Bad Tile week for me

[andy8758]

Started 17 sq m floor tile job Weds - customer supplied tiles. Old flooring ripped, floor levels checked, centre line marked, tiles unpacked to dry lay....
Every tile had defects on the top surface.

Speaking of Tops.....

Customer phoned supplier, they agreed next day swap. I arrived at 8 ready to receive new tiles between 8 and 10 (as promised by Topp supplier).... 2.30 pm and many calls later, lorry finally arrives to take away defective tiles (after going to wrong address 50 houses away!) - but no new ones Several more phone calls before I got on TOPP of situation for cusatomer.... new tiles arrived at 3 in another van(??)

Checked new batch and again.... every tile was marked on top surface with a defect. Thats 1 and 1/2 days wasted. Now customer arranging full refund from sucha Topp tile supplier, who incidently told her she had to wait 14 days for refund!

Now lets name and shame the manufacturer here - Johnson Tiles - anyone else had such faeces from this company? And anyone find that certain national tile suppliers are about as unhelpful as they can possibly be.

[nybor62]

never had any surface defects with there tiles .shade problems some times slight size problems

[merlecollins]

Hi Andy,

Sorry to hear of your nightmare with the tile supplier

I've had a similar one today with another topp supplier - they sent all the tiles via courier to me, but forgot the borderswhen I rang to ask them to send them by TNT as I had already paid for one courier and started this job today, it was like a hot potato - nobody would take the bull by the horns and just send them - 'we need to speak with *** because he is dealing with it and he's at another branch today' and 'all our systems are down and not sure what border you ordered!!' and 'at the earliest we will send them out tomorrow after we've spoken to ***'

Topp nightmare

With regards Johnsons - I know they started importing a lot of their porcelain from Greece....

[timeless john]

With respect Andy its not just Johnsons and Topps that have problems with quality.
We sent a customer to my local tile supplier and they chose a granite tile Absolute black.
I was about to order them when the customer saw the same tile but in a 40x40cm size which they liked better at another supplier. They ordered these tile direct with this supplier and they were considerably cheaper.
When they arrived they were 2 different shades, took only a day to echange but were of quality reflecting the 50% price differential.
We were left with a half day sunbathing (its always lovely up here) until the exchange, but it again comes back to the complacency that we fall into and we should check all materials we don't supply before we book the job in.
Back to your thread theme - I can never remember a decent quality Johnson tile!

[andy8758]

Thanks for showing me that supply problems are suffered by others. I like to give my customers encouragement to choose their own tiles, whether they buy from a shed or a specialist retailer.

As to the manufacturer and retailer involved in my case - I accept that defects can occur and get missed from time to time. I just wish that the supplier/retailer were a little more generous in repaying for time lost as a result of their mistake.

[andy allen]

i got £100 compo from tileflare once for giving me mixed batches

the boxs were all bust and you couldnt make head nor tail

of any batch numbers but was told they had been cheeked............

......yea right!

[silver]

Had a few and seen many more "banana tiles" from Johnsons..."are you sure you want brickbond " ?

[GirlRacerRed]

Now lets name and shame the manufacturer here - Johnson Tiles - anyone else had such faeces from this company? And anyone find that certain national tile suppliers are about as unhelpful as they can possibly be.

Andy, I'd ring Johnson Tiles directly and find out if the chipped area was part of the manufacture to create authenticity or whether Topps are spinning a yarn.

[Sir Ramic]

Since when has it been authentic to have a chip in every marble tile ??? And if it was there to add some sort of aging effect wouldnt it be in random places ???

I have images of a spotty youth on the assembly line with a little hammer

[Dave Ramsden]

Johnsons generally have loads of shading issues and occasionally the odd corner defect. I have come across a tile with no colour or glaze on half way through a pack once...

Hope it works out for you!

[andy8758]

Thx to everyone above for their comments - I was starting to believe that I was going stark raving mad.

I suggested to the customer that they would have a good case to reclaim their costs - I am loathe to charge them anything for my wasted time - I will just be happy for them to get some more tiles and let me do the job I quoted them for.

Now I need a beer.....