Screwfix false promises?

No doubt others have had the same problem but I would be interested to know their experiences. I ordered some items that were promised for delivery today. When I checked the status this morning they have not even been shipped. I phoned Screwfix and was told they had been shipped today and the anticipated delivery was today. When I challenged this they stated that this was only a delivery estimate even though they knew it was wrong!

Any suggestions for alternative suppliers?

Peter Crosland

Reply to
Peter Crosland
Loading thread data ...

formatting link
;-)

Christian.

Reply to
Christian McArdle

Get off you but and go to a local 'merchant' ? HTF do you expect someone to say anymore unless you tell us what you need ?!... Doh

Reply to
:::Jerry::::

I placed my first order with them yesterday. When I checked progress their website said it had been delivered. Further checking showed that the order reference related to an order delivered to a customer 150 miles away in February! When I queried this I got nowhere. Any other suggestions?

Reply to
Peter Crosland

Yes, the courier's tracking website is a bit odd, isn't it. They appear to reuse parcel numbers. If you wait, the new one will appear shortly.

Christian.

Reply to
Christian McArdle

How about getting off your butt and using a local supplier, or do you only want to live in a world of mail order within 5 years ?!...

Reply to
:::Jerry::::

Jerry, Have you ever thought of getting of your butt and seeing a Doctor? He may be able to treat your aggression.

Reply to
mackem

Have you ever needed treatment for verbal diarrhoea brought on by ignorance ?....

Reply to
:::Jerry::::

That was my conclusion. Still the parcel arrived which is the main thing. I see the Screwfix site just has a holding page until they start taking orders again. Talk about being in the brown and sticky!

Reply to
Peter Crosland

Ok, I guess Jerry may have put it in a slightly better way, but he does have a point. I have a hardware shop 2 minutes walk from the house and it is bloody useful. Popping over on a sunday morning for almost anything is a luxury that I find useful. I hardly ever go to the sheds now. But, in 5 years time, it will all be mail order, so unless you want Rays Hardware (and all the other little ones) to shut, you gotta start using them.

Mikw

Reply to
Mike Hibbert

We had a proper hardware shop in the village, knowledgeable staff and a good choice of stock. The problem was they only opened 3 1/2 days a week and closed for an hour at lunchtime so it was always hit and miss as to whether they'd be open when you needed to go there.

Reply to
James Hart

What hasn't occurred to either of you is that there are large numbers of people who, for numerous reasons, don't have access to the sort of convenient shop that you do.

Reply to
Peter Crosland

My original remark wasn't just about the use of sheds but the "Tell me were I can get what I need" sort of question without telling us WHAT you need, could be anything from a tap-washer to a full house re-fit for all we know !....

Reply to
:::Jerry::::

I suspect that you are the fortunate exception.

If I want to find a hardware shop like that, I have to drive into the adjacent market town where there is one in the centre. If I can find a parking space, I'm lucky, otherwise I have to wait until somebody leaves or drive all round the one way system to another car park which may also be full and in eiother case pay 40p to park.

It is not that large, but has a reasonable selection of things at high prices in small packs - typically about 2x B&Q price, and nothing of particularly good quality. It's closed on Sundays.

In the same amount of time, I can have gone to a Focus as long as I can steel myself not to kill the surly teenagers that work there, and the woman who wants me to buy double glazing with 50% off - she doesn;t know what it's 50% off from, just that it's 50% off. That at least has a broader selection, although again, nothing of particularly good quality. Slightly further away, there's a Homebase and a Wickes, neither of which are inspiring.

Half an hour away, as long as the local football team isn't playing and I can stand the smell of sewage, there's a B&Q which at least has most of what one would need for the majority of jobs without having to waste time roaming from place to place.

In the context of that, ordering what I need from Screwfix et al. early in the week, even if I'm travelling, and having it all waiting ready for the weekend is quite appealing in terms of time saved.

The local little shop would do far better if it had some quality and/or differentiated product lines. People would go there for that. As it is, it is clear that the business is in a slow decline and the owner seems unwilling to make changes.

When it inevitably closes, which I am sure will happen in the next few years because there is hardly ever anybody in there, it won't be missed.

Reply to
Andy Hall

Agree totally with Andy. I would love to use the local hardware shop - but can't afford to.

As an example I needed a 60 watt ES lamp, 99p each in the hardware shop! £1.67 for 10 in Screwfix, 45p per 2 in Asda.

Multiply that by the fact that I'm working my way through re-furbishing the whole house and the money saved runs into thousands! I also love the fact that I can get home in the evenings, have my tea, then place an order on the PC whilst the wife watches some old tosh on the TV! The goods are delivered in a couple of days for me to get on with the work!

I remember the days when Screwfix were reliable, I'm starting to look at the alternatives too. Are Toolstation okay?

Reply to
Doctor D

And why is it, if people bought form them perhaps they would stock more... As for the "business is in a slow decline", I'm nor surprised if no one buys for them !

Until such time that you haven't got that screw (or what ever) and you need it now and not when ever SF or TS decide to deliver it.

Reply to
:::Jerry::::

But his point was really about location or stock level, not price as such...

Have you asked the price in a (shock horror) electrical wholesalers / factors ?...

Have you asked for prices in a (shock horror) builders merchant etc. ?...

Ah, now we get to the truth, you know the price of light bulbs in Asda because you (or more likely your wife) has to go there so you can eat, and ordering 'on-line' means that you don't have to get off your butt at the weekend (or when ever)...

Reply to
:::Jerry::::

Absolutely. ...and it often costs a fraction of the price from the sheds etc.

Reply to
adder

The problem is not the quantity of stock - they have limited space - but the profile of what they have.

They operate as though there is no competition for 50km and sell a small subset of what can be obtained in any shed but at higher price and typically poorer quality tat.

Really they are totally missing the plot. Any business needs to offer what its customers want to buy and at the price and level of convenience that suits them. Either that or they have to spend a massive amount on marketing to convince people that they want to buy what's on offer - not an option ofr the small shopkeeper.

The smart move would be to offer better quality items than the sheds or things that can't be found in them. It's a reasonably affluent area and people would take the trouble to go to the town centre if there was something worth having. As it is, they have a price, product, parking and time disadvantage and are on a loser all the way round.

I've never had any critical delivery problems with any of the online suppliers.

For the odd thing I can go to the shed. The only issue that I have is that all the stores irritatingly have restricted Sunday opening hours.

Reply to
Andy Hall

I work on a quality, volume and price criterion.

If I am going to do a substantial electrical project, then I'll make my list and go along to WF or Newey and Eyre and get a reasonable deal on (for example) MK wiring accessories - I don't buy the cheap stuff. If I want just one plate switch and I am not going in that direction, then I'll probably get one from Focus etc. It'll probably cost £2 more, but I would have saved that in time and fuel and waiting to be served.

The same goes for plumbing materials.

On timber I'm more selective, but buy sawn and plane and size it myself anyway.

It's a matter of time and convenience. One could spend half of Saturday trailing around wholesalers for bits and pieces. I don't think it's worth it for small purchases. To me, time and convenience is far more critical than saving the last penny.

I tend to plan my projects two or three weeks ahead and buy in the items that I will need if I don't already have them. Most of that is online from various sources or trips to the wholesalers at times that I know they won't be busy.

Reply to
Andy Hall

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.