B&Q Warehouse

[Alan]

In message , TrailRat wrote

What the sample boards don't show is the 'quality' of the tiles. For example, are the tiles glazed on the edges? The sample boards are usually suspended above top shelf so that you cannot see from 30 feet away the surface finish.

With tiles the corners or edges of the tiles are often smashed because they have been mishandled at some time. It is reasonable for customers to check for damage BEFORE purchase.

There is also the problem in B&Q that items returned are put back on the shelves unchecked even though the original purchaser has removed the small part he wanted before getting his refund.

[R D S]

Nice to hear from the other side.

Cheers,

Rick

[R D S]

I hear what he is saying but as you say... I just bought some cupboard doors, all individually cardboard wrapped and approximately 1/3 rd of them have dings in the edges.

[Andy Hall]

I've had the same thing happen.

The solution is to return them, ask for replacements with the replacements being opened in front of you and a voucher to cover the time and fuel for the exercise.

[George]

I bought a marsbar last night it was damaged should I have taken it back and asked for voucher to cover the cost of my time and shoe wear? :-)

[Andy Hall]

If you are eating Mars bars then you are poisoning yourself anyway so it's somewhat hard to blame the shop. They were actually doing you a favour in that you will have eaten one less of them.

In the case of a set of doors of cost probably in the hundreds of pounds and in their packaging, it is reasonable to expect them to be perfect. The first time. Not dinged and dented. Time and fuel aren't free, so it's completely reasonable to expect the store to recompense those as though the goods had been correct in the first place.

[Andy Hall]

True words are spoken in jest. I saw a little girl in Homebase doing just that a few weeks ago.

[R D S]

No, as it makes no bloody difference when you eat it.

A brand new kitchen however, with dings on the edges of just under half of the doors is a different matter, wouldn't you agree?

[Andrew Gabriel]

That's one advantage of buying from IKEA. In all the kitchen parts (probably hundreds if I add them all up), there was only one marked item, and end-panel, which being reversible didn't matter.

When I wanted a sink, I couldn't find one in B&Q which wasn't dinged. Went back to IKEA, and got a perfect one first time. Keeping the customers away from the stock certainly helps, but staff can be just as much to blame -- customers don't reverse forklifts into a stack of kitchen worktops wrecking the lot in one go, as Wickes staff seem to do only too often.

[Owain]

... and bags of cement...

One wouldn't want to let them loose with a pitchfork, certainly.

Owain

[The Medway Handyman]

Ah. The Wickes blind forklift driver! We have one of those in Chatham!

[TrailRat]

I will admit that you are better off getting things like kitchen cupboards and sink units at IKEA. Their stock handling procedures and wider aisles reduce damages a whole lot better than any BnQ store would. Also IKEA are also more than likely have the item in stock.

[matthew.larkin]

I'm a lucky one - B&Q is within 100yards of the Screwfix counter, so (being a complete numpty) I go to B&Q first to check out what I want, then go to Screwfix once I know the name of the item!

Matt

[F]

Unfortunately, that hasn't been my recent experience.

Items bought from Ikea over a number of years have generally been damage free but the units for two kitchens and two utility rooms bought over the last three or so months have been very different with multiple examples of chips, dents and broken panels despite taking great care in transporting and building them.

The materials used for their manufacture seem to have changed and, when I asked if they had changed their supplier(s), they confirmed they had. The sooner they return to their previous arrangements the better.

If you need to take something back due to quaity problems they'll give you up to £5 in cash depending on distance (14p per mile IIRC). More than that and you have to write in. However, it's still a pain when it comes to wasted time.