Is it just me, or has the normally crap B&Q web site recently got worse?
I tried searching for an extension cable on a reel and couldn't find a single search result. They have categories like Room Solutions, Appliance Warehouse & such, but you can't find a bloody cable reel.
The one I was interested in was a Skil cable reel which had a built in radio if anyone knows where I can buy one?
This wouldn't surprise me otherwise B&Q and Screwfix are competing against each other in the online market place. Both (along with Castorama, Koctas and Brico Depot) are all part of the Kingfisher Group.
For useful stuff Screwfix is probably a better bet than B&Q, not just for range but prices as well. Now what was the name of the company the old Screwfix directors set up when Kingfisher bought Screwfix? Just in case you don't like dealing with multinationals.
B&Q could in principle be better - offering a service to deliver within the day, even if more expensive than screwfix. This way they would not be directly competing.
These days I use them about as much as I use Screwfix. Both companies continue to deliver very good service.
Ta, thought it was but wasn't sure. Must book mark that one. B-)
I'd like to see an online reservation service for big stuff, much like Argos and also the ability to check all stock, so i could compile a sensible shopping list before going to the store.
sponix
I don't think a stock check is possible. You can do it in a warehouse where you carefully control the stock. In a shop where things get stolen, broken, put in the wrong place, etc, you just aren't going to be able to get reliable enough stock figures. You'll get to the store, and you won't be able to find the two 28mm compression elbows they thought they had in stock, because someone's dropped one in the box of solder ring fittings, and the other was run over by a fork-lift six months ago.
Agreed, and Argos et al can't do it reliably either and that is with their store rooms are under their control, not like a shop floor. I've had several occasions where the computer says they have one sometimes two of an item but they can't be found.
Skil are owned by Bosch, go to an independent Bosch dealer, if they are any good they will be glad to help you.
Not to mention general cluelessness. I've on 2 occasions in my local focus, taken 3m lengths of pipe to the checkout, (next to the 2m pipe, but with no label on the shelf) only to find that the barcode is not recognised, and the item is not on the computer system.
The message from Ian Stirling contains these words:
And not being such a dump. Our Telford branch is really untidy - stock's all higgledy-piggledy on the shelves making it hard - and in some cases impossible to see how much it costs. Many people CBA to chase shopdroids all over the place to find out how much each bit costs so they walk off.
And having some staff with a clue about their stock. I'm not talking about the young'uns, but the older bloke on the plumbing section couldn't answer a simple question of "do you have blanking caps for a decommissioned washing machine tap". 10 minutes of me rummaging in the heating and taps sections (as you say, lots of boxes at floor level with the wrong bits in each one) came up with a 3/4 BSP brass cap and a handful of washers to pack it out with.
Cheers Tim
My branch think I'm bonkers. I'm the guy who, after deciding that steel chain links are a great way of securing mice and keyboard cables to the existing padlock on our PCs at work, goes down, takes two lengths of different size chain, uses the hydraulic cutters for 15 minutes to reduce each length to a pile of whole links and broken links, then takes the lot to the checkout in a bag and says "3 metres of this and 2 metres of this".
BTW - it really works :) And yes, our students are poor enough to want to nick the mice!
Cheers
Tim
The message from Tim S contains these words:
Do you have to chain their balls up?
Happened to me with a compression fitting. No 'packs of two' on the racking, found one fitting loose in the bin below. They refused to sell it to me. I offered a charity donation, since it was 6:30 and my central heating was in bits. Eventually agreed to sell me one using the pack of two barcode - took some persuading.
Our Strood branch is the same, a real tip. Gravesend branch about 3 miles further away is totally different - tidy, clean, always have the stock you want. I'd rather drive the extra 3 miles.
No, the dept. tutor does that when they see the list of what the darlings have been caught downloading in halls. Nothing to do with me, I might add, I have enough work to do without improving my fascist skills ;->
Bit of an eye opener though. "If the central network bods can monitor that level of detail on a medium sized site with a bit of budget, just think what the gubbermint can do with suitably chunky black boxes upstream of each ISP...".
Cheers
Tim
At my local warehouse this seems to be down to customers picking stuff up to look at it then putting it back anywhere. Then there's those who open a sealed packet of whatever to nick what they want then put it back
The message from "Dave Plowman (News)" contains these words:
Very likely but there's no excuse for the shop leaving it like that for months on end.
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