Screwfix at it again!

[Jim Goodenough]

Another thing about Screwfix, their website search is pretty pants - e.g. search 'overflow' and you get 50mm waste pipe!!

 

[Rob Foster]

The way things are going was explained to me by an md of a large plumbing and heating outfit. Customers are being pulled towards screwfix , toolstation etc. Where things are cheap but no expert help is available. The local plumbers merchant excel at advice and customers will also go there. However B & Q are suffering badly in that they have a large inventory, high prices and poor advice, essentially inexperienced staff wandering around directing customers to the correct isle. The future is bright but its not B&Q orange
Rob Foster aka centralheatking

 

[leelister6]

I remember going into B&Q a few years ago and the plumbing “expert” tried selling a really old bloke about £30 of fittings for a small job he was doing. I collared the old bloke before he got to the counter, Told him to put em back, took him to my van and gave him 3 fittings, told him what to do with em and said to give me a ring if he had any problems. He rang me later on to thank me and I advised him to go to local builders merchant who I know would not goose him in future and are very knowledgeable. B&Q are ok if you need summat and they’re close and you know what you want but I generally avoid. Toolstation and Screwfix are great, free delivery to job etc but I’m a big believer in using the independents if possible. When they’re gone, they’re gone!

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Anyone else wondering what fittings they tried to sell him

 

[Termari]

The likes of b&q, Wickes, Toolstation and Screwfix are just a 'handy' place to pick up gear, but as said above, if you want sound advice, go to a plumbers merchant. Even the prices can be cheaper in some instances. As far as the websites are concerned, you have two conflicting problems here. The company generally knows nothing about how a website should be built and operate for their business and secondly, a Web designer generally knows nothing about their products. Put the two together and you end up with a website that sends you to the wrong product or cannot find what you are searching for. B&q website in the early days used to drive me crazy. For example, me searching for dpc had no results. Expanded to Damp Proof Membrane... No results. Eventually found it by scrolling through tonnes of building materials. Yes, it was there but there was no link from any relevant search terms used.

 

[Deleted member 96286]

I use Plumbfix because of its speed and convenience. I can place and order online, I know immediately if the items are in stock via the website and it's ready for collection within a minute. Out of stock items can either be collected from another store or be ready for next day collection. No plumbers merchant can compete with that, in fact it's quite the opposite. When I go to a plumbers merchant, I have to wait until I'm served, then place my order and then wait again for it to be picked and ready at the counter, that is if it's in stock, to which I have no idea, then wait again for the invoice to be printed and signed. Often I can be in a merchants for over 10 minutes which is a lot longer than a click and collect order from Plumbfix. Time is money and I can't be arsed messing around early in the morning collecting gear before I go to my jobs.
A few of the Plumbers merchants do have online collection, but it's not nearly as good as or as fast as Plumbfix.

 

[Rob Foster]

I use Plumbfix because of its speed and convenience. I can place and order online, I know immediately if the items are in stock via the website and it's ready for collection within a minute. Out of stock items can either be collected from another store or be ready for next day collection. No plumbers merchant can compete with that, in fact it's quite the opposite. When I go to a plumbers merchant, I have to wait until I'm served, then place my order and then wait again for it to be picked and ready at the counter, that is if it's in stock, to which I have no idea, then wait again for the invoice to be printed and signed. Often I can be in a merchants for over 10 minutes which is a lot longer than a click and collect order from Plumbfix. Time is money and I can't be arsed messing around early in the morning collecting gear before I go to my jobs.
A few of the Plumbers merchants do have online collection, but it's not nearly as good as or as fast as Plumbfix.

You are quite correct, for you this is a good option. Most experienced engineers know exactly what they want. The bigger picture is Mr or Mrs inexperienced who are being let down and ripped off by the big sheds. Get what you know you want from the fast service operations and what you need advice about from your local,merchant ...this is the way the market is splitting ...bye bye
B&Q and they know
Rob Foster aka centralheatking

 

[Jim Goodenough]

Whilst Screwfix and B&Q are both part of the Kingfisher Group you can't compare them - Screwfix is definitely a useful supplier.
They must be doing something right to be growing so fast!

 

[Deleted member 96286]

Whilst Screwfix and B&Q are both part of the Kingfisher Group you can't compare them - Screwfix is definitely a useful supplier.
They must be doing something right to be growing so fast!

Screwfix have all but cornered the market and with aggresive targeted marketing and rapid expansion, they have all but eliminated choice in many towns. Their stores are everywhere and in prime industrial areas. They also have very long opening hours and their ordering system is much quicker and superior to the plumbing merchant counters. Screwfix are NOT cheap, in fact most of their products can be sourced much cheaper elsewhere and with the release of every new catalogue, their prices jump up by 25%. Their marketing strategy appears to be to eliminate the competition and rule supreme. The closest to Screwfix is Toolstation and even they are not as quick with click and collect orders. It was in fact two former disgruntled founders of Screwfix that formed Toolstation.

 

[Rob Foster]

Screwfix actually is designed sell stuff to diy people at relatively cheap prices compared to B&Q but which are more than other outlets....under the ‘where the trade buys’ attraction. Thereby fool diyers into thinking they are getting a good deal, Often the gear is poor standard
Rob Foster, aka centralheatking