get 10% discount evert day of the year, I just show my retired military ID, never had a problem. The only time other veterans get a discount that I know of is Memorial Dat weekend (all three days), and maybe Veteran's Day.

[BigD1951]

My experience with Lowes, HD and Cabelas is that with VA ID indicating service connected disability that I have never had a problem receiving the discount, I know Lowes corporate policy is that active, retired, and disabled vets receive 10% year around and all other vets receive 10% on veterans day and Memorial Day. I believe that Cabelas and HD have a similar policy.

[Right2Carry]

Read all about it.

http://paycheck-chronicles.military.com ... revisited/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[stash]

Well all the responses pretty much sum it up. I am just going to get the TDL with veteran imprinted. Thanks for the good responses.

As an aside after I went to Lowes I called the VA and talked to a nice older lady who explained to me how to apply for a VA card after which she sent me in the mail an application which had my name spelled wrong. She also advised me after asking some questions where to send the completed application. The application indicated to send it to an address in a different state than the nice lady indicated. I actually first tried to complete the application on their web site but as soon as I got on the VA web site, I got a message indicating the site was not secure web site. Don't get me wrong, I realize the VA is a huge agency with to many customers and with their current problems I will just stick with the DPS TDL.