Dumbing down of Buunnings

**Wild Dingo** · 15th March 2007, 02:27 AM

Im not intending a slanging match at Bunnings here and decided this needed its own thread rather than continuing it in the Carbatec thread... but seems to me that they are "dumbing down" their staff particularily in the trades tools and hardware sections.

By that I mean the staff in those sections in particular dont have a flamin clue.

Now I can only go by the four stores Ive actually dealt with but will exclude their Morley store since its over a year since I graced their doors... so the three Bunbury, Mandurah and Rockingham... have what I would call "slight interest" in customer service and product knowledge

Now to quantify such negativity with some positive they are friendly they have a huge range and the store is massive and fairly well laid out.

Now back to my findings... Recently {with the last week} I have had the opportunity to attend each of these three stores

First Rockingham
While all the positives held true the fact that firstly the girl on the till in the tools section did not know what a hand held grinder was but that the "senior" member of staff she called over to assist also did not know... now the interesting thing was that while waiting for this member of staff I had found them and was standing in front of them when he arrived {the checkout girl was aged in her mid 30s while the one she called was a bloke in his late 40s early 50s} when he arrived I asked if these where "the only ones they had" his response was that they did not stck hand held grinders... he was serious.

follow on in the timber section when looking for their "tassie oak" was directed and assisted to the... jarrah section! when told I wanted tassie oak this staff member quite seriously satated that it was indeed tassie oak and that was all they had.. walking away as he said it... I found the TS in the next isle over when taking it to the counter same staff member asked "oh I see you settled on Jarrah sir"

Dumb number 1 and 2

Mandurah
Now I dont actually mind the Mandurah store some nice people work there and as a company when I was president of the local little athletics Bunnings was the only store to offer us a time and slot at the front door to fund raise... so as I say a good store but that was over 4 years ago... fast forward to last weeks visit
I went straight to the tools section as one does as Im still undecided about a trimmer router Im thinking of buying... so in I go past the 18ish girl on the tools section checkout and wander around like the proverbial lost sheep looking for them along comes a 50is bloke "yes sir can I help you?" "year mate Im looking for your trimmer routers" he scratched his head hummed and hawed then started wandering away from the section with the tools out past the young girl "follow me sir" so I cought up with him "mate? a router is a power tool" "no sir I believe you will find them in electrical" so we made our way to electrical this joker asks the joker there who comes from behind the counter and says "no Im sorry sir we dont carry that line" "mate as I told your mate here a router is a poweer tool not electrical conduit" "well sir then it would be in the tools section if we carry it" and he goes back to whatever amounted to "work" and the other bloke had disappeared

I then decided buggar it I would just get some 5/8 screws and a couple of drill bits... no one had a clue what 5/8 was! get their tape show them find the corresponding metric and go searching... were in the right lane I have my hand reaching out the bloke is searching down the other end having passed me "sorry sir we dont have that size perhaps you can go home and get one so we can compare?"

dumb 3 and 4

Finally Bunbury
Again great store big airy aqnd open reasonably friendly staff... into tools past the 30ish woman on the till friendly smiles... 40s bloke comes up "yes sir can I help you?" "yeah mate Im looking for trimmer routers" "oh the only routers we have are these ones haha and I dont see how you can trim anything with them theyre so large" ahem... "no mate smaller ones" mmmm he starts wandering around the shop I stand there and look upward to the boxes up top of the racking... 4 different kinds of trimmer routers up there I look back down as the bloke comes back "mm no sir we dont appear to have any trimmer routers the only ones we have are these sir" polite but dumb... I look up "what are they?" "oh your right sir please wait and I will get someone to get one down for you" and away he went

he didnt come back and nor did the "someone" I asked the girl "oh he went to lunch sir can I help you?" but she couldnt leave her station on the till so I then had to wait for another 40sh bloke to turn up had to explain what I wanted through the we dont stock that item thing showed him their location and again told that he would get someone... someone finally arrived but then had to go get a forklift machine from another section and "wouldnt one of the others be as good as they are larger sir" no and dont bother thank you

The second woman staff member I spoke with in garden machinery section honestly didnt know a hoe from a hose... but at least she knew what a line trimmer was which the first one I spoke to had no idea!...

dumb 5 6 7 and 8

seems to me that there is a definant dumbing down of staff at least in these stores.

Now to try to even this a tad I decided to put my hand up for a job there... So having just created something of a catalogue of works and creations and an up to date resume to hand I waltzed in and I asked who I give my resume to and was handed a single sheet "application form" with the following "please fill this form in and return it" no worries so having a pen in hand resume beside me I started filling it in there and then "maybe you should take it home sir and bring it back tomorrow?" "why its pretty much done already" says I as I sign it and hand it back along with a copy of my resume "oh no need for a resume sir we will contact you if your successful" "do you mind calling yur HR person please?" "Why sir this is how we take applications" "Please could you ask them to come down?"

Dumb number 9

So finally a bloke wanders over all official "Yes sir is there a problem?" "no problem mate I just wanted to ask you a few questions thats all" a glance at the girl "Yes?" "First I understand this is your standard application form?" "thats correct sir" "and I also understand you dont accept resumes with these applications" another glance "thats correct sir as you would be aware we have hundreds of applications for positions every day..." "well lets be honest here you probably average 3 or 4 a day unless your running an advert right?" "We average a lot of applications for positions vacant sir" "okay are you advertising right now?" "eerr umm I will give your application to our HR section sir" "no Id like to do that myself if you dont mind" "well she is very busy sir" "have you asked her?" "uumm asked her what sir?" "If shes too busy to give someone all of 3 minutes of her time... have you?" "well no sir I havent" "then how do you know she wont see me?" "well she is busy sir" "okay can you tell me why you dont accept resumes?" well they are irrelevent sir" "excuse me?" "they are unnecessary at this stage sir" "I see so you Bunnings bases if they will offer a position in the company based not on a persons resume a document that outlines a persons work history interests and skills but on this single sheet that tells the company absolutely nothingabout the person applying?" "sir the application form is the first step if your successful you will be called in for an interview at which time you can bring your resume"

And that as they say is that

Dumb number 10

Is it of any wonder that the crop of staff that serve their customers in specific sections are appearing dumber? Not once was I asked about knowledge experience or anything else the sheet pretty much simply asks for your past three positions... which Id say in 99.9% of applications would have nothing to do with any product they sell... so how does it work? and better yet how cann we the customers expect at least a basic rudimentary product knowledge from their staff?

Note... again this is not meant as an open opportunity to have a go at Bunnings or their staff... as I myself on occasions have had to do I ask you to please remember the rules of posting in any response to this thread.. rather I am wondering through some few examples given here {ooh there are more many many more I could relate but due to certain constraints I in thread posts length I wont} at the seeming determined effrt by Management and HR at Bunnings to dumb down their floor and section staff

As was said earlier their are positives within Bunnings... a ying and yang trade off perhaps? great selection of products across the nany ranges they have available the light airy building wide aisles for dumb staff.. and yes that is a generalization for without doubt there would be some pretty clued up people working within the company... I just havent met them yet?

Anyway your veiws?
Cheers

**snowyskiesau** · 15th March 2007, 02:50 AM

It used to be that you could ask where a particular class of item was and get some indication as to which aisle to search. Now you're lucky to be able to even find anyone to ask.
This is my experience at the Ashfield (Sydney) store anyway.

I wonder if senior Bunnings management know this is the case? Perhaps we should complain to them instead of to each other.

**rupertbri** · 15th March 2007, 05:19 AM

i Have Found The Same Here In Canada Most Builders Yards/hardware Stores Have Sales Staff That Do Not Know Their Ass From A Hole In The Ground.

**Honorary Bloke** · 15th March 2007, 06:38 AM

Don't be shy Rupert, tell us how you really feel!

**MurrayD99** · 15th March 2007, 07:42 AM

Originally Posted by rupertbri

i Have Found The Same Here In Canada .......

Errr.... not sure the guys are really into subtlety. Did you want to elaborate?

**echnidna** · 15th March 2007, 07:46 AM

Yer not qualified ter work at bunnies WD.
Yer know what tools actually are
yet its obvious that a complete lack of knowledge is a key selection criteria.

**johnc** · 15th March 2007, 08:03 AM

I don't think it is exclusive to Bunnings either, the days when you found the odd semi retired or "past it" tradie on the aisles seem to be long gone. You have to wonder if these stores give any product training at all, or just train staff to give any old answer and then get out of the road quick to give another valuable two seconds to the next tosser who comes along.
I much prefer pay a bit more and actually go to a store that knows what they are on about, but then you don't get the range I guess pretty much screwed either way.

John.

**Ian Smith** · 15th March 2007, 08:41 AM

I have said as much in other posts on this subject (do a search on "Grugg"). The reality of Bunnings is that the only thing going for them is price. You have to know all about what you want before you step through their door because the chance of knowing any more on the way out is practically zero.
On the other side of the ledger I have had good experiences with the local (and small) Tru Value store in the Hyperdome complex. The staff there are helpful and seem to know their stuff, and their prices aren't all that bad.

So it comes down to what you want, and if price is your primary focus then you can kiss good-bye to just about everything else.
The likes of Bunnings really put the squeeze on the small operators and they have all but vanished, so we are victms of our own making.

Ian

**dazzler** · 15th March 2007, 08:50 AM

Hi

Yes they are and IMO that would make logical sense from a business viewpoint.

Lower your staff overheads and lift the bottom line and they are all about profit. Dont let the BBQ support for local clubs make us all warm and fuzzy.

Its a bit like the outlaw biker xmas toy runs....."look at the nice bikies dear, giving toys to the poor children" while distributing heroin to all teh others ...but I digress.

We go to that type of store cause we are tight ar##es and we fell for the ëxperts in every dept" garbage. Bill the local hardware tool guy that was always helpful is forced out of business so now all we have are these people.

My exp at the port macquarie store;

Drive into the timber area where there are three isles that will take two vehicles side by side and walking areas up each with yellow pedestrian safety lines. Very good OH&S. Sadly the place was so full of crap on the ground there was only one lane.

Anyways I spy my treated pine sleepers in the far isle and try to drive there but alas the way was blocked by crap and a forklift having a sleep. Spy M1 and say, mate I need to get to that lane so I can get 12 sleepers. You cant says M1 its blocked. Yes says I, by a forklift, if you move it then I can. M1 cant drive forklift and doesnt know where M2 is.

M1 says just park there and i will pass them through to you. So M1 lifts sleepers and slides them across the others, over the fibre cement sheets and they crash onto the bags of crap on my side. All the while M1 is bending his back at all sorts of funny angles to achieve it. Poor OH&S.

Drive around to the star pickets, select the ones I want and ask M3 and M4 who were chatting next to the pickets for the brackets to attach the sleepers to the pickets. Blank stares all round -- never heard of them. M1, M3 and M4 are joined by M5 who discuss brackets but sadly the store has never stocked them.

"What about in the hardware section, could they be there amongst the BRACKETS" asks I.

Dunno says M5.

Off I goes and finds them in the brackets section of Hardware.

Next I need a 5mm hex driver to drive the hex screws into the sleepers. Go to tool section. Now once upon a time going to the tool section for me was a similar exp to walking through the cross.......oh the temptation. But now it is with dread.

M6 or even M7 were nowhere to be found, the spot where said driver and his buddies would live had vacant spots, crap on the floor and no 5mm hex drives.

Stood waiting for M6 for 17 min timed on my watch and gave up and went to the Help counter. M6 is on a break. "What at 4.30 in the afternoon" but apparently he was. "M7 to the tool section" "M7 to the tool section".

After another 11 min M7 turns up and decides to help another couple who walked into tools at the same time he did. Serves these people the husband of which wanted to get into woodworking and was looking at the Triton section

.

Wander over for a listen and M7 tells him he has no idea about triton but that some people like it. Anyways M7 sells him a maxi sliding extension table, a router top and some superjaws. Tellls him to put back the multi stands and get these cheaper ones (the ones in the green and white pack

for like $1.99)

So fella walks out with his new triton gear but I have no idea how it was going together as he didnt own any other triton gear

.

Finally serves me and looks at the rack and decides they dont sell them. I says ÿou must sell them because you sell the hex screws."He suggested using an allen key and to pre drill with a "drill bit' .

M7's brain then clunks, I heard it, and he suggested the trade counter might have it. Down we go, past M1 thru M5, to the trade section where Miss M9 says she has no idea.. I points to the cabinet with lots of hex drivers and suggest that they may be there. Öh they are too"

Hands me the driver and says "Wow its almost knockoff time, cant wait, hee hee

Sadly they really dont care that you or I are not happy. We will generally end up finding our way about and get what we need so in effect we are doing the job that they would have originally paid some other expert to do.

We only have our selves to blame.

My 2c, and I am now putting it into practice, is boycott the place, pay a little more at the local guy if he still exists, but be happy that we will all live just a little longer without the stress of these smiling dopes.

cheers

dazzler

**SPIRIT** · 15th March 2007, 09:25 AM

would you like some cheese with that wine

ok here is my 2c from the inside
bunnings are all about makeing money bottom line dead right .But to do so they realy do try to make everybody happy when they shop there the trouble comes when that bottom line creeps up into the red so what is the easyest way to save money CUT people on the floor .If you shop in the winter and at night you will get 16 something old kid to help you they are cheaper say 11$ hr as a ex tradie at 20$hr so do the maths .
saying that there is still a lot of good workers in the store that know there stuff like any hardware store you build up your regulars that know your shifts and that when they come in

**echnidna** · 15th March 2007, 09:26 AM

I give bunnies preference over the local hw store.

The retired principals of that store designed a ubute door making machine that could make doors in about a minute each.

They intended to send the machine to China to make their doors.
Now the labor cost advantage per door is obviously miniscule.

They could have made doors locally and provided local employment and in doing so supported the local community who has supported them for many years.

But if they won't support their locals, this local won't support them.

So bunnies here I come when I want hardware.

**DavidG** · 15th March 2007, 09:39 AM

Do you expect Woolworths staff to be able to tell you how to prepare a banquet.
Why would Bunnies staff know anything about what they sell?
They are a tool supermarket.

Tuggeranong Bunnies

actually have some good staff and some dummies.

**Bleedin Thumb** · 15th March 2007, 09:40 AM

If I can't find it myself at Bunnies, I usually just walk out and keep driving to another hardware shop - its quicker than dealing with the staff.

Like you say Daz, it used to be an enjoyable pasttime wandering around the Hardware Shop, now its get in , get out, with the least amount of pain possible.

**SPIRIT** · 15th March 2007, 09:45 AM

thats not the store thats changed bleedin its you everything is rush rush rush

**JackoH** · 15th March 2007, 03:24 PM

[quote=Bleedin Thumb;478863]If I can't find it myself at Bunnies, I usually just walk out and keep driving to another hardware shop -

What other Hardware shop?

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Dumbing down of Buunnings

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