B&Q Friern Barnet - London

J W.

Your Friern Barnet branch is a place of chaotic indifference and you'd be wise to send some unfamiliar senior staff in on a Saturday to see how it is run. I would say it is damaging your brand.

I visited your store yesterday (Saturday 29th March) to collect a toilet I had ordered online for click and collect.

Before collecting the item I wanted to look for a few other items (steel wool and 3"X4" door hinges) I wandered the isles briefly before defering to a member of staff. I asked a young female staff member for the items and they pointed me to one isle I went there found all the door hinges but could only find one set of suitable hinges. They were misplaced on the display and there was no obvious place where they were supposed to be. I went to find a member of staff again to ask if they had any more and if they might be shelved elsewhere. I found a 20-something (who was possibly a more senior member of staff) teasing an older male staff member about his driving abilities with the hand forklift pull trolley. Perhaps their interaction was friendly perhaps it was bullying. The 20-something man radioed Omar and sent me back to the isle and told me Omar would help me to find it and meet me at that isle.

I'd like to highlight the exceptional service of Omar at this point. He was very friendly and professional and clearly striving to help customers. When I met him he was helping someone to find plastic packets for loose screws and then was stopped by another customer to ask for help elsewhere. Clearly your customers recognised him as sensible, reliable, helpful and friendly - which he was.

Omar and me looked on the isle and could not find the other 8 hinges that were supposed to be in stock there somewhere. Fair enough, he then told me the two isles the steel wool could possibly be on and explained that he thought they moved it recently. I went to look for it on the pest control isle. Couldn't find it there and asked another member of staff who was friendly and helpful but couldn't find it either. He told me that I could find CT1 on the trade point.

I went to the trade point to find two young women on a till seemingly to be openly laughing at a slightly disgruntled customer who was waiting for them to scan some tiles or something. After selecting the CT1 I asked if I could collect my toilet she told me I was in the wrong area. She was a bit rude but I was in the wrong area. I then asked if she knew where the steel wool might be and she instantly told me they don't sell it. I then said that was odd as I'd been told they do sell it. She then radioed Omar to help me find it. I said it was fine I'd already spoken to Omar and I went to collect my toilet.

I went to the collection point to collect my toilet and spoke to a woman. She was a bit rude to me but I had been on the phone when pressing her call button so it's understandable. I had thought it would take someone longer to appear so kudos to her for being so prompt. She treated me with a sort of stoic indifference. I was shown the toilet that was in a sorry state. The box was ripped on the edges, carry handles broken and had clearly been open or abused. I asked if they had any more in stock. She told me no. I said I would go and look for alternatives in the isles. Before this she helped me to look for the hinges and again radioed Omar.

After not finding a suitable toilet and returned to the click and collect counter I requested a refund. I purchased some masking tape and CT1.

I'm not going to use this branch of B&Q again. Staff in the B&Q local Wood Green are not like this. You should probably employ Omar to train your staff in customer service unless you want to continue the atmosphere of chaotic indifference.

Anastasija S.

I have been coming to this store regularly last 2 months.
Always good service. Especially big thank you to Raed ( I am sorry forgot the name) he helps with cutting boards and gave me many good suggestions, helped to choose drill and nails. I came back next day with hope he will be at work, and he helped me again.

Lilyrose G.

I needed a panel to cover an old fireplace. I decided to get some ply wood. Raez, a lovely gentleman at B&Q helped me with my measurements. He was very helpful and focused. Thank you Raez, I love my new fireplace!

Sacha

Really great experience with your colleague, Luke, who guided me on how to plaster my wall. I’m not DIY savvy, however Luke reassured me and gave some brilliant advice. Friendly and informative - a super customer experience!

Albina R.

Great help from NEIL with our kitchens!
He helped us order 3 kitchens to our design so quickly and calmly and dealt with any issues. He was amazing, Thank you so much!! 🙂

Laleh M.

I purchased a £160 tap online from B&Q and hired a professional plumber for £140 to install it. The installation wasn’t simple — access under our sink was difficult, making the job more complex and time-consuming. Right after installation, we discovered the tap was faulty — leaking from the right lever. This forced us to go back to the store, purchase a new tap, and pay the plumber again to reinstall everything.

We spoke to the store manager, who advised us to submit a complaint with full documentation — receipts, photos showing the complexity of the job, etc. — and request compensation for the initial £140 plumber cost (a very reasonable ask given the faulty product).

It’s now been over 8 months, and the case is still unresolved despite multiple follow-ups. The lack of communication and accountability has been incredibly frustrating.

Astir A.

Love shopping here for my diy projects.
Primarily I love the convenience the free car park and the friendly and helpful staff.
I was disappointed with the plant selection. Very limited options for the garden.
I love the good selection of home accessories and the indoor kitchen design service.
The prices are reasonable.

Raj

Usually one of my go-to DIY places as staff are helpful and aisles organised and integrated with online shop. However, when I was last here I got parking charge (we had lunch and shoped elsewhere however BnQ was our last place and they took a while to process my query about a historical transaction). The manager that I spoke to when I went back basically refused to help or email the parking company even though he remembered me and that it was their system that had issues causing me delay. I know BnQ managers have the capability/authority to help with this. This guy was just too lazy to send an email.