Screwfix cutting trade counter hours?

[D.M.Chapman]

Popped into the Screwfix trade counter in Folkestone yesterday - only to find it now closes at 12:30 on a saturday. It's also not open at all on Sundays.

Toolstation around the corner seems to be getting increasingly busy, and is open 7 days a week...it's also rare they don't have things in stock. Screwfix however it's becoming normal to have a load of stuff out of stock.

Have screwfix got too large too quickly? Prices are going up with opening hours going down - doesn't look great. I know I only use them for stuff I can't get at toolstation - maybe I'm not the only one doing that!

I did email them pointing out that according to their trade counter page on thier website (

) the counters are "Open 7 Days a week". Just got a reply from them"

"I can confirm that over the past year there has been a review in relation to Trade Counter opening times. I appreciate your comments in regards to confusion that may arise. I have requested that the details and images used are updated to avoid future inconvenience. Please not that I cannot provide a date when this will be carried out."

So, check out the opening hours before making a trip to your local. Oh well, another reason not to use them any more I guess.

Darren

[A.Lee]

I order a lot from Screwfix, as do a number of my mates, and none of us go to the store to collect anything (other than as a last resort). We always get it delivered to where we are working, or to home if someone is in. They are very good at delivery - I ordered at 17:45 on

23rd December, and it arrived 9:15am 24th. It takes me a hour round trip to get to their store (and probably £3 in petrol), so paying the £5 delivery charge saves me time.

Add in the people who want a light fitting they have seen in the catalogue, but want to inspect it first, then they dont like it, so lets have a look at this one, and the Screwfix store experience is very trying when you dont want to hang around. Alan.

[Usenet Nutter]

I see the Folkestone opening hours on their website are shown as you say,half day Saturday ...Closed Sunday but my local one Glasgow is as before so perhaps it is just selected stores that they are changing the hours depending on the business they do .

[Vernon]

B&Q have started Trade-Point counters in about a dozen stores at the moment, trade only, seperate checkout and prices are good, oh yes and opening hours match store opening hours, so one near us is open until

9pm weekdays, very handy. It would not suprise me if the Screwfix "brand" goes back to internet only, with these Trade-point B&Q stores replacing them.

[D.M.Chapman]

Maybe. It's always been busy on Saturday afternoons when I've been in there before - but I don't know how much cash they actually take. A lot of the weekend trade appeared to be people wanting to look at something etc etc.

It's always been much busier than toolstation which is stuck up around the back of the estate - screwfix is on the main road. Saying that, toolstation was busy on sat pm. Wasn't just me annoyed to find that screwfix was shut (I wanted something that toolstation don't stock - chances are screwfix wouldn't have had stock anyway on recent experiences).

Darren

[D.M.Chapman]

So these are trade only? That sucks :-(

Saying that, Folkestone screwfix is next door to the B&Q which doesn't appear to have a Trade-Point counter anyway (it's not a warehouse one).

Darren

[Usenet Nutter]

I thought B+Q have had those for years ...certainly the big B+Q near me has a Trade Section Checkout ..anayone can buy the same stuff but need to use the normal checkout and pay the normal prices .

[Vernon]

No they appear to have evolved, for example the other week my neighbour picked up a bathroom fan for me, it came in a plain white cardboard box, same item on shelf in store had fancy packaging and a higher price. I presume some of the trade items are kept out of sight of general public?

[nimbusjunk]

My reason that I hate Screwfix is that there is no indication on their website that for example

an internet only product and they do not make it easy to check this

This sort of crass behaviour means it is Toolstation every day for me.

HTH Phil