Masters

[Big Shed]

We don't have a Masters here in Bendigo so I have limited experience of shopping there.

On Wednesday we were in Melbourne and popped in to a Masters store to check out some paint prices, I was astounded by the number of staff (lots) and customers (few).

Walked past the tools and there were 5 male staff members just standing around talking, came to the paint department and there were 4 female staff members, 1 serving 1 customer.

Wherever you looked in the store the story was repeated, lots of staff very few (if any) customers). Even at the checkouts, there were 4 checkouts open with a staff member at each, no customer to be seen.

I found the same situation in the Masters in Lismore NSW when I visited it a few months ago and the one in Mt Gambier SA when I visited there last year.
I went in to Bunnings next door to the Masters Lismore store and it was a very different, lots of customers, far fewer staff.

Seems to me that part of the reason of the nearly $900m cumulative loss this venture has incurred so far is due to very poor staff number management.

Have others found this in the Masters store they visit?

[BobL]

Have others found this in the Masters store they visit?

Yes.

Neither of my two closest Masters are that convenient to me (20+ minutes away) but I sometimes drop in if I happen to be in the area.
The Bibra Lake store is always like a ghost town, the Bayswater store is a bit busier and I have had good cheerful service there.
My nearest Bunnings are a bit closer (9 and 14 minutes) so I tend to go there for basic stuff.

[george mavridis]

We have both within minutes drive of each other so the choice is ours. I prefer Masters as at leats you get service and the staff have some idea as to what they are talking about. Compare this to Bunnings where you have to chase staff to get help and then they have no idea. It's masters for me from now on.

[RoyG]

We don't have a Masters here in Bendigo so I have limited experience of shopping there.

On Wednesday we were in Melbourne and popped in to a Masters store to check out some paint prices, I was astounded by the number of staff (lots) and customers (few).

Walked past the tools and there were 5 male staff members just standing around talking, came to the paint department and there were 4 female staff members, 1 serving 1 customer.

Wherever you looked in the store the story was repeated, lots of staff very few (if any) customers). Even at the checkouts, there were 4 checkouts open with a staff member at each, no customer to be seen.

I found the same situation in the Masters in Lismore NSW when I visited it a few months ago and the one in Mt Gambier SA when I visited there last year.
I went in to Bunnings next door to the Masters Lismore store and it was a very different, lots of customers, far fewer staff.

Seems to me that part of the reason of the nearly $900m cumulative loss this venture has incurred so far is due to very poor staff number management.

Have others found this in the Masters store they visit?

One of the complaints that forum members often make about Bunnings is that:

1. You can never find a staff member when you want one, and
2. That staff members are often clueless about the products that they are selling.

I think Masters have a good handle on those two issues. What I have found with the Masters stores that I've bought from is that you can find a staff member when you need one. Additionally, I have found that the Master's staff are often much better trained in the product knowledge.

As an example, I was looking for some plumbing fittings to join two different types and sizes of water pipe. I'd tried Bunnings, and the staff member working in the plumbing area was clueless. So I drove across town to the Masters at Bundamba. The young lady (18, maybe 20 years old) who was re-stocking shelves in the plumbing area recognised exactly what I needed to do when I explained the situation to her, and she then proceeded to grab exactly the right unions and adaptors required for the job. And she offered advice regarding the best way to ensure a good seal on the unions. I had a similar experiences when shopping for other items in both the Bundamba Masters, and at the Morayfield Masters. If the Master's staff member can't answer your question, they usually know who can answer the question, and can usually get hold of that person quickly.

I think Bunnings need to learn a thing or two about staff training and staff availability. I was at Bunnings in Booval yesterday at 9:30am - there was one check-out open, and there was a queue of more than ten people waiting at the checkout. The bloke on the check-out kept putting out calls for more staff to open check-outs and was ignored, especially by the three staff members who were standing in the shop foyer chatting.

RoyG

[Kuffy]

I am surrounded by masters and bunnies, i regularly visit 4 different bunnies and 2 masters. However my main bunnies and masters are across the road from each other on western highway directly infront of the Caroline Springs estate, its about a 4minute drive since im at the back of c/springs.

bunnings have the better customer service. if i need to cross from one side of the store to the other, i will have been greeted with a friendly "hello, g'day, how are ya?" a half dozen times, and offered assistance atleast 3 times along the way. so bunnies staff are 'willing' to help, if they can. the capacity to be of actual help is highly dependent of the individual. if they know the answer, they freely give it, if they dont know the answer they will attempt to get the answer from another member. most do know the answers as i rarely ask anything more complicated than "hey buddy, where do i find........?" or "do you have anymore of.....?"

masters on the otherhand has quite poor customer service. in recent times I can see there has been a push from management to get the floor staff to greet customers as they walk around the store, because it used to be 0%. however, only about 25% of the staff actually comply. most look down to the ground, duck down an aisle to avoid passing a customer, or turn around and walk the other way. its really quite sad and pathetic that the staff, of all ages groups and maturity levels, are too cool for school to be able say hello to someone. in order to get any assistance from the staff, which are easily spooked it seems, you have to chase them down, get there attention and ask your simple question of "where do i find....?" just to be greeted with an answer such "i dont know, you will need to ask someone else". they dont offer any advice as to which person i should ask, instead expecting me to wander around the store aimlessly asking every staff member if they know where abouts the claw hammers are kept.

one example of terrible service that springs to mind in masters is. a customer was looking at scms's for a while and you could clearly see that this bloke had no idea what he was looking at. he eventually asked a staff member for some assistance (this staff member i know works in the tools department so he would have been one of the best to ask). the staff member was "busy" with another customer, however he wasnt on the phone and I was the only other customer in the store. so the staff member directed the customer to talk to a couple of other staff which were standing around chatting among themselves. they were of no help to the customer, conversation last all of 5secs. "hey guys can you help me in the tools dept.?", "nah mate, we dont work in that section". naturally enough, the customer which had a few bits n pieces in his hands put it down on the nearest shelf and walked out, probably to go across the road and spend $500+ at bunnies.

with all that said, I'm thinking about applying for a job at masters. seems like brain dead work where i need to do nothing but be a pig ignorant sob to anyone that walks by. beats working for a living

[Evanism]

Must be geographic. Kuffys experience is the opposite of what I receive.

I'm unabashedly very anti Bunnings. The type of person there (customers and staff) is a diametric contrast to Masters.

Without descending into class warfare, the Bunnings here is infested with bogans. Not just the typical suburban slob or Canberra-Peon, but the flannie wearing, Ugg-boot foot scuffing, open mouth chewing, air-sneezing swearing filth reserved for a classic ABC mocu-drama. The nasal high pitch screechers. All with Special Name boaglets. It is a highly offensive experience. Tuggeranong is the absolute worst. "Owww yooze goan?" every 30 seconds. They do, however, know where everything is as a product, but don't ask them how to use it, what its for, or show them a "thing" (like a 100mm Nitrile O-ring) and ask them where they are (names only!). The Special Orders desk is some sort of sick corporate joke. They staff that with the especially clueless ones.

Our only Masters is a bit of a hike out to the airport - quick by 20 minutes, but distance wise, a long way. The types of people shopping are entirely different. Staff levels have dropped a lot since it opened, but the products are fantastically laid out. For some reason they seem to get some products only "just wrong". I suspect this is so we can't price compare. All the tools are just different enough to stop price comparing "no Sir, this isn't the Makita XYZ123 with the 3.67mm doodad, its the XYZ123a with the 3.671mm thingy, plus the collar is blue, not dark blue". NO DEAL!

Plus I cant stand those Bunnings ads. Hideous!

[david.elliott]

I loved my nearest Masters when it opened. Lots of older tradies, in the right areas...who knew which way was up...

Now... not so much, not so many staff, and I was surprised the other day to be told that they were not allowed to break down a 2400 x 1200 sheet of MDF for me...
I had the ute, but lifting it onto the panel saw on my own can be a challenge. No biggie, just surprising.

The local B is OK, but nothing to write home about either. SWMBO and I had a laugh when the young lass tried to convince us that the plastic pressure pipe was in "retic" rather than "plumbing" as plumbing was anything NOT under pressure...scarily the bloke backed her up...

I'm thinking the service/knowledge/care factors may be brand agnostic and may well be down to the individual store leaderships...

[Handyjack]

This is a topic that comes up on a regular basis.

The success or failure of any store can often be the staff who are employed there as much as the goods sold.

My own experience is that when I go both Masters and Bunnings can have few staff on. In Masters when I have wanted assistance it has been hard to find, and I remember my first experience, wanting some screws and being shown rivets. Another experience is wanting a coat rail and the flanges for it. After speaking to multiple staff the answers ranged from "what's a flange" to my final answer "Masters do not stock flanges". (Yet my local independent hardware store and Bunnings do stock these flanges.)

Probably more from habit than experience I will drive past Masters to go to Bunnings.

[TermiMonster]

I was in Masters a few weeks ago and asked the guy for a flush bolt (for french doors). Naturally, he sent me to the bolts section
TM

[Twisted Tenon]

Interesting article in tonights SMH re Masters

TT

[Glenn.Visca]

I will stand to be corrected ... But masters seems to have a better quality range available ... Not just the cheap and cheerful.

[Homeleigh]

I have over the last year that the Bunnings stores near me have deteriorated. Lack of stock, poor quality, poor service etc. The nearest Masters stores are a good 20 minute drive away. Since they re-structured the stores I have become a fan. Better layout, good range of everything. Good prices. Excellent customer service.

Would suggest if you haven't been to Masters in the last 3 or 4 months give them a go. Bunnings will learn a lesson unless they pick their game up.

[Handyjack]

If making a purchase one needs to pay for it.
My preference is to always pay by cash.

Masters - Self serve check outs. My experiences include machine taking money but not acknowledging it (wait 10 minutes for staff to rectify) or purchasing an item where staff assistance was required (again wait for staff assistance). You always get asked for your postcode - I end up putting in 0000 and you need to pay if you would like a bag.

Bunnings - A staff member will operate the register even if it is the one in the tool shop. They will look up codes if the item does not have one, or accept the fineline number I give them. They scan bulky items like bags of concrete or panels without you taking them off the trolley. You can take a box (recycling) if you require one for free.

Sorry but Bunnings tends to get my money.

[jack620]

Bunnings in Mornington VIC way better than the Masters.

[elanjacobs]

I'm thinking the service/knowledge/care factors may be brand agnostic and may well be down to the individual store leaderships...

Spot on. I've had good and bad experiences in both Bunnings and Masters.
Bunnings Moorabbin is my usual haunt, mainly because I know where stuff is there, and all the staff I've dealt with there know what I'm looking for and where to find it. And they usually know if they don't stock something without having to spend 10 minutes hunting for it first.