B&Q has announced plans to undertake a restructure which will scrap overnight replenishment leading to the loss of 200 management roles.
Over the next month the leading home and DIY retailer will move an additional 1750 staff to “customer-facing colleagues on our shop floors”, a move which will mean overnight operations are abandoned.
Replenishment will now be carried out during the day by the extra staff on the shop floor, leading overnight shift management and supervisor roles will be cut, along with unsociable hours pay.
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The retailer stated that it would offer “colleagues in overnight replenishment roles the opportunity to take a new daytime replenishment role instead, though we recognise that not all of them may want to take up these new positions.”
“The overall impact of the proposals will be to improve our customers’ shopping experience in our stores,” retail and property director Paul Crisp added.
“The changes in replenishment would mean an additional 1,750 customer-facing colleagues on our shop floors, improving stock availability and customer service throughout the day.
“In addition, we are creating greater consistency in the way we operate our stores, removing duplication of tasks and improving efficiency.
“We want to be the leading home improvement company and make home improvement accessible for everyone. That means delivering great customer service and great quality at prices that are truly affordable. To do that, we need to operate differently.”
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25 Comments. Leave new
B&Q considers any work done during opening hours as “customer facing” as part of this process and used summer closing times (when staff spend 1 hour more per day with customers) to calculate this, so over 440 staff were forced to either take the pay cut and work during the day, or leave without any redundancy payment.
Shameful and insulting to people who built their lives around working later shifts, giving B&Q years of thankless service.
The additional interaction through additional presence will drive sales, confidence and affect loss
B@q is a big brand name worked there lots of years shame on how they desolve there stress on the customers by adding more insults by taking 10 percent away why not allow 5 percent why bully the ones that pay there bread and butter kitchen fitters yes cat training for sales floor managers and staff but not kitchen fitters lets stop the bread and butter comming in lol people need to have there new kitchens installed or there go elsewhere to simplify there workload
It’s amazing how all these firms have to sack people to give us a “ great customer service”
B&Q can go fuck it self it don’t care about its staff one bit it only cares about making. Money
How to close a DIY store.
Remove trade discount
Have empty shelves
Expensive prices
Drop senior Wednesday discount.
Enough said
How to ensure you keep your DIY store open.
Re-structure trade discount, ensuring its the people who actually spend with you that get the discounts.
Move more people to replenishment during the day, meaning full shelves.
Everday low price structure.
Drop unnecessary and over abused OAP discounts.
Enough said.
Correct. Still too many managers in store, some managers of a dept section look after 2 staff, don’t have to order stock, don’t have to put the stock out, don’t do wages or rota’s just overpaid customer advisors.
At least Moronique Laury has finally got her marching orders. That’s one positive step I suppose.
1750 new staff over 300 stores is only 5 extra staff per store, yet most stores have between 10 and 20 night crew staff, cost cutting gone mad will never work customers will suffer
What a palaver
What will happen eventually is that when staff leave they won’t be replaced. Natural wastage will mean no redundancy will be paid. It won’t lead to better customer service, empty shelves, frustrated staff and customers!
There is a difference between opinion and fact.
The ability to be able to say what you want does not mean you should just spout off randomly.
Some of you on here just want to knock the company rather than genuinely caring about the impacted colleagues. Use a forum like this to put a balanced view across. You have family and friends if you just want a moan-up
Empty shelves and blocked gangways all day,plus the dangers of forklifts operating in amongst people concentrating on shopping.
There would be no forklifts on the shopfloor during opening hours. You need a small army of people to move them.
I think it’s a great start. If you don’t try something new, how will you know if it works. We need to adapt to the times…
Yes they will be cutting costs on night pay, etc., but at least they are giving it a go to keep floating.
I give it 6 months before they realise it doesn’t work. Replen during the day takes much longer than during closed hours. It will fall apart in the run up to Easter with shelves not full. Staff will be pushed to the limit as putting stock out will be the main focus, meaning customer service slides down the priority ladder.
Go to screwfix, much better and cheaper.
And also part of the Kingfisher group as is B&Q
Leslie u stupid women no uses forklift during working hours and stop moaning . I allways shop at bnq
B&Q have a lot of big items that need to be forklifted in which was done at night they are now only given 2hrs in morning and 2hrs in the evening for forklifting this will be putting the forklift drivers under to much pressure don’t think they have thought this though good luck guys your going to need it
I doubt that customer or staff safety will be compromised, B&Q have high standards in that regard and adhere to regulations. Stock items are taken out in cages pulled with hand pallet trucks or a trained operator using a powered pallet truck, similar to supermarkets.
But they also have bigger items in store that need to be forklifted in which would have been done at night don’t think B&Q have thought this though as now only given 2hrs in morning and 2hrs in evening for forklifting putting forklift drivers under to much pressure good luck guys
Forklift drivers will only have 2 hrs in morning and 2hrs in evening now to get all forklifting done this will put them under a lot of pressure dont think B&Q have thought this though anyway good luck guys your going to need it
As a former member of staff the whole thought process was to keep forklifts of the shop floor during times of the store being opened as i would take away five members of staff to bring the forklift out. 1x driver and 4x banksman. Plus the forklift would only have been brought out in the case of safety issues such as stock or pallets that or a health and safety risk. Just seem to be B&Qs way of not paying people a redundancy package. What will happen now is that if the sales in each of the stores doesn’t increase with more staff on the ground then the staff will be pulled over the coals for this. B&Q need to review there prices which will bring customers into there stores to spend. As a massive company and the buying power they have or once had. Surely no one should be able to compete against them. But this just doesn’t seem to be the case.