Mitre 10 wins Canstar Blue’s Most Satisfied Customers Award – DIY stores 2019
With its wide variety of products and expert service, Mitre 10 has won Canstar Blue’s Most Satisfied Customers Award – DIY stores 2019. The New Zealand chain of hardware stores was first established in June 1974 and has over eighty stores around the country.
Mitre 10 received a five-star rating for overall customer satisfaction, with survey respondents giving the hardware store five-star ratings for its service and advice, range of brands, range of products and overall satisfaction.
DIY popularity in New Zealand
The DIY market has always been popular in New Zealand, though has been increasingly so in recent years, with big chains recording growing profits as we become confident in tackling jobs ourselves instead of paying someone to do it.
Watching TV series, such as The Block, encouraged 22% of people we surveyed to try a bit of DIY and we suspect it could be because it takes the mystery out of a lot of things. Unfortunately, 4% of consumers said they bit off more DIY then they could chew and had to call in the professionals to finish the job for them. Even for those who had succeeded in completing a major project, 21% thought that although it worked, the end result wasn’t great.
DIY store satisfaction
So how do you get it right? There are thousands of ‘how to’ videos online that cover just about any job you can think of and 46% of Kiwis admit to watching these videos, as guidance, to save a lot of time, effort and money.
Another great source of information is your local hardware store. Not only do they offer a range of tools and products, but they should also be able to offer a good service and advice too.
But with several different DIY stores across New Zealand, how do you choose which store to visit?
Our research revealed that the key drivers of customers’ DIY store satisfaction are:
- Service and advice 32%
- Value for money 30%
- Range of brands 17%
- Range of products 16%
- Online store/ catalogue 4%
As 78% of those who do DIY projects said they undertook a project to save a few bucks, it’s no surprise that value for money rated highly. Interestingly, when it comes to visiting a DIY store, 63% said that they actually visit hardware stores for non-DIY items such as containers, storage, home and garden wares, and plants.
DIY Disasters
Although we all start off thinking everything will go according to plan, quite often they don’t! According to home and contents provider, AA Insurance, the most common DIY disasters are:
- Heat gun fire – These handy little machines may be great at stripping the last 50 years of paint off your frames and timber boards but take your eye off the game and that heat can burn through your wood and it’s not only your hard work, but your home you could see go up in flames.
- Falling through the ceiling – We’ve all seen the comedy sketch but it it’s pretty common in the real world too. One of the Canstar Blue team ‘had a friend’ who part-boarded their loft space, stepped back to admire their work, and ended up in the hallway downstairs!
- Spilt paint – If you have ever been unlucky enough to have spilt a tin of paint you’ll know this stuff goes everywhere. Always put dust sheets down when you’re painting and have a few old rags at the ready for cleaning up any stray spots and drops.
- Dropped power tool – You may feel like a superhero brandishing your brand-new power tool but man, those things are heavy and if you drop them they can take a nice chunk out of your kitchen bench, floor or bathroom fitting.
Luckily, no one in our survey said their DIY project was a complete disaster!
