Maplin stores - Page 15 - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

Radio Wrangler · 14th Mar 2018, 9:16 am

Tandy were the first ones I noticed getting insistent on collecting personal information.

I always gave them 1601 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, District of Columbia. It seemed appropriate. My fallback in case they insisted on a UK address was a tribute to British radio comedy: Mrs Hilda Gronk, 48 Ironside Terrace, Scunthorpe.

Tandy and the later Maplins were parallel in so many ways, except Tandy was a franchise operation.

David

MrBungle · 14th Mar 2018, 9:23 am

A good point. Data and the inability for humans to discard the bad bits of it might actually be the cause of this mess to start with. My one spell in retail was when I worked for a new Homebase store in the 1990s for a few weeks as a student. This wa opened on the basis that information collected from other stores said people were travelling too far and wouldn’t spend as much money. On the fanfare opening day, total sales were £230. Ultimately after having an Argos integrated into it recently it closed. It was always empty. I wonder how long that mess was propped up by other stores.

Paul Stenning · 14th Mar 2018, 10:19 am

I just declined to give my personal information, and they still sold me the products. Though like many I haven't bought much from them in years.

Terry_VK5TM · 14th Mar 2018, 1:26 pm

We have a national chain that keeps wanting all that sort of info, for "warranty purposes".

Yeah, right.

I just ask them if they want my money or not, they aren't getting anything else.

Boater Sam · 14th Mar 2018, 1:51 pm

I wonder if sometimes the men in suits at the boardroom table lose sight completely of what they are there for.
I have seen many cases of this aberrant behaviour, usually by the accountants in "re-organisations".
Several good companies have gone to the wall in the last 10 years in a similar fashion, (BHS?) some have survived the trauma, just (Tesco?)

G8HQP Dave · 14th Mar 2018, 2:57 pm

About 30 years ago the business schools started propagating a false meme, that 'business' was an academic field and a skill in its own right. To succeed you just needed a highly-paid MBA at the helm; domain knowledge could be hired in and treated like dirt. The results of this policy are visible all around us.

mole42uk · 14th Mar 2018, 3:00 pm

Hear, hear.

G6Tanuki · 14th Mar 2018, 3:38 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boater Sam

I wonder if sometimes the men in suits at the boardroom table lose sight completely of what they are there for.

"To make money" is surely the only answer. When you stop making money you either sell-on the remains to someone more-gullible, or you close the business down. As has happened with Maplin, ToysRUs, Countrywide farmers etc in recent months.

Businesses going-bust proves that the market-economy is working. Evolution demands extinction; let's not grieve over the fate of the dinosaurs.

14th Mar 2018, 4:05 pm

Quote:

do you have to spend time giving your Email address,postcode etc etc

I just say no, had a few arguments in the past but when they say "that will be £12" as far as the law is concerned the deal is done, PC World are the worst "we need your details for the Canon guarantee", wrong, my contract is with you not Canon (other manufactures are available).

mark2collection · 14th Mar 2018, 4:49 pm

Just been on the Maplin website ... a pop-up asked if I'd like to 'share my location' (Erm, I already do, wife, kids, cats, old radios & classic cars is more than enough!)

Then another 'nag', would I like to complete a feedback survey? Bit late, isn't it?

The store in Reading (no idea if it has signs up etc, it's too far away to have a nosy), I bought a set of phono sockets, some fuse holders & a power switch ... less than £15, about 4 years ago, they still requested my contact details ...

Another retailer on the same park who can supply & fit wiper blades and bulbs ... BULBS? As in, Daffodils, Tulips & the like? I think they mean, lamps ... they always ask for contact details ... I always refuse ...

They once asked if they could fit said items to my car, it was only when the chap 'donned' the hi-viz I confessed to the car being 15 miles away & wasn't actually outside ...

As for businesses failing, trouble is, at certain levels, the people are only working on the very things they're being measured on, and usually, it's not the business! (Cannot remember the term for it now ... something to do with metrics). More often than not, they don't understand the business model & loose sight of who the customer is.

Mark

mark2collection · 14th Mar 2018, 5:43 pm

KPI's, that's what I was thinking of, Key Performance Indicators ...

The sort of people who are rather pleased at holding 'Kaizen' events, drawing business maps to discuss a strategic plan going forward, EBITDA etc, lean, 6 sigma, then discuss lower level objectives, Gemba (where work is done or, the shop floor) to identify 'wastes' ... though not actually speaking (you'll note) to the workers.

This, is what 'they're' measured on ... who ever 'they' are

I wonder how many Kaizen events were held at Maplin HQ?

Mark

MrBungle · 14th Mar 2018, 6:50 pm

Ack. Been through six sigma before. Could be right. Fad management is dangerous.

David G4EBT · 14th Mar 2018, 9:51 pm

No surprises here then:

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/0...ing_down_sale/

IanBland · 14th Mar 2018, 10:36 pm

My current SLA is whenever I get round to it.

cheerfulcharlie · 15th Mar 2018, 1:47 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by David G4EBT

No surprises here then:

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/0...ing_down_sale/

LOL - I was in a store a few months ago, about 4 of the staff were not interested in the customers and were engaged in a
dramatic conversation on radios(one was obviously some distance away) about a shoplifter...now considering they follow you around everywhere I considered the absurdity of the situation and thought at the time 'you cannot run a business like this it's mad'

stuarth · 15th Mar 2018, 10:33 am

I heard a company "mission statement", I believe from Sir William Lyons of Jaguar fame but it applies to any company, that "The fundamental aim is to make money by satisfying customers"

You need both parts.

Stuart

rontech · 15th Mar 2018, 10:51 am

I have recently purchased items from the local Maplins store and found their
staff extremely helpful.

The things I want are often not in stock but if you have the stock numbers to hand, the assistant will load the numbers into the till and they will be delivered to your home address with a few days without extra charge.

My nearest stores are in Liverpool which is quite convenient.

Maplin have three stores in Liverpool; one in the city centre, the other two in the suburbs. This seems an expensive overhead to me and if replicated in other cities it must contribute to Maplin's financial woes.

Sinewave · 15th Mar 2018, 12:34 pm

How much did the MT2017 multimeter used to sell for say 6 months ago as I've been thinking about buying one for maybey the past 6 months or so and since they are closing, I thought now is the time to buy one, so bought two.

Web order only so won't know how much I like them until I get them.

turretslug · 15th Mar 2018, 2:21 pm

It seems that, up until around 7th March, it was £10 plus post, now down to £7 (I refuse to be hoodwinked by the £x-99 game....). I bought one a couple of years ago, it's not at all bad.

There may be a rush for the remaining ones at that price, it would be difficult to find a 50uA movement alone for that!

factory · 15th Mar 2018, 10:27 pm

They are definitely closing all the stores, there was a closing down sale advert in the newspaper today, still only "up to 50% off" though.

David

14th Mar 2018, 9:16 am	#281
Radio Wrangler Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Fife, Scotland, UK. Posts: 22,858	Re: Maplin stores Tandy were the first ones I noticed getting insistent on collecting personal information. I always gave them 1601 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, District of Columbia. It seemed appropriate. My fallback in case they insisted on a UK address was a tribute to British radio comedy: Mrs Hilda Gronk, 48 Ironside Terrace, Scunthorpe. Tandy and the later Maplins were parallel in so many ways, except Tandy was a franchise operation. David __________________ Can't afford the volcanic island yet, but the plans for my monorail and the goons' uniforms are done

14th Mar 2018, 9:23 am	#282
MrBungle Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: London, UK. Posts: 3,687	Re: Maplin stores A good point. Data and the inability for humans to discard the bad bits of it might actually be the cause of this mess to start with. My one spell in retail was when I worked for a new Homebase store in the 1990s for a few weeks as a student. This wa opened on the basis that information collected from other stores said people were travelling too far and wouldn’t spend as much money. On the fanfare opening day, total sales were £230. Ultimately after having an Argos integrated into it recently it closed. It was always empty. I wonder how long that mess was propped up by other stores.

14th Mar 2018, 10:19 am	#283
Paul Stenning Administrator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Cardiff Posts: 9,071	Re: Maplin stores I just declined to give my personal information, and they still sold me the products. Though like many I haven't bought much from them in years. __________________ Paul Stenning Forum Admin/Owner and BVWS Webmaster

14th Mar 2018, 1:26 pm	#284
Terry_VK5TM Nonode Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Tintinara, South Australia, Australia Posts: 2,339	Re: Maplin stores We have a national chain that keeps wanting all that sort of info, for "warranty purposes". Yeah, right. I just ask them if they want my money or not, they aren't getting anything else. __________________ Terry VK5TM https://www.vk5tm.com/

14th Mar 2018, 1:51 pm	#285
Boater Sam Banned Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Middlewich, Cheshire, UK. & Winter in the Philippines. Posts: 3,897	Re: Maplin stores I wonder if sometimes the men in suits at the boardroom table lose sight completely of what they are there for. I have seen many cases of this aberrant behaviour, usually by the accountants in "re-organisations". Several good companies have gone to the wall in the last 10 years in a similar fashion, (BHS?) some have survived the trauma, just (Tesco?)

14th Mar 2018, 2:57 pm	#286
G8HQP Dave Rest in Peace Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Solihull, West Midlands, UK. Posts: 4,872	Re: Maplin stores About 30 years ago the business schools started propagating a false meme, that 'business' was an academic field and a skill in its own right. To succeed you just needed a highly-paid MBA at the helm; domain knowledge could be hired in and treated like dirt. The results of this policy are visible all around us.

14th Mar 2018, 3:00 pm	#287
mole42uk Nonode Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Resolven, Wales; and Bristol, England Posts: 2,608	Re: Maplin stores Hear, hear. __________________ Richard Index: recursive loop: see recursive loop

14th Mar 2018, 4:49 pm	#290
mark2collection Hexode Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Royal Berkshire, UK. Posts: 470	Re: Maplin stores Just been on the Maplin website ... a pop-up asked if I'd like to 'share my location' (Erm, I already do, wife, kids, cats, old radios & classic cars is more than enough!) Then another 'nag', would I like to complete a feedback survey? Bit late, isn't it? The store in Reading (no idea if it has signs up etc, it's too far away to have a nosy), I bought a set of phono sockets, some fuse holders & a power switch ... less than £15, about 4 years ago, they still requested my contact details ... Another retailer on the same park who can supply & fit wiper blades and bulbs ... BULBS? As in, Daffodils, Tulips & the like? I think they mean, lamps ... they always ask for contact details ... I always refuse ... They once asked if they could fit said items to my car, it was only when the chap 'donned' the hi-viz I confessed to the car being 15 miles away & wasn't actually outside ... As for businesses failing, trouble is, at certain levels, the people are only working on the very things they're being measured on, and usually, it's not the business! (Cannot remember the term for it now ... something to do with metrics). More often than not, they don't understand the business model & loose sight of who the customer is. Mark

14th Mar 2018, 5:43 pm	#291
mark2collection Hexode Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Royal Berkshire, UK. Posts: 470	Re: Maplin stores KPI's, that's what I was thinking of, Key Performance Indicators ... The sort of people who are rather pleased at holding 'Kaizen' events, drawing business maps to discuss a strategic plan going forward, EBITDA etc, lean, 6 sigma, then discuss lower level objectives, Gemba (where work is done or, the shop floor) to identify 'wastes' ... though not actually speaking (you'll note) to the workers. This, is what 'they're' measured on ... who ever 'they' are I wonder how many Kaizen events were held at Maplin HQ? Mark

14th Mar 2018, 6:50 pm	#292
MrBungle Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: London, UK. Posts: 3,687	Re: Maplin stores Ack. Been through six sigma before. Could be right. Fad management is dangerous.

14th Mar 2018, 9:51 pm	#293
David G4EBT Dekatron Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Cottingham, East Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 5,760	Re: Maplin stores No surprises here then: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/0...ing_down_sale/ __________________ David. BVWS Member. G-QRP Club member 1339.

14th Mar 2018, 10:36 pm	#294
IanBland Hexode Join Date: May 2015 Location: Northampton, Northants, UK. Posts: 380	Re: Maplin stores My current SLA is whenever I get round to it.

15th Mar 2018, 10:33 am	#296
stuarth Heptode Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Heysham, Lancashire, UK. Posts: 668	Re: Maplin stores I heard a company "mission statement", I believe from Sir William Lyons of Jaguar fame but it applies to any company, that "The fundamental aim is to make money by satisfying customers" You need both parts. Stuart

15th Mar 2018, 10:51 am	#297
rontech Heptode Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Southport, Merseyside, UK. Posts: 646	Re: Maplin stores I have recently purchased items from the local Maplins store and found their staff extremely helpful. The things I want are often not in stock but if you have the stock numbers to hand, the assistant will load the numbers into the till and they will be delivered to your home address with a few days without extra charge. My nearest stores are in Liverpool which is quite convenient. Maplin have three stores in Liverpool; one in the city centre, the other two in the suburbs. This seems an expensive overhead to me and if replicated in other cities it must contribute to Maplin's financial woes. Last edited by rontech; 15th Mar 2018 at 10:52 am. Reason: typo

15th Mar 2018, 12:34 pm	#298
Sinewave Octode Join Date: May 2016 Location: Oxfordshire/Bucks borders, UK. Posts: 1,604	Re: Maplin stores How much did the MT2017 multimeter used to sell for say 6 months ago as I've been thinking about buying one for maybey the past 6 months or so and since they are closing, I thought now is the time to buy one, so bought two. Web order only so won't know how much I like them until I get them. __________________ Avometer, vintage Fluke and Marconi collector. Also interested in vintage Yaesu and KW.

15th Mar 2018, 2:21 pm	#299
turretslug Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Surrey, UK. Posts: 4,393	Re: Maplin stores It seems that, up until around 7th March, it was £10 plus post, now down to £7 (I refuse to be hoodwinked by the £x-99 game....). I bought one a couple of years ago, it's not at all bad. There may be a rush for the remaining ones at that price, it would be difficult to find a 50uA movement alone for that!

15th Mar 2018, 10:27 pm	#300
factory Octode Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cheshire, UK. Posts: 1,732	Re: Maplin stores They are definitely closing all the stores, there was a closing down sale advert in the newspaper today, still only "up to 50% off" though. David