Shame you're taking it so badly, I'm trying to understand what issues need to be addressed from who works with this stuff every day rather than make stuff up that is of no use to anyone. Anyway, thanks for taking the time, even if it was just to insult! :-)
Andrew Gabriel wibbled on Friday 15 January 2010 09:46
Don't they have a stocktake function to tell the computer how much/many of a line really exists? Feeble programming if the don't.
The sheds have a particular problem with timber, mainly because it needs to be stored outdoors, but under cover. Without major structural changes it's never going to be the ideal place to buy timber.
I think that's an excellent summary.
I used to make quite good use of B&Q. However, they decided about 4-5 years ago to change from DIY to a "home improvement store". I'm not interested in the home improvement part, and the DIY part shrunk to the point where it often doesn't stock what I want anymore. This has coincided with plumbing/electrical/etc wholesalers realising they need to open up and encourage the public to use them in order to stay in business, plus emergence of many excellent mail-order specialists, all with better pricing than the sheds. The net result is I hardly go in to B&Q nowadays. If I do, it's because I ran out of something on a Sunday, and I grit my teeth as I pay over 10 times the price for a soldered T that I normally do. I still use Wickes for things like plaster, and B&Q still has quite a good electrical accessory section.
It has been highlighted elsewhere that there's a big divide around about age 40-50, with very few people below that age being confident in doing DIY, whilst many people above that age have always done DIY. This age barrier is increasing as people age - it's not a case of lots of people in middle-age suddenly learning how to do DIY, but more a case (for whatever reason) that people suddenly stopped being taught how to do it by their parents or at school some 20-30 years ago. There may be some mileage in finding out if there is any demand from 20-30 year olds to learn what their parents/schools didn't teach them, and to become DIY enthusiasts. Years ago, I recall some DIY stores doing classes in using various power tools. That sort of thing no longer goes on as far as I know.
I also like to be asked for my view by suppliers. It doesn't happen enough. I think many of the responses in the thread are just pathetic.
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=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D/ Wow, didn't quite expect so much debating! Well, I wouldn't pretend to work in the industry and I can see how I can be seen as an intruder here...But I have shopped at DIY stores before and being a very INEPT DIYer (to quote our friend's words) I actually find the whole experience extremely daunting, and that is purely because not knowing how to do stuff is scary, particularly if you have to live with the results in your own home! It looks like convenience is more relevant to experts though, ie make it as quick and efficient as possible. Anyway, I'll definitely follow your advice to follow the group to get a better sense of the issues a pro can have, which is how I found the site in the first place!:-)
I've just given my spare table saw to a mate's niece (20 ish), as she's decided to take up joinery. This seems like such a rarity these days I thought it ought to be encourgaed.
A couple of years ago, helping a friend change the brake pads on his ford focus we discovered the discs were minimum thinkness. Sat pm, nipped into Halfords on the off chance. Yep, they had one...
"But you need to replace them in pairs" "Yes. But we only have one and we can't order more until it's sold" "That's useless. Why do you only have one in stock?" "We don't sell many - so we only get individual ones sent to us"
...
We did the job the next weekend instead
Darren
Our local wickes always seems "ok" for wood. The other night they appeared to have someone looking through the odds and ends and taking out any that were too twisted or warped.
I assumed they were binning them (of course, could have been picking a customer order I guess ;-))
Darren
The reason so many UK retail outlets (of all kinds) so badly fail to serve their customers is that they involve wet-behind-the-ears people like you in their future planning.
You really are a complete waste of space, time and the company's money. Have a nice day. ;-)
Our local farmer's auction (Stennet's) often seems to have Wickes misshapen wood. Cheap and OK for some jobs. So it looks like they do dispose of the twisted bits from time to time.
Pete
You are going to get a wide range of views because there are a wide range of people here.
Me, I will never buy anything that I can make/repair myself in a reasonable time/cost - this isn't a matter of money or convenience, it's almost a religion. I am not a tradesman, but I respect some of them greatly, in fact I'm a retired IT company director. I spent over 10k last year on materials.
I live in the wilds of Cumbria, so I will probably not be visiting a store for most things, Internet ordering with speedy delivery is the key to getting my business. I am extremely disloyal, so a single bad experience will damn you for a long time - that having been said, I do have some favourite on-line suppliers, specialists like BES for plumbing, and TLC for electrics, and generalists like Toolstation, Amazon and Screwfix - these are all companies who have either got me stuff fast regularly, or when things have gone wrong, gone out of their way to put it right. There are things I don't like about on-line buying, often the dimensions/size and weights are not clear, and there are insufficient photographs - Toolstation, who I like otherwise, come to mind here. I also like to be able to read the installation instruction BEFORE ordering - mostly Screwfix allows this - it builds confidence and reduces returns under DSR.
B&Q gets visited IFF I'm in the area anyway (my nearest is 25 miles away), but I never make a journey just for that. At the moment my pet hate at B&Q is the checkout automation, it works but ever so slowly, and the creepy hovering staff waiting to jump in and offer inane advice does not help. The other so called DIY outlets aren't, so I don't.
Oh, yes, and I don't watch Dork-it-Yourself programs on TV, nor TV adverts (record and filter). I don't like telephones so you communicate with me by real email or not at all (a webpage email service isn't one, unless it sends me a copy of everything, and the follow-up is all by real email)
My firm advice is to get your on-line store working well, then add physical outlets. This model gets you revenue early-in-cycle, and you can tune your physical outlets to where your customers are. There is a space for an on-line supplier where everything is well priced, easy to find, and all under one roof, with well managed and cost effective delivery.
R.
You bet ya! I'd also leave it on the Coffee Table!
Find out from your IT guys about proper newsgroup access, and come off the google blanket. This is not a 'site', it's beyond that :)
Adrian C wibbled on Friday 15 January 2010 12:58
Free NNTP/USENET access, simple sign up and I'm using it right now.
On a cushion, I hope.
Does it come with self-assembly instructions and the need to buy a 12v driver to put it together? ;)
I think that'll change. At the moment I think the skills aren't there in the younger generation because they expect to be able to simply buy their way out of any problems - but society seems to be moving slowly back toward being a bit more frugal with the pennies, and folk are going to want to do more and more stuff themselves as they can't afford to pay for someone else to do it for them.
The only thing that might hinder that is if there are just too many rules and regulations forbidding people from doing their own work within their own homes...
It does this side of the Pond - I've seen things like tiling and plumbing and carpet-laying workshops advertised in the big sheds. They keep doing them, so they must be popular.
They do similar free workshops for the kiddies, too, letting them put stuff together just using hand tools. Seems to be typically one day a month.
cheers
Jules
The reason I shied away from suggesting that is that you cant have it all. If customer treatment is good, that costs something. If delivery is good, that costs something. If stock range is wide, that costs something. If you have all that you get high prices, and no-one buys
You can however do a lot better by picking at least one member of staff that has a clue in each area.
NT
That made me smile... I tend to run several DIY projects at once, partly to give me plenty of planning time, but also to allow me to assemble raw materials. Whilst Home Depot's lumber is generally expensive, they are very cheap for generic white pine 2x4s - but it's exactly as you say, the quality of most of them is complete crud.
In the past, I've waited until they've just put out a fresh pile in the store, and then I've sat there and dismantled the whole pile, cherry-picking the 10% or so that's actually worth having. I need to put up some walls in our basement, so I'm currently waiting to pounce again :-)
cheers
Jules
Liability aside, wouldn't it be great to be able to rent a proper joinery or cabinetry workshop for an hour or two?
Owain
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