DIY people and the like in wholesalers - do you say anything?

[333rocky333]

How did you know he was a diyer

The fact that he was asking others if they were electricians and showing other people waiting, a picture on his phone, asking what was missing, that he needed, to get his power back on as the electric board had come round and cut him off for some reason,

Well to me anyway I would have thought messing with the service head is a bit more serious than buying a bit of cable to wire a garage without notifying.
Butting in and saying so would likely be greeted with F*** off and mind your own business

Obviously I have seen people in the trade, like yourself i assume, buying them and Newey eyre in london used to supply them for the now Defunct Leb, plus the carriers fit most Ryefield boards.

The thread would be a bit tedious if we all said we had seen Qualified tradesman buying there relevant materials for there job.

 

[securespark]

I doubt if pro electricans or plumbers buy from screwfix

Years ago I had a "trade" card for Screwfix, allowing me to buy stuff they wouldn't sell to DIY.

 

[AndyPRK]

Ow what magical stuff will SF Sell you?

I can’t even get they to sell me an led light!

 

[333rocky333]

I can’t even get they to sell me an led light!

Whys that

 

[AndyPRK]

Not in stock in warehouse. It’s due in tomorrow when they phone up to check . Tell me to come back 2 days later to order. Still not available. Repeat

 

[crystal ball]

The fact that he was asking others if they were electricians and showing other people waiting, a picture on his phone, asking what was missing, that he needed, to get his power back on as the electric board had come round and cut him off for some reason,

Well to me anyway I would have thought messing with the service head is a bit more serious than buying a bit of cable to wire a garage without notifying.
Butting in and saying so would likely be greeted with F*** off and mind your own business

Obviously I have seen people in the trade, like yourself i assume, buying them and Newey eyre in london used to supply them for the now Defunct Leb, plus the carriers fit most Ryefield boards.

The thread would be a bit tedious if we all said we had seen Qualified tradesman buying there relevant materials for there job.

Makes for interesting reading, not only a diyer, also a potential criminal

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Butting in and saying so would likely be greeted with F*** off and mind your own business

But it was your business.

Anyway - in that case you could probably correctly deduce the following:

1. The guy had only recently been cut off
2. He wouldn't have travelled a long way to a wholesalers outside his area

and called the DNO.

Did he get the parts he needed?

 

[333rocky333]

No he didn't get one, they don't sell them off the shelf and he seemed to want it straight away, from what i overheard, he had been driving around all morning trying different places.
I have 2 in the garage but didn't tell him that and oddly the next day I went to WF Kings cross and there was two old ones laying on the floor in a box by the wheely bin with a load of old fuses that looked liked someone had cleared off there van.

 

[SUNRAY]

Couple of years ago we were setting up power for a stage and a couple of ice cream vans, this had happened for years and the moment a decent load was applied the volts dropped. We quickly diagnosed a faulty carrier in the service head, the pins were soft as butter and obviously overheated at some time.
6am on a Sunday is not a good time to be trying to find spares. We were very lucky that the 3ph head elsewhere on the site was the same type, otherwise a call to DNO and all the effort of explaining to an engineer why we were taking power from an unmetered service (experience from previous years!).

 

[SimonH2]

Why would you think pro tradespeople would not buy from Screwfix, they sell much the same stuff as wholesalers, sometimes cheaper sometimes not

Plus they have the advantage of longer opening hours. My local wholesalers are shut from Sat lunchtime to Sun morning - Toolstation and Screwfix are open Sat PM and Sunday.
Which sounds better to a customer with a problem : Sorry, I can't get a part till Monday morning, you'll have to manage without any heating/whatever till then. or I need a part ... (checks online) ... I'll be back in an hour.
Granted a serious trade electrician is likely to have most commonly needed items on the van (or at the back of the garage/workshop), but I bet most have had that "oh bother, the wholesaler isn't open till Monday" problem.

As an aside, on a networking job for a client a while ago, in an unusual switch around, I got to fit the containment (multi-compartment dado trunking) and the sparkies came round alter to fit the electrical stuff - and it was a rush job with weekend working. When a load of cable turned up, I noted that there was no 3C&E (I knew there was two-way switching to be installed) and mentioned this to the electricians (local outfit I know). Turned out it was no problem - one of them was related to one of the staff at the wholesalers so was able to get a drum on Sunday morning.

 

[SUNRAY]

Turned out it was no problem - one of them was related to one of the staff at the wholesalers so was able to get a drum on Sunday morning.

I had this facility for a while and another where the manager was desperate to get his figures up and only lived 50m from the store.

Very handy but I do have to say the prices are not as competitive as they used to be.

 

[securespark]

You mean SF's prices?

 

[SUNRAY]

You mean SF's prices?

I was referring to wholesalers prices but I don't do anything like the purchasing I used to so may be losing my negotiating power. I'm not so sure now though having looked through SF's catalogue for a couple of bits yesterday.