B & Q Diamond Club

AlexMac

The meanies are winding down the old codgers' discount of 10% on Wednesdays!
It will now be limited to gardening products.. with the excuse that they want to

"give all our customers our best price every day whenever they shop. That's why we're investing money in lowering prices for everyone, ...(so)... there will be fewer price promotions and discount offers. From 3 Sep!!!8204;tem!!!8204;ber 2!!!8204;01!!!8204;8, the 10% discount we offer to you every Wednesday will be limited to gardening products "

Wonderfully Orwellian Newspeak?

Grumpelstiltskin

As far as I am concerned B & Q shot itself in the foot when they started closing stores.

In my area they went from 3 stores ( 2 large and 1 medium sized ) to 1 large which they then proceeded to hive part of it off to a discount supermarket.



The other large store complete with garden centre was bought by B & M and it is always busy.


I use to go into B & Q almost weekly but I can't remember the last time I went in it, not this year I think although I have been into the adjoining supermarket a few times.


The reduction in Diamond Club benefits is just another nail in it's coffin.

Nick_C

I could never understand why they give a 10% discount to people over 60 anyway. Most people over 60 are still working, and many are well off.

If their stores are quiet on Wednesdays, give a 10% discount to everyone.

spadoosh

AlexMac wrote: »

The meanies are winding down the old codgers' discount of 10% on Wednesdays!
It will now be limited to gardening products.. with the excuse that they want to

"give all our customers our best price every day whenever they shop. That's why we're investing money in lowering prices for everyone, ...(so)... there will be fewer price promotions and discount offers. From 3 Sep!!!8204;tem!!!8204;ber 2!!!8204;01!!!8204;8, the 10% discount we offer to you every Wednesday will be limited to gardening products "

Wonderfully Orwellian Newspeak?

They tried a similar pricing strategy before and it was an abject failure, mainly due to stupid customers.

They stopped doing promotional sales on kitchens and bathrooms and went with consistently lower prices. When it came to sales time (janurary) they stuck by their guns. About 90% of like for like products worked out cheaper in B&Q but because they didnt have 'SALE 50% OFF' overall sales took a huge hit and people bought where the sale signs where. The next year they reintroduced 'sale' and sales picked up again although prices where much higher than the previous year.

B&Q gets a lot of heat and i think its because of ignorance.

They arent there to compete with screwfix or builder merchants. You dont get cushions in either. They sell to retail and its DIY. The others are for trade and professional. The difference is a builder walking in to srewfix knows exactly what they want and need. Dave whose building a BBQ doesnt have a clue, takes up 30 minutes of a staff member time and costs considerably more to service than a trader.

Its easy to slate them because theyre more expensive but theres a reason for that. Prime locations, huge stores, plenty of stock, plenty of varied products all suitable for a DIYer.

Now you could say get with the times and B&Q becomes online only but then there would be thousands (from personal experience) of people who havent got a clue which bulb they need for a light. Or the guy i served as we where closing on xmas eve who was hammering on the door as we shut 5 minutes earlier because his cooker hose had split and he needed a replacement. His options where B&Q or hoping he could find a plumber on christmas eve with a cooker hose that would fit.

Its like comparing makro and M&S. They both sell food but theyre target markets are completely different and the product ranges reflect that.



ETA, I cant help but imagine the changing of the Diamond card is a staff welfare issue. Working those wednesdays where the most painful days of my life.


Edit 2. B&Q works on a cyclical basis. Theyll try not doing sales, it wont work as planned so theyll reintroduce them, it wont work as well as theyd hoped so theyll go back to no sales. It was about 2 year cycle when i was there so i suspect in two years time we'll be looking at some form of reintroduction.

Nick_C

I don't think B&Q is expensive. They are cheaper than Wickes and Homebase is extortionate.

Wilko might be cheaper for some products, but you get what you pay for.

BobQ

spadoosh wrote: »

They arent there to compete with screwfix or builder merchants. You dont get cushions in either. They sell to retail and its DIY. The others are for trade and professional. The difference is a builder walking in to srewfix knows exactly what they want and need. Dave whose building a BBQ doesnt have a clue, takes up 30 minutes of a staff member time and costs considerably more to service than a trader.

.

A large part of B&Q revenue is from selling to the trade under its Tradepoint division.

It does not matter if you are trade or DIY if you shop at Screwfix but you do need to know what you want I agree. Its usually cheaper because the stores have lower overheads.

As for competing with each other B&Q and Screwfix are both part of the Kingfisher organisation and share many product lines through shared procurement practices.


The Diamond card was always a gimmick to attract the older consumer without giving everyone the 10%. I think the explanation that they now give lower prices to all is boll***ks, its just another savings measure

Woolco

I worked there when this came in, around 1992 I think and the queues would be 10 or so deep all day. (there was only 4 tills in our one)

Even if they lower prices by 15%, it is the perception of losing a discount you have enjoyed for many years that will make people shop elsewhere I think.

Before this scheme they had one open to everyone where you paid £25 for a discount card and you got 10% off everything for a year, 7 days a week.

spadoosh

BobQ wrote: »

A large part of B&Q revenue is from selling to the trade under its Tradepoint division.

It does not matter if you are trade or DIY if you shop at Screwfix but you do need to know what you want I agree. Its usually cheaper because the stores have lower overheads.

As for competing with each other B&Q and Screwfix are both part of the Kingfisher organisation and share many product lines through shared procurement practices.


The Diamond card was always a gimmick to attract the older consumer without giving everyone the 10%. I think the explanation that they now give lower prices to all is boll***ks, its just another savings measure

Thanks for the B&Q lesson, although ill be honest, their staff induction process was a lot more comprehensive. We learnt about Block & Quayle, the messiahs, ohmmmmm. That was when they had a proper induction though and free biscuits at the B&Q university.

[Deleted User]

Well, it worked for me. If I needed something they sold, because of the Diamond discount card, I always went there first - on a Wednesday. After they phase this out, I won't do that anymore.