Screwfix, what an utter pain in the proverbial

[TheTiddles]

My only issue with Screw Fix is the mis-match between the stock they have and the stock they claim on their web site. Get the local branch phone number to check, then I have always found the staff very helpful. It probably varies from branch to branch but the two I use Rugby and Wellingborough have always been good.

Do you not get told when you order and get a text 10-minutes later that it’s ready?

 

[dickm]

Off at a tangent, but until last Saturday we had a wonderful "old school" petrol station in the village, that also did bicycles, plumbing supplies, garden supplies, electric fencing, and, if it was not obvious in the shop, "There might be one in the basement". Today, they were digging out one of the underground fuel tanks, so that's pretty final.

 

[user 35906]

I ordered a storage water heater from screw fix, it was not in stock at my local depot but was availlable to order online with free delivery on agreed date, after receiving order conformation I waited in all day only to find they had sent me a text (that I had not noticed) around 1PM on delivery day saying it was not availlable after all, I called them up and was told they were completely out of stock and were only expected back in stock in around 8 weeks time or maybe longer. I went back online and they did a few in stock at a different branch 12 miles away but for collection only. Not a very professional way to treat customers

 

[owen]

Screwfix online has really gone down hill the last say 12 months, I've had no end of problems with wrong items sent or items just not sent at all. Funniest one was I ordered a Hive thermostat, and was sent a makita multitool instead. Absolutely useless they are, especially trying to get through to customer services on the phone to sort out the cocked up orders. Didn't used to get many problems with them at all.

 

[EddyCurrent]

Quite often there's a Toolstation nearby to Screwfix, I go there first because it's cheaper, then to Screwfix if they don't have the item.

 

[Ozi]

Do you not get told when you order and get a text 10-minutes later that it’s ready?

You do, but sometimes the store doesn't have the item or it's sold to someone else because the on line doesn't match up with the local stock

 

[John Brown]

Yes. I always order online, and then collect.
No problem.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I remember ordering from Screwfix in the early '80s. All mail order (advertised in Exchange and Mart), no problems then............................ except they only did screws, nails etc. I tend to use Toolstation by choice now.

 

[Valhalla]

In my experience, the cashiers don’t care whether you order a high-end power tool or two drill bits. Every order is received with bored politeness.

more like bored indifference

 

[Duncan A]

The guys in my local Screwfix are great. Order online, wait for the text, cheery staff have the order ready, in and out in moments.
BUT a lot of stuff isn't available at my store/can't be delivered etc. In fairness, I think some of this is due to the pandemic staffing issues and the global manufacturing and transport issues arising from same.
Oddly enough, I've lately sometimes found the same item in stock at B & Q (same company as Screwfix) at a lower price. Btw, B & Q told me they had 900 containers on the Ever Given so it's no wonder things are a bit ropey at present
Duncan

 

[YorkshireBert]

I wouldn't expect advice or expert knowledge from screwfix/toolstation etc. The staff are great in my view, but they are really order processors, not trade professionals.
As others are saying above, even though my. nearest SF is only about 2 miles away, I never go there (or even to the adjacent Wickes) without first checking stock online and often click and collecting it.
I did recently click and collect some weird sized bolts (M5x60mm I think) from B&Q, as they were the only ones showing stock, and on arrival was told sorry, we haven't got any!

B&Q website I find to be the proverbial pile of sh**e. Screwfix how ever spot on. Weird when they’re owned by same company.

 

[JobandKnock]

...B & Q told me they had 900 containers on the Ever Given so it's no wonder things are a bit ropey at present

Neat excuse! But TBH they never have held much stock at branches, and neither have Toolstation (go in and order more than two or three Wera PZD#3 bits and you'll see what I mean). Over the past 15 months they've both got steadily worse, though, leading to our buyer referring to SFX as the "supplier of last resort". As for those folk who go in thinking it's like an old fashioned ironmongers - no comment!

 

[Chippysu]

I need some brads, 15mm and 20mm, and the same sizes in narrow gauge staples, and theres a screwfix not to far away. Was at B&Q yesterday- no narrow staples, but I wanted to check the exact series for a tacwise 191 el pro gun.
So this morning i ride down. About 40 mins round trip.

Took me 5 mins to describe to the bloke on the counter what exactly brads were and he spent another 10 minutes looking on his slow as a pentium 3 computer and in the end found they had nothing, for tacwise brand, and another 5 minutes to see if dewalt had anything.
Feeling a bit exacerbated by now I told him, well staples are more important as it's for a small packing crate(send some carbon mtb forks, safer in a crate than a box)
Back to the slowest computer on earth, and again he didnt exactly know which staples i needed, even though I'd given him a piece of paper with the gauge and series on(18G series 91) seemed to think it was a single staple you hammered in. I actually had to use their catalog to show him what they were , page, part number etc.
Came away with nowt. No brads, no staples. Utter waste of time. They said I could order them, I said I can do that online, but would have thought a company such as screwfix would keep millions of the things in stock as they're a popular item.
Now last night I could have ordered them on ebay, but no, I needed them pretty much for today, and ordering them it would probably be Thursday morning/afternoon, but if I get them quicker I can assemble the crate and be ready to post them that same day. I stupidly thought screwfix would have them if b&q and homebase didnt, Wishing I had ordered them now, but this now likely means I'll not see any order till Monday, and promised I'd get the forks in the post before the weekend.

I'll be adding them to the - useless seller list and not look to that company to fill an order or use them to buy anything. Pathetic.

I feel your frustration on this. Don't know what area you are but if you have a screwfix there's normally a Toolstation within spitting distance, (they're brothers and keep opposing stock.) They keep series 91in 18,22,30mm staples but no brads. I too had issues with what is equivalent brads and ended up at our proper tool supplies shop in D&M. Twickenham, they deliver too for future reference. I'm sure whoever you're sending the forks to will be happy that you're trying to package them correctly, I know I would.

 

[Wood&StuffLtd]

I need some brads, 15mm and 20mm, and the same sizes in narrow gauge staples, and theres a screwfix not to far away. Was at B&Q yesterday- no narrow staples, but I wanted to check the exact series for a tacwise 191 el pro gun.
So this morning i ride down. About 40 mins round trip.

Took me 5 mins to describe to the bloke on the counter what exactly brads were and he spent another 10 minutes looking on his slow as a pentium 3 computer and in the end found they had nothing, for tacwise brand, and another 5 minutes to see if dewalt had anything.
Feeling a bit exacerbated by now I told him, well staples are more important as it's for a small packing crate(send some carbon mtb forks, safer in a crate than a box)
Back to the slowest computer on earth, and again he didnt exactly know which staples i needed, even though I'd given him a piece of paper with the gauge and series on(18G series 91) seemed to think it was a single staple you hammered in. I actually had to use their catalog to show him what they were , page, part number etc.
Came away with nowt. No brads, no staples. Utter waste of time. They said I could order them, I said I can do that online, but would have thought a company such as screwfix would keep millions of the things in stock as they're a popular item.
Now last night I could have ordered them on ebay, but no, I needed them pretty much for today, and ordering them it would probably be Thursday morning/afternoon, but if I get them quicker I can assemble the crate and be ready to post them that same day. I stupidly thought screwfix would have them if b&q and homebase didnt, Wishing I had ordered them now, but this now likely means I'll not see any order till Monday, and promised I'd get the forks in the post before the weekend.

I'll be adding them to the - useless seller list and not look to that company to fill an order or use them to buy anything. Pathetic.

Did you try Amazon Prime as they have loads of TacWise staples on their site. It is my go-to supplier for a lot of workshop stuff and sometimes cheaper than Toolstation or Screwfix, and delivered next day.

 

[Amateur]

Look at it this was. You had a wonderful drive through empty roads on a sunny day. Kids in the back singing away. Wife next to you rubbing your leg and looking dewey eyes at you.....
After you got back in the car, angry, frustrated, irate...
she turned to you and said, " How bloody long have you had to order those brads, I've been telling you to order them all through lockdown! "
" I told you furlough wouldn't last forever, and you insisted on laying in bed all day playing on your x box, and don't think going into that bloody woodworking forum with your make believe friends will get you any sympathy!

 

[Trextr7monkey]

Haven’t checked recently but we used to buy staples from Machine Mart as they always seemed to have a good stock. Worth a look

 

[Jonm]

Many years ago (Pre internet) I was in B&Q and saw some thermostatic radiator valves. I think they were Drayton, two types labelled TVR3 and TVR4. They had been running adverts about employing real tradesmen to assist in queries. So I picked one of each up and went to the help desk and asked what the difference was. The girl at the desk looked at me a bit odd and said, “well, that is a TVR3 and that is a TVR4“. At that point I decided that I was wasting my time so I said something along the lines of “oh, I see, thank you” and put them back on the shelf. No doubt she thought “what an i-diot”

It does emphasise the usefulness of the internet because now I would go and look on the manufacturers website. And I still do not know the difference between a TVR3 and TVR4 is.

 

[Crazy Dave]

use to buy brads from screwfix but stocks low so found them on amazon for next day delivery

That exactly what I do but check prices first as they seem to fluctuate.

 

[NormanB]

I need some brads, 15mm and 20mm, and the same sizes in narrow gauge staples, and theres a screwfix not to far away. Was at B&Q yesterday- no narrow staples, but I wanted to check the exact series for a tacwise 191 el pro gun.
So this morning i ride down. About 40 mins round trip.

Took me 5 mins to describe to the bloke on the counter what exactly brads were and he spent another 10 minutes looking on his slow as a pentium 3 computer and in the end found they had nothing, for tacwise brand, and another 5 minutes to see if dewalt had anything.
Feeling a bit exacerbated by now I told him, well staples are more important as it's for a small packing crate(send some carbon mtb forks, safer in a crate than a box)
Back to the slowest computer on earth, and again he didnt exactly know which staples i needed, even though I'd given him a piece of paper with the gauge and series on(18G series 91) seemed to think it was a single staple you hammered in. I actually had to use their catalog to show him what they were , page, part number etc.
Came away with nowt. No brads, no staples. Utter waste of time. They said I could order them, I said I can do that online, but would have thought a company such as screwfix would keep millions of the things in stock as they're a popular item.
Now last night I could have ordered them on ebay, but no, I needed them pretty much for today, and ordering them it would probably be Thursday morning/afternoon, but if I get them quicker I can assemble the crate and be ready to post them that same day. I stupidly thought screwfix would have them if b&q and homebase didnt, Wishing I had ordered them now, but this now likely means I'll not see any order till Monday, and promised I'd get the forks in the post before the weekend.

I'll be adding them to the - useless seller list and not look to that company to fill an order or use them to buy anything. Pathetic.

Unbelievable.
Screwfix, Toolstation et al are set up for people who know what they want.
Maybe next time ring Amazon and ask them for advice.

 

[Thingybob]

I used to use screwfix all the time in the 90s delivery next day were a godsend then i believe they were bought out by B&Q thats when problems started so started using Toolstation then they were bought out by Travis Perkins the big boys dont care about the customers only the bottom line