I was out walking a couple of weeks ago (a forty- minute round trip that passes through my local village) and paid a visit to the DIY shop which exists on a busy corner of the main thoroughfare. I had remembered that I needed to buy some bolts and screws to fix a bed, the originals having been mislaid. It’s a small store that has been trading for at least thirty years, it’s quite cold in there (the door is always open!) and it’s packed to the ginnels with all manner of items DIY. They also have a useful space attached to the side where they saw wood. I only went in this part once, to get some wooden washing line props which I still have after 15 years!
Occasionally, I have found myself avoiding going in when it’s quite busy and I’m not really sure what I want (mildly embarrassed because it is all male staffed) but that’s just me, nothing to do with my experiences of shopping there.
Each time I have been in there whether it is a weekday or the weekend it is always busy. There is often a mixture of tradespeople and keen (and maybe not so keen!) DIY’ers crowding out the shop, picking amongst the shelves or seeking advice from the staff. There are usually at least 3-4 of these, eagerly willing to help and keen to ensure you go home with the correct equipment for the job. I don’t think I have ever been in and had to wait more than a couple of minutes to be asked if I needed help and know I can just explain the nature of the DIY job and asking what they would recommend.
In essence, the little place is thriving and rightfully so. It’s interesting because about 15 minutes away by car is an enormous B&Q store so not too far away and obviously with many more products on offer so why are people choosing to shop here instead?
I do wonder if people still visit the the local DIY because it isn’t so big (which can sometimes be overwhelming and a little daunting) and they can quickly aquire the goods they want with a smattering of good advice too should they need it? In my experience, shopping at some large superstores can be exhausting. Not all of them offer a friendly: “Hi, can I help?” and it is sometimes very difficult to find exactly what you want or to locate someone you can ask for help.
For example, about six months ago I went to B&Q to purchase some paint and decided on one of their own brand paints (to be made up in the store). When eventually, I managed to find a member of staff, he practically groaned when I asked him if he could help! I handed him the shade card with the chosen colour marked clearly. First of all, he said they didn’t have enough of the base shade in stock (after looking under the counter), fair enough, so I enquired if there might there be any in the stock room. He typed into the computer and said “yeah, I’ll have to go and get it”. Off he went and 15 minutes later returned with said base colour. He really didn’t seem like he could be bothered, no interaction whatsoever and as I watched him adding (what I hoped) were the correct quantities of each colour I inexplicably felt it was going to be wrong. He popped the lids on and belligerently handed me the two pots. Needless to say, it wasn’t a great experience and regretfully the colour turned out to be about 5 shades from the actual colour on the shade card. Now, I know that the colour when mixed cannot possibly be exact (they do point this out) but I’m sure that he added the wrong proportion of red to blue so where I wanted pale lilac I had battleship grey! I painted the whole room hoping that the colour would be better when dry….but it wasn’t. I ended up going to an alternative branch and was assisted by a lovely gentleman who couldn’t have been more helpful. It did cost me another £40 though!
I suppose the point I am trying to make is that the larger retailers mostly get things right otherwise we wouldn’t all be making purchases from them. I do think there is room to learn something from smaller independent retailers though, certainly in terms of customer experience. A warm welcome as you walk through the door, an appropriate measure of time before you are politely asked if you need any help and maybe a friendly exchange about the item you are purchasing. As you are handed your item/s and receipt a genuine, “thank you for shopping with us, see you again” makes the whole shopping experience a little more pleasurable. So, have I been back to B&Q since? Interestingly, no, but I’m sure that I will when I need a larger purchase or something that my local shop doesn’t stock. it’s just that when I was last in there I observed that there were fewer staff to be seen and they have put all automated tills in so no human interaction or friendly exchange with anyone before you leave the store………….don’t even get me started!!
Debbie Lewis is a Customer Support Executive at Happy Creative, a full service marketing and creative agency based in Blackpool, Lancashire. To learn more or contact us please go to www.happy-creative.co.uk
