More Bunnings

[Rebus]

I was in Bunnings the other day, waiting in the checkout queue.

There were at least 25 people waiting with only 2 checkouts working.

Looking around I can see about 12 Bunnings staff. Two at the door saying hello and goodbye, a most important and usefull function; two groups of three each, chatting amongst themselves; and several others practising their "I can't help you just now, I'm on my way to deal with someone more important" look.

Feeling more than a little ticked off I said to the bloke in front of me "Look at that, there are about a dozen of the B******s around the place and yet only two on the checkout.". The bloke in front replied "Well it could be worse.". I said "You're probably right, there could be only one checkout open." and he said "No, I mean that you could rely on the advice that they give you !".

I had to give him that one.

[Barry_White]

You might think the ones on the door are there to greet you in and out but they are really there to make sure you aren't leaving without paying.

[Gumby]

You might think the ones on the door are there to greet you in and out but they are really there to make sure you aren't leaving without paying.

Which is fair enough.

[Sir Stinkalot]

I often wonder why they have so many registers to start with. Most stores ... inc supermarkets have at least 10 checkouts and only two operating. I guess that they put some many registers in for the day they open when they are super busy or for use only on Christmas eve. I find the quickest way out is either the trade desk or the service desk that handles returns and hire goods.

[Zed]

i suppose having 10 or so registers helps in case one or 2 of em breaks - they can just transfer the till and keep working. being the polite and introverted individual I am I have in the past worked myself into a bit of a tizzy and complained VERY loudly at the checkout as to why there were so many people standing in queues but bugger all lines open, After I was joined by a number of other introverts it was amazing how quickly they opened another 2 registers. this worked at kmart around christmas once too...

i suppose most of em are kiddies working part time so they probably arnt as enthusiastic as they could be... I may be wrong, but I dont think I am..

is bunnings becoming like a bank ? Mandatory line standing prior to service ? maybe we are the bunnies. having said that I got meslf a set of very nice indian sash clamps yesterday - after I square the faces, put better rods in them,scrape the burrs of the thread and scrape off the excess paint they should work quite well. not bad for $29!

cheers

[soundman]

was in at bunnings one day to get some gal brackets for a job.
stood in the line at the checkout for to long with two fists full of gal brackets (getting heavy) had enough, better things to do.

walked over to the service desk, dunped brackts asnd walked out.

I recon at least half the shop lifters at bunnings would cheerfully pay if someone would just take their money sometime soon. :mad:

[rodm]

For large companies customer loyalty does not seem to be important. If you think about it most families spend $10k plus per year in the same supermarket every week as an unknown. My wife was a check out chick (SHMBO description) thirty years ago and she knew the names of her regular shoppers and even helped carry their shopping to the car if they were not too busy. At the local pub her customers used to buy drinks for us. Large organizations don't seem to give a stuff about their staff so the staff have little incentive to promote good will to the customer.
The bright side to this is that a small business that recognizes the value of a customer benefits from the corporate attitude.
What I do object to is that every customer is considered a potential shop lifter and needs to be checked out of the shop. Warehouse selling is a commercial decision to reduce labor costs. If this decision results in an increase in theft then that is their problem. It does not give corporate Australia the right to treat a guest in their premises as a potential thief. I am sure that the vast majority of Australians would not steal however if treated as potential criminals perhaps there might be an incentive to become one.

[jackiew]

[QUOTE=soundman]

stood in the line at the checkout for to long with two fists full of gal brackets (getting heavy) had enough, better things to do.

walked over to the service desk, dunped brackts asnd walked out.

QUOTE]

when I was at uni ( long long time ago ) did a course where we had to use stats to develop computer simulations of real life scenarios.

The demo we were shown by the lecturer was developed for a supermarket and it allowed the supermarket to vary the number of checkouts open, vary the number of items which people had in their trolleys and vary their arrival rate.

They'd actually built in a probability of people dumping their trolley in the aisle if they wait too long!!! When he ran the program using different parameters you could actually see these little dots representing customers dumping their trolleys and leaving.

Basically the supermarket wanted to find out the minimum number of checkouts they needed open under different scenarios before people started bailing out.

If you lose the profit from 1 customer but save a whole day worth checkout chick's wages then you might decide it worthwhile. Of course if you're doing the modelling properly you also need to take account of things like where the next nearest alternative supermarket is etc - i.e. the stats won't work out the same from store to store.

I once left a trolley full of frozen and dairy foods in the aisle at tescos ( uk supermarket ) on christmas eve when it became apparent that I propably wasn't going to get served until christmas day :mad:

my scenario that I had to model was where a warehouse bay had gates that would be blocked by a big truck for a period of time as they were being reversed in. Meanwhile a queue of other trucks and little delivery vans would build up outside annoying the neighbours. The warehouse wanted to know whether to let the delivery vans jump the queue of big trucks or not.

[Wood Borer]

I normally get good service due to my taste in clothes.

I choose to wear dirty old cheap clothes with holes in them on the weekends. Mainly because I am partly a slob plus I have better things to do with my money than dress up like a real estate show pony or car thief (sorry salesman).

My weekend wardrobe rewards me with excellent service because they think I am a shop lifter or bad for business. Some places choose not to serve me and ignore me but again they are the losers because they miss out on the sale which probably saves me money if it was an impulse purchase.

I have inadvertantly discovered this wonderful tip to receiving better service and highly recommend it.

- Wood Borer

[bitingmidge]

I am sure that the vast majority of Australians would not steal

The majority maybe, but I'm not so sure about how vast. We have a lot of Robin Hood mentality..."they can afford it"... or even just plain thrill seekers..I'm afraid..

We once had a shop in an inner city centre, and our drink cabinet may as well have had a sign saying "Help Yourself". People of all ages and manner of dress have no qualms about refreshment at someone else's expense.

Of course when challenged, reactions range from indignant to just plain aggressive. I am happy to put up with the inspections and intrusion into my personal space if it catches just one of these turds!

At the same shop in the space of a year we would typically go through 500 cups, saucers and plates, and over a thousand teaspoons....all souvenired.

Over three years incredibly we lost two tables and eight chairs as well!!

On relaying this tale of woe recently, one of the people in the group I was with advised that her first flat was furnished entirely from furniture from pubs, souvenired by Roadies packing up after rock gigs....and that was supposed to be funny! :mad:

Trouble is...in our own very Oz way, it IS.....and that is the root of the problem.

Thieves should be deported to the USA, then everyone would gain - we'd lose our thieves and they'd have to gain a sense of humour. (Clarification,- bitter and twisted remarks aimed at thieves, not our good friends on the other side of the world!)

What is this thread about anyway?

P

[RETIRED]

Gees, I get fairly good service at most wharehouse type establishments.

Maybe it is beacause like the Borer I dress in work clothes and when getting some small items put them in my pocket whilst looking skywards at all the security cameras.

Nearly guaranteed to get someone there relatively quickly. When approached, pull out sai items then ask for the rest of the stuff that I need.

[bitingmidge]

Hey what a grand idea!!

I too always have great service at Bunnings, I arrive at about 8.55 pm with a shopping list.

There is usually a queue of about 10 staff waiting near the check-out to check-out for the day, but of course they can't go till the shop is devoid of customers.

There is a sort of scramble over one another to help me, and usually four or five people are despatched to all ends of the store, sometimes they bring back alternatives for me to choose from.

I hadn't thought about the way I dress, but since you pointed it out, the old flannelette PJ's with the fly open to the point of being indiscrete, coupled with the green felt dressing gown, with no belt and slippers which have been rejected by the dog that I wear there at that time of night, may have something to do with them not wanting me to find a cosy hole in a far corner of the store!

Cheers,

P

[Sir Stinkalot]

I find the difficult one is when you walk in with an item of your own try and buy a replacement at Bunnies. The are two alternatives ....

1. Bunnies don’t have what you want so you have to try and leave with your own item that they think that you stole even though they don’t carry that line.

2. Bunnies do carry that line .... you pick up a few and then when walking to the register you need to try and put your original into your pocket so they don't charge you for it .... and it looks like you are stealing it.

You can’t win.

[Gumby]

I find the difficult one is when you walk in with an item of your own try try and buy a replacement at Bunnies. The are two alternatives ....
............ put your original into your pocket so they don't charge you for it .... and it looks like you are steeling it.

You cant win.

If you check it in a nd get it tagged as you enter you never have a problem.

[Sir Stinkalot]

Tagged???

Our Bunnies down here mustn't be up with the city folk.

Our doorman is a jolly big boned man who is always having a smile .... never checks your receipts and I wouldn't think he is equipped to tag.

(Please note for the benefit of those with gutter minds: Big boned .... is referring to his slightly enlarged waist line ….. nothing further)