Anawalt Lumber Company — Local services in Los Angeles

First time reviewing but I feel like this is important. I had a really weird experience here today. Normally I drive in, shop and all is fine. Usually no one bothers me or asks me if I need anything. (Quality service) Today I biked in with my backpack to carry my purchase home. As I walk in (bag and helmet hanging on my back) I'm immediately greeted by a check stand clerk and asked if I need help. "Sure! Where's the plumbing section?" She then immediately called over security (?) to show me the way. He mumbled, walked me over to the wall and mumbled again. I wasn't sure what he meant then realized he wanted me to leave my bag and cycling gear in a cubby. I joked a bit trying to lighten him up cause I didn't understand what he meant to do and he did not care for it. Sure thing big guy, you're the authority here so there's my stuff in the cubby see? We're good now so off we go to plumbing or somewhere down the aisle from it and he points. Cool, I commence to search and an employee comes over and asks in an irritated voice and a glare what I need. I tell him and he responds "It's the next aisle over." But he says this to me like I'm stupid. Sigh... I guess I should have known it was the next aisle over. Sorry bud, first time coming in for plumbing stuff. Ok, I find what I need then I get to the line and wait, no one seems to see me while they're at their registers busy I guess. I hear them talking about going on break and someone going home, the important stuff cause I'm the only guy in line. Someone else shows up from an aisle, walks to their register and calls me over. She was kind of nice but it was all part of the gig. I walk over to the wall close to merchandise I haven't bought to get my gear and I'm just waiting for someone to call me out for not immediately going to the door. I'm actually surprised no one did. I work in customer service myself in a high flow environment and I don't treat people like that. I'm sure no one from Anawalt will ever read this, I mean why would they even care right? They either pay attention to me for a specific reason or ignore me for another. Hopefully another shopper will read this. To the shopper here's a word of advice, don't bring a bag. As for me, I'm just not going to...

What a terrible experience. The staff was rude and unhelpful most of the cashiers looked miserable. Not a smile in the building. Went in for cabinet grade birch in 3/4” 4x8 and clearly asked for that specifically after I walked over to the rack to be sure they had it. The desk guy was so busy talking to others that he did not listen and rang me up for the wrong wood. (They use a paper ticket system with codes so no idea what he put down) after going to the register, paying, went back to grab the sheet’s and when I told him it was wrong he argued with me telling me I asked for something else, that I didn’t know what I was asking For and That I should have consulted him more clearly. It was clearly my fault and now he had to deal with refunding. So 45 minutes of my day Back and forth to the register. Finally sorted I go to get my wood and the guy tried to ignore me. So I pull my truck around asking for instructions on where to Go and I and he just points with a flick no instructions. I back my truck in only for the security guard to now be angry. They toss the sanded wood sheets into my truck damaging a corner so I back out to leave and a I do the counter Guy and security guard cat call and taunt. I stop to confront them and He tells me I’m backing up to fast.. I’m in a 14ft long 350 diesel driving backwards inside a building it’s literally not...

One of my team members went to make a purchase, and we ran into an issue with their purchasing process. I wasn’t aware there’s a big difference between having a credit card on file and being in their rewards system. Unlike other suppliers like Dunn Edwards, Home Depot, or Sherwin-Williams — where paying over the phone or having a card on file is pretty straightforward — Anawalt doesn’t allow it. That meant my guy had to wait almost two hours until I could physically show up just to make the purchase.

I spoke with a service counter representative named Mary. She was polite and tried to assist, but our phone call kept disconnecting multiple times. I want to give the benefit of the doubt that it was just a technical glitch — but when combined with the rigid policies and outdated systems, it highlights a bigger issue with how their operation is set up.

This isn’t about blaming the front-line staff — they were doing what they could — but the limitations of the system and lack of flexibility from management really made the process inefficient and frustrating.

If you’re a contractor considering sending someone on your behalf, make sure to verify their policies first. Anawalt may have decent products, but their processes need serious improvement if they want to support working professionals...