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Big Shed
11th September 2015, 09:33 AM
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
11th September 2015, 10:51 AM
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
11th September 2015, 11:13 AM
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
11th September 2015, 11:19 AM
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:



You can never find a staff member when you want one, and
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
11th September 2015, 12:19 PM
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
11th September 2015, 02:23 PM
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
11th September 2015, 02:42 PM
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
11th September 2015, 06:53 PM
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
11th September 2015, 07:46 PM
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:doh:
TM

Twisted Tenon
11th September 2015, 09:10 PM
Interesting article in tonights SMH (http://www.smh.com.au/business/retail/why-hardware-chain-masters-has-it-all-wrong-20150911-gjk87q.html) re Masters

TT

Glenn.Visca
11th September 2015, 09:23 PM
I will stand to be corrected ... But masters seems to have a better quality range available ... Not just the cheap and cheerful.

Homeleigh
12th September 2015, 02:26 AM
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
12th September 2015, 04:28 AM
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
12th September 2015, 11:05 PM
Bunnings in Mornington VIC way better than the Masters.

elanjacobs
12th September 2015, 11:31 PM
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.

Master Splinter
13th September 2015, 12:21 AM
The thing I think that Bunnings could pick up from Masters is those "Customer Assistance" buzzers located on the areas where you need "a team member to help you" (ie the cut to length stuff). Press the buzzer at Masters and you get someone along quickly, while in some isles of Bunnies you've got a higher chance of a zombie outbreak occurring than a staff member appearing to facilitate your purchase.

And when Masters prompts me for my postcode, I just stab in random numbers as I have no idea what my postcode is - I've never sent myself a letter, and I don't have either a letterbox or even a post office box for mail, so it's not something I'm going to find out.

Evanism
13th September 2015, 01:21 AM
.And when Masters prompts me for my postcode, I just stab in random numbers as I have no idea what my postcode is - I've never sent myself a letter, and I don't have either a letterbox or even a post office box for mail, so it's not something I'm going to find out.

MS, Perhaps you'll find it on your next gas or electricity bill ;) ... Or your TAX!!!

I'd be saddened if Masters shut down. Despite everything I like it. Just ordered three 3.8L bottles of Titebond 2 and three of TB3... Not sure where I'm going to get more at a reasonable price after this. I used to order it from Amazon! Masters charge only $33 for a bottle of TB3... Others don't... Create a stash!

Master Splinter
13th September 2015, 10:10 AM
MS, Perhaps you'll find it on your next gas or electricity bill ;) ... Or your TAX!!!

Those have been done by email/online for years so any consistency of mail address with my actual residential location is not my worry. Their database can parse it, or not. Just the other week I overcame the hurdle of getting a new bank card by getting it sent to the local office of my bank instead of my non-existent postal address. I explained to the bank that I saw no reason why I should pay $115 for a year's worth of a post office box lease (there are no shorter options) to cater for an event that happens around once every five years.

I found that utility companies (when they continually receive mail returned as as 'undeliverable') will eventually get the message that yes, I really only do things online.

Parcels either get delivered to my door, or via Aus Post's MyParcels service.

My next challenge is getting companies to believe that my mobile phone number is not my 'best' or even 'preferred' contact number... they don't seem to understand that a mobile phone is for my convenience only, and that I can happily go for six months or more without turning it on, and that I'm just as likely to get a new SIM card/phone number as I am to recharge my existing number - I provide landline numbers for a reason!

fenderbelly
13th September 2015, 12:10 PM
I know a young guy who works in masters and he tells me masters only beat Bunnings on customer service.

I was recently in a Bunnings store and I needed help to get a ladder down off a rack.
I walked to the end of the aisle and saw two service guys having a chat.
I walked up to them and said I need a bit of a hand in aisle seven.
the older guy replied " good luck with that ". I said to the young guy what about you. he said go to the trade counter and ask.
I went to the trade counter and there is an elderly lady serving. when she finished I told her what had gone on and she said i'll get you someone.
a young guy came a couple of minutes later, he answered my question and got the ladder down and put it on the trolley.
I went to the checkout and there was the same two guys standing in the same place but now chatting to a young female service person.
me thinks Bunnies are going to the dogs.

SawDustSniffer
13th September 2015, 01:29 PM
Bunnings is way better than Masters in darwin , they exist , no Masters in Darwin or Alice

johnc
13th September 2015, 03:10 PM
Bunning's is making money Master's is bleeding cash, I prefer Masters when it comes to quality but the way things are going for Master's something has to change.

rwbuild
14th September 2015, 01:08 AM
My crystal ball tells me that Masters will be sold to another outfit and dont be surprised if they aren't converted to a supermaket come discount store type operation :rolleyes:

Evanism
14th September 2015, 03:27 AM
I'd think Harvey Norman might be sweating on this one.

It's as RWbuild says. Imagine the hardware quality of masters, mashed with a white good electrical retailer (which masters is, but could push harder) plus adding in big box bulk items like Costco... Things that go with what they sell... Toilet paper, washing powder, cleaning supplies, in BULK then this would draw Mrs in for part of the weekly/fortnightly shop.

Masters needs to study Office Works' delivery model and just DO IT. I can order a box of paper from OW and it's delivered the same day or the next... Sometimes its a kid in his car, or the local on-call courier dude (who seems to cover 16 different companies!) but it's fast, furious and free.

If Masters did this, then it's game on..... But they have a lot to learn....I ordered 6 bottles of Titebond 2+3 on Friday for click-and-collect.....STILL not ready. Three days to get a grunt to pick them off the shelf and put them behind the counter.....THERE'S their problem!!!!!

Interestingly I've had a LOT of discussions about Google Autonomous vehicles with Certain People recently and I suggested using them for point to point courier and hardware delivery. To say their eyes lit up would be an understatement. I suggested a "secure ute" which would be loaded with supplies by the shop and sent to a builder on site.... No more getting Junior Apprentice to flog off for 3 hours to get some more bags of cement....

Autonomous Vehicles are going to change everything.

Glenn.Visca
22nd October 2015, 08:50 PM
Autonomous cement truck !

snowyskiesau
22nd October 2015, 09:02 PM
Apparently the Woolies deal with Lowes (US) has expired in that Lowes can pull the plug and demand their money back - $800 million.
http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/what-masters-should-have-been/story-fnkgdftz-1227578892276

rwbuild
22nd October 2015, 10:11 PM
If you go into any decent sized Harvey Norman store they now have manchester, soft and hard floor coverings, window furnishings, white goods, bathroom fittings and fitments, furniture, digital and entertainment, garden care products, alfresco appliances and furnishings, wouldn't be hard to join the dots would it.

Evanism
22nd October 2015, 10:14 PM
Autonomous cement truck !

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-18/rio-tinto-opens-worlds-first-automated-mine/6863814

Master Splinter
22nd October 2015, 11:03 PM
My prediction is that when one of Australia's big road freight companies starts refreshing its fleet with autonomous semi-trailers, you'll see a mad scramble by all the other companies to do the same, and the entire industry will flip from driven to driverless trucks almost overnight. But I think there will be a period of them all eyeing each other nervously wondering who will move first before that.

Freight costs to the small end user (us), will of course stay the same.

MAPLEMAN
23rd October 2015, 10:14 AM
Have always found the Masters staff helpful and friendly
Likewise with Bunnings...no problem
As for the inference put forward by a member that a 'different' type of person (customer)shops at Masters than at Bunnings is absolute crap...MM:2tsup:

BobL
23rd October 2015, 10:40 AM
Autonomous Vehicles are going to change everything..

The problem with autonomous delivery vehicles is coping with the last part of a delivery, eg my 2kg monthly couriered coffee bean order.
Roads are one thing but then it has to be able to open a gate, go up some stairs, under a veranda and open a wooden box to deposit order.

Some sort of standardised, easily accessible, secure, largish parcel box?
Imagine the space requirement even for a block of say 24 flats?

Autonomous drones are being proposed/used? - probably still some way off beating the $4 coffee delivery charge, or carrying even one bag of cement.

Evanism
23rd October 2015, 06:13 PM
The problem with autonomous delivery vehicles is coping with the last part of a delivery, eg my 2kg monthly couriered coffee bean order.
Roads are one thing but then it has to be able to open a gate, go up some stairs, under a veranda and open a wooden box to deposit order.

Some sort of standardised, easily accessible, secure, largish parcel box?
Imagine the space requirement even for a block of say 24 flats?

Autonomous drones are being proposed/used? - probably still some way off beating the $4 coffee delivery charge, or carrying even one bag of cement.

Here is a cat out of the bag. Autonomous vehicles with side lockers.

A Certain Company's phones know where you are at all times. Right to the metre. Always. It's reported as a continuous stream of intel. A Certain Company also has autonomous vehicles.

Ones coffee beans aren't delivered to your door. It's delivered to you. Your phone beeps and says "package for you is waiting 10 metres away. Go get it. Locker 5, opening code is 12345". It knows you are there. It knows you are at the shops. It knows when you are at work. The phone can say "delivery in 37 mins. Is this OK?". Press yes and its there. It may be initially addressed to a place, but it will find you.

Won't help Nana with her bags of cement, but will solve 100 problems:

-- Builders send apprentice out for bags of nails and a left handed hammer. Solved. Apprentice now stays on site.
-- Need a DVR sent from the local Dick Smiths? No courier needed. Autonomous Vehincle booked and parcels are put in lockers and distributed.
-- I order 4 clamps. They are sent straight from Masters Airport to me that afternoon. Or at 9pm while I'm home.
-- Masters own their own "locker boxes". They fill them during the day and the mini auto truck simply collects them at night like a mini skip.

The locker "cars" can change compartments by swapping them on and off like mini shipping crates in its own secure depot guarded by a snarly dog.

Doesn't need to work for Nan, but works for 70% of people.....

rwbuild
23rd October 2015, 08:35 PM
What a brilliant way for terrorists to play havoc among the citizens of a country, or some mischief making.
I do see it as something in the future but a lot of what ifs, and ors and buts to be sorted first. The supermarkets and their warehousing operations and major suppliers would be the first cabs off the rank, spare parts for car dealers, definitely has potential but for the average citizen, too many variables.
The unions would have an epileptic fit.

Chris Parks
25th October 2015, 07:00 PM
My next challenge is getting companies to believe that my mobile phone number is not my 'best' or even 'preferred' contact number... they don't seem to understand that a mobile phone is for my convenience only, and that I can happily go for six months or more without turning it on, and that I'm just as likely to get a new SIM card/phone number as I am to recharge my existing number - I provide landline numbers for a reason!

And I thought I was the only one who did this.

cava
25th October 2015, 08:55 PM
And I thought I was the only one who did this.
Me too. :rolleyes: