B&Q vs Homebase (2024)

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garyessex Posts: 9,083

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09/04/11 - 09:35 in General Discussion #1

Just saw their new ad's, Homebase 15% of everything Friday and Saturday and a 10% card until the 21st April, not a bad deal, then B&Q's comes on - 20% of everything over £100 Friday-Monday and a 10% card to use until the end of May. Looks like B&Q is a winner atm, must be going peak trading for them?

grumpyscot Posts: 11,382
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09/04/11 - 12:02 #2
Home base is crap anyway. Last time I went there, they didn't even have any satin finish white paint!
gds1972 Posts: 6,613
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09/04/11 - 12:05 #3
My local Homebase closed down a few months ago, I think a few other stores have also closed down in recent months.
late8 Posts: 7,175
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See Also
Insight & Strategy: B&Q's Build A Life Multiple DIY Retailers About Us Our stores | B&Q in the Community | B&Q
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09/04/11 - 12:09 #4
I found B&Q without doubt is the better of the two with the best price and rage of stuff.
Mind you our local B&Q is a B&Q WAREHOUSE+ Trade Centre. ... Its too bloody big! - they need to provide scooters.
stvn758 Posts: 19,662
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09/04/11 - 12:31 #5
They are useless online, spent ages adding up an order then found none of it could be bought online - my shopping list? Huge store like that and they can't even send you stuff. As for Homebase, £20 Big & Bulky delivery charge for a tub of mortar, sod that.
cnbcwatcher Posts: 56,681
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09/04/11 - 21:38 #6
It depends what you're looking for really. Homebase is great for general household/gardening stuff whereas B&Q is good for DIY stuff (like paint, certain parts, wood etc.)
LostFool Posts: 90,738
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09/04/11 - 21:44 #7
B&Q are usually better on prices but their stores are a mess and they have the world's worst customer service. Huge warehouses and there's usually only a handful of spotty teenagers who have never done any DIY in their life (apart from DIY of the sexual sort...)
camer Posts: 5,237
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09/04/11 - 21:48 #8
B&q (Screwfix Direct) are light years ahead of Homebase in every way, their staff are very helpful and generally know their stuff.:)

See Also
How Much Do B&Q Charge to Fit a Bathroom? (Full Guide) - Contemporary Structures
camer Posts: 5,237
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09/04/11 - 21:51 #9
LostFool wrote: »
B&Q are usually better on prices but their stores are a mess and they have the world's worst customer service. Huge warehouses and there's usually only a handful of spotty teenagers who have never done any DIY in their life (apart from DIY of the sexual sort...)
A lot of the B&Q staff are trained and qualified trades people which is a minimum qualification for the store to give technical advice, some spotty kids may operate tills and the like but I have always found them more than helpful.
mourinhosmissus Posts: 5,593
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09/04/11 - 23:02 #10
I prefer B&Q but then they are usually much larger stores than Homebase.
As for B&Q's staff being knowledgeable, I've always had more help from other customers than the staff.
[Deleted User] Posts: 10,488
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09/04/11 - 23:33 #11
In my area I must admit Homebase is the nicer shopping experience. It's clean, well laid out and helpful staff. B & Q tends to be a bit shambolic and grubby. However, B & Q is usually cheaper although I've noticed the gap is narrowing.
ps. Has anyone else got a Wickes advert in the first post?:D
[Deleted User] Posts: 0
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10/04/11 - 00:13 #12
B&Q - tools, basic paint, building stuff
Homebase - furnishings, tiles, and posher paint, etc
Wickes - bricks and cement
Travis Perkins - timber
Focus - if you haven't seen anything you liked in all the others
That's my parents rule
[Deleted User] Posts: 2,569
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10/04/11 - 00:52 #13
I havent seen a homebase store in Manchester since 2007
Nilrem Posts: 6,972
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10/04/11 - 00:53 #14
Personally I tend to go B&Q every time over homebase.
The quality of stuff at B&Q tends to be better, as well as quite often cheaper and with staff that are normally better trained/know their stuff/experience, whilst my local Homebase is staffed by a number of people who if you ask "do you have X" (fairly common/basic stuff) will look at you like you've grown a second head.
B&Q is to my mind a general DIY/Building/Decorating place, in a fairly industrial/warehouse type setting, usually with at least some staff who know the general stock and can offer advice (I think it pays off that B&Q seem to hire slightly older staff).
Homebase is overpriced tat, this seasons fads, and kitchens in a nice shiny store, with staff who are mainly just checkout assistants.
It's bad enough that I'll usually take a 45 minute round trip to one of the "local" B&Q's over a 10-15 minute round trip to Homebase.
The sad thing is, I remember when all my local Homebase stores were Texas ones, and actually had a decent range of actual DIY stuff that wasn't mainly tat or junk.
threecheeses Posts: 23,952
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10/04/11 - 01:00 #15
Last time I went to the local Homebase I got some paint mixed up for the youngest's bedroom.
It was like a ghost town!
Pressed some button and I think they had to turn up in 5 minutes or you got a discount on the paint. About 15 minutes later a guy turned up to mix, not the friendliest chap, but decided to let it go as it would probably have taken half an hour to dispute and sort out.
The guy on the choppy up the wood section was helpful with some questions I had though.:)