Blimey!, What planet do you live on?. England is not a nation of shop keepers anymore unless their ethnic minority populated ones who do like to do business with you and appreciate your custom:)
Our local post office was like that .. one day a week total shutdown opened at 9 am closed for lunch for one hour closed at 4 PM. Very surly staff who seemed to be annoyed that you'd disturb them going there..
Now run by a Mr Patel, open all hours no lunch break and rather pleased to see you in there:-))
I went into a local Jewsons for teh first time the other day. I selected various pices of timber and asked the attendant if he'd mind cutting a piece of 4x2 into two 6-foot lengths. He said, "6ft metric or imperial?" I felt like saying "Take your pick - just as long as they are both 6ft long!" (-;
Then he gave me a chit listing the various bits of timber to take into the shop to settle up.
The bloke behind the till tapped some keys on his keypad and said: "That'll be £40.91. I said "What? I think that's way wrong!" He did his sums agin and said: "£27.35" I said "That's more like it..."
Besides the above, the general attitude of the guys behind the counter was strange... as if I was an intruder coming into their forbidden zone or something. Some kind of weird underlying tension present...
I vaguely remember having a similar experience in another branch of Jewsons once. Perhaps they are all like that...?
On Mon, 09 Jul 2007 13:39:49 +0100, Rick J H mused:
Probably full price, just to see what you say. The fact you questioned it meant you weren't completely thick so they stuck some discount on. Everywhere trade orientated does it.
I assume from the fact you asked them to cut it you aren't trade. Jewsons isn't like Wickes, trade people can tell non-trade before they enter the yard. They then wait for the prey to come in so they can charge them top whack.
If you had specified the length in mm, there wouldn't have been a discussion. All of his stock lists and computer system are in metric.
Pushover. Never accept the first or second offered prices. Presumably these were net prices and VAT was added afterwards? You could have either asked for a better price, or more easily, presume that the second price was VAT inclusive. If it wasn't, then simply say that that is what you are looking to pay. You would have been 15% better off.
Perhaps thay had had a row and you arrived at the wrong time or the manager had ticked someone off.
After one visit to the Aylesbury branch I've never been back. I didn't buy anything that first time, either. I was told it was up to me to check the stock levels for myself by looking in the yard.
Travis Perkins are much more professional, instant stock check, free next day delivery and gave a discount without asking despite the fact I was obviously not "trade". Guess where I go now.
That's patchy. There is one near here which is also a timber mill. They give good service on timber and have reasonable product in general. Others tend to be general builders merchants and mileages vary. Quite often TP outlets are former local firms that have been acquired and so may still have the culture (good or bad) of the acquired company.
It doesn't matter if you are trade or not. All prices are always negotiable. If you had asked you would have probably done even better.
I used to drive 10 miles each way to support a rural post office. An important thing to do out in the sticks. I arrived one day with a parcel, at about 5 past one. It was closed. The blinds were drawn but I could hear her still behind the counter. Would she open up and take the parcel? No bloody fear.
Ok.... loyalty, (or the lack of it), cuts both ways, and I have never been back there since.
I saw in the local paper last week that they are now closing, claiming lack of business and partly blaming customers for their lack of support.
Price certainly is negotiable. Alphatek 680 clamp meters are on offer at £39.95 at the local wholesalers and you get 8 free bottles of Stella. I pointed out that I already owned 8 bottles of Stella and that those 8 bottles cost me £5. They sold me the meter for £35 without the Stella. Both prices were without VAT of course. The beer did include VAT and whatever other alcohol charges we pay.
Not quite as unreasonable as it sounds. Well, it is to the customer, but not the PO. PO branches are not insured if they open early or close late. Every branch has fixed times, and Heaven help any branch that strays from the straight and narrow. Serving customers who are already in the branch at closing time is fine - opening up for any who are a few minutes late is certainly not.
That was what crossed my mind when it happened. If thy try that on me again, I'll go back and get £500 worth of timber sawn up into 1m lengths by their bloke in the yard, then walk out the door in disgust when they give me the inflated price! (-:
When trying out a new supplier, I will go there a couple of times to check out their price flexibility and their customer service attitude. If that's OK, they get included next time I do a large project. I produce a list, give it to several suppliers and ask them to quote. They are also told it's competitive and I make sure that the manager gets the bid request. In a lot of places, sending or requesting a fax makes this happen anyway.
Then one will get a fairly large order - perhaps a few £00 if it's a large project. Expectations are set that if there is any crap, the whole lot goes back and they lose the business. I've never had to do this. Usually there is an invitation to open a cash account which I then do.
Thus there is a reasonable trading history, although not as much as a regular professional would have. Equally, they are not to know that I am not shopping elsewhere.
Not all of them, the Germans do it like that for instance, in Scandinavia it's kilometers to the litre, in the case of Sweden mil to the litre (mil is Swedish mile, 10 kilometers as I recall)
No, mistake number 1 was not getting the tape measure from his pocket and marking it out for cutting himself!
(I never visit these places without my trusty IMPERIAL/metric tape measure).
Andy, "that's a terrible excuse" - ALL the builders merchants around me work in imperial AND metric with no problems at all - and when they deal with me (an old dinosaur) then imperial is all the get!
Again at the risk of offending - that's a load of old cobblers. At my local merchant, ALL the staff are conversant in imperial and metric - and to be pedantic, 6' is actually 1829mm (rounded up) or 1.829 metres... or let's just call it 1.830 metres eh?
All the builders merchants I have dealt with do not include VAT - as you correctly presumed (they are after all traders. They add up the old bill, knock off any discount (which if you are not a recognised trader the may or may not give you) and then add the VAT - and if you try an tell the ones that I deal with what price your a looking to pay, well... you are told in no uncertain terms to apply the sex and travel option :-)
That's builders merchants - AND storekeepers (in the industrial sense) the country over - you just accept it and play their game - those 'in the trade' are aware of this and very often have great fun and a lot of banter because of it. Certainly I have with one or two surly 'old gits' that I have dealt with over the years - nothing like it to brighten up a dull day!
Keep in mind that these places have their share of jobsworths. If one gives sizes in metric, that is what they will have in their system. If they then want to be anal and convert it into legacy units, that's up to them.
No offence at all.
I know. However, the size in the catalogue, the stock control system and the pile itself is in metric. The numbers may be funny and people may like the rose tinted units, but it is what it is.
Of course. I know that. You know that. They know that. However, it's a good way to ask for more discount without asking for more discount.
Fine. If they try that, they lose the business. I don't propose unreasonable prices, but I don't pay more than I need to either. It's reasonably easy to work out the best trade prices and there is no reason to pay more than that.
I don't mind playing their game to a point - Brylcreem, Bobby Charlton haircut and sharp intake of breath included. However, time isn't unlimited and at the end of the day, they either want the business or they don't. Usually they do.
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