selco- do you still use it????

[opps]

When selco first opened in hanger lane NW10 I was quite impressed.

There were some real bargains to be had. As time has gone on and they have continued to expand the prices have creeped up and the quality of service has plummeted.

Last year I took a client to selco, he wanted some 18mm mdf cut to size. i gave the cutting list to a member of staff. Off we went to the wall saw. from his top pocket he pulled the biggest chisel marker pen I have ever seen and he proceeded to mark off the sheet, not even making allowances for saw kerf- mind you that didnt matter given that the pen tip was about 8mm thick.

He had an interesting technique, managed to get the saw blade stuck 3 times!!!

Fortunately the sizes were nominal but he didn't know that.

When we got to the till we were told that the only first 3 cuts were free. i retorted that they meant the first 3 cuts per sheet. Nope they did mean the first 3 cuts. I asked what would stop someone walking in and having 3 cuts from one sheet, paying, walking back in and doing the same with the next sheet and so on. Blank stares from the supervisor and till staff, "err... nothing but people dont".

After 5 minutes of taking advantage of the fact that they couldn't count we convinced them that we had about 30 bits of MDF from only a total of 5 cuts.

Now if you ask a member of staff a question about a product you are greeted with blank looks.

Even their prices are illogical- sometimes it is cheaper to buy 2 tins of 2.5L than one tin of 5L paint???

To cap things off they have recently adopted a "we think our customers are thieves" policy.

I popped into the ruislip branch recently and had my rucksack with me. Within minutes i had a security guard running after me. He insisted that i surrender my rucksack to him as they have a no bags policy. He pointed me in the direction of a tiny locker- half the size of my rucksack. I told him it wouldn't fit. he then kindly pointed in the direction of an unsecured storage bin at the end of the aisles. I asked him if he/selco would be responsible for anything happening to my £2300 vaio in the rucksack. blank looks- I walked out and went to the toolstation next door.

Don't think I want to shop somewhere that assumes the worst of it's customers...

 

[joe-90]

Never had a problem with them. I like them.

 

[opps]

Me thinks i was in a bad mood when i posted...

Never-the-less I think that the no bag policy sucks (something to do with camels and straws). No other shop that I use has such a disdain for its customers. No bags today, tomorrow you have to shop in your teeshirt and underwear?

I don't drive and i carry my ruck sack everywhere (with laptop).

Selco is members only- you have to sign in. It is hardly an Oxford Street clothes store with a history of gangs targeting it.

 

[Deluks]

sign-in? No bother with that at the croydon or sutton branches. Maybe that particular store has suffered heavy losses or theft?

 

[opps]

sign-in? No bother with that at the croydon or sutton branches. Maybe that particular store has suffered heavy losses or theft?

To be fair- they don't both checking at ruislip but my point was that it is not the kind of place that one just wonders into and rather than having a no bag policy perhaps they should make people sign in

 

[RF Lighting]

I've never signed in at either the leeds or bradford branch.

I like them and use them quite a lot. To be fair to them every proper trade warehouse that I use like stax or makro have no bags policies too.

Why not just leave you bag in the van? You know the rules?

 

[joe-90]

Why not just leave you bag in the van?

Good idea, she can keep an eye on your tools.

 

[opps]

Leaving my bag in the van would involve me having to learn how to drive and then buying a van.

With regard to knowing the rules- it is a new rule.

Besides, it would be easier to slip something into my pockets than to dismount my rucksack, unzip it, put things in, re zip it and put the rucksack back on.

I do have some sympathy for the anti loose/unsealed carrier bag bag policy but rucksacks?

If small item are being stolen then use rfid tags. I don't imagine that many sheets of ply are being smuggled out in carrier bags.

All retail stores have a level of theft (staff or customers). The better ones adopt policies that don't alienate their customers.

I guess that I am one of the few tradesmen who uses Selco that doesn't drive (and who therefore carries a rucksack everywhere). Thus my indignation is seemingly unique in this forum.

If selco took this policy on step further and decided to conduct frisks on exit would you be happy to oblige?

Seemingly no one else seems to object to the guilt by association connotations.