Is Bunnings in trouble? Customers complain about increasingly poor service and lack of staff
- Replies 18
Everyone knows that Bunnings is THE go-to store for all your hardware needs. A one-stop shop for tradies, home renovators, and even amateur (or seasoned) DIYers like us here at the SDC – it's the perfect place to browse and find just what we need (plus a few things we didn't know we needed until we saw them!).
But lately, several customers have been noticing that something just doesn't seem right when they visit their local Bunnings store…
In particular, there seems to be a distinct lack of customer service – with many complaining they can never find anyone to help when they need assistance.
To make matters worse, reports have recently surfaced confirming the hardware giant is planning on cutting up to 300 jobs right before Christmas! With these job cuts coming after complaints about already poor service, one has to wonder if this decision will only make things worse for customers.

Many shoppers have taken to social media platforms such as Facebook over recent months to voice their concerns about the decline in customer service at Bunnings stores across the country.
Complaints range from long wait times at checkouts and difficulty finding staff members when needed. 'There's basically nobody there now,' one customer said on Facebook, with another adding, 'I've noticed there's been less of that lately, and I was hoping that things would go back to normal soon.'
Some people even went so far as accusing retail workers of putting in a 'half-hearted effort' or deliberately ignoring customers altogether! Ouch. No one likes feeling invisible or unimportant when out shopping.
Despite the wave of complaints, not every Bunnings customer had a problem, though.
'We love shopping at Bunnings. They always have friendly and helpful staff. We have never had any hassle finding someone to help us out,' wrote one customer in response to other comments.
Another agreed and added that she always found the staff at Bunnings to be 'happy and helpful', while a third went on to argue that the store's customer service is 'something other retail stores need to look at and follow'.

The communications, learning, and development teams at Bunnings were recently restructured as a step towards digitising the store's training, human resources, and skills development programs.
This, however, has been blamed by several shoppers as the reason why service quality has been declining.
'Digitising training and taking people out of training and communications is always a downfall for any company. Once training is digitised — the stuff-ups at work will become abundant! How sad they think digital training is best,' wrote one Bunnings shopper on social media.
'Yep, you're totally right,' another replied and agreed. 'I used to work at Bunnings, and honestly, their training is sub-par at the best of times. It's really going to be up the putt now. They never give sufficient time to complete online training as it is, so it's really not going to work!'
What do you think, members? Have you noticed any changes in customer service levels at your local Bunnings store lately? Have you been finding it more difficult to find staff when needed or been left feeling unassisted and ignored? We would love to hear from you, so please do not hesitate to get in touch by commenting below!
Wishing you all a happy and safe shopping experience in the future!
But lately, several customers have been noticing that something just doesn't seem right when they visit their local Bunnings store…
In particular, there seems to be a distinct lack of customer service – with many complaining they can never find anyone to help when they need assistance.
To make matters worse, reports have recently surfaced confirming the hardware giant is planning on cutting up to 300 jobs right before Christmas! With these job cuts coming after complaints about already poor service, one has to wonder if this decision will only make things worse for customers.

Bunnings is rumoured to be planning to lay off up to 300 workers in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Credit: YouTube/Bunnings Warehouse.
Many shoppers have taken to social media platforms such as Facebook over recent months to voice their concerns about the decline in customer service at Bunnings stores across the country.
Complaints range from long wait times at checkouts and difficulty finding staff members when needed. 'There's basically nobody there now,' one customer said on Facebook, with another adding, 'I've noticed there's been less of that lately, and I was hoping that things would go back to normal soon.'
Some people even went so far as accusing retail workers of putting in a 'half-hearted effort' or deliberately ignoring customers altogether! Ouch. No one likes feeling invisible or unimportant when out shopping.
Despite the wave of complaints, not every Bunnings customer had a problem, though.
'We love shopping at Bunnings. They always have friendly and helpful staff. We have never had any hassle finding someone to help us out,' wrote one customer in response to other comments.
Another agreed and added that she always found the staff at Bunnings to be 'happy and helpful', while a third went on to argue that the store's customer service is 'something other retail stores need to look at and follow'.

Bunnings is planning to digitise its training, human resources, and skills development programs. Credit: Pexels/Yan Krukov.
The communications, learning, and development teams at Bunnings were recently restructured as a step towards digitising the store's training, human resources, and skills development programs.
This, however, has been blamed by several shoppers as the reason why service quality has been declining.
'Digitising training and taking people out of training and communications is always a downfall for any company. Once training is digitised — the stuff-ups at work will become abundant! How sad they think digital training is best,' wrote one Bunnings shopper on social media.
'Yep, you're totally right,' another replied and agreed. 'I used to work at Bunnings, and honestly, their training is sub-par at the best of times. It's really going to be up the putt now. They never give sufficient time to complete online training as it is, so it's really not going to work!'
Key Takeaways
- Bunnings is planning to cut up to 300 jobs just before Christmas, which has been met with complaints from customers about the decline in customer service standards.
- Some customers have complained that they have difficulty finding staff or that staff are unhelpful. Others, though, have praised Bunnings for their customer service, saying that staff are always friendly and helpful.
- The job cuts are part of a post-pandemic review of the company's structure and support centre resourcing.
Wishing you all a happy and safe shopping experience in the future!