I must shoot into Screwfix 4 or 5 times a week, I know what I want, usually where it is in the book and how to order yet I have to pay the same price as an housewife who spends 20 minutes asking to see all of the satin and then brass door handles. I have a "My Waitrose" card and at the moment if I spend over £40.00 I get £8.00 off, that's 20%, if I go on a Sunday and buy a Times I get another £2.50 knocked off and on top of that a free cup of coffee, so with the coffee at say £2.00 I get £44.50 worth of shopping for £32.00, who would go to Tesco with that going on? Toolstation as we know are cheaper but do not carry such a large range as our hosts, is it time Screwfix recognised tradesmen who are their customer base at the moment with some sort of a constant / regular reward scheme?
It's a fairly simple equation for them. Would it make more people spend more, or would profit margins be eroded through regulars getting a discount on items they would have bought anyway. Personally, if there were loyalty cards I would have 1, but it wouldn't make me spend more. When buying, if I have time I look for the best deal. If I haven't got time, then it's convenience that matters most. It is often cheaper to pay more and save time than spend time to save a fiver. Is the loyalty card the main reason you use Waitrose? Is it because of their prices, or you think you get the best overall deal?
To be honest their branded items are on par with everywhere else but if someone wants to give me nearly 30% off they get my vote.
I get discount at Screwfix through being recognised as a trade customer, there is also discount deals via TopCashback. Screwfix also sends out regular money off vouchers of between 10 & 20% The problem for Screwfix is that many of their customers aren't trades people and therefore require a lot of support and hand holding when going through purchases and a lot of returns. This all costs a lot of money and with a number of customers discounting through loyalty schemes doesn't make commercial sense. It is the same with the range of products, all the inventory carries a cost which has to be borne somewhere. Again my local Screwfix is open 12-14 hours a day again a very large cost base. In terms of customer marketing, I get a lot more from Screwfix than I get from ToolStation or the other retailers. Screwfix will probably agree that for them pricing, is a problem. They are getting better but like all retailers matching prices with competitors is a real struggle even within their own group - Gorilla glue is cheaper at B&Q than Screwfix. Screwfix do have a price-match guarantee if you find a cheaper price, even after purchase.
Playing devils advocate for a moment (ooh, hope he doesn't find out), what does it really matter, within reason, as I'm assuming most if not virtually all of what you buy you price into the job anyways, the same as I do. It's not like screwfix's prices are stopping you or I from winning a job we've priced, if it was, then we wouldn't want to work for those people anyway as it would only be a matter of a couple of quid. I agree with you that the ditherers, housewives and socially challenged should be ushered to an area where they can peruse til their hearts content, as it drives hell in me too, waiting to buy a drill bit when someone in front is asking to see every variety of goldscrew that the store stocks, then leaving without having made a purchase As I'm a cynic, I don't think it would make much of a difference if we had a loyalty card or not, the time and money it would cost to implement it would more than likely be reflected in a price increase a couple of weeks or months after the card has settled in our wallets. But if screwfix would like to send a voucher across, I've had my eye on a dewalt router for some time now......
As with Sos, I get plenty of deals for being a trade customer. Although they always come just after I've spent a large amount on something...
The frustrating thing for me is not so much about the prices or the range but the quality of the products and customer support afterwards. The Inconvenience of dealing with defective materials and tools and all too often, issues take too long to resolve.
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