Thread: Bunnings dumbing down it's stock?

Originally Posted by Sturdee

I disagree.

Discussions on what the Media feeds us by way of alledged news and discussions on global warming has no relevance as to Bunnings chosing or changing their product range or marketing strategies, unless it can be shown that those things has influenced them.

Ofcourse these other subjects are worthy of pursuing but that ought to be in their own separate threads.

Peter.

er, Sturdee have you not seen how many water tanks, water saving devices are being pumped at Bunnies now that it hardly rains anymore?

Originally Posted by Frank&Earnest

Your analysis at the local level is essentially correct. You have left out the other obvious choice for lifting earnings once achieved quasi-monopoly status, lifting prices, but this does not change the point. As regards the overall outcome, on the other hand, it is extremely unlikely that a retailer, however big, will have the devastating power you envisage. The world is a big place, and the manufacturers can, and do, also go online and cut off the middlemen.

They cannot possibly be universal in practise, there are pockets of the country that they will never touch and that is both good and bad. let me tell a story of what happened in a NSW regional centre. This story could be myth but the teller lives there and uses hardware stores heavily.

Bunnings moved into town across the road from another hardware store. The manager of the new Bunnings walked into the hardware store and announced to all and sundry that if they wanted a job to come over the road as in six months time they wouldn't have one, their employer would be closed. There is no sentiment there!

I've been following this thread and waiting for it to derail itself (as these threads sometimes do). To everyone's credit though, the original topic was discussed then it evolved into another valuable discussion. While not wanting to see threads hijacked as such, it would be difficult to separate the two threads as they are woven together fairly tightly. It would also stop an interesting discussion so it has been left.
Sturdee is correct though, ideally it should have become a separate thread. IMHO as the guy who would need to unstitch and restitch the thing, I think both topics would suffer so I'll leave it be, unless it does get derailed.

In future though, one topic is best, as per the rules. Now, back to the centre of the ring, touch gloves and keep it above the belt line .

Ding!

Groggy
Super Moderator
Woodworking Australia's
WOODWORK FORUMS

Originally Posted by Mini

Bunnings moved into town across the road from another hardware store. The manager of the new Bunnings walked into the hardware store and announced to all and sundry that if they wanted a job to come over the road as in six months time they wouldn't have one, their employer would be closed. There is no sentiment there!

Sounds like a colourful but inaccurate urban myth to me.

Bunnings is successful for the same reason Cheap as Chips is a raging success. People these days shop purely based on price...quality of the product is irrelevant. Its not Bunnings that have dumbed down...its the general public who have dumbed down.

Originally Posted by kiwigeo

Bunnings is successful for the same reason Cheap as Chips is a raging success. People these days shop purely based on price...quality of the product is irrelevant. Its not Bunnings that have dumbed down...its the general public who have dumbed down.

Totally agree!

This is the same as restaurants and fast food stores... I mean as long as we ACCEPT poor service attrocious waiting service and waiting times without complaint the more we get what we deserve.

Australians seem to think its OKAY to sit and wait for an hour for a restaurant meal... ITS NOT... Australians think its okay to stand in a line at a fast food restaurant for 20 minutes to get served THEN wait another 15 minutes to get the "meal"... ITS NOT... Australians think its okay when waiters and waitresses fluck around muck around and stuff around while your waiting on them to serve you... ITS NOT... Australians think its okay for a waitress or waiter to serve you with a "What?"... ITS NOT... Australians would rather throw a take away meal in the bin than take it back and complain... ITS NOT... but Australians dont mind or if they do they dont say anything!

And so what more can Australians expect when we accept shyte service crap products and say nothing?... what we get... More often than not a manager or owner has no idea their staff are crap UNLESS someone has the audacity to actually front up and say so!! quite often a manager or owner doesnt realize that the food they serve is crap and tastes worse than camel dung UNLESS someone takes it to them and says "YOU TRY TO EAT THAT!"... its only by standing up and telling someone that change has a hope in hell of happening... but no most Australians would rather do nothing than make a noise or cause a ruckus.

Bunnings is a business... its in the business of making money and it does it famously... but we are the customers IF we the customers who spend the money that Bunnings makes were to stand up and bloody well say something show them the shyte attitudes of staff the crap stuff theyre selling etc change would have a hope of happening... but we dont as a rule we dont want to cause a ruckus or make a noise

ah well the brilliant Aussie laisse faire attitude is still alive and well

Am I dumb because I bought Bosch circular saw at Bunnings who are evil.

Am I dumb because I may well by a GMC sander at Bunnings knowing that it won't get a lot of use and I know what I'm getting - cheap?

Am I dumb because I bought some clothes from Kmart that are made in China rather than buying hand-stitched clothes made in Aus, US, or Western Europe?

Is my neighbour dumb because he bought a taiwanese robot welded bike from Big-W rather than a hand welded in the USA bike for $3k from the bike shop.

A few posters have said that I, as someone who has bought GMC and will buy more GMC am dumb because I don't spend more on better tools. I'm not dumb at all. I know the different. I weighed up the quality and the risk of failure versus the price and my budget and make a decision accordingly.

Hats off to the people who call GMC-buyers and Bunnings shoppers dumb. I am amazed at the fact that you don't buy clothes, cars, bikes, homewares or anything else made somewhere other than Aus, North America, Western Europe or Japan. I applaud you for never shopping at the supermarket, but instead buying all your food from the local farmer. I wish I too had enough money to do so.

We live within our budgets and make informed decisions in light of that.

Maybe I've extrapolated people's arguments too far, but I don't really liked being called dumb )

jonathan

Originally Posted by planetjag

Am I dumb because I bought Bosch circular saw at Bunnings who are evil.

Nah thats not the reason

Am I dumb because I may well by a GMC sander at Bunnings knowing that it won't get a lot of use and I know what I'm getting - cheap?

Nah thats not the reason either

Am I dumb because I bought some clothes from Kmart that are made in China rather than buying hand-stitched clothes made in Aus, US, or Western Europe?

No that would be in and of itself dumb so nah thats not the reason

Is my neighbour dumb because he bought a taiwanese robot welded bike from Big-W rather than a hand welded in the USA bike for $3k from the bike shop.

Well... nah thats not it either

A few posters have said that I, as someone who has bought GMC and will buy more GMC am dumb because I don't spend more on better tools. I'm not dumb at all. I know the different. I weighed up the quality and the risk of failure versus the price and my budget and make a decision accordingly.

Now were getting there!! Now Ive gone back over the thread from the first post to here... and you know what I found? Nowhere did anyone say "Jonathon is dumb yeah him an all his mates are just plain dumb" nope no one said that... so what I guess we could say NOW is that because Jonathon (thats you) has taken the generalizations used by some targetted at Bunnings and somehow extrapolated to mean Jonathon and his mates which I must have missed somehow

Anyway since youve seen fit to do that quantum leap then I guess we can somehow call you dumb

but we wont do that!!!

Your not dumb Jonno nah mate you do what you have to do to afford the things you want... sound economics 101 and a half that is... and your not dumb unless you keep going back there time and again buying the same crap again and again because for amount of money you will waste you could have had a better machine!

Hats off to the people who call GMC-buyers and Bunnings shoppers dumb. I am amazed at the fact that you don't buy clothes, cars, bikes, homewares or anything else made somewhere other than Aus, North America, Western Europe or Japan. I applaud you for never shopping at the supermarket, but instead buying all your food from the local farmer. I wish I too had enough money to do so.

Now now Jonathon... settle down mate no ones puttin on airs an graces here mate were just discussin the situashun thats all... heck if you or anyone else wants to buy tools and other stuff from Bunnings time and again you go for it!!... your money your time... But... and you knew there would come a but didnt you?... BUT! When those cheep chingalese or tiawanese router bits suddenly sheer of as your coving a peice of wood the damned peice of INCREADIBLY FAST MOVING metal whizzes (hopefully) past your head missing your kids on its way to the neighbors 3 houses down the street when the cheep shyte metal blade you put in your circular saw suddenly cracks and breaks sending INCREADIBLY FAST MOVING metal past your groin and slamming into the wall of the shed behind you... THEN MAYBE YOU WILL STOP BEING DUMB and buy good quality machinery and the parts for them.

Its always said here and Im often one of those saying it... buy what you can afford and upgrade as you can afford... and its good advice and by gawd I stand by that!! If the best that you can afford at this time is something from Bunnings then so be it buy it and get into it!... But as your finances allow UPGRADE with better quality.

We live within our budgets and make informed decisions in light of that.


And so do we all Jonno... so do we all... often our budgets are dictated not by our wallets but by her highness who has different ideas of what our hobby or craft should cost and so we all have to live within the budgets imposed and make decisions (informed or not) based on that.... no its not just something for you Jonno its what we all do some better than others some worse but were all in the same boat depending on financial situations and what her bloody highness dictates... its the way it is for us blokes mate so your not alone
Maybe I've extrapolated people's arguments too far, but I don't really liked being called dumb )

Yes you did Jonno cause mate NO ONE called you dumb... just you

jonathan

Shane

Ahem now weve had that wee yarn Jonno ol mate... what I said about the blades and bits? Its true... seriously scared the living shyte out of me when the router bit missed my head by a ticks phart a thin run of blood down the forehead and on the forearm half a dozen laps of the shed and a large bang and embedded in the back wall... THANK GOD IT DIDNT HIT ME!!... the blade was a 10in bought in Bunnings cause I was in a hurry and didnt have a spare... sheered of halfway through a rip of a length of HARD Jarrah... not a good feeling seeing a sudden shaft of light in the side wall of the shed at sons head level... Sure Ive said I go there and graze and I also generally walk out with some crap or other but NEVER sharp stuff for machines... twice bitten means I will NEVER go there again... first I like breathing life is good second I love my son and that was just way to close.

So go for it... theres many others that spend hours shopping and grazing in Bunnings here some admit it some dont... theres also some who work there again some admit it some dont... whatever! Just be aware and be BLOODY CAREFULL when you do buy something... especially sharp whirrling blade type somethings

Sounds like Mini's story about Bunnings across the road might be a urban myth but it probably isn't, here is something that is true.

We have what was originally a Hardware house which became Bunnings. Not long after a Mitre 10 mega store and then a Magnet Mart opens next to each other 1 km from Bunnings.

A lot of Bunnings staff desert the ship and go to both stores. Its now a couple of years later and both stores are always next to empty.
Seeing the fall off a lot of the staff try to go back to Bunnings to get their old jobs but Bunnings have hired new staff and a lot of them have now had to go and find other jobs.

Neally all the stock in the two other stores is more expensive ( forget the tools ) just the normal things taps and tap washers, power points virtually everything. I went in 2 weeks ago to Magnet Mart as it was close to where I was working to get a tap for a toilet cistern only had one size the wrong thread dia to the one I wanted so its over to Bunnings where both were in stock

Where Magnet Mart had a set up with multi lane check outs all business is now done at the one cash register at the door all the check out lanes sit forlornly over to one side. Example of stock Triton router Magnet Mart $10 more than Bunnimgs Mitre 10 $80 more.!!!!!

For what ever reason people like Bunnings better, obviously price has something to do with it but I thinks its also stock, the Mitre 10 didn't have any 100mm plastic pipe in stock largest is 90mm so I find it a fruitless exercise going to either of the two.

I hope I'm not hijacking the thread here but as an extra, I just went to our local tip. A young guy was throwing out a pair of the Bunnings $35 folding saw horses they have. I'm sure you all know them, he bought them to do a bit of DIY and as he had finished the job was dumping them. Also the wife noticed the number of things such as baby prams/strollers and push bikes plus just about everything else which were more than usuable if not next to brand new also dumped. It seems the younger generation has no quarms about getting rid of aything regardless of its price if they no longer need it.

Maybe Bunnings has noticed this trend and what we are seeing is the way modern youth do things. Buy whatever, use it for the job then toss it. No point in buying an expensive brand just buy cheap, it will probably do the job if not the guarantee will get you out of trouble, finished with it dump it.

Hi Durwood,
I don't think that pointing out that people buy cheap stuff, then throw it away when they're finished in a hijack. It points to a further reason why Bunnings are "dumbing down" their stock. There is no need to keep quality tools. Sadly, this reflects the attitude in our society now "never mind the quality, feel the width." Pride in a job well done, pride in customer service, handing things that mattered to you down to your children, none of this is important now. Someone mentioned poor service in Australia. Try this out. Boston 2004, in a 7/11 store. I wanted to buy a pack of cigarettes, which were kept behind the service counter. The clerk was talking on the phone.
I managed to complete the entire transaction without saying a word, using only sign language.. and this we call regard for our fellow beings.
To return to Bunnings though, some of the people they employ are contractors or tradies, looking for a break from hell. They are few and far between and I believe, find the attitude of their clientele humiliating and frustrating. The dumbing down is not just tools and accessories, its the dumbing down of the staff as well, which is a mere reflection of the level of service required by the customer. That's you and I friends.
With regard to the issue of disposing of merchandise in great condition after use, I've noticed since my return home (and they do say, you can never go back) that people expect anything that has been removed from the place it was bought to instantly devalue by 80%. (Does this mean I have to pay someone to take the Ozito drill I bought?). Better to throw it out than give it to someone who could really use it. Someone said to me the other day that John Howard is trying to dumb down Australia. He doesn't need to, we're doing just fine thanks.
I'm reminded of J. Tull's "Bungle in the Jungle."

".... as play is resumed the monkeys seem willing to strike up the tune."

I guess I should also acknowledge The Zep.."Ramble On"

Rob

I still don't understand all this emotional finger pointing. I am dumb, you are dumb...

The market for cheap tools and materials has always existed. in the 1800 people who couldn't afford made in England or Germany or France would buy locally made and settle for substandard at best. the same during depression. Was OK then because it sounds nostalgic? Go to the powerhouse museum and have a look at the stuff people used in those days. Isn't this an example of buying cheap throw away stuff? There is an Aussie lawnmower there with no blade cover and a petrol tank made from a peach tin can. Tell me they couldn't buy one made in England much better. Can't blame the Chinese there. Simply put there was a market then and there is a market now.
Reasons?
Do we really care? Are we saying that if it is for necessity then it is OK, yet if it is a consious decision because of a rational choice then the person must be labeled in a manner that places him much lower in the evolution scale?

Buy Festo or GMC you are a consumer and you are buying with a purpose in mind. Judging your dicision making process according to the price tag on your tools is of interest only for an analysis of the market not as a way to value judge the person.

We could start analyzing the choices people make when buying clothes for example or shoes. How many here buy Armani suits...what about Swiss hand made boots? They are clearly the best.
Same thing applies. I do not consider others less because they do not buy what I like best. (Yes, Hugo Boss is also allright)

Service however is a different chapter and I like service and yes we in Australia must learn from other places were service is important.

I believe that "dumbing down" does two things.
1.It enures people from understanding the reason we have choice. That is, no choice, no thought required.
2. Forget the Chinese imports per se for a minute, and remember that the reason we have such cheap alternatives open to us is solely because of exploitation of labour and it is us that are demanding these cheap alternatives. So Armani or Armani copies either way we're not taking our purchases as a reflection of our responsibilities and place in the world. If you choose to buy Festo or Swiss boots, you pay the price because the system that they are made under supports local craftsmen under labour laws which are, at least to most in the "first world", acceptable. That is why I buy Festo and also why I prefer to buy fair trade coffee beans. The concept of people being paid a fair price for a fair product or a fair days work seems the correct way to go about things. Ruthlessness has no place in fair dealing.
Being denied choice so that an individual or company can increase profits to obscene levels is, to me abhorrent.

Rob

I have a casio wrist watch (cost around $25 Aus) over 12 years old, keeps perfect time. Why pay $5000 for a Ro..x, So there is another reason to pay a different price.
More likely get your hand chopped off in some parts of the world if you have the more expensive watch. In fact a cousin of mine visiting Equador was pleased to lose his watch and thought he was lucky.

This will be laborious, too many things to quote. I'll just copy and paste.

Jonathan was maybe a little thin skinned for this rough company, but IMHO was quite correct in his interpretation.

How else should this be interpreted:
<TABLE class=tborder style="BORDER-TOP- 0px" cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=6 width="100&#37;" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR title="Post 583330" vAlign=top><TD class=alt1 align=middle width=125>kiwigeo</TD><TD class=alt2>Bunnings is successful for the same reason Cheap as Chips is a raging success. People these days shop purely based on price...quality of the product is irrelevant. Its not Bunnings that have dumbed down...its the general public who have dumbed down.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

other that "the general public have dumbed down because they shop purely based on price without regard for quality" ?

Is it then wrong to say that this is an unfair generalisation because it assumes that all those who buy at Bunnings do not make a rational value for money decision? (By the way, this is the problem with generalisations: would have been so simple to just say "Many people these days...)

So, Wild Dingo, now you can call me dumb too:

Anyway since youve seen fit to do that quantum leap then I guess we can somehow call you dumb

and your attempt at ironic denial but we wont do that!!!

does not work if in the next paragraph you shout THEN MAYBE YOU WILL STOP BEING DUMB .

I am very sympathetic about your near miss experience and the ensuing post-traumatic stress disorder, but this does not entitle you to be rude to people. I would suggest than an apology to J. is in order.

As regards the other tirades about Australians being happy with progressively lower levels of service, OK, we know that, it is a global trend, how many more times do we need to say it?