Businesses that have closed and opened in Carlow

wheres me jumpa

http://www.carlow-nationalist.ie/news/story/?trs=mhojmheyau&cat=news

Any update on this story? Less than a year after it opened it looks like Homebase is on its way out of Carlow with its staff currently on protective notice.

kwalshe

jumpa, this does'nt suprise me at all, it's an utter rip-off in this shop. I go here when I'm buyin anything DIY'y and use it as base line to start working below, I have never found anything more expensive in Doyle woodies etc.. Bad for staff i feel bad as they are actually quite helpful in this shop

aynon

this story is total lies, i am an employee of the company, all it is, we have been asked to become more flexible, but because of the mass of it, we all have to get contract changes, no one is losing their job.
the only reduncy is ppl, who cannot fulfill their new duties or feel they cannot.
please read this article again as we have the pack that is being quoted in this article.

wheres me jumpa

The Insider!

aynon

kwalshe wrote: »

jumpa, this does'nt suprise me at all, it's an utter rip-off in this shop. I go here when I'm buyin anything DIY'y and use it as base line to start working below, I have never found anything more expensive in Doyle woodies etc.. Bad for staff i feel bad as they are actually quite helpful in this shop

on this point, i know that doyles have let go of at least 5 staff in the past month and more on the way.
obviously the they have stopped the hire. because there is nothing being built to be hired. but their bottom line doesn't look good.

Villain

Homebase's prices are shocking I wouldn't be surprised to see them and 4Home close in 09

aynon

well homebase do a price quote match, if you get a written quote from another supplier, not only will they match it but they will knock 10% off.

the kitchens i find are actually really cheap and all the big ticket stuff isn't too bad, some of the bathroom stuff can be a little pricey. but i don't think that anything in there is too wildly over priced. can i get an example please?

slimjimmc

aynon wrote: »

well homebase do a price quote match, if you get a written quote from another supplier, not only will they match it but they will knock 10% off.

the kitchens i find are actually really cheap and all the big ticket stuff isn't too bad, some of the bathroom stuff can be a little pricey. but i don't think that anything in there is too wildly over priced. can i get an example please?

This Black and Decker SDS hammer drill:

Homebase Carlow = sale price €99.99, down from €129
B&Q Newhall, Naas = sale price €76

darc

slimjimmc wrote: »

[ Black and Decker SDS hammer drill:

Homebase Carlow = sale price €99.99, down from €129
B&Q Newhall, Naas = sale price €76

Then again

170mm Insulation

Homebase 19.26 (@ half price)

B&Q 26.44 (@ 2 for 1)

Bought 14 rolls of it in B&Q on Monday - getting difference + 10% refunded today.

slimjimmc

Some things are dearer, some are cheaper no matter where you go.
Just proves that it pays to shop around.

Villain

Well comparing B&Q and Homebase is like comparing two burglars these huge DIY and garden centre's were living off people's extra disposable income anyone who buys DIY stuff on a regular basis knows to avoid these shops or at least speak to someone and get a real price, people in the building industry laugh at the "shop price" thats the price people pay when they don't know what they want and don't have a clue how much it should cost, these stores will sink with the Celtic tiger's death, real hardware stores will be fine

aynon

its true.... cant argue with that

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

wheres me jumpa wrote: »

http://www.carlow-nationalist.ie/news/story/?trs=mhojmheyau&cat=news

Any update on this story? Less than a year after it opened it looks like Homebase is on its way out of Carlow with its staff currently on protective notice.

WOODIES FOR THE WIN

Wouldn't shop in homebase, ever. Worked in it for a while when I was a brat of a chap.

Anyway, to the employer who posted here. It's funny that the Dell employees were saying the same thing, I think they were the only ones who didn't know they were being let off :P Managment were all "no no no, you will have jobs next week, promise" Next week arrives and no jobs :P Ah I hope you don't lose your job anyway, would be pretty crappy of them.

Woodies was a first mover, first real DIY place in Carlow and it will always dominate the market. There's no two ways about it.

aynon

well, from what i hear, ppl, dont care much for price, if it isnt too big a difference. customer service is king, and woodies really sucks at that you could spend an hour walking around the store and not find a member of staff, and then they dont really care about your problem...

any way woodies i can see closing well before homebase does....

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

aynon wrote: »

well, from what i hear, ppl, dont care much for price, if it isnt too big a difference. customer service is king, and woodies really sucks at that you could spend an hour walking around the store and not find a member of staff, and then they dont really care about your problem...

any way woodies i can see closing well before homebase does....

Not a chance... anyway, it's obvious that you know nothing about business... I would back woodies before any other hardware store, they try but they fail, every time... How's 4home doing? haha...

Anyway, service isn't king, it's important, but didn't you know there's a recession on?

Woodies staff are excellent, best I have ever seen.

SpitfireIV

Villain wrote: »

Well comparing B&Q and Homebase is like comparing two burglars these huge DIY and garden centre's were living off people's extra disposable income anyone who buys DIY stuff on a regular basis knows to avoid these shops or at least speak to someone and get a real price, people in the building industry laugh at the "shop price" thats the price people pay when they don't know what they want and don't have a clue how much it should cost, these stores will sink with the Celtic tiger's death, real hardware stores will be fine

Agreed! Anyone whom for instance buys any of the wood in Woodies or these hardware superstores needs there head examined! The prices for those small little 'convinient' sections of timber and sheeting are absolutely rediculous! Visit a decent timber yard and you'd get the same for small change!

These stores are convinient and the recent new home owners and such as a result of the tiger know no better.

aynon

in relation to iamxavier's last comment....
all i know that alot of customers homebase get are coming as far away as south kilkenny, and another batch are woodies converts, and the recession, like the cake, its a lie!!!

best leave it there, before we start to quibble....

testicle

aynon wrote: »

this story is total lies, i am an employee of the company, all it is, we have been asked to become more flexible, but because of the mass of it, we all have to get contract changes, no one is losing their job.
the only reduncy is ppl, who cannot fulfill their new duties or feel they cannot.
please read this article again as we have the pack that is being quoted in this article.

This sounds very like protective notice to me...

maxwell smart

I used to work in B&Q, the margin on everything is massive. They screw their suppliers and cream off the profits. The Liffey Valley store is on eof the top performing stores in the group (320 stores approx).
All the Irish based B&Q's do very well, with the exception of Athlone which was an experimental store for the catchment area.
They make most of their sales (50-60%) at the weekend when most "local" hardware stores are closed.

kwalshe

Funk , forgot about 4home and woodies, run by muppets for muppets that just don't understand how much things should cost. I play games in woodies with their staff when I have to got there as a last resort , go to the Section that has the "Readers Digest DIY Manual" find a bitchin' DIY query and run it by their "DIY Experts" and see how fast they can move in the opposite direction.

SpitfireIV

kwalshe wrote: »

I play games in woodies with their staff when I have to got there as a last resort , go to the Section that has the "Readers Digest DIY Manual" find a bitchin' DIY query and run it by their "DIY Experts" and see how fast they can move in the opposite direction.

I lol'ed, thats genius!!

SV

aynon wrote: »

any way woodies i can see closing well before homebase does....

You're dreaming with that one I'm afraid.

wheres me jumpa

Lina Howling Windburn wrote: »

WOODIES FOR THE WIN

Ah the memories!

Having worked in Woodies I know the type of people that come into the shop and the type of people that work in the shop. The customers are mostly families with time and cash to burn (although maybe not anymore). Occassionally you get the odd builder type who shows up as a last resort.

The staff are generally trained by the occasional builder that comes in, honestly most of the useful information I had, was a result of being destroyed by a customer who did know their stuff!

There definitely isnt room for so many of these shops aimed at the family diyers in Carlow. How did Woodies and Homebase do over xmas? I was parked in Woodies a few times over xmas and the car park certainly suggested it was quieter than previous years.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Considering that these places pay minimum pay, staff does fairly good. Training is non existant. Nobody claims to be an "expert" either. I would blame the boys in head office for the lack of staff, managers are given figers that they must follow, simple as. If they have enough to hire 3 staff, then that's what they will hire. You know? It's typically a retarded approach. A lot of the staff would have more product knowledge than some of the managment. It's not a professional job, stop thinking it is. Pfft!!!

ShayK1

Lina Howling Windburn wrote: »

Woodies was a first mover, first real DIY place in Carlow

Ever heard of Doyle's ??? FFS!

SV

ShayK1 wrote: »

Ever heard of Doyle's ??? FFS!

don't get worked up or anything whatever you do

SpitfireIV

ShayK1 wrote: »

Ever heard of Doyle's ??? FFS!

Ever heard of Gillespies?!

:pac::p

Tom10

Ya its this simple, if you don't know what you need or you don't know how much stuff will cost you go to a chain store, assuming that because they have lots of stores around the country surely they've made their money because they are good - but if u do have a clue about cost and what you need you go to decent local-ish hardware stores where the employees don't give a rats what you think just that you have the docket for what you paid for (even occasionally helping you load the stuff if they have the time)

DIY - woodies, 4home etc etc etc

aynon

as regards training, homebases training is actually done by people in the buissness and a test is given at the end and if an 80%+ or in some cases 100% your not allowed on the floor.
kitchens-although installations arent done in the south(other then dublin), installers are shipped in to explain kitchen planning.
as for professionals, we have builders, ex builders, wives of builders, and one random old guy that knows everything about everything, on the floor, the expertize level of the staff in homebase is higher then in most stores, maybe not as expert as doyles, but expert definitely enough for the home market.

as regards figures, cant discuss, but they were better then atticapated.

foggy_lad

the woodies in carlow must be the worst DIY store in the county if not the whole country! most items are not priced or the price has been put next to something totally different and the place is so untidy i am surprised their insurers allow them to remain open to the public! it is a serious accident just waiting to happen! cant fault the staff though as they have always had good basic DIY knowledce/common sense and usually are able to find the items that are not where they are supposed to be but still probably dont have a price on them.

wheres me jumpa

Article on the job losses at Doyles:

http://www.carlow-nationalist.ie/news/story/?trs=mhojmhidkf&cat=news