[AMA] I Am The Operation Manager at MSY Head Quarter, Ask Me (Almost) Anything

Lbeetran on 17/11/2017 - 11:31
Last edited 20/11/2017 - 17:20

[UPDATE] 5:18PM 20/11/2017: Due to no more post coming in, AMA is officially closed now.

[UPDATED] 11:43AM 18/11/2017: There are a few accounts in this thread marked "Associated". User name "beetran" is the only MSY account with OZBargain. The rest of other users are not associated or related to us. Guys, I am just doing the AMA to bring MSY closers to everyone. Please do not mess around like this.

Hello everyone,

I've been a OZBargain follower for many years and I thought it is the time for me to contribute back.

A bit about myself:

  • I am the Operation Manager
  • I am based in Melbourne head quarter office
  • I am a male

Disclaimer: all my reply here express my personal opinion only, not representing MSY.

Let's start !

Introduce Yourself

closed Comments

    • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 13:10
      +8

      PM team is working on some wicked deals for you. More stores ? Yes, we are still growing

  • John Kimble on 17/11/2017 - 13:09
    +8

    What does MSY stand for?

    • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 13:11
      +11

      Name initials :)

      • John Kimble on 17/11/2017 - 13:14
        +7

        Oh, how boring :p

        • UncleMurphy on 17/11/2017 - 13:24
          +15

          It was always known as More Stock Yesterday in the past ;)

        • retiredfeline on 17/11/2017 - 13:33
          +22

          @UncleMurphy: I was told Maybe Stock Yesterday.

        • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 13:35
          +47

          @greenpossum: i laughed and everyone is staring at me now

        • Tsuivan on 19/11/2017 - 09:08

          Me Sell You

      • MathNerd on 19/11/2017 - 13:01
        +2

        Whose name? Founder or CEO?

    • ISTJ on 20/11/2017 - 07:32

      Must Sell Yumcha

  • Kapinny on 17/11/2017 - 13:21
    +2

    Do you think you will ever upgrade your website?

    • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 13:27
      +1

      A whole new website is underway. Beta is out for internal testing now (no bugs so far, just need some more stress test). Final version will be released really soon.

      • biozet on 25/11/2017 - 17:33

        Keep the pdf's for clearance please
        They're hot and I get mad

    • PLA74 on 17/11/2017 - 13:41
      +2

      I was just about to ask the same thing haha. A few of the times I've had to shop at UMart (I live in the middle of both UMart and MSY stores) when I was in a rush as the MSY website wasn't loading properly on my smartphone. Good to hear that MSY are undergoing a new website!

  • psyren89 on 17/11/2017 - 13:22
    +1

    As you mentioned that MSY are in the process of implementing ZipPay, does this mean you will also be scrapping credit card fees, or will items purchased through ZipPay also attract a surcharge?

    • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 13:28
      +4

      I have proposed this in my QBR meeting, they are reviewing all the costing now.

    • jingy on 19/11/2017 - 00:41

      I work at a retail store that has ZipPay as an option and I don't remember the exact number off the top of my head but the fees are around the levels of AMEX/Platinum Credit cards so its likely they could charge extra.

  • 18 on 17/11/2017 - 13:29
    +7

    How do you guys feel about the emergence of Amazon within Australia? Have you prepared for this?

    • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 13:32
      +15

      We do have our own business strategies in place for the next 12 months :) And yes, we are well prepared

  • String name on 17/11/2017 - 13:31
    +4

    Question comes to mind when I think about the large PC gaming customer base MSY possesses, and how readily high performance parts are available.
    Does MSY cultivate a pleasant and sociable working environment for their employees, and if so, how?

    • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 13:33
      +9

      For me, I really enjoy working in this enviroment :) and it is true, not because they will sack me if I say "not pleasant" or things like that

      • String name on 17/11/2017 - 13:34
        +2

        No perks though?? Do you have LAN events, or lend out parts for employees to evaluate?

        • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 13:37
          +9

          Perks - tick
          LAN events - tick
          Testing heaps of new parts, engineering sample - tick
          Free meals - tick
          and many more

        • silverrat23 on 17/11/2017 - 13:52
          +9

          @beetran:

          Free meals - tick

          So, you hiring at the moment? :P

        • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 14:37
          +8

          @silverrat23: We are always looking for more vibrant new recuits. If you have an interest, please forward your resume to [email protected]

        • SquareTofu on 17/11/2017 - 16:16
          +86

          @beetran:

          Ex-Employee here

          Perks - Don't exist
          LAN events- only reserved for management
          Testing heaps of new parts, engineering sample -again, only reserved for management
          Free meals - the only free meals I gotten is the free water from kitchen tap

        • ravonda on 17/11/2017 - 22:47
          +3

          @SquareTofu: Really reminds me of this with those contradicting experiences.. https://blog.unicus.com/tag/birds-shit-falls-down/

        • eegos on 18/11/2017 - 08:08

          @beetran:

          Which comment is right? Yours or ex employee?

        • idonotknowwhy on 18/11/2017 - 08:53
          +1

          @SquareTofu: I worked in a similar shop for a few months and got paid very, very poorly. How much did MSY pay?

        • Fybre on 18/11/2017 - 09:24
          +6

          @KSMLJ: They pay minimum wage because that is their perceived value of you. Every organisation will pay you the minimum they can, that's just business. As your value to the organisation increases, so to does your wage as you become more valuable to "them". For relatively low value, high turnover parts, with what I would assume are very small margins, and a business model where there is no emphasis placed on sales training/interaction/technique, MSY are never going to pay more than minimum or provide much in the way of sales incentive. I don't want to be insulting but store staff at MSY, from my experience, are NOT sales staff; they pick goods and mind the till. Low margin parts, for a bricks and mortar store, has to come at a compromise somewhere, it would appear focus on sales staff is where it is.

          Ultimately you have one life to live. Do you want to spend it hating where you work, or trying to find somewhere you might actually enjoy the corporate culture? Many of us have done crappy jobs in the past, but it's our choice to stay, or try to find something better.

        • bobbified on 18/11/2017 - 13:26
          +1

          @SquareTofu:

          Free meals - the only free meals I gotten is the free water from kitchen tap

          Funniest thing I've read all week!! haha

        • CrankyCarrot on 19/11/2017 - 21:36
          +1

          @bobbified: And he could have made ice and had something to eat too.

        • SquareTofu on 20/11/2017 - 13:22
          +1

          @idonotknowwhy:

          It's probably not good to reveal the exact pay but it's retail award + $ but very close to minimum

    • joelmuzz on 17/11/2017 - 18:28
      +8

      Have you been in a MSY?
      It's pretty much a bare bones operation with the staff non stop since there is a constant line.
      It's not the sort of place I would expect any perks (or even minimum wage).

  • Olokun on 17/11/2017 - 13:44
    +21

    Have you considered making your product feed available for websites like http://www.pricehipster.com and https://au.pcpartpicker.com? Since MSY is meant to be the cheapest most of the time it would make sense to do so.

    • cypher67 on 17/11/2017 - 14:51
      +9

      I second this question, not sure why OP has skipped it. I recently spent $4k on my new computer and relied on PcPartPicker to find the most consistently cheap prices for the parts I wanted and MSY was not listed. I was told MSY was cheaper but their website is a dog, so I made the effort to go into the store. I had a parts list in my hands and the best they could tell me was they didn't stock some of the parts. I asked for recommendations on similar parts for comparison and they ignored me and went to the next customer.

      In Summary my question is why is MSY so far behind the competition with website/selection services and what are you doing to improve your customer experiences?

      • scrottyB on 17/11/2017 - 23:40

        gold! I always get told "we don't do recommendations" so I make a point to always ask now for the fck of it lol. you're meant to be experts and people ask you for advice so they can buy from you?!

        • [Deactivated] on 18/11/2017 - 09:01
          +7

          I effen hate going to a computer store and the person in front hold up the line for' recommendations ' other words they know nothing and should not be fiddling with diy computer.

        • scrottyB on 18/11/2017 - 09:58

          I'm going to ask for a recommendation at maccas today and see what they say ;)

        • cypher67 on 18/11/2017 - 11:41
          +3

          I'm standing there with cash in hand. I wanted a specific product based on my google research. You either don't stock it or don't have any stock available. All I want is a professional recommendation of something similar and I'll buy it. The fact you are paid minimum wage is not going to stop the fact I'm walking out and not coming back.

          A simple solution would be to have someone on site during peak periods as the expert and if people do want advice they can wait their turn. The extra sales that person would generate would easily cover the wage. Think it wont work? Ask an Apple Expert.

        • Omitsukasa on 18/11/2017 - 15:30

          @cypher67:

          I doubt it will cover it. Apple is for the general mass, including people who don't know much about tech. MSY is different. Most don't need experts. If you do, you should probably shop elsewhere.

        • wukachuka on 18/11/2017 - 20:11

          @cypher67:

          If you had done the research, checked they sell it at a good price AND used the website to check whether it is in stock at the store you plan to visit (ok, so the stock levels on the website maybe are not always 100% accurate, shit happens), there is a fairly good chance you would never be in the position you describe.

          Even then, after doing research on parts you want, why would you take any advice if it was given anyway?
          I don't expect the staff to know every combination of the parts they sell, and there are plenty of gotchas to replacing a single part on a list on the spot.

          Take the mix of a motherboard and memory for example.
          No one is that expert to have memorised the memory support lists for 20-30 current motherboards.
          So the memory you have on your list isn't in stock, can he recommend something similar?
          Sure, he could google the motherboard, look up the memory support list, then cross check it with MSY stock, then pick one…
          At which point he's not an expert, he's just doing data entry for you!

          Apple is a closed system, all an apple expert needs to know is how to follow the script for whatever problem you have.
          Completely different thing to what you are describing….

      • 811b11e8 on 18/11/2017 - 18:45

        Noob, this is what I love about the shop.

        If your spending 4K on parts and don't know what you can substitute buy a pre done system and do the guy behind you in the line and the guy in front of you at the counter a favor.

    • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 15:03
      +6

      Yes we did consider it before. Unfortunately, the internal system does not have enough resource to feed all the required data at this stage eg.part number, pricing, short description, long description etc.

      • cypher67 on 17/11/2017 - 15:08
        +133

        If only you had access to more computing power, like somewhere that sold components?

        • smpantsonfire on 17/11/2017 - 21:41
          +7

          Ah if this was Reddit. Gold for you good sir

        • iDroid on 18/11/2017 - 01:34

          Why oh WHY can I only give one vote!!!

        • Peace Maker on 18/11/2017 - 14:22

          @smpantsonfire: !ozbargainsilver ?

      • Xeirt on 19/11/2017 - 23:42

        If you need help, I can help you guys set up Google Web Hosting/Compute Engine to make the site infinitely scaleable. =P

  • SuBw00FeR on 17/11/2017 - 13:46

    Can we please get a store in Corio Central, ill even run it for you. We have no computer/electronics shops anywhere close we have to drive 20mins into town to be able to get anything.

    • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 14:08

      Currently we don't have any plan to open a store in Corio Central, but will mention this to the management team.

    • cheesecactus on 17/11/2017 - 16:30
      +10

      Honestly a 20min drive seems fine. Most computer stores are located in industrial areas a little further out of the city.

      Speaking from experience in Perth. Not sure about other states. I live very close to the city and its a 30min drive for me to msy

      • follow on 17/11/2017 - 17:38

        That's typical Perth. 30 mins from CBD and you're just 30 mins from the CBD

      • SuBw00FeR on 17/11/2017 - 19:22

        Perth is just 30mins from everything xD used to live there.

        But we have no electronics or anything even in town, there's a jaycar but that's about it, and they charge through the nose for everything, and are more niche electronics. Not like for general memory/cables/etc

    • pranksta on 18/11/2017 - 13:11
      +1

      Living in Melbourne my closest msy is 20 min away, doesn't seem that bad?

      • SuBw00FeR on 18/11/2017 - 14:23

        We have nothing else either though for electronics as I said above.

      • abb on 20/11/2017 - 10:25

        Same for me in Sydney. It's the adjacent suburb, but yeah, 20 min drive…

    • Zenyatta on 19/11/2017 - 14:20
      +1

      It's more than 20 mins to my closest computer store.. I thought that was actually not too far.

  • Ruhigh846 on 17/11/2017 - 13:48

    How likely are we to see another 15% off complete build sale? Will it be sooner rather than later?

    • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 14:10
      +4

      We will have massive sales near Xmas :)

    • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 15:54
      +1

      BTW, how about 10% OFF on our system package ?

      • [Deactivated] on 18/11/2017 - 10:29
        -3

        Not enough and to limited to choose own parts

  • kingmoron on 17/11/2017 - 13:48
    +2

    Is there a plan to attract the non computer savvy customer base (not me) or will you stick to your current demographic.

    • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 14:12
      +2

      We are slowly changing to adapt to all customers, including people not so computer-literate.

      • echelon6 on 17/11/2017 - 16:43
        +39

        I dont want to subsidise the non computer-literate by having longer wait times or higher prices.

  • Broke-Ken on 17/11/2017 - 13:50
    +21

    Do you know when the North Melbourne store will get it's front door fixed and not have a piece of wire as the Door handle?

    • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 14:13
      +3

      Sorry about that, will have it fix ASAP.

    • neil on 17/11/2017 - 14:18
      +26

      It's not a bug, it's a feature. They've never had a door handle in the several years I've been there.

      EDIT: Pic of door handle

      • Broke-Ken on 17/11/2017 - 14:28
        +5

        I actually remember when the door handle was playing up, customers were turning it, but it wouldn't unlock, had to jiggle it, a week later the handle was gone, just a hole in the door then was replaced with the wire/cable. has been like that since! so that's about 4-5 yrs now.

        I guess you're right, it is a feature. Still love shopping there though, it hasn't turned me off.

        • ravonda on 17/11/2017 - 22:52
          +3

          it hasn't turned me off

          I bet it turns you on after you give it a good tug?

        • [Deactivated] on 19/11/2017 - 22:08
          +1

          Plympton (SA) door is also broken. Hasnt been on its hinges for a long time.

  • BennyF on 17/11/2017 - 13:51
    +8

    How is it, MSY branches are never able to answer their phones? (This isn't just one store, well known among a lot of stores) is it in company policy to only answer a particular amount of phone calls a day?

    • Yttrium on 17/11/2017 - 14:14
      +2

      I have the same experience : (

    • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 14:23
      +2

      We try to answer as many calls as we can.

    • [Deactivated] on 17/11/2017 - 14:34
      +12

      Every time I go into the Ultimo store, they're all serving customers - so not a huge suprise they won't answer calls at the current staff levels.
      The person on the phone is a potential sale, the person in front with cash/cc in hand is an actual sale.

      • Fybre on 17/11/2017 - 19:13
        +3

        Agreed. Actually annoys me when I'm standing in a store and the staff pick up the phone straight away, ignoring me. I told my staff to concentrate on the people in store first, pickup the phone but tell them you will be with them as soon as you can and put it on hold.

  • bonezAU on 17/11/2017 - 13:52
    +21

    Do your staff have any plans to ever vacuum the Balcatta WA store?

    • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 14:31
      +7

      Sorry about this. Will have WA team to put vacuuming on their schedule.

      • k0tter on 17/11/2017 - 17:39
        +9

        Robot vacuum?

    • martin_henry on 07/12/2017 - 15:56

      Pertinent & funny. Well done, sir

  • [Deactivated] on 17/11/2017 - 13:57

    What uni did you study and what majors did you do? What majors do you recommend for a person studying a Bachelor of Business to become an operations manager? I'm at UTS and chose human resources but can still change before next year. I though management was too generalist and not industry recognised.

    • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 15:04
      -4

      I am just here by luck

      • [Deactivated] on 17/11/2017 - 15:53
        +10

        They drew your name out of a hat?

        • scrimshaw on 17/11/2017 - 17:04
          +10

          Not just any hat, Hogwarts MSY Sorting Hat.

        • hogwarts on 17/11/2017 - 20:42
          +13

          @scrimshaw: Did somebody say Hogwarts?

  • [Deactivated] on 17/11/2017 - 13:59
    +3

    By the way I love your store and love shopping at MSY Ultimo. You guys always have the best clearance prices and EOL stock. Also love the daily deals. Also I ordered a deal of the day in August and forgot to pick it up. Is it too late now?

    • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 14:28

      Glad you like MSY Ultimo store. We need to check what products is on the order and whether it's available now as well. Please send your order reference number to [email protected] and our feedback team will check for you.

  • Yttrium on 17/11/2017 - 14:09
    +3

    I ring the store and they never answer.

    Please advise.

    • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 14:25

      Sorry about this. Please try the number on our parts price list. If you still cannot get in touch with the store, please send an email to the store or forward your question/request to [email protected] and our feedback team will be able to help you.

      • devpress on 17/11/2017 - 17:19
        +3

        Unfortunately the email reply rate doesn't seem to be that much better

      • Viper8 on 21/11/2017 - 12:07

        I've never once had a call answered, and that's calling many different numbers on different days.
        They always respond to emails quickly however.

    • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 14:37
      +40

      Sorry about this. Will try to do better….

      • Tnetennba on 17/11/2017 - 16:36
        +19

        Don't listen to them, you're doing great

  • hussey25 on 17/11/2017 - 14:37

    I submitted an RMA through your Auburn store over 2 months ago, they said they would call me regarding the replacement/repair. No reply has yet been made, I have even tried emailing them directly. Does it normally take this long for an RMA?

    • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 14:40
      +2

      Sorry about this long delay. Please send your RMA case number to [email protected] and we'll look into your case.

    • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 14:41

      Normally it won't take this long.

  • Unrvl on 17/11/2017 - 14:42
    +1

    Do you have any plans to open a store south of Adelaide (further south than plympton, like Noarlunga area?)

    • beetran on 17/11/2017 - 15:04

      Not in the roadmap at this stage unfortunately

      • bonezAU on 17/11/2017 - 15:10
        +3

        Any plans for more stores in Perth?

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