Budds Bait & Marine Cleveland - going ............ going .............. almost gone!

[ThePinkPanther]

Having been around since Budds first opened their shop many years ago - twenty maybe - I have seen it slowly but steadily deteriorate into a poorly run and fairly useless outlet for the fisho! :-[

When it first started, the owners were pretty rough and ready but you could get almost anything you wanted from tackle right through to a great selection of fresh (and frozen) bait.:D

They were always keen to help and though they loved shutting the place down right when needed (holidays) it was a damn good little business all the same. ::)

From the time they sold the outlet, it has passed from one owner to another and always dropping one or more levels in service along the way.

The latest owner is the well known Mossops and this has to be the worst the shop has ever been. :'(

Other than wall upon wall off lures and plastics, the "bait" bit has ceased to exist! :(

Those huge new freezers - from the previous owners - are now devoid of any type of bait other than the odd plastic crate holding half a dozen frozen mullet.

You can get the usual old crappy frozen stuff similar to Tweed Bait but ask for mullet frames - in season - fresh squid, mullet fillets, pillies, prawns and whatever, absolutely nothing. :-?

Likewise the blood worm supply is very erratic and although a lot depends on the
(un)reliability of the diggers themselves, it is still hit and miss getting this bait. And when you do score, the price is huge, now about $2.00 PER WORM!! :evil3:

And you have to watch pretty closely as last time I was a bit slow and got lumbered with all the tails, broken pieces and aged worms.

The guys in attendance don't seem to give a rats about customer service and can be damn rude by leaving you standing while they chat with a mate or such!

The Redlands is desperate for a quality bait 'n tackle shop and with the name and position, Budds (Mossops) should be able to take the lion's share of everything if only they could get some decent management who will get out of bed at dawn, go to the markets and fill up with with decent and good quality fresh bait!

Bit like the oft-bashed BCF, all that is lacking is good management!

Think I might start a shop myself ...........................

[tropicrows]

I agree we need a good shop in the Cleveland area, I have been in the Budds now Mossops a few times recently and have found it very disappointing. I also vowed to myself after the last time never to go in there again after, I was told the F#$K off by the guy behind the counter because I said I not happy with the time it took to get a reel serviced. Not a good way to build up a good client base..........

[sid_fishes]

i know a guy in victoria point that is trying his hardest to get it all right to fill that void. and my worms dont cost $2 each
Ian

[Muddy Toes]

I'm another one that can't be assed going to Budds/Mossops any more and fully agree that with every change of management the level of customer service seems to fall.
Its been a bit of a while since i've needed to buy tackle and bait but the last time i did i went down to the bait and tackle shop down the end of Colbourn Avenue at Victoria Point.They had everything i needed and the fella that runs it is always up for a yarn and has the customer service that mossops lacks.I'll be going there in the future.;)

[Tangles]

ditto to what Muddy Toes advice, the bait and tackle shop down the end of Colburn Ave closest to the ramp on the right hand side, plenty of bait, worms etc

cheers
Mike

[mowerman]

ditto to what Muddy Toes advice, the bait and tackle shop down the end of Colburn Ave closest to the ramp on the right hand side, plenty of bait, worms etc

cheers
Mike

Left hand side Mike.


Rod

.

[Tangles]

bugger!! ....right hand side if your leaving the ramp;D

[sleepygreg]

I hope these shops have a heap of drinks, chips, and chocolate bars available.......they are going to need something to sell that they are going to make some money on. I think the Internet squeeze is starting to bring the demise of the 'local' bait and tackle shop. There is no point them trying to sell rods and reels to the serious fishos......they cannot and never will be able to compete with the overseas internet operators, nor the backyard local operators who do not have to set up shopfronts. Much as this pisses me off...that is the way the world is going. Please someone prove me wrong....that the local bloke can thrive in this current economic environment.

[fishfeeder]

The last time I was at Budds it was fine. Had heaps of fresh squid and mullet which is what I was after....
But never had a lot of other fishing stuff but at the time I only wanted some bait... Oh and the guy behind the counter was fine and friendly. I guess I just got them on a good day.

That place should make lots of coin with the amount of boats that go past it to get to the ramp, and it even has easy pull in and out parking for the boat. Its a shame really

Cheers

[finga]

Yep, the bloke down the end of Colburn on the left hand side as your very close to the ramp is the go.
Good old fashioned service with a smile.
Fresh bait, frozen bait, tackle, rod and reel sales and rod repairs and some emergency boat/trailer bits on hand.

It's just like a bait and tackle shop should be. It's even got an old salty sitting on a chair out the front ready, willing and able to have a yarn if you have the time.
He's even open when you need him to be.

Oi Ian....Do you use the flashing orange beacon so people know exactly where you are when it's dark??

[sid_fishes]

scott, i sure do and works like a charm. the neighbours have had to put blockout curtains up i,m here so early some days

[wayno60]

If he was to change the orange flasher to red he might do a better trade after hours...

[rayken1938]

I have always had good friendly service from the gabba shop and reasonable prices on lures. I havent been to Cleveland shop since it changed hands. Will drop in and have a look for myself next week when I get back to Reddy Bay.
Cheers
Ray

[Reel]

Yeah i would like to endorse what Ray has said about the Gabba Store, always good old fashioned friendly service with a smile and reasonable prices. has been my experience. I am in small business and this is an incredibly tough and difficult year, so please continue to support the small business operstor.

[sid_fishes]

If he was to change the orange flasher to red he might do a better trade after hours...

Mate, i dont need to hey, all the ladies know where i am when their partners are fishing.....

It,s ALL about customer service

IAN

[Si]

lack of current stock in the gabba store is due to the very slow business that resulted from the floods we had. no money coming in to buy new stock that may not get sold for awhile. heard straight from the horses mouth. pretty friendly bunch of blokes.

[Steve Mc]

*****Had to post this in a few parts as full reply would not go through in one post *****
Hi All,


I'm Steve McDonald and I'm a partner with Brad Smith in Mossops Tackle Shops. We are not a multi national retail chain, we are two guys who are having a crack with a passion to share our knowledge of fishing. Between us we have a wealth of knowledge gained from years of commercially fishing for a living, fishing tournaments and recreationally. It's a passion and we gladly share this knowledge with people who support us. I got to work yesterday to find a few emails alerting me to this thread. THANKS guy's for the heads up.


Being based at the Gabba store I'm removed from the day to day operations of the Cleveland store and was obviously very alarmed by what I read.


Not being a member I signed up and paid my $10 to investigate. (I might add I have contacted moderators and the owners of this site countless times to set up an account under Mossops to sponsor the site and other than Phil calling into the store NO ONE has contacted me.)


I'm all for constructive criticism, and I am grateful for those who provide such feedback. We had an instance last Sunday where an employee slept in and the Cleveland shop was not opened until 7.30. I've already thanked the guys who called the Gabba store Monday morning to inform me of this occurrence and offered them some form of gratitude. Despite their refusal of our offer of gratitude these guys have indicated that they will continue to support our stores. So here is another shout out to thank you guys four your support and constructive input. To those of you who were affected by this stuff up we are deeply sorry. Measures have been made to ensure if someone does sleep in we are alerted ASAP to avoid this occurrence again.

[Steve Mc]

***part 2***

Despite not being involved in the day to day running of the Cleveland store I do know how much we spend on bait and the effort we go to to source high quality bait. Fresh & live bait can be difficult to source at times due to weather and the seasonal nature of harvesting wild stocks, however, every effort is made to ensure good supply where possible. When available, our bait arrives so fresh it is still alive. Therefore, the Pink Panther's comment on our bait stocks immediately rang alarm bells about his credibility. Since taking over the Cleveland store and procuring bait direct from commercial fishers who harvest it the quality of our bait sold at the Gabba store has greatly improved over that sourced from “the markets” as we were previously forced to do.


A quick search of threads relating to Budds indicated that the Pink Panther, whoever that may be, appears to have issues with this store long before Mossops have been at Cleveland. This is not the first thread started by the Pink Panther avatar bagging this store, threads go back to before we took over. Being nameless, we can't say if she or he has a personal vendetta, vested interests in the stores demise or other motives for continued attacks. While customer service is of the utmost importance and instilled in our staff there are times in retail where customers are down right rude and obnoxious. While we do our best to treat everybody the same it's human nature to only put up with some people's attitude and crap for so long. Our staff deserve the same respect that customers expect.


Our worms are not priced per worm they are in fact 34 cents per gram. This is in line with other stores who go to the trouble of providing live worms. We don't make money from worms! If we were to apply margins that reflect the cost and up keep of this product no one would buy them. Live worms are pretty much a loss leader product to attract people to the store. Due to the way they are harvested they do brake. I know on the odd occasion when I've worked at the Cleveland store I've tossed a few heads and tails into a bag. The customers to which I've done this for have been polite and courteous and I've done this over and above their $10 (or so) worth already in the bag.

[Steve Mc]

***part 3****


It's been a tough year for most people and businesses in South East Queensland and we have not been immune. Four months of loosing money due to floods and fishing bans have had an impact, we are still here and are committed to providing quality bait and tackle at competitive prices and great customer service. As a result our stocks have been and are lower than what we would like, however, bait supply has not been affected by this. The only impact on bait has and will be the availability of supply. Were are getting back on track and new stock is continually arriving.


To those who continue to support us thanks! If you have any issues with either store, please contact myself or Brad and we will do our best to resolve your issues. Unfortunately we can't please everyone, however, if you talk to us we can try!


Regards,
Steve

[wayno60]

Having been in Business my self for 30 odd years( not the bait tackle biz) i hear where your coming from...something the average punter probable wouldn't. The amount of unseen cost associated with running a business is mind boggling. im glad i got out when i did...

I know the customer is not always right
But Steve what about this??

The guys in attendance don't seem to give a rats about customer service and can be damn rude by leaving you standing while they chat with a mate or such!
I was told the F#$K off by the guy behind the counter because I said I not happy with the time it took to get a reel serviced.

[AnthonyL]

What hours is your store open?




If he was to change the orange flasher to red he might do a better trade after hours...

Mate, i dont need to hey, all the ladies know where i am when their partners are fishing.....

It,s ALL about customer service

IAN

[AnthonyL]

Yeah i would like to endorse what Ray has said about the Gabba Store, always good old fashioned friendly service with a smile and reasonable prices. has been my experience. I am in small business and this is an incredibly tough and difficult year, so please continue to support the small business operstor.

Never been to the cleveland store as I dont launch down there, I launch at manly and Vicky Pt mostly.

Been to Mossops at Gabba and was served a friendly young guy.

[soulfish]

Steve mc ,mate the last 3 or 4 times i have been there the cleveland store has been out of stock of swivels and hooks i was chasing,in saying that the guys behind the counter actually bent over backwards to get what i wanted ,rang around ,could get them in ect.but i was in a hurry.
the local bcf in capalaba is even worse ,every time i go there they are out of stock,so after visiting both stores i always end up at the tackle warehouse where i get everything in 1 go and pay a shitload more.
I would rather support you guys being local but get sick of driving from shop to shop in the area to source basic hooks like big guns in a particular size.
The old budds used to be a one stop shop,i havnt been to your store for a couple of months now will give you guys another go this weekend and hope i dont end up at the tackle warehouse.

[finga]

Steve Mc....mate, the problem has been going on for a long time. It's not only Pink Panther who has commented but many other people including myself.
I have been using Budds as a local for many years and well before they moved to your current location. I only went into the old Budd's every few months and since Budd's sold the business I have noticed a huge differences in the shop. Especially over the last 12 months or so.
To be honest I did not even know Budd's sold out as I don't look at the signs over the doors or who (if it's an owner or staff) works behind the counter. I used it because it was there and I needed bait or tackle.
Many people have complained about lack of stock etc and lots of people have complained about bad service from your staff.
I was another in the bad service predicament about 6 months ago when I wanted a few fresh prawns to have a fish with. I left the shop never to return.
I never did find out if there were fresh prawns there or not.
It's a shame as I only go around the corner to Ormiston to have a Sunday fish usually.

As a hint....keep a closer eye on YOUR shop as it's your livelihood on the line not your staff's.
How YOUR shop operates is a reflection on yourself and your partner and no-else can be blamed to what happens there.
How can a tackle shop run out of hooks and swivels? I would have thought they'd be there in their thousands and if stocks were getting anywhere near depleted they'd be restocked.

If the economy is hard then you cannot afford to lose long standing clients no matter how little they buy.
Your losing customers at the moment who go and tell their family and friends.
Word of mouth is the quickest means of communication...especially if the news is bad.

[rayken1938]

If i have problems with service with a business that cannot be resolved on the spot I have a policy of always contacting the owner/manager via email.
I always supply my name and address and mostly the matter is resolved to my satisfaction.
If I am till not satisfied I will then promulgate the issue far and wide.
Now that we know that the store owner is a member it may be appropriate if anyone has an issue they could pm him and give him some feedback and also the chance to resolve the issue.
Cheers
Ray

[Basstones]

I can't comment on the Cleveland store, and what may or may not be in stock, however as the debate seems to have got a little bigger to include Mossops I just want to give a little feedback on my personal experiences.

I work in the Gabba, within walking distance of that store which means I can just squeeze in a decent browse if i take a long lunch. They guys in there have always been really helpful. Steve in particular has gone out of his to answer any questions i've thrown at him, and has given some advice that have put us on to some decent fish. I don't think they have ever been out of terminal tackle I was after, or even bait for that matter.

So if these problems at Cleveland are legitimate then that's a massive shame, but it certainly isn't reflected at the Gabba store. I know how much of his personal time Steve has been putting in to that store and I'll certainly continue to use them instead of buying online to save the $1-$2 per lure just for the convenience, service and knowledge...I certainly don't trust the majors that shouldn't be named to help me with any of that in a rush.

[oldboot]

I think part of the problem is that "BUDS" as it was in its hey day was such an exceptional store, everybody went there and they had the stuff you wanted when you wanted it.

Stock levels were good, as was the quality and variety.

they opened early and stayed open late and had enough staff who where helpfull and enthusiastic.

The down hill slide put a bad taste in quite a few mouths, a taste that lingers and possibly effects the current situation.

If this store is to remain, considerable effort must be made to make it competitive.

Remember in recent times there have been several well placed competitors come into the market.
People may winge about BCF and "the place we don't mention", but they take a very large chunk out of the market....and there are a couple of very competitive indpendents not far away.

Sorry steve, but if something substantial, isn't done soon, ya might as well shut the doors.

cheers

[Triple]

How does Artic ice works at capalaba compare with bait prices?
http://www.arcticiceworks.com.au/bait/
I see they sell tackle too.

(no affiliation, just checking local prices for future reference)

[sid_fishes]

[QUOTE=AnthonyL;1296722]What hours is your store open?

AnthonyL the shop is open from 6 am til 5.30 Monday, wednesday thursday & friday
5 am till 6 pm sat
5 am till 5pm sun CLOSED tuesday
6 am till 5 pm public holidays and school holidays
AND if you are running a bit behind just call and i,ll wait back
PLUS i,ll deliver to the vic pt ramp if you run out of bait and have cash

[AnthonyL]

Thanks that is good to know, I will let people know as I speak to a lot of boaties while on duty at vmr vicky pt. I thought you must start early as I have seen you there when I am heading past at 5.45 to start VMR ....I will drop in one day.



[QUOTE=AnthonyL;1296722]What hours is your store open?

AnthonyL the shop is open from 6 am til 5.30 Monday, wednesday thursday & friday
5 am till 6 pm sat
5 am till 5pm sun CLOSED tuesday
6 am till 5 pm public holidays and school holidays
AND if you are running a bit behind just call and i,ll wait back
PLUS i,ll deliver to the vic pt ramp if you run out of bait and have cash

[finga]

I didn't know you did a drop off service to the boat ramp too Ian.
Do many people go for this option?
I know it would save a lot of hassles for those who forgot their bait until after the boat was launched



I'm Steve McDonald and I'm a partner with Brad Smith in Mossops Tackle Shops. We are not a multi national retail chain, we are two guys who are having a crack with a passion to share our knowledge of fishing. Between us we have a wealth of knowledge gained from years of commercially fishing for a living, fishing tournaments and recreationally. It's a passion and we gladly share this knowledge with people who support us. I got to work yesterday to find a few emails alerting me to this thread. THANKS guy's for the heads up.
Not being a member I signed up and paid my $10 to investigate. (I might add I have contacted moderators and the owners of this site countless times to set up an account under Mossops to sponsor the site and other than Phil calling into the store NO ONE has contacted me.)


I'm all for constructive criticism, and I am grateful for those who provide such feedback.


***part 2***

the Pink Panther's comment on our bait stocks immediately rang alarm bells about his credibility..


A quick search of threads relating to Budds indicated that the Pink Panther, whoever that may be, appears to have issues with this store long before Mossops have been at Cleveland. This is not the first thread started by the Pink Panther avatar bagging this store, threads go back to before we took over. Being nameless, we can't say if she or he has a personal vendetta, vested interests in the stores demise or other motives for continued attacks. While customer service is of the utmost importance and instilled in our staff there are times in retail where customers are down right rude and obnoxious. While we do our best to treat everybody the same it's human nature to only put up with some people's attitude and crap for so long. Our staff deserve the same respect that customers expect.
Here's a bit of construcive critism. Don't attack people (especialy the owner of the website) in a post trying to explain lack of service whether it be from an employee who slept in (Not real flash is it. Is he still an employee?? How many customers did he permanently lose in one morning?)
They're not attacks from Pinky but merely an observation. An observation many others (including myself) have also mentioned on numerous occassions.

I can imagine why Pinky posts about Budds.
(1) Budd's is the closest tackle shop to his home and the one he would frequent the most because it's convenient AND he likes to support local people. (I know Budd's is his closest local tackle shop)
(2) Budd's did not have tackle or items he needed
(3) Staff were rude when asked about something or too busy talking to friends (observations from others.... not Pinky) to serve him
(4) Budd's was closed when he wanted to go fishing so he had to drive another 15km's to and then another 15km's home from Victoria Pt to get some worms.

I'd be miffed too. Actually I try not to use Budd's purely because I can relate to 3 of the above 4 points.

[oldboot]

One important thing to remember about "Bud's" as it was..the sign said "BAIT & tackle", and that indicated the reason that a very large portion of the customers walk in the door.

It is the last place that sold bait on the way to one of the bussiest ramps in SEQ and one of 2 main road locations that sold "significant bait" between the CBD and Cleveland Point.

cheers

[sid_fishes]

AnthonyL mate just drop in anytime you're more than welcome

ian

[charleville]

Once upon a time (circa 1960's and 1970's), I used to hate going to automotive spare parts businesses because, invariably, the attitudes coming across the counter from the staff were usually atrocious in my experience.

There may have been multiple reasons for this; eg to buy a minor part for say an alternator involved the poor sales assistant's looking up multiple sources of information in huge, well thumbed books of parts diagrams and transferring the part number to a bit of paper to be looked up on some other catalogue of some sort and then finding the price and... and ...and .... Also the parts desk was generally a pretty, tired looking, unglamorous part of the car dealership compared with the new cars section. They always seemed to have ugly scratched masonite tops on the counters. I also always felt that the spare parts desk was where staff ended up if they were in that half of the class than made the top half possible. ;) Maybe there were other reasons but I always felt that I was being a nuisance whenever I went into buy a spare part for my old Austin or Holden or Veedub or whatever car I had at the time.

However, over the ensuing decades, something happened to transform customer service attitudes in Australia. Now when I need something that I have no idea about, staff at most places are only too happy to help in a friendly, enthusiastic manner. I relish the need to go to some places to get spare parts because I know that it will be made very comfortable for me to do that. Thompson's Spare Parts at Capalaba is one such business.


So, since the name Mossops has been introduced here, I feel obliged to say that I have never felt comfortable in going into the Mossops store because I have sometimes felt like I was getting the sort of poor attitudes that I recall from the old automotive spare parts businesses and do not consider it as a place that I want to shop. If the owners of Mossops are reading this then it may well be helpful to explain why before we say that it is all about Budds.


That feeling originates from the days when Mossops were near the PA hospital. In my earlier days as an enthusiastic but unskilled fisho (within the last ten years!), it seemed that whenever I went into Mossops, I found staff who seemed to want to gossip and socialise more with themselves rather than come to attend to me as a customer. (I also occasionally see that in Bunnings these days and it is most annoying.)

When, however, I did attract some attention, I often felt that my ignorance of fishing matters was treated with some disdain by the young staff who often seemed to be haughty and up themselves, and who really seemed to only want to deal with the elite end of the fishing product spectrum. Indeed, that attitude cost them plenty of business from me and all that I can really remember buying there was some giftware, like a picture with Pelicans in it that caught my attention one day, and a few hooks. Oh - yes - I now recall that I did buy a quality fishing rod for my wife there but I also recall being scorned by the young sales guy for buying the 8' version and not the 9' version even though I had told him that I thought that she might find the 8' version easier to use in my, then, new boat. I did not have a great feeling of satisfaction when I left that shop on that day even though the product has always been good. All of my subsequent major purchases of things like Shimano baitrunners, TSS-4 and a Tyrnos 2 speed reel etc were made at the old Springwood Marine Tackle shop where the service was excellent.


Fast forward to a couple of years ago at the new shop at the 'Gabba. I decided to buy a new D series Shimano baitrunner and having seen them at the Tackle Warehouse at Camp Hill, I telephoned Mossops to see if they could better the price that I had been given. The response was that they would not give a price over the phone and invited me in to get a good price. I protested that I did not want to drive in to the Gabba unnecessarily but was promised that I "would not be disappointed" by their price offer. So in I went with a pocket full of money ready to do the deal heartened by the promise that I "would not be disappointed."

That was a lie because indeed, I was disappointed. That was because all the bloke did was to match the Tackle Warehouse price. So I had dressed and driven all the way into the Gabba only to have my time completely and quite, in my view, arrogantly wasted accompanied, as it was, with a shrug of the shoulders by the bloke behind the counter. He was the only fellow in the shop and had been the person who I had spoken to an hour earlier by telephone.

The reward for this poor level of service was, Mr Mossop, that I came home and researched online sales and immediately ordered the reel from the USA at a greatly reduced price to the Aussie price.

ie your competition is no longer down the street, it is from the nice old bloke at Aussie post who delivers welcome parcels from far off places at terrific prices and with awesome service. Aussie retailers need to lift their game to an international level of service to survive.



But wait, there is a footnote. Could the Aussie retail tackle industry have saved the sale?

Clearly, they could have because about two weeks later, the Tackle Warehouse had a three day sale during which the reel in question was offered for a price that was only a few dollars more than the USA price and one which did not make the importation option especially attractive. I would certainly have bought the reel from the Aussie shop had I not already ordered the reel from America. I would have also bought the reel from Mossops had they shaved something off the Tackle Warehouse price on the day that I visited them with a pocket full of cash. Anything really. But to squander my time with a shrug of the shoulders after promising that a trip into their shop would be worth my time is something that I have not forgotten.

So, in all of the times when I have gone into the contiguous Whitworths chandlery shop in the past couple of years, I have never ever walked that extra 20 m up to the Mossops shop to have a look in there whilst I am there.


It ain't just Budds that might be needing to get a strategic review of operating values and principles. I would not care if Mossops went out of business. They certainly don't deserve mine. Perhaps, I am not elite enough.



.

[Almako]

Just remember the more we support the big guys the more we are going to pay for goods in the long run. It maybe cheaper now but once all the small guys are gone, so will the prices and quality staff & knowledge.

I have shopped at this store, not sure under which ownership and they couldn't have been more polite and helpful.
We all have bad days and good days just remember when all the small guys are gone we'll all have to buy from the big guys who probably wont open until 9am let alone have a staff member in there who knows what there talking about.

[charleville]

Just remember the more we support the big guys the more we are going to pay for goods in the long run. It maybe cheaper now but once all the small guys are gone, so will the prices and quality staff & knowledge.

I have shopped at this store, not sure under which ownership and they couldn't have been more polite and helpful.
We all have bad days and good days just remember when all the small guys are gone we'll all have to buy from the big guys who probably wont open until 9am let alone have a staff member in there who knows what there talking about.


I regret that I cannot accept your thesis about competition on a number of grounds...

1. "we'll all have to buy from the big guys who probably wont open until 9am"

I have no doubt that the big guys will open according to the hours that win them customer business.

eg Bunnings open at 6.30 am and close at 9 pm every week day. Show me the small hardware store that ever did that.

Officeworks, which you would expect to be only open during daylight hours, is open until 9 pm every week night.

If BCF saw a business opportunity in opening early, I have no doubt that they would.


2. "once all the small guys are gone, so will the prices "


Not proven by experience in other retail environments. When the big guys fight on price, they take all prices down. Small retailers often don't need to compete on price until the major chains force them to by offering better prices. You see that with Bunnings' price guarantee which I have used several times.

Likewise, yesterday my brother achieved a price $35 less than the special four day Harvey Norman sale price on a computer because of the Officeworks 5% price guarantee.

Also, when it looks like a major chain like Bunnings might have a monopoly, a second player like Woolies' "Masters" hardware chain arrives to get some of the action and keep prices low to win the market share that marketing managers are rewarded for achieving.


3. "once all the small guys are gone, so will the ........ quality staff & knowledge"


If anything, the quality of the customer interaction will improve because large corporations invest in things like Customer Experience policies and corporate values development. They work towards achieving those policies and values with extensive training of the managers who generally have customer feedback parameters built into their target packages.

Show me the chain store with a really bad customer experience rating as measured by shadow shopping, exit interviews or other market research, and I will show you a store that will soon get a new manager, irrespective of its profit and loss statement.

By example, recently, I also bought a new laptop computer from Officeworks. The service from the two young men at their Capalaba store was nothing short of stellar. I would not expect to get the same care and attention from any small retailer.

.

[ThePinkPanther]

Having started the original thread on this issue, I would like to suggest a few things that might help dig "BUDDS/MOSSOPS out of the hole they have dug for themselves:

1. Why not start up an email service for every customer who enters the store (most of us have it) It would be child's play to send out regular info on whether a new supply of fresh bait is expected, cannot be obtained, out of stock, out due bad weather etc. Sure it will take some effort but we all get so tired of the "fresh bait" signs, go inside and find nothing. Let us know the story BEFORE we travel kilometers to find the cupboard bare!

2. If you only have old/broken worms left then tell us up front! We do understand the difficulties in getting them in but I really object to getting home and finding them mostly dead or all broken bits, Yeh I know, should
check em in the store but sometimes you are just a bit trusting ..........

3. Make a huge effort to keep FRESH bait as much as possible. I made the effort to call the fish markets who assured there is ALW AYS a supply of fresh mullet, mackerel, squid etc. I mean go to Aussie Seafoods at CAPALABA and every day they carry more fresh bait than BUDDS so it is available out there!

4. Go for quality small pillies and not the mullet sized ones that are
useless.

5. If you are on the phone (or it rings) then the present customer comes FIRST! The caller can wait or call back ...... Like he comes SECOND.

6. Check your pricing guys! You are way way too expensive on most products. As already said, your products can be obtained from Tackle Warehouse Coorparoo or even at worst BCF and online Internet buying. I know the latter makes it tough but that goes with the territory ........

7. Greet EVERY customer who comes through the door like someone who is going to spend ten grand in your shop. One bad customer will tell a dozen others, one good customer will tell about four or five but all good!

8. Sack the guy who turned up late! How many customers did he lose? Certainly lost me!

9. Figure out why the guy at Victoria Point is becoming so popular! He's doing something right that you have to copy.

10. We Fishos are demanding and unforgiving guys! We want everything we need right here right now with no excuses BUT having said that a friendly person behind the counter who goes out of his way to oblige, make enquiries for us, make our sale of paramount importance (pretend if u have to) and you will get us back.

11. Ignore us, make no effort to be friendly, run out of obtainable bait etc and we are lost forever.

12. Pull down the BUDDS sign, spend some cash on tarting up the signage, BIG signs out on the side road even if it reads "OUT OF WORMS DUE HIGH TIDES" or "FRESH MULLET THIS FRIDAY"

You guys can do it but you need a Manager and staff to pull it all together!

Good luck - we all want you to succeed for our sakes!

[Marlin_Mike]

When you get bad service, instead of whingeing and whining about it to everyone who'll listen, has anyone done something RADICAL?????????? Say, talk to the shop concerned and politely tell them WHY you are pi**ed off with their service/products? Give them a chance to address it and fix it? How does one improve if the cleintele doesnt talk to them, just goes away and sooks to everyone? Try it, you might get a surprise via improved service and products.

Mike

[ThePinkPanther]

Ummmmmmm, if meant for me Mike that is exactly what I just did!

Identify the problems, give positive advice or ideas on how to fix it and provide ongoing support!

If your post was intended to the other knockers then couldn't agree more!

[PinHead]

Having started the original thread on this issue, I would like to suggest a few things that might help dig "BUDDS/MOSSOPS out of the hole they have dug for themselves:

1. Why not start up an email service for every customer who enters the store (most of us have it) It would be child's play to send out regular info on whether a new supply of fresh bait is expected, cannot be obtained, out of stock, out due bad weather etc. Sure it will take some effort but we all get so tired of the "fresh bait" signs, go inside and find nothing. Let us know the story BEFORE we travel kilometers to find the cupboard bare!

2. If you only have old/broken worms left then tell us up front! We do understand the difficulties in getting them in but I really object to getting home and finding them mostly dead or all broken bits, Yeh I know, should
check em in the store but sometimes you are just a bit trusting ..........

3. Make a huge effort to keep FRESH bait as much as possible. I made the effort to call the fish markets who assured there is ALW AYS a supply of fresh mullet, mackerel, squid etc. I mean go to Aussie Seafoods at CAPALABA and every day they carry more fresh bait than BUDDS so it is available out there!

4. Go for quality small pillies and not the mullet sized ones that are
useless.

5. If you are on the phone (or it rings) then the present customer comes FIRST! The caller can wait or call back ...... Like he comes SECOND.

6. Check your pricing guys! You are way way too expensive on most products. As already said, your products can be obtained from Tackle Warehouse Coorparoo or even at worst BCF and online Internet buying. I know the latter makes it tough but that goes with the territory ........

7. Greet EVERY customer who comes through the door like someone who is going to spend ten grand in your shop. One bad customer will tell a dozen others, one good customer will tell about four or five but all good!

8. Sack the guy who turned up late! How many customers did he lose? Certainly lost me!

9. Figure out why the guy at Victoria Point is becoming so popular! He's doing something right that you have to copy.

10. We Fishos are demanding and unforgiving guys! We want everything we need right here right now with no excuses BUT having said that a friendly person behind the counter who goes out of his way to oblige, make enquiries for us, make our sale of paramount importance (pretend if u have to) and you will get us back.

11. Ignore us, make no effort to be friendly, run out of obtainable bait etc and we are lost forever.

12. Pull down the BUDDS sign, spend some cash on tarting up the signage, BIG signs out on the side road even if it reads "OUT OF WORMS DUE HIGH TIDES" or "FRESH MULLET THIS FRIDAY"

You guys can do it but you need a Manager and staff to pull it all together!

Good luck - we all want you to succeed for our sakes!

what if the fish markets did not answer your call?? They may have been serving someone.

[charleville]

When you get bad service, instead of whingeing and whining about it to everyone who'll listen, has anyone done something RADICAL?????????? Say, talk to the shop concerned and politely tell them WHY you are pi**ed off with their service/products? Give them a chance to address it and fix it?



Ah well- this is why large retailers will be better at providing service at the end of the day than the small retailer no matter that the small retailer is often self delusional in regard to their view of acceptable service standards in their own business.


If you don't get good service from a small operator and complain to them about it then, yes, theoretically, they might see the error of their ways and make good on the situation. Most times this is what happens and usually customer referrals result because of the fine reputation that the retailer lives up to.


However, of course, if pride gets in the way, or testosterone, or arrogance or face saving or a cranky mood generated by the morning's argument with the wife or whatever, then the customer complaint may be greeted with a shrug of the shoulders or something a bit ruder.


Where does the aggrieved customer go to from there? Some issues can be dealt with by a small claims action but that will not fix attitudinal issues or the wasting of a customer's time.


The best avenue to escalate the customer's grievance will be via the internet. No doubt about that.


Contrast that with the corporate world. If the customer's grievance is not dealt with satisfactorily at the shop level, then the customer can put pen to paper and escalate the issue to the state manager or equivalent. If not handled satisfactorily there, the customer can escalate the matter to the national manager. If not handled satisfactorily there, the next step might be the chairman of the board. In some industries, there will also be an ombudsman. Somewhere along the way, the media might also get involved. They will willingly do that with a large corporation but less likely to be interested in a one-off issue with a small business.


Do people carry out this sort of escalation? You better believe that they do and corporate careers can depend very significantly on how well the escalations are managed. I certainly have heaps of experience in being on the receiving end up the chain a bit in corporate land. Who are the most assertive/aggressive complainers and escalaters of complaints? Small business owners.


So the guys who themselves might cry foul when an aggrieved customer airs his unhappiness in the online world have no compunction in using every means to them to escalate issues as far as they can.

IMHO, what is good for the goose , etc.

I have been thankful for many recommendations about good service aired on Ausfish. I have also been thankful to read of the contrary. At long last, the internet makes customer power real and very, very quickly exercised.


.

[ThePinkPanther]

Steve, your'e wasting your valuable time sifting through old posts on this issue, more better you accept the fact there IS a problem with the store rather than killing the news-bearing Messenger! I don't have a personal grudge against your store and the following will confirm I am not alone on this issue.

And just as my last word on this topic, what part of my last post did you have a problem with understanding? i.e.

"Good luck - we all want you to succeed for our sakes!"

"Ihave been in the Budds now Mossops a few times recently and have found it verydisappointing. I also vowed to myself after the last time never to go in thereagain after, I was told the F#$K off by the guy behind the counter because Isaid I not happy with the time it took to get a reel serviced. Not a good wayto build up a good client base"

“I'm another onethat can't be assed going to Budds/Mossops any more and fully agree that withevery change of management the level of customer service seems to fall.
Its been a bit of a while since i've needed to buy tackle and bait but the lasttime i did i went down to the bait and tackle shop down the end of ColbournAvenue at Victoria Point.They had everything i needed and the fella that runsit is always up for a yarn and has the customer service that mossops lacks. I'llbe going there in the future”

“ditto to what MuddyToes advice, the bait and tackle shop down the end of Colburn Ave closest tothe ramp on the right hand side, plenty of bait, worms etc”

“The guys inattendance don't seem to give a rats about customer service and can be damnrude by leaving you standing while they chat with a mate or such!”

"Itain't just Budds that might be needing to get a strategic review of operatingvalues and principles. I would not care if Mossops went out of business. Theycertainly don't deserve mine. Perhaps, I am not elite enough."

"Here's a bit of constructive criticism.Don't attack people (especially the owner of the website) in a post trying toexplain lack of service whether it be from an employee who slept in (Not realflash is it. Is he still an employee?? How many customers did he permanentlylose in one morning?)
They're not attacks from Pinky but merelyan observation. An observation many others (including myself) have alsomentioned on numerous occassions.
I can imagine why Pinky posts aboutBudds.
(1) Budd's is the closest tackle shop to his home and the one he wouldfrequent the most because it's convenient AND he likes to support local people.(I know Budd's is his closest local tackle shop)
(2) Budd's did not have tackle or items he needed
(3) Staff were rude when asked about something or too busy talking tofriends (observations from others.... not Pinky) to serve him
(4) Budd's was closed when he wanted to go fishing so he had to driveanother 15km's to and then another 15km's home from Victoria Pt to get someworms.
I'd be miffed too. Actually I try not to use Budd's purely because I canrelate to 3 of the above 4 points."

“Ithink part of the problem is that "BUDS" as it was in it’s hey daywas such an exceptional store, everybody went there and they had the stuff youwanted when you wanted it.
Stock levels were good, as was the quality and variety.
They opened early and stayed open late and had enough staff who wherehelpfull and enthusiastic.
The down hill slide put a bad taste in quite a few mouths, a taste thatlingers and possibly effects the current situation.
If this store is to remain, considerable effort must be made to make itcompetitive.
Remember in recent times there have been several well placed competitorscome into the market.
People may winge about BCF and "the place wedon't mention", but they take a very large chunk out of the market....andthere are a couple of very competitive indpendents not far away.
Sorry steve, but if something substantial, isn't done soon, ya mightas well shut the doors"

“Steve mc ,mate the last 3 or 4 times ihave been there the cleveland store has been out of stock of swivels and hooksi was chasing, in saying that the guys behind the counter actually bent overbackwards to get what i wanted ,rang around ,could get them in ect. but i wasin a hurry.
The local bcf in capalaba is even worse ,every time i go there they are out ofstock, so after visiting both stores i always end up at the tackle warehousewhere i get everything in 1 go and pay a shitload more.
I would rather support you guys being local but get sick of driving from shopto shop in the area to source basic hooks like big guns in a particular size.
The old budds used to be a one stop shop,i havnt been to your store for acouple of months now will give you guys another go this weekend and hope i dontend up at the tackle warehouse.”

“Steve Mc....mate, the problem has been goingon for a long time. It's not only Pink Panther who has commented but many otherpeople including myself.
I have been using Budds as a local for many years and well before they moved toyour current location. I only went into the old Budd's every few months andsince Budd's sold the business I have noticed a huge differences in the shop.Especially over the last 12 months or so.
To be honest I did not even know Budd's sold out as I don't look at the signsover the doors or who (if it's an owner or staff) works behind the counter. Iused it because it was there and I needed bait or tackle.
Many people have complained about lack of stock etc and lots of people havecomplained about bad service from your staff.
I was another in the bad service predicament about 6 months ago when I wanted afew fresh prawns to have a fish with.
I leftthe shop never to return.
I never did find out if there were freshprawns there or not.
It's a shame as I only go around the corner to Ormiston to have a Sunday fishusually”

“As a hint....keep a closer eye on YOURshop as it's your livelihood on the line not your staff's.
How YOUR shop operates is a reflection on yourself and your partner and no-elsecan be blamed to what happens there.
How can a tackle shop run out of hooks and swivels? I would have thought they'dbe there in their thousands and if stocks were getting anywhere near depletedthey'd be restocked.”

“If the economy is hard then you cannot afford to lose long standing clients nomatter how little they buy.
Your losing customers at the moment who go and tell their family and friends.
Word of mouth is the quickest means of communication...especially if the newsis bad.”

Hope the Mod kills this thread now!

[Muddy Toes]

Hope the Mod kills this thread now!
Why?I'm actually quite interested in hearing how Steve Mc is going to implement change in to his business.Far be it from me to question one's ability to run a business, but as a local to this store it would be good to know if the owners are genuinely interested in keeping their customers.If they are then I'd be more than happy to swing by again some time.


***part 2***

A quick search of threads relating to Budds indicated that the Pink Panther, whoever that may be, appears to have issues with this store long before Mossops have been at Cleveland. This is not the first thread started by the Pink Panther avatar bagging this store, threads go back to before we took over. Being nameless, we can't say if she or he has a personal vendetta, vested interests in the stores demise or other motives for continued attacks. While customer service is of the utmost importance and instilled in our staff there are times in retail where customers are down right rude and obnoxious. While we do our best to treat everybody the same it's human nature to only put up with some people's attitude and crap for so long. Our staff deserve the same respect that customers expect.



"While customer service is of utmost importance and instilled in our staff" What a crock.The few times I've been in there under the 'Mossops' banner I've found the staff there to be very abrupt bordering on the point of rude.When a customer comes up to the counter to make a purchase and the guys that are meant to be serving are talking absolute crap about god knows what they did on the weekend and not stop to serve a customer let alone acknowledge them then the quote above just doesn't ring true in real life.
Now i don't know, nor do i really care who The Pink Panther is but i am highly doubtful that whoever he or she is that they do not have some sort of personal vendetta against you guys let alone have a vested interested in the store's demise but how can you say "I'm all for constructive criticism, and I am grateful for those who provide such feedback." but in the same breath accuse them of being such.



Having started the original thread on this issue, I would like to suggest a few things that might help dig "BUDDS/MOSSOPS out of the hole they have dug for themselves:

5. If you are on the phone (or it rings) then the present customer comes FIRST! The caller can wait or call back ...... Like he comes SECOND.

7. Greet EVERY customer who comes through the door like someone who is going to spend ten grand in your shop. One bad customer will tell a dozen others, one good customer will tell about four or five but all good!

8. Sack the guy who turned up late! How many customers did he lose? Certainly lost me!

9. Figure out why the guy at Victoria Point is becoming so popular! He's doing something right that you have to copy.

10. We Fishos are demanding and unforgiving guys! We want everything we need right here right now with no excuses BUT having said that a friendly person behind the counter who goes out of his way to oblige, make enquiries for us, make our sale of paramount importance (pretend if u have to) and you will get us back.

11. Ignore us, make no effort to be friendly, run out of obtainable bait etc and we are lost forever.

12. Pull down the BUDDS sign, spend some cash on tarting up the signage, BIG signs out on the side road even if it reads "OUT OF WORMS DUE HIGH TIDES" or "FRESH MULLET THIS FRIDAY"


If you need to post this stuff up on here to assist the owners to regain some lost patronage then maybe it will be the next Budds.

Gee i hope that it hasn't all come down to teaching the fundamentals of business ownership on a fishing forum.

At the end of the day cash is king.With an abundance of competition out there, here and overseas it takes more than a few products on shelves to get my cash.

[Jarrah Jack]

From here I guess Steve Mc can go either way. He can ignore what people are saying or take it on board and turn it all into a winner. There are obviously people on here who care very much, like PP and Charlie, to go to all that trouble and offer all those suggestions.

I hope you run with it Steve and get people on the forum behind you. Business consultants charge a lot of money for the types of suggestions being offered here.

[Cheech]

I have never been to this particular store, but about a year ago there was a similar thread about Jones' Tackle. Though no where to the same extent as this lot. I was one of the ones that had a couple of bad experiences. Anyway, after the commotion had settled down I decided to give them one last shot. Seems that they had taken the advice as I got really good service. Even the guy that was previously arrogant to me was much nicer. He even managed to force out a smile. Hopefully the same thing can happen here.

[Matthias]

Whether your right or wrong I don't think its appropriate to post negative comments about someone or someone's business on this forum. Write to the owner/s via email with these issues rather than telling thousands of potential customers about it over the net. This thread should be taken down.

[Matthias]

Sorry Charlie, I wasn't refering to your posts- although Im not sure if they were negative or not because I started to fall asleep after reading the first few lines...

[charleville]

Whether your right or wrong I don't think its appropriate to post negative comments about someone or someone's business on this forum. Write to the owner/s via email with these issues rather than telling thousands of potential customers about it over the net. This thread should be taken down.


You might have a case if the comments being made were inaccurate, or mischievous.


However, if they are not, then all the internet is doing is facilitating a rapid version of what all marketers know of as the most influential advertising medium, viz word-of-mouth.


It is also offering the business owner better sources of customer feedback than he is ever likely to get face to face. If the grievances being aired are not countered by a lot of counter arguments by happy customers, then he knows that he has a problem that needs fixing and very quickly so.


All the internet does is speed things up. It is like the grafitti on a wall at my university used to say, "Avoid the end of year rush, fail now."


Rather than having hurt feelings about such posts, a smart business owner will recognise that he has to do something to avoid that end of year rush that ,in business terms, usually happens when the economy takes a dip. At such times, the tide goes out and business who are anchored on shallow soft reefs in terms of their customer happiness effectiveness, get very exposed.



.

[charleville]

Sorry Charlie, I wasn't refering to your posts- although Im not sure if they were negative or not because I started to fall asleep after reading the first few lines...

;D;D;D


It has been a long, long time since I have posted a fishing report. You don't know what it is like to fall asleep until you read one of them.


;D;D;D;D;D

.

[Matthias]

It is also offering the business owner better sources of customer feedback than he is ever likely to get face to face. If the grievances being aired are not countered by a lot of counter arguments by happy customers, then he knows that he has a problem that needs fixing and very quickly so.

.

Yeah I understand that criticism has benefits for a business however the original post was nothing but negative and not intended to help the owner in any way. Remember the owner had to start a new account to respond to the claims after being alerted by friends. I don't think its a fair thing to go and slander someone's business without confronting\ alerting the owner before hand.

[sleepygreg]

Firstly - Apologies to Charlieville for pressing the like button on your last post - it was meant with the same sarcastic humour that i believe the post was made in. Your fishing reports are always a welcome relief from the "I went fishing and caught a fish" posts.

Secondly - I dont see it as a major issue raising poor service (we also have MANY good service posts here) in this forum. The proviso is that the posts are specific and quote examples, rather than a general " their service sucks" comment. Lets be hypothetical here - If someone was to put up a post and say something like " Sunfish Sams Tackle Store is staffed by a bunch of morons who have no idea what they are talking about and couldnt give a rats rectum about customer service because i called in there at 4.30 am this morning and they didnt have any 1/0 Mustad 92247 hooks and wouldnt try and get some for me 7am" Then I would immeiately learn more about the person putting up the post than 'Sunfish Sams'.

Tackle stores do run out of some items of stock from time to time - and believe it or not - sometimes it is the most basic of expected items. I remember about 18 months ago I was looking for a particular popular size treble to refurbish some lures that I had - it was a common size and pattern - went to first local store, none in stock....so I grumbled under my breath for a bit and headed to next local store - same deal - none in stock - hmmmm - head to major outdoor store as a last resort - same thing. Being the persistent bugger that I am - i think theres another two major outdoor stores (different companies) nearby - funily enough - none of them had any either. Now some people may have posted on this forum that this was poor service - but having owned a tackle store myself - I came to the conclusion that the problem wasnt with the stores but with the supply of the hooks. (luckily I have a mate who owns a tackle store interstate and a quick phone call got me some hooks posted up to me - he keeps more of these style hooks than most of the suppliers - plus a confirmation that the suppliers shipment of same was six weeks late).

The issue of rude, complacent, arrogant service - is probably best not raised immediately with the business owner in person - if I read into the emotion of some of the posts I have seen - as it most probably would finish up in a raging argument at best.

Most people on this forum would be very much pro the local bloke - and want them to succeed - and would be merely saying what they expect from a bait and tackle store. Occassionally some of those expectations may be a bit over the top - but genrally they are reasonable expectations. Don't expect to pay the same price for things at your local that you will pay by scouring the net for the cheapest price ( he doesnt have their buying power/proximity to manufacturer/volume of sales), and I will guarantee he has much higher overheads to sales than they do - remember that the difference between what he buys it at - and his sale price - is what he has to pay his rent, power bill, cost of fitout, in a lot of instances interest on overdraft/loan, wages for staff and their oncosts, and more importantly his own wages so that he can put a roof over his families head and food on the table.

I only wish that a forum like this was operating when i had my tackle shop as I would have loved to recieve feedback from customers in a timely basis, whether it be good or bad, so that I could react accordingly - be that by changing the way I do business, or have an opportunity to explain, apologise or rectify specifics. No business I know of gets it right everytime - but its how they respond to those 'moments of truth' that will determine the success of the business.

Greg

ps . There ya go Charlieville - a sleeping pill of a post from me. lol

[Si]

better than no shop at all isnt it