I checked on my $280 rebate 3 weeks after my purchase, and they did not even have it in their system! So, their 'Rebate Tracking' link is a joke. That's when I read that it could take up to 8 weeks to receive my rebate! I was planning on using it to buy the reset of my project so I wouldn't have a $280 Credit that I didn't otherwise need. But I couldn't wait that long, so I bought the rest and I'll have to think of something I need later.

Menards owns Rebates International, the company which processes our Rebates. Just look on their logo on the webpage..

It is located in Wisconsin, and the BBB there gives them an 'F'!

So, basically, they are holding all of these Rebates in this Menards bank account, collecting interest on (actually if you read the 'More Details' link at the bottom, you get a $$$ ballpark) all of it, dragging it out for 8 weeks, then giving us 'our' money back, and we have to buy something else from them...

Just give us our discount at the register!! I am so glad Home Depot doesn't pull this crap. You buy it, you pay for it, that's it!

Never particularly liked the store to begin with, but they are about 7 miles closer to me than Home Depot, so it saved about 15 minutes on an already long trip for things.

Now you can do your own research on why Menards sucks, everything from the owner being a douche (making personal visits to stores and firing anyone who looks at him funny), to their piss poor environmental record (worst than any other hardware/big box store), to price gouging masks during the pandemic (which they apologized for it, as if that makes it better), to terrible Covid-19 practices.

So where do I fit in? Well they recently got rid of the ability for their cashiers in returns to look up returns by your credit card, motioning you over to this Kiosk where the software looks like it was designed with discarded code from Windows 98, and if you bought a few dozen items every day over a week or two, good fucking luck trying to find the exact item with SKU titles like "Ssad Cosa 32".

Their lumber has become a joke. It's a common joke big box store lumber IS a joke, fine for framing, but on more delicate work like furniture building, you might go through 20 1x6's to find one that isn't bowed to the point it literally could be a bow, and not cupped to the point it could be used as a gutter on your roof. Even their premium grade lumber is just as awful.

But one of the most irritating things about their stores is their rebate process. Now I'm not opposed to a mail in rebate, but they make theirs as convoluted as possible in hopes you won't mail it off and then they won't owe you shit. They just recently made it where you can do it online, their commercial says, only to find out you can FILL IT OUT ONLINE, but you still have to mail it in and wait a solid month for your rebate.

But that isn't the worst part, no. It's that their TV commercials falsely advertise that it's "saving you money". They don't even use the word rebate anymore in their TV spots, instead saying you "save 11% off". Well if it's not instantly discounted, you aren't saving shit, you are paying full price. If you saw a dealership advertising "10% off a new Toyota" and you go there to find out you have to pay full price, fill out a form, and then get a merchandise credit rebate that can only be used at the dealership, you'd be kinda ticket too, right?

I have no idea how they can legally advertise it this way. They would be much better off just having an actual 10% off sale, and do with rebates entirely, but they probably bank on half these schmucks never mailing them in.

So I've been around the block with this horrible company working at the stores and MM and GO and then went back to the stores. I was a GM for many years and I just can't stand this place anymore. After this past year and the payroll cuts John rammed down our throats to now them blaming the stores for not performing enough, I have to say screw this place.

So here are some insights for you folks:

Payroll is their most controllable expense. They can't change the cost of electricity but they can change how much they pay you by forcing you to work less. Less hours for you means more work for you and the rest of the staff because the jobs are just not getting done. So your sales slump, your store looks like crap and then GO comes and blames you for it. Menards is not hurting for $$$. John went from a new worth of 10 billion before covid to 25 billion after and he's not losing any of that. A mere fraction of a billion dollars would have been enough to keep payroll regular this year and not put so much pressure on the entire store staff being short. But John just can't understand that he needs to give up just a tiny bit of cash to help keep his people happy. He doesn't care about you or I or anyone, we are all just #'s to him that can easily be replaced.

Menards lies to all the TM's about most everything. They say they pay for 1/2 the health insurance but that isn't true. They don't pay a thing which is why the cost is so high. They take the total costs of the company heath plan for that given year and divide it by the # of TM's enrolled and that is what you pay. When care costs go up (like they do every year) they increase the amount taken from each of your paychecks. The healthcare has horrible coverage and deductibles and is a scam. Most other companies have a much better and much cheaper healthcare plan but once again. John doesn't care because it costs you more money and saves him $.

Profit sharing is not a bonus. They call it that to sucker you in. It's just part of your pay they withhold from you and then whey they do pay it the government taxes it at 40%. It's withheld so they can sit on it for the year earning interest. How much money do you think they make on that? It's also used as way to keep you in line like parents use Santa as a threat with little kids to get them to behave. "You will lose profit sharing if you are not profitable". GO controls the profits by setting the costs and retail prices!

There are lots of other things I could say but people wont read the post if it's to long so I will end it here with saying this. If you are a Menards TM either get out or form a union. If you are Menards shopper then stop. Take your business elsewhere as Menards doesn't deserve your hard earned money.

They're leaving money on the table here. Lowes, Home Depot, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, and others have ratings and reviews on their websites, so it makes me feel more confident browsing their selections. Who would honestly buy an expensive appliance from Menard's if there is no review system?