My daughter and I recently made an appointment with Ferguson while I was in the MD area. I have to say it was THE most annoying “shopping” experience. I can accept the appointment issue and the masks, but the salesperson breathing down our neck following us around the entire time was extremely intrusive, and realistically, from a social distancing point of view, it would have been better for them to leave us on our own. Honestly, it was ridiculous. I couldn’t wait to get out of there! Interestingly, we had just come from a lighting store two doors down that was much more relaxed (we did have to make an appointment but were allowed to freely peruse the merchandise....so much better....and it gave us the opportunity to make a purchase without feeling under extreme pressure). Would never shop again with a sales person directly in my shadow.

Fergusons is being managed by idiots. I have to email my sink orders to the manager as the incompetence of the phone people became unbearable. They laid off huge amounts of delivery people during Covid, then subbed out the deliveries to a third party. Disaster.

I'm sure some Vice President thought himself being proactive, when in fact he was overcompensating like when you put your car in a ditch to avoid a squirrel.

Ferguson's, let me tell you how to run your business. You don't lay off your delivery people during a brief downturn. You don't make potential customers wait a month to peruse fixtures. Geesh.

It is a crap shoot at the moment. We had no problems getting in at the Ferguson and Miele showrooms, but Subzero/Wolf was painful to get in - we just needed to select handles for the freezer we had already ordered.

What state are you in, Julieste? I though my state/county were pretty conservative on reopening, and most building supply businesses seem to be keeping regular hours now. Most of them are warehouse-like spaces and have a huge air volume, and don't have a very high customer density even in good times. I do always check their hours online before I go, just in case (open-by-appointment was common a few months ago).

This was a Minnesota Ferguson's, but from Nidnay's comment it sounds like this is a nationwide policy for the chain. When I was there I was talking to an interior designer who was waiting to be admitted to the showroom for her appointment. She told me that she used to visit the showroom once a week. Now she made this appointment a month ago to get in today.

Our Ferguson’s is not requiring appointments. I walked in looked around and ordered a new faucet in 30 mins last week. Nashville, TN

My Ferguson's also requires an appointment, but you can get one within a day or two.

Our Ferguson showroom is awful. The sales people follow you around like shadows. I started ordering everything from the Ferguson plumbing supply location (that the local plumbers use). It's in a different location here. Nice guys! Easy to deal with. You can't view the fixtures/faucets in person though.

That is so weird. I have never had anyone follow me around at Fergusens.

IMO a sink is one of those things that you can order online make sure it fit where you want it go stainless and good 16 guage . I like a large single bowl 10” deep this is the work horse in your kithen keep it simple in something easy to keep clean forget the workstation sinks you can’t go wrong.HD probably has better selection and no hassle.

I gave up on Ferguson’s when the Minneapolis locationwouldn’t honor an appointment (before COVID). Apparently their scheduling software didn’t look at salesperson schedules.

Other businesses deserve your money more.

That is super annoying. And if they are following you around, like @Nidnay described, I'd be further annoyed. SMH.

megs1030 - i have a question for you unrelated to this post but related to one you made months ago regarding White Lux. Is there a way for me to message you directly?

Ferguson’s just gets worse and worse. I first worked with them — ahem, attempted to work with them — on my first kitchen gut 40 years ago. It was a nightmare. Six months of waiting on a Grohe faucet. That never came. Having shopped Ferguson in four states, I can reliably state their salespeople are universally pompous and clingy. Do you have a nearby Hajoca Plumbing Supply? While fewer in number, they have been good to deal with, and in some areas, have showrooms almost as extensive as Ferguson’s.

Interestingly enough I had the exact opposite experience at a DC Fergusons, granted this was before Covid. Nobody would ever acknowledge my presence! If I had questions I’d have to go search for someone who would always look annoyed that I was distracting them from their cell phone. I ended up not buying from them just because of the total lack of customer service, even though I was initially planning to.

Before covid I had no problem visiting and shopping at their showrooms. They did always appear very busy so it was best to make an appointment if you wanted genuine attention. But it’s only during this covid issue that they have gone completely over the top insisting they follow you around the showroom. There is NO legitimate reason for doing this and it doesn’t make being there any safer, in fact, it’s just the opposite. The entire experience left a bad taste and only served to lower my opinion of them and shop elsewhere.

I think Ferguson's is a crapshoot, tbh. When we were redoing our kitchen in our last house, I ordered a Shaw sink. They told me they would have it in a few weeks and I timed my reno accordingly. A week before everything was to start, Ferguson's called to say they would not have it in time, none to be found in entire US. So, I called a local bath and supply store near me and they were able to get one to me in 2 days. Haven't shopped at Ferguson's since and brought my business for my latest kitchen reno back to that local shop.

@remycat, my messaging is turned on from what I can tell. Would love to answer any questions you have.

"IMO a sink is one of those things that you can order online make sure it fit where you want it go stainless and good 16 guage"

That was not the case for me. It was in a Ferguson's that I found the sink that rung my bell. It was the finish and the style that I could not find (no one else had it in a showroom) anywhere else. I actually ordered THREE sinks online trying to find one that I liked as well, and all of them were no comparison (I'm very particular LOL). That doesn't mean I could not have bought it somewhere else, but no one here carries the selection of sinks that Ferguson's does. NO one. I wound up ordering the sink from Ferguson's - and I am so glad I went in there. I love my sink. :-)

I really like the salespeople at my Ferguson’s because they are knowledgeable, quick, and helpful. But I had to wear surgical gloves during my appointment recently, which just felt stupid and patronizing, honestly.

I've always had white cast iron sinks and have never been too fond of stainless steel. I'm trying to convince myself that in the right configuration I want I could maybe live with stainless or silgranit. That's why I wanted to go to a showroom to see some in person. I do a lot of my shopping online, but there are some things I just want to see in person. After striking out at Ferguson's, I stopped in at Menards and was able to at least get some ideas.

Ferguson's has lost me as a potential customer.