Comedy in a Swindon tool shop

[johnelliott]

I went to Beesley's tool shop in Swindon today to purchase a Trend 'Air ace' dust mask today. I hadn't been there before, I normally buy mail order. Anyway, I saw all the Trend router cutter range, all priced as per the catalogue, and plus VAT. I haven't bought any Trend cutters for a while, but when I did ( and I own 20 odd Trend cutters) the catalogue price was just a joke, and the normal discount was 30% (Axminster and others).
Anyway, I say to the guy behind the counter "do you offer any discount to full-time woodworkers?"
"Do you have an account?" he asked me, knowing full well that I did not
To cut a long conversation short it transpired that if I was buying a quantity of cutters at one time then he might concede ten to fifteen percent (grudgingly)
I said not to bother, that the discount was not enough and I paid for the dust mask and left
As I left the t*at behind the counter probably thought 'that got rid of him, fancy trying to take some of my profit away'. But as I left I thought, had he been politer and offered a proper discount then I would have bought some cutters from him, but now I am not and will continue to buy them elsewhere
This isn't the first time I have come across this ridiculous attitude, I had something similar from David Hunt Tools (near Reading) a few years ago.
What I don't understand is, who is it who does buy at those prices? I guess it must be medium sized firms who probably can't be bothered to check around and find that they are paying well over the odds

John

 

[Anonymous]

Hi John,

I know exactly what you mean, it seems to be ina lot of places toady, your lucky to get a grunt sometimes. What I would like to know, why these places employ such rude people, or are they making so much money they don't care.
I have had the same trouble with Business Post couriers in Sheffield, trying to find the morticer tha I bought, totally un-helpful and after several phones they found it, sent it on and now the twits have lost it again. How do you lose a 30k parcel, unless it had help.
Well all I can say is, if you get rude assistants, don't go there again, perhaps then they might wake up amnd wonder why their business's are going dwon the pan, being polite cost nothing, except perhaps your reputation and living.

 

[Anonymous]

its interesting that these places are still in business.
but if you are the local shop then its almost like having a captive audience.
its not like there is any real local competition.

and i know its hard to believe but some people have never heard of axminster os dare i mention screwfix.


aleks

 

[kityuser]

my local trend dealer is what used to be "cannon tool hire" in maidstone (its now "hire station" or something like that............)

anyhow, its the same story, stricktly catalogue prices, its ok if you urgently need what you want, but other wise its just not worth it *SO PRICEY*

the blokes are nice enough in there........ not sure if they know alot about the stuff they sell though!!!!!
theres alot of "looking in the catalogue while you stand there in silence" *grinz*

one good point i suppose is that you can actually go down there and take a look at what you want before you buy it.

 

[Scrit]

John

I get exactly the same in this neck of the woods (north of England). The attitude seems to be one of "we have it, take it or leave it". I believe that some of these companies must realise that if you are desperate enough to walk into their shops, you must need the tooling NOW, so they charge as they will. I deal with a fairly local power tool shop who was pretty good on price - to start with. As he got to know me I began to see the prices rise gradually, probably because he thought that I wasn't looking elsewhere, so I now try to shop around on everthing. One thing I do notice is how the same companies who discount heavily on power tools won't discount at all on accessories and tooling - more than half the price of almost any tool kit! Why???

Scrit

 

[DAZB]

Have you tried DB Keighley in Leeds ? I have had several dealings with them and they are very helpful and do actually know what they are selling. I don't have any personal connection to the store but a good supplier deserves praise so here's my bit.

 

[Anonymous]

Just thought i would add my tuppenceworth to the debate.

I purchased a CLARKE scroll saw from MACHINE MART. I have since had to replace a couple of bits, one of which failed under warranty, and one which wore out.
In both instances, the local shop (mansfield) were very helpful, and i received the parts quickly through the post.

They are not the cheapest around, as it is mostly priced from their catalogue, but this is offset by the good service, and most of the staff seem to be quite knowledgable about the products.

I dont mind it not being the cheapest, if i get good service, but i agree with the above comments. In a lot of places, its take it or leave it,and the staff do not seem to be more than a cash till operator.

regards

 

[Jaco]

Here in SA not any different. I asked the one person from which orphanage they came as their lack of manners can only be attributed to lack of parentage.
People generally tend to be apathetic and put up with poor service etc. DONT!
Moan, complain, crap all over them verbally and in writing.

 

[Anonymous]

I sympathise with you guys.

Our local store, however, appears to be the exception. Most products that I have bought from Homewood in Worthing have proved to be pretty price competitive (i.e. within a pound or two of the usual Mail Order prices). (Though to be fair, I haven't looked at router cutters).
In addition they are helpful, knowledgable and their after sales service is superb. In fact the owner actually came round to my house to help me resolve a problem with one purchase.

Maybe it's the sea air ! :lol:

 

[Scrit]

Jabby

I'll second your comments about Machine Mart. OK, so they don't have that much WW stuff, but they do seem to know a bit about what they are selling you. The staff in all three of the branches I frequent (we're twenty or thirty miles from all of them) have been universally helpful in getting into stock stuff they didn't have at the branch, just so I could take a look (although I do generally buy the items in question). Not the cheapest, but a thumbs up none the less.

 

[Anonymous]

DEAR SCRIT

YES, I agree with you over the availability of stock at MACHINE MART.
I wanted replacement plain blade holders for my clarke machine.

I first phoned clarke, thinking they would be the easiest, but they did not have any in stock, and actually recommended i contact MACHINE MART.

I phoned MACHINE MART. Not only did they have them in stock, i received the items the next morning in the post, which i consider excellent as i did not place the order until late afternoon.

I do not know about other folks, but the thing i hate most is taking a trip to somewhere specifically to purchase a standard product, and then find they are out of stock. As mentioned elsewhere, this is very often compounded by apathy from the staff.

from robin hood country,in the rain

 

[dennyk]

You pay monkey wages!! you get monkey staff

 

[RogerS]

But to be fair to the smaller shop, they have had to shell out their money to keep stuff in stock. That costs money in lost interest or overdraft charges. They have to make their money somewhere..but I agree, it all depends on his attitude.

 

[LyNx]

John, i know the shop you mean and was in there last friday getting a price for an apron plane. I didn't like his tone with me so didn't order it with him. This shop seems over priced anyway. I've never bought from them and prop never will.

Andy

 

[Anonymous]

It used to be that the person serving you was interested in what they were selling.

Now maybe its just a job, so they are not enthusiastic.

I became interested in wood working when my father bought a new lathe from a small woodworking shop near Crewe. I got interested because the guy we bought it from was so into his wood working, it made me want to get involved.

I went back to find that shop when I was back home in the North West in the summer, only to find that it has closed down. Real shame, but it is these independent shops, run by knowlegable, enthusiasts that really make the difference.

I guess larger firms put these small firms out of business trying to find economies of scale to deliver the the consumer a lower priced product. This results in the 'mooks' with little or no understanding who serve us.

Often, I need help and advice, but you dont find it in shops these days. You find it here instead, where people give you advice, lend you books, DVDs etc.

Did we need to support these smaller shops more? Would you have paid more to a guy in his shop if he was helpful. Or would you have found your equipment cheaper on the internet at the best price you could?

Just a thought.

 

[tim]

Folks

Get a grip - this post was started in May 2003 and then left until today! :roll: :roll:

Cheers

Tim