Tile Giant

[curlycan]

I have a good recommendation for new tilers, if you havent already get your buisness cards to a Tile Giant store.I went to one on Saturday to buy tiles for my bathroom and mentioned i was training to be a tiler,they opened a trade account there and then and as soon as i get my cards sorted i can take them in and they will start handing them out. not like topps who insist you need 2 years experience before the recommend you.Thanks Tile Giant.

[SOTON STEVE]

Hi Curlycan

I've just started out and I havent had any problems getting my cards into any tile shop. With the credit crunch in full swing, it seems that all tile outlets are putting more focus on traders and not just retail customers. The more traders they sign up, the more money in their tills. makes sense. And what with getting jobs from them, they will get you work if you purchase regularly from them. They will not promote your card if you dont buy from them. Put yourself in their shoes. It works both ways, swings and roundabouts. I used to be a manager for Topps, bet you can tell.

[Sir Ramic]

Its easy to get retailers to take your cards, after all they want your business. the true fact is though that they will have other cards to hand out too and some staff will have mates cards that they will hand out 1st. I know this for a fact as a couple of years ago i hit all the local outlets with cards and then a few days later i sent my girlfriend in to see what cards they gave her.
Some of the cards were from miles away and she even asked if there was a local tiler.
Even my main supplier who gets 95% of my orders doesnt hand my cards out all that often. The staff there give to their drinking/football/snooker buddies 1st.
Maybe the lesson is to befriend the staff and when you do get some work from them, then reward them with a few beers.

[SOTON STEVE]

This is very very true.

A wise man once said " Buy a mans adhesive and he will remember you for a day, Buy a man some beer and you will be the stuff of legend".

[Martyn Leeds]

I don't want to sound miserable, and i agree with Sir Ramic, but the guys on the counter always give a good impression, they give all the chat that they'll pass your cards on, but in reality they only stick to there mates. (or perhaps whoever tips them most). And don't forget that there's 100's of blokes like me and you all wanting the same referrals from the same shops.

[Fred]

I've stopped using the shop I get my gear from as they never gave out my cards. Sir Ramic wrote that so so clear............

[faithhealer]

Only had one refural in three years from 'my' tile shop even though I think I get on with them. One glance at the 30/40 odd cards under the counter tells it's own story!

[cornish_crofter]

Maybe I'm being old fashioned but these muppets in the stores need to wake up and smell the coffee!

FACT - Their employers, not their mates etc, are the ones who pay their wages. If they lost their jobs their little tips would dry up just a quickly. They can't have it both ways.

FACT - It makes good business sense to promote those customers who buy from the stores, not necessarily tilers who happen to be mates of the store staff. A good store manager should have a policy in hand to deal with this and be able to pass on the names of a few tilers in the area where the customer lives, not tilers who live 90 odd miles away. If my staff were putting their own interests above that of my business, they would face disciplinary action, with the possibility of losing their jobs.

FACT - If a tiler who does business with a tile shop is being passed over for the staffs' friends then this can be easily tested out with a bit of homework.

1) Do as Neale did and get someone else to go and ask for recommendations.

2) If you don't get recommended, get your friend to follow up some of these guys and find out what relationship they have with the shop. If it turns out that they are mates of so and so who work in the shop etc and don't do much business with them then shop the store muppet to his boss. It's as simple as that!

3) Send people in on a regular basis to ask for recommendations. You will get a sense of how your customer loyalty is being repaid. If it isn't, the manager gets 2 warnings then your business is pulled, along with a letter to head office explaining why.

Cat firmly amongst pigeons!

[gonk31]

just want to add an opposing opinion on this as someone who works in a retail shop, if i register a new trader i will add the card to the rest on the counter however i am more likely to recomend the ones that i know well and have heard good feedback from as the last thing i want to do is pass the card of somebody i don`t know, them do a bad job and the customer come back to me kicking off when all his tiles have fallen off and they can no longer get hold of the tiler who messed up the job, know I`m sure your going to say well thats not the fault of me as a retailer but unfortunatley it the chances of the customer seeing it like that are few and far between, they never seem to rember me seeing that they need to check the quality of work and previous customer c=recommendatons and just think that because i gave them the card then he should be the best tiler in the world, sorrry if this sounds a bit harsh but i`m sure we all know a bad word travels 10 times faster and 20 timers further than good.

[faithhealer]

Thanks for your point of view gonk, two sides to every story... Now, about my card....

[Adam Coates]

Hi There ,
what shop did you work at ?

[Adam Coates]

Hi there,
I currently work for tile giant and try hard as I can to make it fair for all the local tradesman by rotating the cards in the store ,I do agree though most customers ask for cards from us personally and they don't just take them off the counter .If anyone has any suggestions how we could make this a fairer system, please let me know and I will see what I can do.

thanks
adam@stoke

[tfs]

Retailers wont just hand out anyone's card, and they are not really going to tell tilers this as many would take offence.

Establish a good relationship with your main suppler

Try to purchase from them as much as possible before going elsewhere

Don't go over the top when trying to get a better price on adhesives etc

Refer as many of your customers to your preferred retailer as possible

Do the above and you are showing your supplier that you have a serious business commitment to them and this will show them you have earned the right to have your cards handed out, this will also put them in a position where they should give you favourable discounts over other tradesmen. WORK HARD TO KEEP YOUR CUSTOMERS HAPPY! , make any mistakes and the customer could tell the tile shop that you screwed up there bathroom ad the retailer will never hand your card out again.

Sorry guys but you cant honestly expect these guys to hand out your cards for nothing. You have hundreds of competitors out there whop have also handed there cards into retail shops so step up and make yourself noticed and show that you are the one who deserves the retailers attention, establish a good relationship and work with the retailer as much as possible and project a positive image at all times.

If after you have demonstrated that you have been purchasing regularly from your supplier and have had no bad feedback then you have a genuine case.

[TF Ed]

Hi

I just wanted to say how impressed i've been with tile giant in birkenhead in particular and ormskirk...

really really helpful staff...great trade prices for mapei which is my favorite adhesive at that price and they are keen to look after you which is always appreciated too!!
they ask for your business cards too which is also a nice touch,,,

keep up the good work

[curlycan]

This may not be to everyones taste but what if you had a board like Supermarkets have for buisness cards on a wall and that way the public chose which card they feel like rather than you having the responsibility in handing out the cards. Also this will help tilers, because when they visit the shop they can see if their cards are being taken or not. If they are then they know their card attracts attention and if not they need to think why is my card not attracting attention. seems like a fair playing field for all, and tilers will be responsible with filling up with their cards.

[Aaron]

Hi I currently run TG Hamilton, we make a point of making sure all regular tilers are getting a fair slice of the pie. We never hand out just one card, usually 3 or 4 so that the customer can shop around for the best deal.

As a general rule, if you never send any business in to the store you probably wont get any in return, we get so many guys in asking to leave cards, the easiest ones to remember are the ones we get customers bringing in with them. Remember, when your customer returns that leftover box of tiles you would be amazed how many of them are happy to spill the beans on what kind of job the tiler did, If its all good news then we like to push your card even more!!

Hope this helps give an insight into what its like at our side of the desk

[tfs]

Companies like tile giant have a reputation to uphold so, I imagine they would like to know that they are giving out cards of tradesmen who have made a good impression and have shown that they are experienced and competent.

a few ways to do this include;

Shop regulary at the store - They will see whether or not you use the best products for the job and how often you actualy tile.

Build some rappor with your supplier/ store - get to know the guys and project a possitive image and talk about jobs you have been working on.

Work with them - send customers into the store, you can then expect the same in return.

DONT MAKE THEM REGREAT HANDING OUT YOUR CARD - If you do a bad job or under deliver in anyway the customer is very likely to report this to the person that gave them your card

[stevee]

ive given em my cards twice now,last time at xmas with 2 bottles of wine ,never heard nothing...............

[tfs]

ive given em my cards twice now,last time at xmas with 2 bottles of wine ,never heard nothing...............

sorry to hear that mate.

pop in and ask if they have been busy, ask if they have been handing out your cards. If you are keen enough show them pics of previous work.

Many guys wouldnt go to the bother of this but if you want the work ask questions.

[stevee]

i will pop in again ,with my photos ,thing is ,u cant have your cake.........

its a 30 mile round trip for me

im charged £12.50 for 5kg of ultraclour,£9.50 for jasmin mastic in my local shop

get a fantastic price from TG, but its the drive,nice lads over there too

just wish it was closer

[tfs]

are those prices with a trade account mate? They seem pretty steep especialy the sealant mate. The price on that sealant is far too expensive even to public in my opinion.

[goz]

Just out of interest, how much are people paying for their flexible rapid white adhesive in TG? I really want to start using my local store just seems the pricing of mats is a little steep!!!

[merlecollins]

Just out of interest, how much are people paying for their flexible rapid white adhesive in TG? I really want to start using my local store just seems the pricing of mats is a little steep!!

Hi Goz and to the forum

You'll not get anyone posting prices on the forum unless in the Tilers Arms section

[tfs]

i would say there trade prices are on par with all other retailers with the exception of promotions etc.

[Curt 2444]

I have recently opened my own tile shop.
The reason why is i have come from a retail tile shop (just gone bust,not while i was on watch lol) . This is my point and wot ive learned and seen,Trades give has much business to a tile shop if not more than the tile shop gives to them .you get jobs of the tile shop and we also get the sale of the addys. We get the tradys reccommending the shop to there customers for tiles sales and also addy sales win win ,
my motto in my tile shop is
sell the addys and tools at very low prices I WANT TO SELL TILES.More trades happy more tile sales in the shop .TRADES ARE VITAL TO THE SURVIVAL OF ANY SHOP, and alot of tile shops have forgotton this ,sorry to gone on but we have to remember it is a 2 way street not 1way street