Independant or big name store ? - TilersForums.com

[Gazzer]

Independent tile shops....Who uses them ? How often do you use them compared with bigger outlets or dont you use them at all ??

Do they try to get your business , are they helpful? knowledgeable ?

Would you prefer to give them your money or not ??

Debate !

 

[doug boardley]

independents for me Neale, don't have any any of the nationals up here. Are we having a poll?

 

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

cheapest & on -line for me .........

 

[Gazzer]

Not really for a poll Doug. Just interested to know who would deal with the small guys in the game against the bigger names.
I would imagine though it would depend as in your case...who is most local.

I have a decent Indie shop here but CTD is not too far of needed as are some other big names but the prices seem to be a lot higher and they are harder to deal with. I have started to get good deals for certain items off the internet.

 

[doug boardley]

a lot of retailers, indies or nationals, could do with coming onto forum for a while and actually learn a bit more about the stuff they sell imho.

 

[Gazzer]

Very true Doug but have you seen the money they pay the staff in places such as Topps ? I saw an Advert for staff wanted and when I worked out the wages I can understand why they wouldn't be bothered and why they are always advertising for staff...no one stays long !....but thats a different topic.

 

[Olz]

I don't go near tops, the starting offer of discount was about 2% which would increase over time. Bearing in mind a Ctd trade account I have is much higher and topps were trying to get me to switch I questioned why I would take the hits for a few months and declined. Tile giant is very competitive IMO but not close enough to make it worth while.


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[Olz]

I have an Indy on the doorstep but he only did some cheap stuff and a very limited range.


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[kilty55]

i use bigger company,there is a localish independant shop near me but the prices are horrific

 

[hutchinsons]

CTD for me im afraid.. the independents are doing cheap, get them out stuff. I deal with original style and olde english too and have no probs..

 

[Ian]

Tend to use the bigger shops, I only have one local and we haven't seen eye to eye for a couple of years, shame really as I like to support the local businesses where I can.

 

[John Benton]

I have a really good relationship with the indie that I use, although it's not the one I get most discount from. The directors are top blokes and the staff are very knowlegable. I get quite a lot of work through them as they only recommend 2 of us in the shop for fixing. By the same token I send my customers there to choose their tiles and most buy from them. On the other hand I also use a large Spanish quality outlet and they give me very good discounts but they seem to have a high turnover of staff and its difficult to build a relationship with them. So both work for me but in different ways.

 

[Andy Allen]

within a 10 mile radious i have........tileflare, tile giant, collinsons, topps, tile choice, candy, tile sence, trade tiler...

the 2 independants are tile sence and trade tiler, they have there own fixers, so pass no work on, and there trade discount are pointless, as are topps, tile choice and candy, tile giant has just opened so haven't been in yet, so i mainly use tileflare and collinsons, i get good trade prices, they pass on work, staff know what there on about and have been there for years..

 

[richie b]

i get the best deal out of tile giant and the guys in there are really good, know what there doing, topps is 100 yards from it went in once never again, our small local shop seems to depend on the guys mood weather he wants to help you out or not so tile giant for me

 

[andy8758]

I have always favoured Tileflair - not really one of the "big" retailers, but they do have 8 stores in the south of England. Like Andy Allen, I find the independants generally have their own fixers, and wont give you a decent trade discount.

I am not a fan of Topps - but the difference in their trade prices between stores is astonishing - I still find myself getting robbed if I buy from Frome, yet I get extremely competitive (and often price matched) deals at Hengrove in Bristol.

Tile Giant doesn't really hit the mark for me (most of my customers fail to find the tile they want there) except when I want to use Mapei products - and even then I often have to make special orders (e.g. slc's and epoxy's) that take up to a week to arrive.