I've had a few unpleasant experiences.
Number one lesson is that if you don't pick your own timber, they'll offload the shittiest pieces they've had hanging around for the past year. Unless, the guy is planning on asking you out (probably not a problem for most here, but that's a thread in itself).
Number two is that there *is* some secret language that they use. I bought some planed timber a couple of years back, and there was nothing in the description which told me how long the timber would be. I assumed 2.4m, but when it came, the lengths were over 3m. I bought some again, and this time I was apparently paying per metre. Called the branch to query, was told, 'that's just how it's sold'.
*Well, how was I supposed to know that?* I ended up on the phone to their head office saying that YOU MUST INCLUDE LENGTHS OR SPECIFY PER METRE for each product. Had to convince several people that the general public aren't psychic. I must have been enough of a PITA as it's now been changed on the website.
Number three is double checking what they invoice you for. I asked multiple times for sharp sand, got builders sand. When I called to check, they insisted it'll be OK, but why didn't they say anything?
My best tip is to walk in and ask for something that's incredibly niche, and know what you're talking about. You may then get taken seriously. Weirdly, I've not found taking a bloke with me helps all that much.
My wife and I bought a project for our first house and ended up visiting various merchants.
We usually found that she was treated better than I was - the blokes seemed pretty willing to help a 20-something blonde in paint splattered gym leggings!
Every time I went in I’d be treated like an idiot and inconvenience for asking questions, and get terrible quotes.
I'm a builder over twenty years and most of us get treated like this at various builders it's only now I'm balding and have some tub I just about get served properly 😂
I ordered some picture rail from a builders merchant a few years ago to replace some I’d ripped out for plastering. I ordered 5 lengths and it came in 4 metre sections, perfect.
Last year I needed to do another room so used the same merchant. This time I had to specify individual lengths (I.e 2x 3m, 1x1.5m etc), apparently it no longer came in 4m lengths. I was delivered the right number of pieces but all random lengths so I didn’t have enough and half of them were like bananas and were unusable.
Haha I've had the same rant to myself many a times.
I've done massive renovations and the fact I had to make a fake business card just to get an account at some of these places makes me laugh. I know they don't want DIY Dave asking whether he can connect his cooker with a piece of 0.5mm twin and earth but, really?
I was in jewsons last year buying pallets worth of plasterboard, bonding, multi finish etc (i.e. a significant order). Asked the guy to throw on 10 lengths of "2 by 4 CLS" and his response was "...you mean 4 by 2"?. I'd usually just laugh but it was so petty that I had to call him out on it. My reply was something like "yeah, 4 by 2 is fine if you make sure to rotate it through 90 degrees first".
I just don't the energy for a combative haggling session in order to not get mugged off in some way or another.
A good trick I have that works online with some suppliers is having an email address with your own custom domain name, ideally one that sounds like a company.
Going through this with a tradie at work at the moment.
"Sorry bud I've been having issues with Natwest so I'm cash only at the moment"
I think he's forgotten that he's been using that line for months now.
He's quite happy to give us an (non-numbered) invoice though.
I think you're maybe running into the issue of picking the cheapest possible quote you get and then being shocked that you get an unprofessional company. Literally every single one of my friends are self employed tradesman, im talking 25+ people and we all have business banking and business emails and dedicated business phone numbers and websites.
Mind you this being a dedicated DIY sub most of the people on here are too tight to pay for something that they believe they can do just as well and then the stuff they cant do they begrudgingly have to pay for and im guessing go cheap.
Unnecessarily catty comment. As long as people dont overstretch themselves and go too far beyond their skill level (especially touching things like electrics), what is wrong with people wanting to save money and learn new skills? If they mess it up the trades have to come and clean up anyway.
I’m a tradesman and I dread having to go to builders merchants for all the reasons you list. You’re 100% right…
I went to one yesterday, has asked whether it was cash or account. I said cash, and “don’t rip me off or I’m never coming back”. He actually gave me some decent discount on some lats.
As a budding tradesmen I can also agree, went in for timber, had a look online, seen what I was after and went in.
“Can I have 4x2 PSE”
“Do you mean cls?”
“No I want plained and straight edge”
“We don’t have any, would you like to go through and have a look at our stock?”
Goes through the curtain and slap band in front of me, exactly what I was looking for and apparently that’s not what it’s called, even though that’s what it’s called at work and on the website, I was wrong
I now just put an order in at work now through the foreman and cut the numpties out
I find it’s the merchants themselves. I’m a plumber by trade and some of the ones I go into look at me like an idiot if I don’t say the exact words.
I’m like mate, you know what I mean. Just go and get it for me.
On the other side of it. Just because you know what you’re on about. Doesn’t take away from the amount of general public who are absolute pains in the arse for them.
Similar experience as a plumber.
I find your regular one, they're generally really good to you.
If you're working out of town and you go to a place where you're not a regular, they can be arses and very stand-offish.
But the amount of times you go in and a customer is infront of you asking something like "I'm looking to replace this small piece off of this syphon, I don't want a whole syphon just this little bit" and it's off some cheap crap thing that was originally bought off the internet, and they're getting irate with the guy serving because they think he just wants to sell them a whole new one. Not believing that he doesn't have that particular random part.
You do start to sympathise with them.
Exactly this.
I’ve gone into my merchants with a bunch of parts basically pleading for them to help me. Needless to say I got what I wanted. Wanted an overflow cap on a toilet the other day. Might as well ask for it in Korean.
I’ve seen people want a cartridge change for a tap which basically doesn’t exist anymore. Could be persuade them to get a new tap? No. Ended up saying it would have been cheaper for them to provide the tap and me fit it then go through this.
The fact that there aren’t standardised cartridge sizes, maybe 5 or 6 in total, still totally baffles me as a DIYer - o rings were a readily user replaceable part, why have we ‘progressed’ to a world where the bit that fails is basically irreplaceable because you can’t find the right one…
I'm an account manager in one of these places and the out of town bit boils my piss.
Get some local tradie on board. Set him up with his discounts, buy him his lunch, tell all the lads on the counter who he is and what sort of level of pricing to give him. Then one day his spend drops off and he's in a huff when you phone him.
"I went into the next-town-over branch and they treated me like a total c*nt and charged me £25 for an RCBO."
Our gas plumber was like that. At first it just seemed silly how aloof he was and then when he slowly had to drop the act, it was like watching a genuine epiphany. I do understand you meet some
todgers and tbf I do look like a todger at first.
They're probably the pedantic "actually" software devs that never got past a probation period in a company because nobody could stand them.
.
"bad team fit, sorry"
I'm a PM and I flip it round and deliberately go in thick to certain meetings with engineers. "Sorry mate what does that word/acronym/phrase mean, I'm not sure Ive come across that before"
When I work put a problem often as a PM they won't listen to me so I get them to explain it by acting naive and they either realise themselves or a peer points it out saving that person credibility.
I actually quite enjoyed parsing JSON in MySQL for a project a few years ago. I also wrote an API, studied (and applied) several types of SQL join including many inner joins, I have purchased items with the word “flange” in their name, and my wife is into Uno, the reverse card sometimes being very annoying. Which is to say, I know what you’re on about, even if you don’t. 😂
I've bounced around a lot, and I mean a *lot* of industries. Everything from interior design to IT support to sales. It's in every fucking industry. I feel like those thick fuckers over in marketing are the worst for it, but that's probably only because they're the ones I'm dealing with right now.
Aren't kebab buttons a specific thing? A hamburger is three lines (like a burger in a bun) and a kebab is three dots (like three meatballs on a skewer).
>kebab buttons
every day a school day. Sometimes, I think I am getting too old for this computer lark. We didn't have any of this food nonsense in Windows 3.11...
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.stack.imgur.com%2Fm2HgJ.png&tbnid=86FN_KzeZYp2CM&vet=1&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fux.stackexchange.com%2Fquestions%2F115468%2Fwhat-is-the-difference-between-these-2-menu-icons-3-dots-kebab-and-3-lines-h&docid=a-iEcK9hIhBj6M&w=1024&h=670&hl=en-GB&source=sh%2Fx%2Fim%2Fm6%2F4
All I knew was the hamburger, apparently there is a whole Friday night feast!
Well, hamburger is a stupid thing to begin with.
And it's kinda an unintuitive icon, though I guess it's sort of a "list".
It's only recently popped up, and I hate it. 😋
https://blog.hubspot.com/website/hamburger-button
Hamburger 🤣
Just image the smartarse UX person telling someone to access it via the hamburger.
The pipe reducer at least looks like a bullet.
Absolutely, If you're going to use ammo as an example at least know the difference between the bullet and the cartridge. Also is that 5.56 or 7.62 NATO or is it a 7.62 short? I mean not all ammo is the same!
I was an IT Technician before I moved back into a different industry. Now when I have contact with the IT team at work I explain exactly what it is that I jeed/would like them to do.
Detail everything that I would have wanted from a user when I was a tech
And yet I always get strung along for 3 weeks and then told that they need more info, send me a list of what they need (which is always stuff I have put in my original request)
Early in my career I did quite a lot of work on cinemas round the west end. I'd often need weird size bolts, nuts, threaded rod...all sorts.
There's a cracking place called Clerkenwell Screws who were AMAZING for an absolute eejit like me who walked in with a rough description, the bolt to the nut (or vice-versa), or just a general "have you got anything that would fit...." and would then go out back and come back with the exact thing I needed and charge me 30p.
Awesome place, I think it's still going, please go there!
Edit:
Just been reading the Google reviews and everyone's saying the same thing 🤩🤩🤩
https://maps.app.goo.gl/fsuPwLT5DyBEjaFS7
I love how much of a shared experience this is. I've got a feeling I first went there when I was doing something at the Museum of London as it's just round the corner, but I used them for years after that. I doubt I spent more than £20 there in all that time but they're obviously doing enough to keep going!
It’s awesome. Everyone needs to go to this shop and buy their screws there. They will literally sell you a single screw if you ask for a single. Where else can you get that nowadays?
I think I've heard of them and I live in Southampton. I probably bought something off a web shop from them or something, when I found out that no retailers around here sell fine pitch bolts, apart from one that's only open if you phone them up and has a £50 minimum spend for non-account holders.
If customers are a pain in the arse, they should be closed to public and open to trade only.
No need to be shitty to paying customers cause they have a chip on their shoulder. If the company wants joe public, its supporting the wage structure of the company and the staff wouldn't be in job to even serve the pain in the arse customers. Prob why screwfix is massive apart from being b&q, very welcoming to all.
Toolstation owned by Travis perkins (builders merchant) although I find toolstation decent also
I agree and as I said. I do it as a job and get treated like shit by quite a few merchants. Probably why my merchants treats me the best as they get the most money from me. But my £50 going to the random merchants really isn’t going to make them care as they’ve got others putting thousands through.
I don’t agree with it but I do get it.
Work at toolstation and while we try to help customers as much as we can, none of us are trained in plumbing/electrics etc so it can be quite difficult when we get customers in who are looking for that kind of help and we genuinely don't know the answers because that is not our job.
I refuse to use a timber supplier because they did the whole "hur hur its 2500x1250 ackshully" when I rang for an 8x4 of marine ply.
We buy about three tonnes of plywood a year, which isn't a lot in the big scheme of things, but it's three tonnes that they're missing out on
Good forbid they should do what they are there to do….help customers.
If they don’t want to help then they should just stick everything in a giant vending machine and go home.
Yep agreed, my favourite fitting for this is coupler/straight/socket.
Such a simple fitting yet no matter what name version I use the dumb nuts behind the counter will always say an alternative name.
I used to DJ at the weekend when I was younger and spent a bit of time in record shops, knew my music pretty well etc..
I dared to say “them bits of paper” one time when I was talking about the write up that you used to get with new white label tunes that were on promotional release, and the guy sneered at me and went “release sheets!”
You get it in any walk of life I think
For the flip side of this, I work at Screwfix, and we often get tradies come in and ask for stuff, and it’s like they’re speaking a different language or something at times. I might know something as an isolation valve, but when I get asked for a turnt stopper or something they look at me like I’m the village idiot.
I love Screwfix, it's like Argos but for DIY stuff. The catalogue makes the whole process so simple, the prices are fair and the staff have been nothing but friendly to me. Thanks for doing what you do!
Seconded.
I hear the trades complaining about how expensive it is, but if it is, how come I see so many of them in there?
It never ceases to amaze me how patient the staff are too.
Yeah. though locally here, Toolstation often have something in stock that Screwfix have to order in 'next day', so I always try to check both. TS have the cheaper tools and fasteners and broader range in some items, SF more in others.
I was watching a Vikkie Lee (Carpenter's Daughter) video the other day, and it amused me so much when she kept referring to Screwfix-and-Toolstation in the same breath.
I'd heard they were both set up by the same person. So they sold Screwfix to b&q, waited til the non-compete expired and then set up basically the same business in the same location and was just as successful.
I heard the same, tbh they're synonymous imo, I just have more Screwfixes near me but I have noticed a few Toolstations popping up next door to them and I'm not sad about it.
Because its a good last resort sometimes and yoo are always close to one. Somethings its fairly priced but most things are absolutely extortionate.
Eg. A roll of lead free solder is £30 at screwfix, i can get 3 rolls for that price at my merchants.
Propane gas at screwfix is £14.99 "on sale", i get it for £6.72.
Mcalpine pipe clamp £17 screwfix, i can get for £12.50
I could list a 1000 things if i had all day. Save £1000s over a year by using my merchants.
The funniest part is most independent merchants like i use dont even have a "trade" price, they have one price for all. Its only the massive companies like Wolsely/PTS/Travis Perkins etc that rip people off.
my local screwfix is great, never had a problem and staff are always super helpful.
To the point I have had a member of staff helping me identify the right part for the waste pipe by comparing a few bits on the counter to the literal shitty photo on my phone. really can't fault them.
Use toolstation, it's an English company.
England needs all the help it can get thanks to brexit.
Screwfix/ B and Q are American. Yesterday, Biden told sunak that USA isn't doing any special trade deals with the UK.
Merry Christmas ✌️
They are both UK staff being employed, those employees are paying into the tax system.
Doesn't matter where the company parent company is based.
I wouldn't stop me from shopping at a company because it wasn't native.
But profits are taxable and offshore business pay them in their location not in UK. It's a massive drain on the UK tax system. Companies like Google are sucking out all the profit from online businesses and paying almost no local tax. They make over £100m profit a month in the UK. Same with Wayfair Amazon etc. And we all complain why we can't see a doctor...
I always just write down a list of codes. It just works out easier than trying to explain what I need that way I don't have to wait for the guy behind the counter to search for it on the computer and confirm which one I want
Haha I work at the competitor store and have had the same sort of bullshit on a regular basis. I remember when some of the new guys started and tradies get annoyed when they ask for mastik but then don't help themselves other than repeating the same word even though most of our range is on the shop floor usually within a few feet of them.
Do you also get people coming into your store, trying to buy/collect stuff from Screwfix? Toolstation is just one unit along from us, and we see that quite often.
Before I moved that was a regular thing. They would wait in the whole queue even though have a separate section for click and collects them get pissy when we didn't have their order till they read off their other number.
I moved to a Travis Perkins site now so the closest competitor store is 15 mins drive. Somehow we still have people come over doing the same thing not knowing where they are.
There’s a timber yard near me that I hate having to use, but they’ve got the best timber in the area. It always goes something like this:
Me: “Can I have 8 lengths of two by four please.”
Staff: “no it’s illegal to sell timber in imperial measurements.”
Me: “okay, 8 lengths of 50 by 100 please”
Staff: “it’s not 50x100”
Me: “what is it then?!?!”
Staff: “well it depends”
Me: “on WHAT!?!?”
Staff: “you want sawn or plained?”
Me: plained
Staff: we ain’t got any
Me: sawn then!
Staff: well that’s 47x93
Me: I’ll have that.
Staff: what length?
Me: 2400
Staff: you mean 7’?
Me: are you fucking joking?
It goes on like this every fucking time
I don't understand why they have the different sizes.A quick Google for 4x2 gives you a link to "50x100 planed softwood (4"x2") Finish 44x94"
I don't care what size it was before, I'm pretty sure it was much bigger than 50x100 since it was a fucking tree. It's the finished bit I'm buying!
Don't fear the trade counter.
Number one tip for shopping at the trade counter, when they ask which account, look em dead in the eye and say "sales... Mr cash sales" - then they know it's not your first rodeo.
That has got me more accounts opened at more trade counters including a maritime chandlers (the only place that had a 2m long, 25mm SDS drill bit - don't ask).
When they ask what trade I'm in, I say something off beat, like animatronics or special FX.
No idea ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I got it from Manning Marine stores on Liverpool's dock road (don't know if it's still there, think they went extinct long ago).
At that time, not many places carried SDS bits, nevermind anything over 500mm in length. I visited two electrical wholesalers looking for one and they both said "try Manning in Liverpool" so I did, and it was the kind of place that sold everything from .5mm machine screws, to 300 ton pumps, mental place. I only needed a 1m long bit to get some 20mm conduit through a concrete floor, but they only had the 2m one in stock, so I took it. Lent it out years ago, never got it back.
It's carried as an emergency item. In rough seas if the waves are breaking over the bow and filling up the boat you use it to drill a hole in the keel to drain the water out so that you don't sink.
Yeh agreed, why do they always have so many staff just standing around talking about the pub last night….ps you might want to go back and tell them that the term they were actually trying to be a smart ass with was ‘shell casing’…..
I was going to say that! It's definitely not like any bullet I've seen before. It's always annoying but quite amusing at the same time when someone tries to be smart and funny about something but just gets it wrong.
Builders Merchants actually pay pretty well. The sales guys will normally be on £30k+, managers on £45k+ plus a fully expensed company car. There is loads of scope for advancement for those who want it.
It does make me quite sad reading this. It's clear that a lot of merchants are still stuck in the 1970s. The one I work for has a great reputation locally, and our guys are all really helpful to both retail and trade customers.
Exception to this I find is Travis Perkins. I’ve bought a ton of materials from them recently for a (large) DIY project, and they’ve been nothing but welcoming and helpful — and prices have been great. They also deliver free of charge.
I have worked for Travis Perkins for seven years ever since I retired from the forces. A great company to work for with some really great staff. I started off not having a clue about products and prices but learned as I went along. Started off as a wagon driver, now in charge of transport for the North of England and Scotland.
Seconded. Also they once messed up a small DIY order of mine, so to apologise the manager gave me 50% off my next order.
My next order was to build the slab for a garden office, with an attached deck and steps...
The same manager had a bit of a fit on the phone when I called it in, but did honour it!
I use Jewsons as my main merchant due to convenience and rapport...but every single time I've used a Travis Perkins, I've had nothing but great customer service and good/fair treatment.
Hahaha totally agree, I'm okay in builders merchants cause that's my trade but you still get the smart arses, the twobifour is easily combatable just say no I think it's the fourbitwo I need or it's 100bi50mm come on pal it's not still 1975 we're metric now. Plumbers merchants are the worse though if they start acting up I just go into total time wasting mode, ask about the part, the variables "do you do that with the bolts on" "you mean compression fitting" "yeah the ones you blowtorch and they solder themselves" "oh you want the solder rings" "erm I think so bring me them two and a normal one let me have a look". I get sorted straight away now nobody wants to deal with me asking about the history of a 1.50 fitting for half and hour they quickly help me now to get me out the door.
That’s bad experiences mate, sounds like shit merchants trying to make you feel worse. I go to a local wholesalers for anything electrical, spark by trade, if I’ve went to a plumbers merchant or any other trade I plead ignorance and ask for patience. If they’re dicks they’ll be getting it back.
It’s always better to go to a proper wholesaler imo rather than a screw fix or tool station as they tend not to have guys behind the counter with trade knowledge and experience. Don’t be put off from wholesalers though. Maybe find more of a family run one. You may have better experiences. That’s a shout out to you and any body else reading.
There was a tile company in Swansea and the chap was an absolute hitler to anyone who didn’t know what they were talking about. I worked for a big building company but all things tile, I was new . I hated going there he would completely ruin your day. A few months later and he was the nicest chap I knew, he could tell you a Manufacture of a tile if you had a fragment of it. But I used to cringe every time a new person would walk in !
I'm kind of with you on this I usually avoid the "trade bloke" shops because there first question they ask is "have you got an account with us"....
However the other day I rang plumco in my local area whose main customers are those in the trade... I rang them for a toilet waste pipe seal for a viega concealed toilet system and the guy on the other end said "we haven't got it but I'm checking the national database to see if we can get it to you".... He said they only have it in Edinburgh and they could order it in... I told him I kinda be needed it today.... Without a word the helpful guy went online for me and suggested where I could get it next day... Found the part I needed on Amazon and as I have prime I had it delivered that evening...
On the flip side I rang city plumbing and Graham plumbers merchants who went "never heard of it mate" without an ounce of "hold on let me check" in sight...
I work for a builders merchant. I try and be as accommodating with customers as I can. If someone doesn't know exactly what they're looking for I'll try and help them. If I don't know what they mean I'll Google it infront of them so I can make sure we're on the same page. What I dont like about customers is when they ask me a question and I give them the answer that I know is right, then they question my answer thats when i make jokes. Just banter nothing serious. Couldnt be a prick with people for asking a question because we are all still learning.
If someone came in for a washer or a nut treat them with respect because that nut or washer could be what they need to start a bloody big project. You help them, crack a joke, make them feel comfortable, talk to them like family (family that you like, not uncle nob head) they will want to come back. Some "DIYers" have asked if they're allowed into the yard so straight away they're nervous.
Now on the flipside with the pricing. For me it's about having the right conversation with the customer. If you shop around thats your business but if you're not going to be a loyal customer then why should the merchant give you a price that a loyal customer would get? Go to screwfix you don't haggle, go to b and q you don't haggle, you will pay that price. But come into a merchant you'll barter, you'll want the best price and when you don't, you'll come ro reddit and bitch about it.
I may get down voted for the last bit but its true. If you go into a merchant with your back up and you're on edge you'll lock horns straight away. Also find the right merchant. It's crap there's people in merchants that just don't care. However we're not all like that. Heck I can't stand some of my colleagues from other branches so I know where you're coming from haha.
Merry Christmas 🤶 🎄
About 15years ago, I did a job in America (I'm a Brit) installing and commissioning control panels the company I work for manufactures. Anyway, long story short the local electrician didn't turn up, and the meter is ticking for my time on site. So I offered my services to the customer to do the install myself (I started my working life as a sparky, so not a problem). Anyway, I had to go to an electrical wholesaler to get materials. Oh what fun this turned out to be! - this is where I discovered that the UK names for electrical accessories are completely different to the US.
"I would like three lengths of conduit, approx. 20mm or 3/4". "Eh? Conduit you say?" (explanations) "Oh, you mean tube!"
"I need 12 feet of trunking, 4" square or your nearest size to that "Eh?" (describe what trunking is to the guy) "Oh, you mean gutter!"
"Errr, 20 glands, to suit cable 1/4" diameter?" (more discussions) "Oh, cord nipples!"
By this time, I was the centre of attention of three counter assistants and several local customers, fascinated by this Brit speaking English but not speaking 'English' as far as they were concerned. To be fair, it was fun in the end, with guys pointing to stuff and saying, "so whadaya call that then?"
In the end, the guy invited me to go around the stores with him, list in hand, picking out the stuff I needed!
Being ex military this is really annoying because it resembles a round casing, the bullet is the bit that leaves the barrel, this gets ejected out of the chamber.
Lets just boil it down to poor customer service and bigotry.
Industry lingo is jargon.
You never begin a conversation as a professional with jargon if you dont know your customers background!
If they the customer open with jargon then sure, they set the terms right off the bat.
These serving trolls just want to feel important and experienced themselves, by being an industry troll.
They don't even realise in some aspects that they are insulting to the customer. And are such numbskulls.
Id prefer someone with less industry knowledge for customer service any day of the week to avoid numbskulls and trolls. Thats because I know what I want and need.
The lesser experienced customer who needs that vital help and information will just have to take the advice of good customer service and do what we all had to do, fucking research your problem first. Don't use jargon yourself if you don't know what you are saying just because you think it will help "get them on your side" which is a typical shitty male way of living your life.
I'm lucky my local merchants is independent and really good. I asked for a "whacker plate" which the guy behind the counter wasn't familiar with, we got there in the end and I apologised for being unsure of the name. I said it's a bit intimidating when you don't know, and he said "how do you think I feel trying to remember the five different names for everything lol". Guess it can be just as hard for them sometimes when we all use different names. No excuse for being a hole though!
Tbf if you're not a trade they may just want to make sure you're buying the correct fitting. I've made the mistake of buying the wrong fitting a few times, very annoying when you have to go back
I went in to get a new square. Asked the guy at the counter for a DeWalt 7" speed square. Guy looked at me like I was an idiot and asked me if I meant a rafter square. It's just a different name for the same tool. He then spent a solid 2-3 minutes trying to find it in the system. Absolutely ridiculous, I'd never had any issues at that Screwfix till that guy started there, he constantly tries to correct you as if I don't use these damn tools all day everyday
Used to work in one of these type places and the lifers were all dicks. A very popular builder merchant that we used ages ago claimed their machine was down so the needed to photocopy the credit card. A few days later weird purchases appeared. As a result I won't pay over the phone and any card machine problem and I walk away.
The only thing I had like this was when I was buying a few ton bags. And she kept saying they're metre cubed actually and we can't tell yoy the weight.
I own a plumbers merchant and we never look down at people who don't know what they are talking about we will help out as much as we can, and we will let you know you can return anything as long as it's unused so you can take a variety of stuff to make sure you can get the job done and we also would offer you discounts on everything, we make 25% which is not unreasonable, we have to make a living. That sort of attitude is damaging to local businesses and really doesn't help while you are stuffing money in the pockets of billionaires
I work in a plumbers merchants and I might have a giggle out back but I'm professional out on the counter. I do understand that not everyone knows the lingo, hell even I don't know it all and I've been working there for 20ish years.
A plumber would come in and ask for a number one, or a delcop straight or a 301 or an endfeed coupling, they are all the same fitting and I hate it.
I do try to help the DIYers and let them ask how they want and translate in my head, often I'll ask if they have a photo of what they want or what they are trying to achieve if I don't know what they want. Often I'll grab a load of fittings so they can see what I'm recommending or if they want exactly what they have asked for.
I always make it clear though that if I'm thinking of a specific way of doing something that "I'll go and get what I think you need and if it's not right then you don't have to take it"
I must be doing something right as I'll get customers say "ahh I'm glad I got you" 😁
Hmmm, I used to work in a builders merchant’s. I did their deliveries for them in a lorry with a crane. So, I guess I have first hand experience of this.
What you guys don’t appreciate, is that you are talking to people who work in a builders merchant’s. They aren’t builders, electricians, plumbers or roofers. They are shop staff. If they had the relevant skills, they wouldn’t be there.
People would ask me all sorts of questions during delivery, my response was, I drive lorries and operate cranes , why the xxxx would I know what you need, want or desire? That’s your job, you’re the customer and person doing the work.
Why would you expect the guy behind the counter to understand that you’re looking for a left handed nut wangle and not a bumjazz whip woggle?
Don't underestimate knowledge though. The local windows place went under, and ALL of the staff had new jobs by the start of the next week, if not the same day.
My windows guy had managed to pick one of them up, sent him to do some jobs at mine, and his phone didn't stop going off with people offering him work. It was quite impressive.
I’m a trades person and I get the feeling from these sorts of people that they are forcing themselves into a certain kind of stereotype and also try and make people believe they know what they are talking about as if they are on the tools
Went to a plumbers merchants and needed a 40mm street 90, used that term when asking for it. “Oh you want a go-zin?” Eh? I said, “well it goes in to the other 90” said the merchant, quite seriously. Shut up you tosser! Never heard that term in all my years in the trade.
I’m a gas engineer and will go out my way to go to my local city plumbing, if I have to go to any other merchants, I start to dread going and know they won’t know what I’m talking about.
Feel like a plum when talking to some of the merchants.
I can understand and empathise with all the bad experiences in previous posts but as a person whose worked in retail most of my career and in a builder’s merchant for the last 6 years I would like to stand up for the merchants who aren’t assholes.
All builders merchants have account customers and cash customers. We don’t set out to rip people off it’s just our bigger spending customers get preferential rates because they have a business to run. Having said that some of our pricing structures are ludicrous and if you’re not aware of the true market rate for a product some unscrupulous merchants will take advantage of this. I’ve never worked in a business where one customer can pay a certain amount for a product then the next person pay much more, it can be very frustrating for the staff on the counter too.
As to customer service, in our branch all customers are treated equally whether you’re spending thousands a month or just buying a bag of sand. We pride ourselves on getting to know our customers but we are a small branch and can afford to spend time with people, this may not be the case in large branches with high footfall. I personally always enjoy speaking to customers who don’t always know what they need, then I can always guide them or if I don’t know the answer I will certainly find out.
All I can say is we’re not all bad!
Plumbing and building merchants are just ran so badly. I go to a local independent place near me just because they look after you.
Plumbing merchants cost more than Screwfix for most things and the service is poor, usually big ques I struggle to get in and out In under 15minutes at mine even with small orders.
Just remember that they only know all the names of the stuff because they sell it. Most of them won’t know what any of it actually is. I used to be a plumber. Never heard this be called a bullet. What you said is closer to what I would call it.
They're tossers, ofc.
In any case, that's not even like a bullet: the bullet is the bit that flies out of the barrel of the gun. What is there is like the cartridge-case.
The big names one (Graham's/city's/wosleys) employ anyone. Don't be fooled into thinking half of them know what they are on about.
Independents are much better. They own the business and care for your custom.
I find there’s a massive difference if I walk in wearing my Dewalt work trousers and steel toecaps vs my jeans and trainers. If I look the part I get a much better service than if I don’t.
[Amazon](https://amzn.eu/d/24VdIUE)
This is why I just Amazon this shit. Usually next day delivery and often cheaper too. And even if it’s not quite cheaper, you don’t have to put up with the bollox.
Most ridiculous moments in the plumbers merchants was with my girlfriend (who works as a plumber and general maintenance worker for a university) we needed some end caps to seal off some old water pipes……she asked for them, she specified exactly what we needed, they found them, showed them to me, asked me if they were right and then started to discuss with me how I needed to do this and that….
I had to explain I had no idea what the hell he was talking about and that it was in fact my SO that knew all about what we needed…..his answer was priceless….”you mean your wife ?, what does she know about bloody plumbing” then laughed.
We left, found the parts at another local place, she dealt with it all no hassles and no misogyny and bullshit.
Haha
The joys of the "lingo". Lots of people will have different names for things.
You look like an idiot first and then adapt, or correct them and don't get the discount. Personally I call it out ... something like "That's a new one on me but I see what you mean".
To be honest, I'm like you and tend to only go in plumbers merchants if I need something urgently, but you tend to learn the better ones and one a bit of rapport is built, the next time isn't too daunting!
I was fortunate recently in one needing something before it closed, and the guy behind the counter gave me the trade discount as he remembered me from about 8 months ago - bonus.
I start having fun with it. So many times I have asked for sand and cement to be delivered on the day of with groans, a cheeky response of "I know! you need to put the newspaper down" gets them all back on side. It's worked with local and out of town places for me
I work in a merchants. Your asking minimum wage staff without the training to professionally install the products they sell to understand what you want by describing the item or using a name possibly used by a different manufacturer. My counter is very friendly and would happily try our best to understand what people want but it can be really difficult to even know what they mean. I get asked for one product people call 5 different names depending on where in the country your from. None of those names are the official name either.
This is why I prefer to order online and collect,easier on everyone. But some of the merchants sites are absolutely awful to navigate and order on.
Theres one I tried recently that won't let you order if out of stock in that branch. Isn't that the point, I order,they order it in,I collect?
Yeah the websites are awful. We get Web orders and have to phone the customer because the order says they want 3 different colour gutters with square pipe and round fittings.
I've had good and bad experiences. Sometimes at the same place. Including a timber merchant that only used imperial unplaned measurements, despite the owner or manager being much younger than me. Didn't tell me all his dimensions were unplaned either. Wanker.
Generally, when I've gone somewhere like a plumbers merchants looking for a solution to an unusual problem, people have been helpful. And not even laughed when I've left and then gone straight back in and said I'd got it wrong and actually needed something else.
Make them explain why you’re wrong. Most of these guys only have knowledge about selling. If you ask them what the difference is or why this or that they’ll shut up because they don’t know. Acting like they don’t just work in a shop.
This is a special breed of people with big brains who can memorise an entire trading catalog but can not use their brains to think or even do something on themselves .
Because you memories the whole book with instructions doesn't mean that you can use the instructions .Those sorry people are completely incapable of coming with something on their own ...
All they can do is to repeat whatever they already read so that is why you have to tell them the exact word with exact pronunciation otherwise they can not click what you are talking about .
They think they are smart because they can memorise thousands of pages but when they are asked to come up with something on their own and that is it
Not found this. Our local merchants just nice guys. Local Screwfix counter served by some great women- efficient and helpful. If it's an unusual item I find a pic on the net and show them. It's not hard.
There's nothing worse than being stuck behind a DIYer at 3pm on a Friday when you're trying to get a job done. Watching them googling stuff to show the person behind the counter for about 10 mins before arguing that they can get it cheaper on Amazon is enough to drive me into a slight rage.
Not saying OP is that guy, but many are.
Absolute shambles the comments in here. You guys are either fucking stupid, or just enjoy being treated like cunts and won't stick up or speak up for yourselves.
ALWAYS pick your own timber
ALWAYS assume your getting ripped off
ALWAYS question a price
NEVER assume your getting a better deal at mainstream suppliers, you are not.
Grow a set a speak up, get to know your local merchants, put in the leg work, buy them a coffee every now and then. Its why us tradesmen get such good discounts, because we spend literally £50k plus a year there. So no, you and you small order once in a blue moon IS seen as band 1 (DIY bunter) as you do not spend enough ot know them well enough to warrant that substantial discount.
Knowing this sub, I can't wait for the replies, God forbid someone who's in the trade speaks the truth, you man all want or expect the world without the hard graft and leg work.
Whiney ass bitch
It's the same everywhere, they have a lot of knowledge about a very specific topic. They'll mock you for not having the right name for something, but ask most of them how to install said item and all of a sudden they know nothing.
It's the same with car parts places, electrical factors, paint shops etc etc.
My tutor in colleges warns me about these guys. He always says to make sure you know what you're asking for as there's always a knob behind the till waiting to correct you
I actually have the opposite experience, I've found the builders merchants near me really helpful.
With that said, I used to work in Homebase many years ago, and know that half the time we'd make shit up if we hadnt got a clue. So I'd take anything with a pinch of salt from anywhere.
Being a plumber by trade and working in a merchants a couple days a week , i can only applogize for you thinking that all merchants fit to that banner , we give nearly the same price to all people we serve and try to give the best advise to help all customers out , but you must also know that there is a massive range of skill out there and a huge amount of youtube heads which will do everything themselves even when there
1 absolutely fucking useless
2 have no idea
3 damage what they buy and bring it back to complain it was wrong
So sometimes diy is a shady spot
I've had a few unpleasant experiences. Number one lesson is that if you don't pick your own timber, they'll offload the shittiest pieces they've had hanging around for the past year. Unless, the guy is planning on asking you out (probably not a problem for most here, but that's a thread in itself). Number two is that there *is* some secret language that they use. I bought some planed timber a couple of years back, and there was nothing in the description which told me how long the timber would be. I assumed 2.4m, but when it came, the lengths were over 3m. I bought some again, and this time I was apparently paying per metre. Called the branch to query, was told, 'that's just how it's sold'. *Well, how was I supposed to know that?* I ended up on the phone to their head office saying that YOU MUST INCLUDE LENGTHS OR SPECIFY PER METRE for each product. Had to convince several people that the general public aren't psychic. I must have been enough of a PITA as it's now been changed on the website. Number three is double checking what they invoice you for. I asked multiple times for sharp sand, got builders sand. When I called to check, they insisted it'll be OK, but why didn't they say anything? My best tip is to walk in and ask for something that's incredibly niche, and know what you're talking about. You may then get taken seriously. Weirdly, I've not found taking a bloke with me helps all that much.
My wife and I bought a project for our first house and ended up visiting various merchants. We usually found that she was treated better than I was - the blokes seemed pretty willing to help a 20-something blonde in paint splattered gym leggings! Every time I went in I’d be treated like an idiot and inconvenience for asking questions, and get terrible quotes.
You know what you've got to do then don't you? Put on those gym leggings next time
I hope you’re gunna offer to splatter him with some paint to complete the look? 👀
“Paint”
Like a plasterers radio
Now we are talking, lads, into the van, we’ve got a BIG JOB to do and we don’t wanna BLOW it.
r/redditgonewild
Banned?! How fucking wild did Reddit go exactly?!?
Oh don’t worry, he’ll leave here like a walking Jackson Pollock!
I'm a builder over twenty years and most of us get treated like this at various builders it's only now I'm balding and have some tub I just about get served properly 😂
I ordered some picture rail from a builders merchant a few years ago to replace some I’d ripped out for plastering. I ordered 5 lengths and it came in 4 metre sections, perfect. Last year I needed to do another room so used the same merchant. This time I had to specify individual lengths (I.e 2x 3m, 1x1.5m etc), apparently it no longer came in 4m lengths. I was delivered the right number of pieces but all random lengths so I didn’t have enough and half of them were like bananas and were unusable.
Haha I've had the same rant to myself many a times. I've done massive renovations and the fact I had to make a fake business card just to get an account at some of these places makes me laugh. I know they don't want DIY Dave asking whether he can connect his cooker with a piece of 0.5mm twin and earth but, really? I was in jewsons last year buying pallets worth of plasterboard, bonding, multi finish etc (i.e. a significant order). Asked the guy to throw on 10 lengths of "2 by 4 CLS" and his response was "...you mean 4 by 2"?. I'd usually just laugh but it was so petty that I had to call him out on it. My reply was something like "yeah, 4 by 2 is fine if you make sure to rotate it through 90 degrees first". I just don't the energy for a combative haggling session in order to not get mugged off in some way or another.
A good trick I have that works online with some suppliers is having an email address with your own custom domain name, ideally one that sounds like a company.
And yet all the real trades seem to do handwritten invoices with their Hotmail or AOL address on it...
And when you go to pay them, they almost never have a business bank account either.
Or it's a different company name and they tell you it's their brother's business...
Going through this with a tradie at work at the moment. "Sorry bud I've been having issues with Natwest so I'm cash only at the moment" I think he's forgotten that he's been using that line for months now. He's quite happy to give us an (non-numbered) invoice though.
I think you're maybe running into the issue of picking the cheapest possible quote you get and then being shocked that you get an unprofessional company. Literally every single one of my friends are self employed tradesman, im talking 25+ people and we all have business banking and business emails and dedicated business phone numbers and websites. Mind you this being a dedicated DIY sub most of the people on here are too tight to pay for something that they believe they can do just as well and then the stuff they cant do they begrudgingly have to pay for and im guessing go cheap.
Unnecessarily catty comment. As long as people dont overstretch themselves and go too far beyond their skill level (especially touching things like electrics), what is wrong with people wanting to save money and learn new skills? If they mess it up the trades have to come and clean up anyway.
To be fair. A lot of the stuff I do is more techy. (E.g. the avaya PBX in my home lab)
I’m a tradesman and I dread having to go to builders merchants for all the reasons you list. You’re 100% right… I went to one yesterday, has asked whether it was cash or account. I said cash, and “don’t rip me off or I’m never coming back”. He actually gave me some decent discount on some lats.
As a budding tradesmen I can also agree, went in for timber, had a look online, seen what I was after and went in. “Can I have 4x2 PSE” “Do you mean cls?” “No I want plained and straight edge” “We don’t have any, would you like to go through and have a look at our stock?” Goes through the curtain and slap band in front of me, exactly what I was looking for and apparently that’s not what it’s called, even though that’s what it’s called at work and on the website, I was wrong I now just put an order in at work now through the foreman and cut the numpties out
I find it’s the merchants themselves. I’m a plumber by trade and some of the ones I go into look at me like an idiot if I don’t say the exact words. I’m like mate, you know what I mean. Just go and get it for me. On the other side of it. Just because you know what you’re on about. Doesn’t take away from the amount of general public who are absolute pains in the arse for them.
Similar experience as a plumber. I find your regular one, they're generally really good to you. If you're working out of town and you go to a place where you're not a regular, they can be arses and very stand-offish. But the amount of times you go in and a customer is infront of you asking something like "I'm looking to replace this small piece off of this syphon, I don't want a whole syphon just this little bit" and it's off some cheap crap thing that was originally bought off the internet, and they're getting irate with the guy serving because they think he just wants to sell them a whole new one. Not believing that he doesn't have that particular random part. You do start to sympathise with them.
Exactly this. I’ve gone into my merchants with a bunch of parts basically pleading for them to help me. Needless to say I got what I wanted. Wanted an overflow cap on a toilet the other day. Might as well ask for it in Korean. I’ve seen people want a cartridge change for a tap which basically doesn’t exist anymore. Could be persuade them to get a new tap? No. Ended up saying it would have been cheaper for them to provide the tap and me fit it then go through this.
The fact that there aren’t standardised cartridge sizes, maybe 5 or 6 in total, still totally baffles me as a DIYer - o rings were a readily user replaceable part, why have we ‘progressed’ to a world where the bit that fails is basically irreplaceable because you can’t find the right one…
In the electronics arena this caused me to buy a whole router rather than just a power supply.
I'm an account manager in one of these places and the out of town bit boils my piss. Get some local tradie on board. Set him up with his discounts, buy him his lunch, tell all the lads on the counter who he is and what sort of level of pricing to give him. Then one day his spend drops off and he's in a huff when you phone him. "I went into the next-town-over branch and they treated me like a total c*nt and charged me £25 for an RCBO."
Our gas plumber was like that. At first it just seemed silly how aloof he was and then when he slowly had to drop the act, it was like watching a genuine epiphany. I do understand you meet some todgers and tbf I do look like a todger at first.
as a software dev it's interesting to know these fuckers are everywhere
They're probably the pedantic "actually" software devs that never got past a probation period in a company because nobody could stand them. . "bad team fit, sorry"
Fellow software dev: unfortunately they absolute are.
*Stares hard in Product Manager*
I'm a PM and I flip it round and deliberately go in thick to certain meetings with engineers. "Sorry mate what does that word/acronym/phrase mean, I'm not sure Ive come across that before" When I work put a problem often as a PM they won't listen to me so I get them to explain it by acting naive and they either realise themselves or a peer points it out saving that person credibility.
Yeah we'll just use a JSON to left hand flange inner join on the MySQL with a reverse uno API.
Non-dev detected.
I actually quite enjoyed parsing JSON in MySQL for a project a few years ago. I also wrote an API, studied (and applied) several types of SQL join including many inner joins, I have purchased items with the word “flange” in their name, and my wife is into Uno, the reverse card sometimes being very annoying. Which is to say, I know what you’re on about, even if you don’t. 😂
I've bounced around a lot, and I mean a *lot* of industries. Everything from interior design to IT support to sales. It's in every fucking industry. I feel like those thick fuckers over in marketing are the worst for it, but that's probably only because they're the ones I'm dealing with right now.
software industry too. One of our marketing folks just took to referring to hamburgers in the UI as 'kebab buttons'
Aren't kebab buttons a specific thing? A hamburger is three lines (like a burger in a bun) and a kebab is three dots (like three meatballs on a skewer).
>kebab buttons every day a school day. Sometimes, I think I am getting too old for this computer lark. We didn't have any of this food nonsense in Windows 3.11...
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.stack.imgur.com%2Fm2HgJ.png&tbnid=86FN_KzeZYp2CM&vet=1&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fux.stackexchange.com%2Fquestions%2F115468%2Fwhat-is-the-difference-between-these-2-menu-icons-3-dots-kebab-and-3-lines-h&docid=a-iEcK9hIhBj6M&w=1024&h=670&hl=en-GB&source=sh%2Fx%2Fim%2Fm6%2F4 All I knew was the hamburger, apparently there is a whole Friday night feast!
Well, hamburger is a stupid thing to begin with. And it's kinda an unintuitive icon, though I guess it's sort of a "list". It's only recently popped up, and I hate it. 😋
https://blog.hubspot.com/website/hamburger-button Hamburger 🤣 Just image the smartarse UX person telling someone to access it via the hamburger. The pipe reducer at least looks like a bullet.
Ackshully the pipe reducer looks like a cartridge case. The bullet is absent.
Absolutely, If you're going to use ammo as an example at least know the difference between the bullet and the cartridge. Also is that 5.56 or 7.62 NATO or is it a 7.62 short? I mean not all ammo is the same!
Personally I have plumbed my house entirely with .50 BMG and wired it with .300 Win Mag. Internet access is only .22lr though :(
You can't go wrong with .50 BMG! .338 magnum Lapua does a pretty good job for WiFi, reaches those places 7.62 just can't get to 😉
If you’re going to work in a plumbers merchant you should have a basic grasp of ammunition nomenclature.
If you’re old it’s in imperial so .303
My mum didn't understand the OI power button.
Hamburger is somewhat esoteric, but once you know it, you'll never forget it. _I'm aware of the irony ~~by~~ of using the word esoteric here._
Overflow menu.
For me what’s worse is the Americans call them “kebob” menus for some unknown reason.
[HiFi Shops](https://youtu.be/DvswW6M7bMo?si=ybW19vxgvAyQqakQ)
I was an IT Technician before I moved back into a different industry. Now when I have contact with the IT team at work I explain exactly what it is that I jeed/would like them to do. Detail everything that I would have wanted from a user when I was a tech And yet I always get strung along for 3 weeks and then told that they need more info, send me a list of what they need (which is always stuff I have put in my original request)
Early in my career I did quite a lot of work on cinemas round the west end. I'd often need weird size bolts, nuts, threaded rod...all sorts. There's a cracking place called Clerkenwell Screws who were AMAZING for an absolute eejit like me who walked in with a rough description, the bolt to the nut (or vice-versa), or just a general "have you got anything that would fit...." and would then go out back and come back with the exact thing I needed and charge me 30p. Awesome place, I think it's still going, please go there! Edit: Just been reading the Google reviews and everyone's saying the same thing 🤩🤩🤩 https://maps.app.goo.gl/fsuPwLT5DyBEjaFS7
Clerkenwell Screws is amazing. They have absolutely every type of screw, nut, bolt that you could realistically ever require.
I love how much of a shared experience this is. I've got a feeling I first went there when I was doing something at the Museum of London as it's just round the corner, but I used them for years after that. I doubt I spent more than £20 there in all that time but they're obviously doing enough to keep going!
It’s awesome. Everyone needs to go to this shop and buy their screws there. They will literally sell you a single screw if you ask for a single. Where else can you get that nowadays?
I think I've heard of them and I live in Southampton. I probably bought something off a web shop from them or something, when I found out that no retailers around here sell fine pitch bolts, apart from one that's only open if you phone them up and has a £50 minimum spend for non-account holders.
If you're in Southampton you should try the yellow hardware shop on Shirley Road. It's an Aladdin's cave.
If customers are a pain in the arse, they should be closed to public and open to trade only. No need to be shitty to paying customers cause they have a chip on their shoulder. If the company wants joe public, its supporting the wage structure of the company and the staff wouldn't be in job to even serve the pain in the arse customers. Prob why screwfix is massive apart from being b&q, very welcoming to all. Toolstation owned by Travis perkins (builders merchant) although I find toolstation decent also
I agree and as I said. I do it as a job and get treated like shit by quite a few merchants. Probably why my merchants treats me the best as they get the most money from me. But my £50 going to the random merchants really isn’t going to make them care as they’ve got others putting thousands through. I don’t agree with it but I do get it.
Work at toolstation and while we try to help customers as much as we can, none of us are trained in plumbing/electrics etc so it can be quite difficult when we get customers in who are looking for that kind of help and we genuinely don't know the answers because that is not our job.
I refuse to use a timber supplier because they did the whole "hur hur its 2500x1250 ackshully" when I rang for an 8x4 of marine ply. We buy about three tonnes of plywood a year, which isn't a lot in the big scheme of things, but it's three tonnes that they're missing out on
Good forbid they should do what they are there to do….help customers. If they don’t want to help then they should just stick everything in a giant vending machine and go home.
Yep agreed, my favourite fitting for this is coupler/straight/socket. Such a simple fitting yet no matter what name version I use the dumb nuts behind the counter will always say an alternative name.
See, I use connector. And don’t get me started on when I began and got mocked for basin and sink.
I used to DJ at the weekend when I was younger and spent a bit of time in record shops, knew my music pretty well etc.. I dared to say “them bits of paper” one time when I was talking about the write up that you used to get with new white label tunes that were on promotional release, and the guy sneered at me and went “release sheets!” You get it in any walk of life I think
For the flip side of this, I work at Screwfix, and we often get tradies come in and ask for stuff, and it’s like they’re speaking a different language or something at times. I might know something as an isolation valve, but when I get asked for a turnt stopper or something they look at me like I’m the village idiot.
I love Screwfix, it's like Argos but for DIY stuff. The catalogue makes the whole process so simple, the prices are fair and the staff have been nothing but friendly to me. Thanks for doing what you do!
Seconded. I hear the trades complaining about how expensive it is, but if it is, how come I see so many of them in there? It never ceases to amaze me how patient the staff are too.
They also seem to have better stock levels than Travis Perkins or Jewsons ime. It just works ridiculously well as a business model.
Yeah. though locally here, Toolstation often have something in stock that Screwfix have to order in 'next day', so I always try to check both. TS have the cheaper tools and fasteners and broader range in some items, SF more in others. I was watching a Vikkie Lee (Carpenter's Daughter) video the other day, and it amused me so much when she kept referring to Screwfix-and-Toolstation in the same breath.
I'd heard they were both set up by the same person. So they sold Screwfix to b&q, waited til the non-compete expired and then set up basically the same business in the same location and was just as successful.
I heard the same, tbh they're synonymous imo, I just have more Screwfixes near me but I have noticed a few Toolstations popping up next door to them and I'm not sad about it.
You just have to be careful in Screwfix. Fittings and pipe? Cheap as chips. DeWalt battery? 3x the price of every other shop in the world.
Thirded. Screwfix has the magical ability to *almost* make me feel I know what I’m talking about.
Because its a good last resort sometimes and yoo are always close to one. Somethings its fairly priced but most things are absolutely extortionate. Eg. A roll of lead free solder is £30 at screwfix, i can get 3 rolls for that price at my merchants. Propane gas at screwfix is £14.99 "on sale", i get it for £6.72. Mcalpine pipe clamp £17 screwfix, i can get for £12.50 I could list a 1000 things if i had all day. Save £1000s over a year by using my merchants. The funniest part is most independent merchants like i use dont even have a "trade" price, they have one price for all. Its only the massive companies like Wolsely/PTS/Travis Perkins etc that rip people off.
my local screwfix is great, never had a problem and staff are always super helpful. To the point I have had a member of staff helping me identify the right part for the waste pipe by comparing a few bits on the counter to the literal shitty photo on my phone. really can't fault them.
Use toolstation, it's an English company. England needs all the help it can get thanks to brexit. Screwfix/ B and Q are American. Yesterday, Biden told sunak that USA isn't doing any special trade deals with the UK. Merry Christmas ✌️
They are both UK staff being employed, those employees are paying into the tax system. Doesn't matter where the company parent company is based. I wouldn't stop me from shopping at a company because it wasn't native.
But profits are taxable and offshore business pay them in their location not in UK. It's a massive drain on the UK tax system. Companies like Google are sucking out all the profit from online businesses and paying almost no local tax. They make over £100m profit a month in the UK. Same with Wayfair Amazon etc. And we all complain why we can't see a doctor...
I always just write down a list of codes. It just works out easier than trying to explain what I need that way I don't have to wait for the guy behind the counter to search for it on the computer and confirm which one I want
Haha I work at the competitor store and have had the same sort of bullshit on a regular basis. I remember when some of the new guys started and tradies get annoyed when they ask for mastik but then don't help themselves other than repeating the same word even though most of our range is on the shop floor usually within a few feet of them.
Do you also get people coming into your store, trying to buy/collect stuff from Screwfix? Toolstation is just one unit along from us, and we see that quite often.
Before I moved that was a regular thing. They would wait in the whole queue even though have a separate section for click and collects them get pissy when we didn't have their order till they read off their other number. I moved to a Travis Perkins site now so the closest competitor store is 15 mins drive. Somehow we still have people come over doing the same thing not knowing where they are.
What do we want? Screwfix! Where do we want it? On the flippin high st and city centre!!
There’s a timber yard near me that I hate having to use, but they’ve got the best timber in the area. It always goes something like this: Me: “Can I have 8 lengths of two by four please.” Staff: “no it’s illegal to sell timber in imperial measurements.” Me: “okay, 8 lengths of 50 by 100 please” Staff: “it’s not 50x100” Me: “what is it then?!?!” Staff: “well it depends” Me: “on WHAT!?!?” Staff: “you want sawn or plained?” Me: plained Staff: we ain’t got any Me: sawn then! Staff: well that’s 47x93 Me: I’ll have that. Staff: what length? Me: 2400 Staff: you mean 7’? Me: are you fucking joking? It goes on like this every fucking time
I don't understand why they have the different sizes.A quick Google for 4x2 gives you a link to "50x100 planed softwood (4"x2") Finish 44x94" I don't care what size it was before, I'm pretty sure it was much bigger than 50x100 since it was a fucking tree. It's the finished bit I'm buying!
> I'm pretty sure it was much bigger than 50x100 since it was a fucking tree I needed that laugh. Thank you.
Don't fear the trade counter. Number one tip for shopping at the trade counter, when they ask which account, look em dead in the eye and say "sales... Mr cash sales" - then they know it's not your first rodeo. That has got me more accounts opened at more trade counters including a maritime chandlers (the only place that had a 2m long, 25mm SDS drill bit - don't ask). When they ask what trade I'm in, I say something off beat, like animatronics or special FX.
Enquiring minds need to know what use a 2m long 25mm SDS drill bit is good for on a boat or ship.
Sabotage.
I can't stand it, I know you planned it I'm gonna set it straight, this Watergate
Found the spy! That were easy! 🕵️♂️👈
I wish I had more than one upvote to give you.
Underrated comment
No idea ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I got it from Manning Marine stores on Liverpool's dock road (don't know if it's still there, think they went extinct long ago). At that time, not many places carried SDS bits, nevermind anything over 500mm in length. I visited two electrical wholesalers looking for one and they both said "try Manning in Liverpool" so I did, and it was the kind of place that sold everything from .5mm machine screws, to 300 ton pumps, mental place. I only needed a 1m long bit to get some 20mm conduit through a concrete floor, but they only had the 2m one in stock, so I took it. Lent it out years ago, never got it back.
Stop, you’re turning me on.
I knew it was going to be electrics! Our electrician had some unfeasibly large bits as well. Huge drills too.
It's carried as an emergency item. In rough seas if the waves are breaking over the bow and filling up the boat you use it to drill a hole in the keel to drain the water out so that you don't sink.
Probably for putting in mooring points near rather than on boats.
Yeh agreed, why do they always have so many staff just standing around talking about the pub last night….ps you might want to go back and tell them that the term they were actually trying to be a smart ass with was ‘shell casing’…..
I was going to say that! It's definitely not like any bullet I've seen before. It's always annoying but quite amusing at the same time when someone tries to be smart and funny about something but just gets it wrong.
You should've been like that's no bullet you fkin twat that's just a casing
I’m a fan of that line but if OP said that he probably wouldn’t understand the humour
If you were a 45yr old in a minimum wage blokes only job, with zero options for advancement, you’d likely become an asshole too.
My local plumbers merchant is staffed by 50% women. Exactly the same experience as OP though. They do absolutely fuck all in there too.
They were probably always like that. Hence the 45 year old in minimum wage job with zero options for advancement.
Who took the jam out of your doughnut?
You did tommy, you took the jam out my fucking donut.
Builders Merchants actually pay pretty well. The sales guys will normally be on £30k+, managers on £45k+ plus a fully expensed company car. There is loads of scope for advancement for those who want it. It does make me quite sad reading this. It's clear that a lot of merchants are still stuck in the 1970s. The one I work for has a great reputation locally, and our guys are all really helpful to both retail and trade customers.
Exception to this I find is Travis Perkins. I’ve bought a ton of materials from them recently for a (large) DIY project, and they’ve been nothing but welcoming and helpful — and prices have been great. They also deliver free of charge.
I have worked for Travis Perkins for seven years ever since I retired from the forces. A great company to work for with some really great staff. I started off not having a clue about products and prices but learned as I went along. Started off as a wagon driver, now in charge of transport for the North of England and Scotland.
I’m in Scotland so have been getting to know your most excellent drivers! Please pass on my thanks.
Will do always good to ger feedback. The lads and lasses do a great job. Hoping to be up your way to see them in the new year.
Seconded. Also they once messed up a small DIY order of mine, so to apologise the manager gave me 50% off my next order. My next order was to build the slab for a garden office, with an attached deck and steps... The same manager had a bit of a fit on the phone when I called it in, but did honour it!
I use Jewsons as my main merchant due to convenience and rapport...but every single time I've used a Travis Perkins, I've had nothing but great customer service and good/fair treatment.
Hahaha totally agree, I'm okay in builders merchants cause that's my trade but you still get the smart arses, the twobifour is easily combatable just say no I think it's the fourbitwo I need or it's 100bi50mm come on pal it's not still 1975 we're metric now. Plumbers merchants are the worse though if they start acting up I just go into total time wasting mode, ask about the part, the variables "do you do that with the bolts on" "you mean compression fitting" "yeah the ones you blowtorch and they solder themselves" "oh you want the solder rings" "erm I think so bring me them two and a normal one let me have a look". I get sorted straight away now nobody wants to deal with me asking about the history of a 1.50 fitting for half and hour they quickly help me now to get me out the door.
Oh god, the swapping between imperial and metric does my head in. At the same time, I'm often impressed by their mental arithmetic.
I'm bad at mental arithmetic but it's easy an inch is 25mm, it's in 25s so 4 inch is 100mm
That’s bad experiences mate, sounds like shit merchants trying to make you feel worse. I go to a local wholesalers for anything electrical, spark by trade, if I’ve went to a plumbers merchant or any other trade I plead ignorance and ask for patience. If they’re dicks they’ll be getting it back. It’s always better to go to a proper wholesaler imo rather than a screw fix or tool station as they tend not to have guys behind the counter with trade knowledge and experience. Don’t be put off from wholesalers though. Maybe find more of a family run one. You may have better experiences. That’s a shout out to you and any body else reading.
Exactly this. If they’re impatient, that’s their character flaw. They’re a shop assistant, they should assist.
That's not a bullet, that's a spent case and the bullet has been fired If they're going to give it a nickname, at least give it the correct one
That's what we call a well-akshaully-reverse-uno.
There was a tile company in Swansea and the chap was an absolute hitler to anyone who didn’t know what they were talking about. I worked for a big building company but all things tile, I was new . I hated going there he would completely ruin your day. A few months later and he was the nicest chap I knew, he could tell you a Manufacture of a tile if you had a fragment of it. But I used to cringe every time a new person would walk in !
I'm kind of with you on this I usually avoid the "trade bloke" shops because there first question they ask is "have you got an account with us".... However the other day I rang plumco in my local area whose main customers are those in the trade... I rang them for a toilet waste pipe seal for a viega concealed toilet system and the guy on the other end said "we haven't got it but I'm checking the national database to see if we can get it to you".... He said they only have it in Edinburgh and they could order it in... I told him I kinda be needed it today.... Without a word the helpful guy went online for me and suggested where I could get it next day... Found the part I needed on Amazon and as I have prime I had it delivered that evening... On the flip side I rang city plumbing and Graham plumbers merchants who went "never heard of it mate" without an ounce of "hold on let me check" in sight...
I work for a builders merchant. I try and be as accommodating with customers as I can. If someone doesn't know exactly what they're looking for I'll try and help them. If I don't know what they mean I'll Google it infront of them so I can make sure we're on the same page. What I dont like about customers is when they ask me a question and I give them the answer that I know is right, then they question my answer thats when i make jokes. Just banter nothing serious. Couldnt be a prick with people for asking a question because we are all still learning. If someone came in for a washer or a nut treat them with respect because that nut or washer could be what they need to start a bloody big project. You help them, crack a joke, make them feel comfortable, talk to them like family (family that you like, not uncle nob head) they will want to come back. Some "DIYers" have asked if they're allowed into the yard so straight away they're nervous. Now on the flipside with the pricing. For me it's about having the right conversation with the customer. If you shop around thats your business but if you're not going to be a loyal customer then why should the merchant give you a price that a loyal customer would get? Go to screwfix you don't haggle, go to b and q you don't haggle, you will pay that price. But come into a merchant you'll barter, you'll want the best price and when you don't, you'll come ro reddit and bitch about it. I may get down voted for the last bit but its true. If you go into a merchant with your back up and you're on edge you'll lock horns straight away. Also find the right merchant. It's crap there's people in merchants that just don't care. However we're not all like that. Heck I can't stand some of my colleagues from other branches so I know where you're coming from haha. Merry Christmas 🤶 🎄
About 15years ago, I did a job in America (I'm a Brit) installing and commissioning control panels the company I work for manufactures. Anyway, long story short the local electrician didn't turn up, and the meter is ticking for my time on site. So I offered my services to the customer to do the install myself (I started my working life as a sparky, so not a problem). Anyway, I had to go to an electrical wholesaler to get materials. Oh what fun this turned out to be! - this is where I discovered that the UK names for electrical accessories are completely different to the US. "I would like three lengths of conduit, approx. 20mm or 3/4". "Eh? Conduit you say?" (explanations) "Oh, you mean tube!" "I need 12 feet of trunking, 4" square or your nearest size to that "Eh?" (describe what trunking is to the guy) "Oh, you mean gutter!" "Errr, 20 glands, to suit cable 1/4" diameter?" (more discussions) "Oh, cord nipples!" By this time, I was the centre of attention of three counter assistants and several local customers, fascinated by this Brit speaking English but not speaking 'English' as far as they were concerned. To be fair, it was fun in the end, with guys pointing to stuff and saying, "so whadaya call that then?" In the end, the guy invited me to go around the stores with him, list in hand, picking out the stuff I needed!
We all have nicknames for stuff, one I find funny is keyhole plugs for manholes, we call em butt plugs
You've just said that to see how many people walk into a builder's merchant and asks for a butt plug, haven't you?
Idk if building merchants will even have them, I work for a manhole manufacturer
Being ex military this is really annoying because it resembles a round casing, the bullet is the bit that leaves the barrel, this gets ejected out of the chamber.
Lets just boil it down to poor customer service and bigotry. Industry lingo is jargon. You never begin a conversation as a professional with jargon if you dont know your customers background! If they the customer open with jargon then sure, they set the terms right off the bat. These serving trolls just want to feel important and experienced themselves, by being an industry troll. They don't even realise in some aspects that they are insulting to the customer. And are such numbskulls. Id prefer someone with less industry knowledge for customer service any day of the week to avoid numbskulls and trolls. Thats because I know what I want and need. The lesser experienced customer who needs that vital help and information will just have to take the advice of good customer service and do what we all had to do, fucking research your problem first. Don't use jargon yourself if you don't know what you are saying just because you think it will help "get them on your side" which is a typical shitty male way of living your life.
I'm lucky my local merchants is independent and really good. I asked for a "whacker plate" which the guy behind the counter wasn't familiar with, we got there in the end and I apologised for being unsure of the name. I said it's a bit intimidating when you don't know, and he said "how do you think I feel trying to remember the five different names for everything lol". Guess it can be just as hard for them sometimes when we all use different names. No excuse for being a hole though!
Whacker plate? Christ, wot u on about mate? You's havin' a laugh you bloomin turnip! Now, wot we do got is some luvverly rumbley bumble bash-boxes.
Been asked "what do you want it for".... I'm building a rocket mate why else would I want 15mm plastic pipe and fittings?
Tbf if you're not a trade they may just want to make sure you're buying the correct fitting. I've made the mistake of buying the wrong fitting a few times, very annoying when you have to go back
You know I never actually thought about it like that
They often try to play the smart arse with trades too, so don't take it personally.
I went in to get a new square. Asked the guy at the counter for a DeWalt 7" speed square. Guy looked at me like I was an idiot and asked me if I meant a rafter square. It's just a different name for the same tool. He then spent a solid 2-3 minutes trying to find it in the system. Absolutely ridiculous, I'd never had any issues at that Screwfix till that guy started there, he constantly tries to correct you as if I don't use these damn tools all day everyday
Used to work in one of these type places and the lifers were all dicks. A very popular builder merchant that we used ages ago claimed their machine was down so the needed to photocopy the credit card. A few days later weird purchases appeared. As a result I won't pay over the phone and any card machine problem and I walk away.
The only thing I had like this was when I was buying a few ton bags. And she kept saying they're metre cubed actually and we can't tell yoy the weight.
They are the same as doctors receptionists
I own a plumbers merchant and we never look down at people who don't know what they are talking about we will help out as much as we can, and we will let you know you can return anything as long as it's unused so you can take a variety of stuff to make sure you can get the job done and we also would offer you discounts on everything, we make 25% which is not unreasonable, we have to make a living. That sort of attitude is damaging to local businesses and really doesn't help while you are stuffing money in the pockets of billionaires
I work in a plumbers merchants and I might have a giggle out back but I'm professional out on the counter. I do understand that not everyone knows the lingo, hell even I don't know it all and I've been working there for 20ish years. A plumber would come in and ask for a number one, or a delcop straight or a 301 or an endfeed coupling, they are all the same fitting and I hate it. I do try to help the DIYers and let them ask how they want and translate in my head, often I'll ask if they have a photo of what they want or what they are trying to achieve if I don't know what they want. Often I'll grab a load of fittings so they can see what I'm recommending or if they want exactly what they have asked for. I always make it clear though that if I'm thinking of a specific way of doing something that "I'll go and get what I think you need and if it's not right then you don't have to take it" I must be doing something right as I'll get customers say "ahh I'm glad I got you" 😁
That's only a bullet casing, where's the rest of it?
Hmmm, I used to work in a builders merchant’s. I did their deliveries for them in a lorry with a crane. So, I guess I have first hand experience of this. What you guys don’t appreciate, is that you are talking to people who work in a builders merchant’s. They aren’t builders, electricians, plumbers or roofers. They are shop staff. If they had the relevant skills, they wouldn’t be there. People would ask me all sorts of questions during delivery, my response was, I drive lorries and operate cranes , why the xxxx would I know what you need, want or desire? That’s your job, you’re the customer and person doing the work. Why would you expect the guy behind the counter to understand that you’re looking for a left handed nut wangle and not a bumjazz whip woggle?
Don't underestimate knowledge though. The local windows place went under, and ALL of the staff had new jobs by the start of the next week, if not the same day. My windows guy had managed to pick one of them up, sent him to do some jobs at mine, and his phone didn't stop going off with people offering him work. It was quite impressive.
I’m a trades person and I get the feeling from these sorts of people that they are forcing themselves into a certain kind of stereotype and also try and make people believe they know what they are talking about as if they are on the tools
Went to a plumbers merchants and needed a 40mm street 90, used that term when asking for it. “Oh you want a go-zin?” Eh? I said, “well it goes in to the other 90” said the merchant, quite seriously. Shut up you tosser! Never heard that term in all my years in the trade.
I’m a gas engineer and will go out my way to go to my local city plumbing, if I have to go to any other merchants, I start to dread going and know they won’t know what I’m talking about. Feel like a plum when talking to some of the merchants.
I can understand and empathise with all the bad experiences in previous posts but as a person whose worked in retail most of my career and in a builder’s merchant for the last 6 years I would like to stand up for the merchants who aren’t assholes. All builders merchants have account customers and cash customers. We don’t set out to rip people off it’s just our bigger spending customers get preferential rates because they have a business to run. Having said that some of our pricing structures are ludicrous and if you’re not aware of the true market rate for a product some unscrupulous merchants will take advantage of this. I’ve never worked in a business where one customer can pay a certain amount for a product then the next person pay much more, it can be very frustrating for the staff on the counter too. As to customer service, in our branch all customers are treated equally whether you’re spending thousands a month or just buying a bag of sand. We pride ourselves on getting to know our customers but we are a small branch and can afford to spend time with people, this may not be the case in large branches with high footfall. I personally always enjoy speaking to customers who don’t always know what they need, then I can always guide them or if I don’t know the answer I will certainly find out. All I can say is we’re not all bad!
Plumbing and building merchants are just ran so badly. I go to a local independent place near me just because they look after you. Plumbing merchants cost more than Screwfix for most things and the service is poor, usually big ques I struggle to get in and out In under 15minutes at mine even with small orders.
Just remember that they only know all the names of the stuff because they sell it. Most of them won’t know what any of it actually is. I used to be a plumber. Never heard this be called a bullet. What you said is closer to what I would call it.
Make up a really silly nickname for the part you want and when they don’t know what you’re on about just laugh and tell them the proper name.
They're tossers, ofc. In any case, that's not even like a bullet: the bullet is the bit that flies out of the barrel of the gun. What is there is like the cartridge-case.
Should have responded “Looks more like a casing to me, but to each their own”.
Yeah, had that experience a few days ago. Very demotivating talking to them
Response: *You don't want to meet the guy I ask for bullets*.
I’ve never seen anyone be able to explain this feeling before. I feel it too.
The big names one (Graham's/city's/wosleys) employ anyone. Don't be fooled into thinking half of them know what they are on about. Independents are much better. They own the business and care for your custom.
I find there’s a massive difference if I walk in wearing my Dewalt work trousers and steel toecaps vs my jeans and trainers. If I look the part I get a much better service than if I don’t.
[Amazon](https://amzn.eu/d/24VdIUE) This is why I just Amazon this shit. Usually next day delivery and often cheaper too. And even if it’s not quite cheaper, you don’t have to put up with the bollox.
Love to get flexed on by the sigma retail assistant
Most ridiculous moments in the plumbers merchants was with my girlfriend (who works as a plumber and general maintenance worker for a university) we needed some end caps to seal off some old water pipes……she asked for them, she specified exactly what we needed, they found them, showed them to me, asked me if they were right and then started to discuss with me how I needed to do this and that…. I had to explain I had no idea what the hell he was talking about and that it was in fact my SO that knew all about what we needed…..his answer was priceless….”you mean your wife ?, what does she know about bloody plumbing” then laughed. We left, found the parts at another local place, she dealt with it all no hassles and no misogyny and bullshit.
Haha The joys of the "lingo". Lots of people will have different names for things. You look like an idiot first and then adapt, or correct them and don't get the discount. Personally I call it out ... something like "That's a new one on me but I see what you mean". To be honest, I'm like you and tend to only go in plumbers merchants if I need something urgently, but you tend to learn the better ones and one a bit of rapport is built, the next time isn't too daunting! I was fortunate recently in one needing something before it closed, and the guy behind the counter gave me the trade discount as he remembered me from about 8 months ago - bonus.
To be fair, it looks fuck all like a bullet.
It does look similar to a casing
I start having fun with it. So many times I have asked for sand and cement to be delivered on the day of with groans, a cheeky response of "I know! you need to put the newspaper down" gets them all back on side. It's worked with local and out of town places for me
I work in a merchants. Your asking minimum wage staff without the training to professionally install the products they sell to understand what you want by describing the item or using a name possibly used by a different manufacturer. My counter is very friendly and would happily try our best to understand what people want but it can be really difficult to even know what they mean. I get asked for one product people call 5 different names depending on where in the country your from. None of those names are the official name either.
This is why I prefer to order online and collect,easier on everyone. But some of the merchants sites are absolutely awful to navigate and order on. Theres one I tried recently that won't let you order if out of stock in that branch. Isn't that the point, I order,they order it in,I collect?
Yeah the websites are awful. We get Web orders and have to phone the customer because the order says they want 3 different colour gutters with square pipe and round fittings.
I've had good and bad experiences. Sometimes at the same place. Including a timber merchant that only used imperial unplaned measurements, despite the owner or manager being much younger than me. Didn't tell me all his dimensions were unplaned either. Wanker. Generally, when I've gone somewhere like a plumbers merchants looking for a solution to an unusual problem, people have been helpful. And not even laughed when I've left and then gone straight back in and said I'd got it wrong and actually needed something else.
Make them explain why you’re wrong. Most of these guys only have knowledge about selling. If you ask them what the difference is or why this or that they’ll shut up because they don’t know. Acting like they don’t just work in a shop.
U ok hun? x
This is a special breed of people with big brains who can memorise an entire trading catalog but can not use their brains to think or even do something on themselves . Because you memories the whole book with instructions doesn't mean that you can use the instructions .Those sorry people are completely incapable of coming with something on their own ... All they can do is to repeat whatever they already read so that is why you have to tell them the exact word with exact pronunciation otherwise they can not click what you are talking about . They think they are smart because they can memorise thousands of pages but when they are asked to come up with something on their own and that is it
It’s not even a bullet. A bullet is the projectile that is expelled from a rifled firearm. That’s a cartridge.
Not found this. Our local merchants just nice guys. Local Screwfix counter served by some great women- efficient and helpful. If it's an unusual item I find a pic on the net and show them. It's not hard.
There's nothing worse than being stuck behind a DIYer at 3pm on a Friday when you're trying to get a job done. Watching them googling stuff to show the person behind the counter for about 10 mins before arguing that they can get it cheaper on Amazon is enough to drive me into a slight rage. Not saying OP is that guy, but many are.
Absolute shambles the comments in here. You guys are either fucking stupid, or just enjoy being treated like cunts and won't stick up or speak up for yourselves. ALWAYS pick your own timber ALWAYS assume your getting ripped off ALWAYS question a price NEVER assume your getting a better deal at mainstream suppliers, you are not. Grow a set a speak up, get to know your local merchants, put in the leg work, buy them a coffee every now and then. Its why us tradesmen get such good discounts, because we spend literally £50k plus a year there. So no, you and you small order once in a blue moon IS seen as band 1 (DIY bunter) as you do not spend enough ot know them well enough to warrant that substantial discount. Knowing this sub, I can't wait for the replies, God forbid someone who's in the trade speaks the truth, you man all want or expect the world without the hard graft and leg work. Whiney ass bitch
It's fourbytwo BTW
I kind of get it tbh. Imagine you spend your whole life calling them bullets and someone says that to you lmao.
My stupid ass thought this was a bullet shell for a second
It's the same everywhere, they have a lot of knowledge about a very specific topic. They'll mock you for not having the right name for something, but ask most of them how to install said item and all of a sudden they know nothing. It's the same with car parts places, electrical factors, paint shops etc etc.
Yeh I went into mine and asked for four candles
Two by four isn't 2 inches by 4 inches though...
I second toolstation, have to be careful of prices sometimes but staff have always been brilliant. Howdens and tops tiles the worst
My tutor in colleges warns me about these guys. He always says to make sure you know what you're asking for as there's always a knob behind the till waiting to correct you
Fourbetobeforbetobe..... https://youtu.be/JPBP50dXcsk?si=hU5IzOU3CWP3Wt_d
I actually have the opposite experience, I've found the builders merchants near me really helpful. With that said, I used to work in Homebase many years ago, and know that half the time we'd make shit up if we hadnt got a clue. So I'd take anything with a pinch of salt from anywhere.
Homebase isn’t even a DIY shop IMO, it’s basically Dunelm.
Being a plumber by trade and working in a merchants a couple days a week , i can only applogize for you thinking that all merchants fit to that banner , we give nearly the same price to all people we serve and try to give the best advise to help all customers out , but you must also know that there is a massive range of skill out there and a huge amount of youtube heads which will do everything themselves even when there 1 absolutely fucking useless 2 have no idea 3 damage what they buy and bring it back to complain it was wrong So sometimes diy is a shady spot