Discount for the asking

Hi all,
Yesterday I dropped in to B&Q for some cement and decided to have a look at their compost. The large bags(150 ltrs) normally cost £6;89 and there were not many left. One bag had a hole about the size of a tennis ball in the packaging so I asked an attendant for some tape to repair same hole. After the repair, I gave the tape to another assistant and mentioned the fact that I shouldn't have had to do this that it was the responsibility of B&Q and asked for a little bit of discount. Imagine my surprise when he knocked them down to £4;00 each.
Next stop Homebase for a Montana to climb up that rather high deck front of mine.The clematis was dry but o.k. and I asked the assistant in the plant section when it was last watered. It is a bit dry sir isn't it I'll knock a couple of quid off sais he and I duly got it for £7;99 and went home dead chuffed with myself.
The moral of this story is... If you don't ask, you don't get.
Why don't we all start asking cos they really don't look after the plants like they should and sometimes we buy inferior plants just to save the bother of going elsewhere.
G.man
:D

 

hi g.man
i can only agree, so often i get cross because you see row upon row of dying plants just for a little care,and a drop of water,i dont understand why they dont give the jobs to somebody who would look after the plants i.e.a pensioner with time on his hands and he would repay them time and time again, you never see the same person inthe garden dept at my local focus,and wilkos is worse as all their plants are in doors.

but as regards the damaged bags there is always loads lying about and i often wonder what happens to them next time i will ask,

 

G.Man our local B & Q always reduces things that have holes in them etc. and I'm with you I do so like to haggle over the price of things, it use to work wonders years ago paying cash for large electrical things etc. we always got a reduction or something free with the item nowadays it doesn't work that way at all as the companies want you to take the finance out instead of paying cash....Me I take my business elsewhere and they can keep the dodgy finance packages. Hel.xxx.

 

I'm afraid I suffer from the perennial Brit problem of hating haggling and being too shy to ask for discounts... If I want a bargain, I get my mum to do the bartering - she's unstoppable!

I think in this current economical climate though, some companies are tightening their belts much more and may be reluctant to drop prices too much.

 

When shopping at Home Base for plants and there is only one left of something I really want and its a bit tatty or dry I always say something like is that the best you can offer and usually get it dirt cheap. It does pay to speak up.

 

I was in a shp at the Welsh smallholders show at the weekend where loads of things were in the sale. I wanted to buy a clock and asked if they would knock anything off seeing as everything else was in the sale and they dropped £4 off the price

 

All I can say to all of you who answered this thread is more power to us all. the shops are making massive profits cos nowadays, they are not small one or two man businesses, they are multinationals. If I was dealing with a one man business I would not try to get discount 'cos I know it is getting harder for the small man, being self-employed myself.
Anyway not one bit of the materials for the work I am doing at the back garden is bought from B&Q, except for cement and plants, their prices are extortionate for timber etc so it all comes from the builders merchants. I even haggle with them 'cos the first price you get is not always their best.
I am still working at the front patio at the top end of my driveway this weekend and am getting along great. The Boss Woman actualy came out and asked if she could do anything to help and being the gentleman that I am I got her to edge the front path and the front lawns. She also got on her hands and knees (bless her) and weeded the pathway while she was at it. What a help that was and she made a really good job of it. She really put her heart and soul into it. Then she up and planted up the two hanging baskets for either side of the front door with zonal pelargoniums and trailing lobelia. Old fashioned me!!!

G.man

 

Defenitely worth a bit of a haggle, builders merchants lol, even with a trade account theres still scope to negotiate on the monstorusly high prices at Travis perkins!!!!

I refuse to use B and Q anything that TP dont do or are really expensive for i use screwfix.