Atwoods — Local services in Hot Springs

I just brought a house and moved to this side of town and did not know this store was here

I mean I have driven by and have seen it but because I lived so close to Lowe’s before and occasionally visited the Sutherland’s ( which is usually hit or miss …..mostly miss) I had no reason to go

That was my loss

I called the store looking to compare prices on mulch, the person on the phone put me on hold to look it up and the price was right.

The service is top notch

As soon as I walked in the door the cashier greeted me and welcomed me to Atwood’s

I was so surprised that I greeted her back mind you she had about 6 customers in her line to be taken care of

I joined the line and when it was my turn I asked her how to I get mulch and she said you are the gentleman that called

I said you are the cashier, answering the phone looking on the computer and greeting everyone who walks in and she said yes like it was her pleasure and sounded like she could and would do more.

I have been to that store at least 10 times since and the customer service and care is impeccable.

The best I have ever seen especially since Covid.

There was a young lady named Annie on her phone the second time I visited the phone and I could hear her conversation and she said I am on break so I will meet you out side and I asked her where to find something

She stopped and walked me over to the product on the far end of the store and even engaged in conversation about the item using her break time

Wow who does that ?

Apparently all of the employees at this Atwood’s even management

I asked to speak with a manager to tell him how impressed with his store and he was a very humble and gracious individual who attributed it to how the company feels about taking care of people and being in business

I can’t get that type of engagement from employees on the clock at Lowe’s or Sutherland’s( which is usually hit or miss mostly miss)

I have been there at least 10 times and it has been the same

Hello and welcome to Atwood’s can we help you?

Atta boy Atwood’s

You have a customer for life

I see why your rating is 4.5 and if you round up 5 Stars

Lowe’s is...

I'm going to try to be nice. I'm not going to swear and I will try to avoid personal attacks. But to say that the employees are very young, (not necessarily a problem in itself, but also) very inexperienced/untrained and very unmotivated—would be a kindly generous understatement. We picked out a riding lawn mower from Atwood's website and drove to this location because, although not the closest, it was the closest to home that had the mower we wanted. We walked up to the register and told the very young woman the mower that we wanted. Instead of having an expedited system in place that would allow a purchaser to bring a scannable ticket from the desired product to the register...they rely on a more catch-as-catch-can approach utilizing other inexperienced "gofers" to engage in a time consuming treasure hunt for SKU and serial numbers that, in our case, took 4 different trips searching outside and an eventual call for a manager to come up with the magic numbers necessary. With the payment and paperwork finally complete, we went outside to load up the mower. Unfortunately and frustratingly, none of the gofers were able to get it started so that it could be driven up onto our trailer. "It needs more gas." we suggested after so many failed starting attempts that I feared for its battery and starter. So after a fruitless search for a gas can locked up in someone's office somewhere, the two gofers return with the mind boggling excuse that, "We don't sell gas." They were then ready to push this questionable machine onto our trailer. At this point we had had enough. "I'm sorry. We pulled a trailer for an hour and a half to get here. We're NOT taking this home if we're unsure that it works". Fortunately, there was another of the same mower in stock. And fortunately, this one had enough gas in it to start. Unfortunately, since it had a different serial number, the transaction had to start all over. 🤦‍♂️ The transaction alone—not including the drive—took TWO GRUELING...

Update: after almost a decade as a regular customer, I am disappointed and will no longer shop here.

Staff stocking shelves with masks on chin only or with noses exposed, very few masks on their clientele, large groups of customers not practicing social distancing. When I tried to express my concerns and leave a note for the main manager about stock staff unmasked on 1/1/2021, the night manager came out from behind the desk and "Karen-ed" up the place raising her voice and claiming my husband's mask wasn't doing him any good either. ( He wears a bandana over his medical mask.)

The whole time this "customer service person) is shouting at us, her nose kept popping out of her mask and she continuously touched her face to pull it up.

We caught the encounter on video, considered pursuing this as I LOVE this store. We have a farm and most of our spending budget goes to this place. After a couple of days thinking about it, it just isn't worth the trouble to pursue this.

The staff at this Atwoods location made it clear that they are not concerned with the health and safety of their customers and that several of them are clearly anti-maskers. Previous review before the mask mandate:

This is a great farm store that has everything from guns and ammo to pet supplies and livestock feed. In the spring there's a wide selection of trees and shrubs flowers vegetables and other plants, and in the winter you'll find pellets for your wood stove. The stop is usually pretty friendly Annabelle do what they can to help you management has a tendency to treat you not quite as well. the clothing department has recently expanded and there are some excellent finds and jeans and nice tops. Shoe and boot selection is very...