Anyone Dealing With Topps Tiles??

[swindonbathroom]

Hi

Just had a bizarre experience at Topps Tiles Swindon. Just to state that I am not a Topps Tiles Tiler ( now that's a mouthful ).

I often send clients into Topps Tiles and this was the case with Mavis - incidentially in her 70's. I usually give clients the required amount of tiles they need and point them in Topps direction. Our client then deals direct with Topps Tiles and I have no financial gain from this.

Anyway Mavis buys her tiles for her bathroom , floor & walls , but mistakenly buys adhesives /grout etc. Her daughter sees the mistake and it seems fairly simple for Mavis just to get a refund. At this point the stock hasn't left Topps Tiles.

Apparently there is some issues in store that I don't just use their materials and give the money to Mavis. Easy you might think. I objected to paying the £600 charged poor Mavis for these goods. Yes £600 !! Not taking them up on their kind offer I actually went and bought all the miscellaneous adhesives etc for under £300 !!

Now I'm a person non grata as i've "done" Topps Tiles out of a £600 sale !! I thought I'd introduced a client and they'd made a tile sale. Not in Topps Tiles eyes. I'm an out and out villian lol !

I know the last company outlook was poor but acting like this is making Bankers look downright reasonable !

Anyone else had trouble with Topps Tiles ??

 

[mikethetile]

youve told 14000 people :lol:

 

[dptiling]

always seem to get mixed batches of tiles. and they always trying and sell materials that are not needed...thats being on comission i surpose..

 

[p4ulo]

I've got a trade account with Topps down here, and I have always found them to be helpful and pretty cheap.
I don't buy tiles as they are always supplied for me by clients, (though since Pilkingtons went bust I send them all there and they use my trade acct to buy them!)
Trade trim and their own brand bagged addy is dirt cheap, but I recently used their Palace flexi and it was rather pricey....
There is a Tile Giant very nearby, I think I have to bin my "allegiance" and go check it out.......

 

[doug boardley]

I'm wondering if the sales assistant maybe tried charging me for a full pack of trims then, rather than just the one I wanted:yikes:

 

[Ceramico tiling]

just to add my two cents...Perhaps it is just the people in the different stores like everything theres prob good and bad ones.well I hope anyway as I will be getting a trade acc with them on saturday.:smart:

 

[mikethetile]

just to add my two cents...Perhaps it is just the people in the different stores like everything theres prob good and bad ones.well I hope anyway as I will be getting a trade acc with them on saturday.:smart:

the manager you get in your local store can make a big difference to how you get on with dealing with them

tile giant recognise this and our local tg manager is ex topps but has no silly rules to giving trade

 

[lady tiler]

:welcome:Swindon.
Never had a problem with topps, I have got a trade card and get a decent discount , they're local and it's easy to park

me too, i have got a trade card , discount etc etc.

 

[kilty55]

used topps twice i think,,discount on tiles is zero,actually had 1 customer who chose tiles from them so i called them to see if she cd pay over the phone and no was the answer? tiles were cancelled and she bought elsewhere not my kind of shop to be honest,,the lass in edin branch did give me a free bag o adhesive though a month ago to try out which was nice of her

 

[TT Tiling]

would never use them ,they make it up as they go , :welcome:, the guys girls on here will point you in the right direction

 

[Ceramico tiling]

the manager you get in your local store can make a big difference to how you get on with dealing with them

tile giant recognise this and our local tg manager is ex topps but has no silly rules to giving trade

Funny you should say that,,The manager of the tops in
Streatham London was just saying that to me today when I commented on how friendly the store was.Got a trade acc there no probs.Just required a few reciepts and a bussiness card.

 

[andy8758]

Been catching up after a week away - very interesting cross section of Topps Tiles Trade experience.

With a selection of tile retailers available to me within 15 miles (including Topps, Tileflair and Tile Giant) I gotta say Topps experiences are very bad. Overpriced adhesives/grouts, very poor discounts offered, little interest in cultivating trade custom, and supplying poor quality (damaged) tiles.

In comparison, both Tile Giant and Tileflair have been helpful, given great discounts - supplied adhesives and grouts at very competative prices, and genuinely seem to encourage and support trade custom.

Somebody told me that Topps Tiles shops vary according to managers. Could be true - in which case steer clear of my nearest Topps (Somerset) - thats where the most of the bad experiences happened!

 

[White Room]

Was in Topps today and was told that Bal is the Rolls Royce of adhesive, I know a few guys who would disagree

 

[mikethetile]

rolls royce prices too

a ford mondeo will get you there in comfort and in the same time, so what are we paying for

posh bags??

 

[DJS]

What wrong with MAPEI bags Mike - not colourful enough for ya? :lol:

I'll use TOPPS, but only if I'm in urgent need of something and I know my local tile shop won't be able to get it in for a few days. Rolls Royce must be a topps saying they promote nationally - the guy in Manchester said it to me when I picked up my card.

I get a reasonable discount on the add-on's, but I don't like the quality of the tiles most of all.

I try to steer customers towards my local independant shop, but I also have to accept (from experience) that some people feel re-assured by a big brand name like TOPPS!! I feel dirty saying that :lol: I take time to explain the differences in manufacture and quality, but the £££'s are all the customer care's about at the end of the day. I am more than happy to leave it as their decision, and just advise them accordingly.

I wish Tile Giant was nearer to me, is the only one in Manchester/Stockport area way out in Ashton, East Manchester?

 

[swindonbathroom]

Topps Tiles Swindon obviously didn't like my review of my experiences with them. It appears that anyone not using "Bal" is using inferior products and only doing so to make a quick buck at the expense of the customer. Anyone who questions the cost is also trying to bully their staff.
Seems like I've hit a nerve!!

 

[poynton phil]

I use topps the one in cheadle very rarely only 3 or 4 times a year, but tbh when i go in they are always chatty, and polite. Just wish they would give me a job or two.

 

[mikethetile]

Topps Tiles Swindon obviously didn't like my review of my experiences with them. It appears that anyone not using "Bal" is using inferior products and only doing so to make a quick buck at the expense of the customer. Anyone who questions the cost is also trying to bully their staff.
Seems like I've hit a nerve!!

whoops:lol:

I wonder if they liked the rest of thread😛rrr:

 

[poynton phil]

I have been told by a mate that if a store is a big earner then you dont get this sort of thing happening, but the stores that struggle to meet sales targets to try to push sales a lot more. although i dont know what sort of sales figures swindon has. I do know the store i use in cheadle is a big earner for topps.

 

[DJS]

Hi Phil, I buy the odd thing from cheadle too (assume you mean cheadle hulme/stanley green?

Nowadays, I usually drive straight past to pick up tiles from the CTS warehouse just round the corner. Will look out for you and say hi!!

 

[poynton phil]

Yes thats the one, i use CTS for quite a lot of stuff, but tend to use Tile giant in Macc more, as they pass a lot of work to me.

 

[albyshellshear]

I dont have much choice where I am its Topps B&Q or Homebase I get the best discount at Topps but then I am not a real Tiler :lol:

 

[White Room]

I travel about 8 miles to Tile Depot for there Reggie somethink which is granfix...........

Sometimes get a leaflet from them, buy one get one free......

Do like a bargain

 

[user123]

I must admit I am not impressed with Topps Tiles.. very promising when they first opened with enthusiastic staff, now there seems to be new staff everytime I have to go in, but the sky high prices, even with the trade account, well, uninspiring. Got given a price of £40 something for 4, or was it 5 l of latex primer, got the equivalent in the neigbouring MKM for £18, and little things like tiling accessory tools, like the Silicon finger, or sponges etc, are much cheaper in dare I say it B&Q...

Put in a laminated poster about my mosaic work at their request, with cards, next time I come in it's not there, I say, where is it? Oh we spilled coffee over it andhad to throw it out... that can happen, ok, but a quick pohonecall wouldn't have gone amiss to ask me for another one. Then I was in a rush for epoxy, went in, got the Bal stuff, got home, ready to work, opened the lid and it had gone off, stone hard, saw the sell by date, it was last years!! Took it back in disgust the next day, noone there seemed to have any idea what it is supposed to look like and I got my money back, but no replacement, as all the others were out of date, too!! Good grief...at the same time I grabbed some corner tanking tape I had not needed in the end, their price still on and unopened, with the trade account it should be easy to check when I bought it, expecting some good will after the epoxy fiasco and they tell me they can't take it back with out the receipt... Jeez... not impressed, not impressed at all.

 

[White Room]

Changing staff, never seen the likes of it in my local Topps..........

As you say MG there prices are up and down like a YO YO

 

[united]

I must admit I am not impressed with Topps Tiles.. very promising when they first opened with enthusiastic staff, now there seems to be new staff everytime I have to go in, but the sky high prices, even with the trade account, well, uninspiring. Got given a price of £40 something for 4, or was it 5 l of latex primer, got the equivalent in the neigbouring MKM for £18, and little things like tiling accessory tools, like the Silicon finger, or sponges etc, are much cheaper in dare I say it B&Q...

Put in a laminated poster about my mosaic work at their request, with cards, next time I come in it's not there, I say, where is it? Oh we spilled coffee over it andhad to throw it out... that can happen, ok, but a quick pohonecall wouldn't have gone amiss to ask me for another one. Then I was in a rush for epoxy, went in, got the Bal stuff, got home, ready to work, opened the lid and it had gone off, stone hard, saw the sell by date, it was last years!! Took it back in disgust the next day, noone there seemed to have any idea what it is supposed to look like and I got my money back, but no replacement, as all the others were out of date, too!! Good grief...at the same time I grabbed some corner tanking tape I had not needed in the end, their price still on and unopened, with the trade account it should be easy to check when I bought it, expecting some good will after the epoxy fiasco and they tell me they can't take it back with out the receipt... Jeez... not impressed, not impressed at all.

If the poster was laminated then surly the coffee they spilt would not have damaged it and how can you spill coffee on a poster on a wall, they must have thrown coffee at it. I hate it when people don't tell the truth and just make up excuses :mad2:

If I had a shop I would put your poster up and leave it up

 

[Billy1973]

Ok i have read most the post on here about Topps and can understand alot where tilers are coming from, I work for topps, and will be happy to answer most questions.

1 thing i dont understand is that trade feel that there prices are high, are you looking at retail or registered trade prices?

 

[mikethetile]

your prices are a lot higher than we pay for mapei, this is because bal is dearer to start with so even comparing trade on bal to trade on mapei your still very dear, you do have the backroom but thats palace addy , theres nothing wrong with palace but again we could find it cheaper

the main issue is topps treatment of trade

rather than give you a tirade I suggest you pop into a tilegiant and watch their customer service particulary how they treat their trade customers

 

[Billy1973]

topps offer a price match, if you are a registered trader and can show that you can get something else cheaper we will beat that price by 5%.
If the manager there will not do this then as a TT employee he/she is not doing the company justice. I for one run a store in the south and have a 70/30 split trade/retail.

yes we are under pressure to maintain a higher gross profit but as i see it "mr & mrs smith will spend £1000 once in 10 years" but " mr trade will spend that each and every week" So both will get my up most attention yet I will build up a re-pore with mr trade.

Our toppstrade products along with some extras have gone over a big price reduction as late along with some new toppstrade lines that have come in these are going down very well with my trade

 

[Gazzer]

Billy, the point is that in the past i have tried Topps to get the odd bag of adhesive or trim while out and about around the country so as to finish a job. i am met with high prices, I am clearly trade and can prove so but I dont want to open an account as I get my gear from elsewhere and more local. So being charged almost £15 for a length of metal trim or being asked for almost £52 for SPF white ( and your own brand too) doesnt wear too well with me.

Why is it that Topps want £52 for your own brand and I walk across the road and into TileGiant and get Mapei for less than half that ?
Cant you see that you/Topps are the loser ?
TileGiant are the more friendly store and I dont say that because I use them all the time , its from experience ! They are not even my main supplier, but i get good prices throughout the country where ever I may be.

 

[mikethetile]

nice try Billy

but your price match is like for like and cant compare on price with mapei, bal is expensive wherever you buy it

your topptrade deals are too little too late for most of us as we have suffered at the hands of topps so many times over recent years, and these problems have been recent as most of us older hands have been happy to use topps in the past

both mapei and tilegiant have recognised the needs of the trade and met them, as a result they have been allowed to sponsor tilers forum

topps have a lot to do to catch up and retain their market share but I feel that if it wasnt for tg opening up stores on topps doorstep topps still wouldnt have considered changing and tbh its going to take a lot more than a few toppsdeals to swing it

 

[Billy1973]

Billy, the point is that in the past i have tried Topps to get the odd bag of adhesive or trim while out and about around the country so as to finish a job. i am met with high prices, I am clearly trade and can prove so but I dont want to open an account as I get my gear from elsewhere and more local. So being charged almost £15 for a length of metal trim or being asked for almost £52 for SPF white ( and your own brand too) doesnt wear too well with me.

Why is it that Topps want £52 for your own brand and I walk across the road and into TileGiant and get Mapei for less than half that ?
Cant you see that you/Topps are the loser ?
TileGiant are the more friendly store and I dont say that because I use them all the time , its from experience ! They are not even my main supplier, but i get good prices throughout the country where ever I may be.

Billy, the point is that in the past i have tried Topps to get the odd bag of adhesive or trim while out and about around the country so as to finish a job. i am met with high prices, I am clearly trade and can prove so but I dont want to open an account as I get my gear from elsewhere and more local. So being charged almost £15 for a length of metal trim or being asked for almost £52 for SPF white ( and your own brand too) doesnt wear too well with me.

Are you a registered trader? if so it does not matter where you go in the country you will get the same price from any topps as long as you have your card, once you have registered (which can be done online) silver trim is under £6 and SPF white is under £18 all inc vat.

and yes like any multi nation company you have good staff and bad staff.

Would you like us to sell all our products at trade to joe public?