Interesting Story WRT Topps in Plymouth

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cornish_crofter

I thought I'd share this here as it's away from the general forum.

A few weeks ago before I started my last job I went into Topps in Plyouth and bought the following:

2x BAL grip
2x BAL greenstar
2x BAL Microflex Grout bags

Now I got charged £23.99 for the BAL grip, which I thought was a bit expensive, after telling the manager that I was in the trade. After the purchase he organised my trade account application.

I received my trade card.

As I needed some more Grip I went and got some more, only this time I was charged £15.99 ???

When I phoned and compared prices I was told by one of the assistants that the first price was a mistake as I had been charged retail, whereas I should have been charged trade.

The same chap phone me back to tell me that if I came and saw them then they would make the appropriate refund, he had spoken to the manager who had served me the first time and cleared it with him.

So, in a subsequent conversation with the customer I told him that he was due a small refund, as I had offered to charge him the mats at cost as the labour cost had gone up, for various reasons.

Then came the bombshell. I went to see the manager when I went in there to get some other stuff and fuly expected to be refunded.

Apparently not. I was charged retail, then they put me on the system as trade on the same visit, then I was charged trade when I came in again. His end of the communication with the assistant was apparently in complete contrast to mine! The manager stated that he would NOT refund me the difference, and that was that.

Well I was not pleased. I asserted to him that I had undertaken to give the customer a rebate on the basis on a phone conversation with his assistant and that this was not the way fo Topps to do business.

He buckled and worked out the price difference on the Grip and the grout (he had already discounted the greenstar to trade on that day). This came to around £26, so he offered me 2 tubs of BAL Grip FOC in lieu.

He was obviously embarressed. But I wonder what he was trying to achieve with his initial refusal. He made an excuse that changing invoices was not desireable, but why couldn't he just make the offer to give me the goods to the value of the difference straight away without me having to argue?

I have never had this with any other outlet.
 
Yeah, there's a CTD in Plymouth as well. I think I'll have a muse up there. It's a bit off the beaten track but near Western Electrical that I sometimes use.

I found that behaviour quite bizarre
 
You will find CTD totally different..just mention you are a tilers forums member and they will sort you a cash trade account there and then...:thumbsup:
 
To be honest it sounds a little like this guy i just trying to find a way round corporate policy to give you the discount but you'll probably find that Topps HQ say he cannot give restrospective discount on products.

Either that or 2 bottles of wine and i've read this wrong........:grin:
 
You could be right, but why did the manager argue the toss until I stood up to him, rather than immediately say "I can't adjust the original invoice but you gan have goods to the value of the difference."?

At the time I thought it was either a massive breakdown in communication between the manager and myself, via his assistant, or someone was trying to wriggle out of a promise. I'm still not convinced.

Anyway, as per Dave's and Dan's suggestion, I'm off to see how CTD can help me. If they can then my spen at Topps is likely to tail off by 100% or more:lol:
 
defo topps for you i get bal grip for £15.99and green star for £5.99 i went into the blackburn topps store other week and bought a tub of green star and caus they didnt know me in there they tried charging me retail which was £17 i think and on trade it £5.99 unbelievable
 

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