WoW , Marky , You have really spoke out there, well done. ooooooohhh B&Q's best, you should make all the difference [Edited by: forum admin]
No worries. B&Q Expensive, very Very stressful Checkouts, rarely enough open and very very slow Difficult to understand why prices are so much higher than in screwfix (same group of companies) They need to realise that whilst joe public has all the time in the world, the trade guys need to be in and out fast (time is money etc.) If I ran it i would install one or two trade checkouts that were only manned by very profficient till operators
Also, in my local store i ordered 58 curtain rails, had to pay there and then and wait two weeks for the goods.... very dickensian. At magnet, i order 20 door closers, pay for them as i use them, maybe upto 2 months later
The answer is quite simple really. Issue tradesmen with a cattle prod, which can be used to get tourists, idiots and dreamers out of the way. Any dimwit found dithering receives a burst of high voltage to the back of the neck. Issue of megaphones to yell at staff, and other wazzocks littering the store. Along with this a length of pipe to beat staff with as they lumber about looking moronic and generally displeasing. A daily crucifixion of a middle manager. Vultures and buzzards circling in the carpark as bodies, found in the aisles are thrown out with the trollies. When queuing, a team of dog handlers that seek out incompetent customers. A grab arm to lift out any idiots who don't have, cash, the right credit or card details, anyone arranging complicated deliveries or making long winded complaints at the service desk. Pyschological profilers who can spot foolish customers and divert them down a tunnel into a slurry tanker. A canteen where imbeciles can be poisoned with ghastly coffee and damp stinking muffins. That's about it for now, More later when I've really thought about it.
Good- Big carpark...Ummm... Open 7-9 And Sundays, The young Brunette girl on till 6. Sawing service for large sheets. Bad- Full of sweaty old people, Full of chavy families with 6 screaming kids, Staff that dont have a clue what they are talking about. ("What kind of wood is that Sir??..." "Its Chipboard"...t**r) VERY expensive for the majority of things. Some shoddy goods, mostly of the B&Q brand! Limited range of timber. Thats the major points for me!! The sawing service is great, measure up, get it cut 50p a cut, couldnt do it cheaper myself!! And by the time you mess around getting an 8x4 in the back of a smallish van! Expensive as much as 5 times on some lines!! Was working on site and ran out of cutting discs (usually about £1 each, B&Q next door to site, ideal, £5.50 each. Thank goodness for 118!! [Edited by: admin3]
So grimy-loo, back again? Here's my two penneth worth... Bad: staff unhelpful and lacking in product knowledge; timber is without exception totally s*e and usually mislabelled, especially the 'plys', where interior grade boards actually stamped 'INT' are sold as exterior grade! Or labelled as 'marine' when in fact they are only standard B-C multi (odd) ply; prices are uncompetative, except 'own brand' and they're, as agreed, u/s. Good: er...er..umm, i'll have to get back to that one. grimy-loo, just to let you know that selling timber and trade products from a 'shed' is possible let me tell you what goes on over here... we have a chain of 'sheds' called Brico-Pons. They are almost identical to B&Q / Wickes etc... EXCEPT the staff, besides being multi lingual, are always polite, helpful and have an knowledge of their products and services. Furthermore the quality, storage and handling of stock is first class, usually. The pricing is on a par with the smaller, specialst outlets, (ferreterias) and cutting services are free. Oh, and the management teams are normally a deliberate mix of ex-tradesmen (qualified) and retailers. However, B&Q et al, will always make a profit as joe public doesn't know any better and guys like handyman, (no offence h-m) can afford to pass on higher prices and inferior materials because they can afford lower profit margins themselves. [Edited by: Forum Moderator]
The underlying problem seems to be that they do not know if they are a trade supplier or a retail shed. If you don't know what you are trying to do you are very unlikely to succeed in doing it! Trade customers are frustrated by the clutter of retail selling, the retail level of knowledge and service. Retail customers are confused by the range of products in front of them that include those requiring trade skills to use effectively. Wickes are also a little confused between trade/retail but stock a narrower range so the trade customers know what they will find there. Generally if I go into B&Q I am doing it as a last chance with little expectation of success. If I go to Wickes I know in advance whether they will have it because their range is clearly defined and published in a little booklet. The B&Q product morass is made worse by the diy.com website that only covers some of the product range so I can't use it to check in advance whether B&Q have it. If the site does not show it the store may (or may not) have it. If the site covered everything, even if many were shown as 'in store only' I'd be much more likely to go to the store. Looking back over my last three years' purchase legder I see that I only spent about 2.5% of my spend there which is pretty awful considering there is a huge store not far away from my home. Graham
Went down to B&Q this morning got to the CLS 2.4m, what do i find all the rejected,bowed,chipped pieces now why do you leave them out mr jimmylau? In the end i got 2 straight half decent pieces but does anyone else find that? PASSY
what do you expect from a place that stores planks of wood VERTICALLY, so they're all banana shaped? B&Q does have a few redeeming features, their timber is certainly not one of them.
B&Q are ok if you are desperate, they stock everything but are very expensive for some things. Snap toggles are a good example, I needed two of these the other week and was stuck- went to B&Q cost me almost £7.00 for two, you can get 50 for £13.42 from screwfix snap toggle Bit ironic that they are owned by the same firm. Overheads for B&Q must be enormous, there are always plenty of staff wondering around looking lost lol ultimatehandyman
I use B&Q quite a bit but you have to be very selective about what you buy or have delivered, ie timber, never get it delivered unless you pick it yourself as they use it as opportunity to get rid of all the cr*p, but cls and scant are well priced. Fixings are crazy prices but if you get caught short? On the other hand full sized sheets of plasterboard 12.5 mm TE 4.84 each and delivered free next working day. Be selective and plan ahead.
I am horrified when I see some numptie walking out with gas boiler (to self fit?) or a rooflight etc.
They've just opened one of the biggest B&Q's ever in Gloucester and they still never have what I go in there for, or, if they do it's wildly expensive.
One problem I have had is that even when you identify a good product that you want to pass onto a customer it is impossible, bar driving around every store if it is stock or not. Radiators and doors spring to mind, IKEA have thier faults but will tell if you call if an item is in stock, which seems impossible with B+ Q. The staff have no idea what it is you want or where you can get it.
I use B&Q sometimes. What i can not stand is Joe Public asking me if i am in the trade. When i say yes, they want advice on how to get the right products for their house for them to fix themselves. Here me thinking i just said i am in the trade, and certainly not free.