doug3030
14th March 2016, 10:09 PM
I have a project to do and a deadline to meet. I only have whatever spare time I can find in the next week to do it. This was not due to bad planning, just bad luck and how life is sometimes.
Anyway I needed two sheets of 12mm structural plywood. So off I go to Bunnings, trailer in tow, and drive into the timber area. I get out of the car and look for the 12mm ply, None there! And of course not a Bunnings employee in sight.
I noticed that all the other customers were converging on me and I realized that it was a bad tactical error to have worn my maroon polo shirt today. They all thought I was the elusive staff member, as I hobbled along with my walking stick because my back is playing up.
I finally found a staff member, and on inquiring he replied "Hmmm - 12mm structural plywood? Trickyyyy"
"Have you got any?" I asked expectantly.
He responded: "I am pretty sure we do but I am going to have to say no."
Me: "what?"
He: "Well there will be a stack of them out the back but they will be out of reach on the top shelf and we don't have anyone to get them down."
Me: "well thank-you very much, open the boomgate will you mate, I will go elsewhere."
Next stop Mitre 10. Closed. Public holiday in Melbourne. Fair enough I guess.
So off down the road another 5 Km to Masters.
I have never been in the timber area at Masters before so I parked in the trailer park out the front and walked in to have a look before driving in. I inquired at the counter and was told that what I wanted was "in that aisle over there". Well they only have two aisles and it was actually in the other one, three metres from the ground and there was a pallet-load of timber sleepers in front of it.
So I go and get my car and trailer and park it close to where the plywood is, but just a bit out of the way so they they could move the sleepers if they needed to. Two staff came up to me immediately. One of them asked me: "Is that your ute mate?"
Me: "Yes, I am after..."
Him: "Well you will have to move it, nobody else will be able to get through if you leave it there."
Me: "Can you just give me a hand to get a couple of sheets of..."
Him: "Mate you will have to move your car."
Me: "ok, where can I put it?
Him: "there's a parking bay near the checkout"
So off I go and park in the bay. I wander back to where the plywood is and find Old Mate along the way. "That wasn't difficult was it?" he said sarcastically.
"Not at all," I replied, leaning on my walking stick, "but now someone has to get two sheets of 12mm structural plywood down to my trailer, and I can't do it."
Old Mate is now looking at the plywood, three metres up the rack, the pallet of sleepers in frontof it and the distance to my trailer. "Can you bring your trailer back here mate?" he asked hopefully.
Me: "*^&(%#*^!@*^%$#@)^&%"
Him: "Ok, ok I will get it. No need to be like that now, its not helping." Off he went and got his mate from earlier and I watched the pair of them break every OH&S rule as they got the plywood down and carried it past about a dozen sheet goods trolleys to my trailer.
Now, the plywood is 1200mm wide which is also exactly the internal dimension of the width of my trailer. I explained in detail to them that I wanted the ends of the ply sheets resting on both ends of the trailer, not down inside as this would damage the edges. I wasted my breath as they got there and dropped the front end inside the trailer and rested the back end only on the tailgate. I was going to send them back for another two sheets that were not damaged but I had had enough and wasted enough of my day trying to buy such a simple commodity, I just pulled them out and loaded it as I had requested as it is easier and safer to tie it down like that too. Two ratchet straps later the tie-down is complete and I approach the register to pay.
Lets just say without going into all the details that it took 20 minutes to take my payment and fail to issue me a receipt. After telling him several times that it would be ok not to get a receipt he finally gave up and opened the boom-gate and let me to home.
One final thing - Remember that Old Mate had insisted that I move my vehicle because I would be blocking off the cars that would be coming through? Well not a single car went through in all this time, and I doubt that my car will ever go through there again either.
Why do they have "customer service" printed on their shirts?
What a waste of valuable time that I was hoping to use on the project.
Cheers
Doug
Anyway I needed two sheets of 12mm structural plywood. So off I go to Bunnings, trailer in tow, and drive into the timber area. I get out of the car and look for the 12mm ply, None there! And of course not a Bunnings employee in sight.
I noticed that all the other customers were converging on me and I realized that it was a bad tactical error to have worn my maroon polo shirt today. They all thought I was the elusive staff member, as I hobbled along with my walking stick because my back is playing up.
I finally found a staff member, and on inquiring he replied "Hmmm - 12mm structural plywood? Trickyyyy"
"Have you got any?" I asked expectantly.
He responded: "I am pretty sure we do but I am going to have to say no."
Me: "what?"
He: "Well there will be a stack of them out the back but they will be out of reach on the top shelf and we don't have anyone to get them down."
Me: "well thank-you very much, open the boomgate will you mate, I will go elsewhere."
Next stop Mitre 10. Closed. Public holiday in Melbourne. Fair enough I guess.
So off down the road another 5 Km to Masters.
I have never been in the timber area at Masters before so I parked in the trailer park out the front and walked in to have a look before driving in. I inquired at the counter and was told that what I wanted was "in that aisle over there". Well they only have two aisles and it was actually in the other one, three metres from the ground and there was a pallet-load of timber sleepers in front of it.
So I go and get my car and trailer and park it close to where the plywood is, but just a bit out of the way so they they could move the sleepers if they needed to. Two staff came up to me immediately. One of them asked me: "Is that your ute mate?"
Me: "Yes, I am after..."
Him: "Well you will have to move it, nobody else will be able to get through if you leave it there."
Me: "Can you just give me a hand to get a couple of sheets of..."
Him: "Mate you will have to move your car."
Me: "ok, where can I put it?
Him: "there's a parking bay near the checkout"
So off I go and park in the bay. I wander back to where the plywood is and find Old Mate along the way. "That wasn't difficult was it?" he said sarcastically.
"Not at all," I replied, leaning on my walking stick, "but now someone has to get two sheets of 12mm structural plywood down to my trailer, and I can't do it."
Old Mate is now looking at the plywood, three metres up the rack, the pallet of sleepers in frontof it and the distance to my trailer. "Can you bring your trailer back here mate?" he asked hopefully.
Me: "*^&(%#*^!@*^%$#@)^&%"
Him: "Ok, ok I will get it. No need to be like that now, its not helping." Off he went and got his mate from earlier and I watched the pair of them break every OH&S rule as they got the plywood down and carried it past about a dozen sheet goods trolleys to my trailer.
Now, the plywood is 1200mm wide which is also exactly the internal dimension of the width of my trailer. I explained in detail to them that I wanted the ends of the ply sheets resting on both ends of the trailer, not down inside as this would damage the edges. I wasted my breath as they got there and dropped the front end inside the trailer and rested the back end only on the tailgate. I was going to send them back for another two sheets that were not damaged but I had had enough and wasted enough of my day trying to buy such a simple commodity, I just pulled them out and loaded it as I had requested as it is easier and safer to tie it down like that too. Two ratchet straps later the tie-down is complete and I approach the register to pay.
Lets just say without going into all the details that it took 20 minutes to take my payment and fail to issue me a receipt. After telling him several times that it would be ok not to get a receipt he finally gave up and opened the boom-gate and let me to home.
One final thing - Remember that Old Mate had insisted that I move my vehicle because I would be blocking off the cars that would be coming through? Well not a single car went through in all this time, and I doubt that my car will ever go through there again either.
Why do they have "customer service" printed on their shirts?
What a waste of valuable time that I was hoping to use on the project.
Cheers
Doug