Become a customer for the day

It was meant to be a simple job. We had to obtain timber, using a typical selection of boards, for a project to determine the quality of material from different sources a builder or carpenter might use. The four sources were a timber specialist, two branches of leading builders' merchants and a DIY shed. We had a strict deadline.

The branch of one national we had selected didn't have what we wanted in stock, and wouldn't have by our deadline. We switched to another. Another left us on hold - twice - while they looked for someone to take our order, forgot about us and left the phone swinging while we listened in to their conversation. Two were helpful and efficient.

With the help of a friendly builder and a hired truck we arrived to collect our first order from one of the nationals. The yard was tidy and well organised and the staff quickly loaded the timber on to the van with a fork lift.

Our next call to a timber merchant took longer. The stock was neatly stacked and the uniformed staff looked professional. But the boards weren't cut to size. It's not part of our normal service, but we'll do it for £5, they said. Loading took longer, as the forklift wasn't available and no one wanted to help.

Our driver was pleasantly surprised by the DIY store. Everything was ready and cut to size as promised. We got a cup of tea, while the staff loaded up the truck for us.

The final pick up from a national builders' merchant took longer than expected. We arrived at 8am Friday, but our order wasn't ready. The yard looked disorganised. “We're understaffed and busy. Come back tomorrow morning,” we were told. At 9am Saturday it was the same story. “Sorry mate. It'll be Monday. ”

By Monday we were under pressure to meet our deadlines and had to deliver to the other side of the country by midday. The timber was not cut to size as ordered, so our driver had to saw it up. “If you could have waited till next week it would have been different, ” we were told.

The timber was standard stuff, ordered in plenty of time. We expected no problems getting what we ordered from the merchants, but wondered about the DIY store. They say if you want to know what it's like doing business with yourself, become a customer for the day. How was our mystery buying project for us? Terrible! How is it for your customers?

Agree? Disagree? Want more information? Email Mike Rigby at mike@521621.com