Mixed batches.... opinion please

[trevor1980]

I've sold thousands of tiles when I used to work for a tile shop and sometimes loading up mixed batches was something we had to do and just hoped we didn't get the complaint 2 weeks later... some tilers don't help by sending their customers out to try and buy tiles off the shelf the day before they need them... If I turn up to tile a room now I check all boxes for the shade numbers...if there's more than 1 shade Id work out if i can use them on different walls or on window seals etc... id only complain to the shop as last resort but i do sympathise with the retailer as i know how hard it is.

 

[Tile seller]

Batches are the curse of the tiling world!
If your selling anything other than a single batch then the customer must be notified and told, before they purchase. I would loose a lot of custom if I did anything else. That said, I sell top end, top price tiles and my customers expect the best.
If a couple of boxes have to be skipped due to there being no more of that batch left then so be it. However, this will depend on different companies profit margins no doubt.

Although I appreciate that once purchased, the supplier is not responsible for what's done with there sold product by law, in real life this doesn't work in the tiling industry. Although the tiling store is under no legal obligation to re-in burse the customer if said tiles are already fitted, you just get a bad name and reputation.

 

[Tile seller]

My worst problem is customers refusing to take a decent percentage extra for cuts and then coming back a month later requiring some more,(when there is none). They then complain much but what can I do. I always suggest that they take more and return unused boxes for refunds but they seem to think its sheer profiteering sometimes.
This is private customers mind, not pro tillers.

Pro tillers have asked me to sell 15% extra for cuts to ensure that they have more than enough to finish the job in one batch which seems sensible.

I understand that if I were to sell several batches that I would not be responsible for the labour/adhesive that would go into the fixing of the problem however, in the real world I'd loose custom, which is not good!

I personally always sell one batch unless arranged otherwise with the customer. It's just not worth the hassle and loss of business.

 

[trevor1980]

as a seller we used to be told add on 10%.... as an installer id say add on 20%... u lose so much

 

[Rizzle from the Portizzle]

Batches are the curse of the tiling world!
If your selling anything other than a single batch then the customer must be notified and told, before they purchase. I would loose a lot of custom if I did anything else. That said, I sell top end, top price tiles and my customers expect the best.
If a couple of boxes have to be skipped due to there being no more of that batch left then so be it. However, this will depend on different companies profit margins no doubt.

Although I appreciate that once purchased, the supplier is not responsible for what's done with there sold product by law, in real life this doesn't work in the tiling industry. Although the tiling store is under no legal obligation to re-in burse the customer if said tiles are already fitted, you just get a bad name and reputation.

wrong in so many ways what you sell is always has to be fit for purpose what you say here is just anther reason to blame the tiler and walk away .in a court of law.its selers duty to sell you what you paid for .so any time you challage this you will win .as what you sold was not fit for porpose as it did not match what you paid for .two diffrent batches shows in law failure on your part.a duty of care .every time you challenge this you will win in court .stand up and put them in there place .it will never get to court as they already no this .but think you are a simple tiler and will back down .they have a care of duty to make sure your order is all from one batch and dont let them tell you its your fault .you never deliverd the tiles or got paid for them .its there duty to check there wharehouse not your .so next time send them a bill for you time wasted with 7 days to pay then proceed to a small claims court they wont turn up the cost will be to great .you win every tiler that wins will stop this lets sell any old sht and let the tiler pay for it .stand up and be counted once you have done the paper work once the next time it like turning on a money making machine claim for every think you can think of .time is money make them pay and clean up there act

 

[Rizzle from the Portizzle]

My worst problem is customers refusing to take a decent percentage extra for cuts and then coming back a month later requiring some more,(when there is none). They then complain much but what can I do. I always suggest that they take more and return unused boxes for refunds but they seem to think its sheer profiteering sometimes.
This is private customers mind, not pro tillers.

Pro tillers have asked me to sell 15% extra for cuts to ensure that they have more than enough to finish the job in one batch which seems sensible.

I understand that if I were to sell several batches that I would not be responsible for the labour/adhesive that would go into the fixing of the problem however, in the real world I'd loose custom, which is not good!

I personally always sell one batch unless arranged otherwise with the customer. It's just not worth the hassle and loss of business.

ok here we go so what the most important question you ask when tiling walls in a bathroom ?

 

[Dan]

Calm down lads.

Help the Original Poster or make your own threads. Speaking to everybody there. (It's hard dealing with so many passionate people I must be honest).

 

[Andy Allen]

I agree with ray........don't care what's written on there terms and conditions about excepting liability once tiles are fixed ....the fact they sold a product that's not fit for purpose cancel there t/c.

If you looked into it in detail ...the shading of a tile can happen when all the batch numbers are the same.....In this instance the t/c would apply... if they sell you different batches then Imo they wouldn't have a leg to stand on wether there fixed or not..

 

[Tile seller]

I would say that a good tile distributor/shop should check the batches before the tiles leave there premises however, the tile fixer should also check that what has been purchased is correct before fixing them.
If the purchased tiles were incorrect(different batches etc.) ,then the purchaser is entitled to a refund of these tiles.
The tile shop is not however, responsible for what was done with these incorrectly sold tiles. They may however, wish to help rectify the problem to keep a good customer

All the above said, in my experience, once a problem gets down to quoting law and consumer rights ect, then I have lost that customer. So I tend not to get into these issues like this as it's often non productive. I prefer a negotiate and meet in the middle tactic

 

[Simon benn Leeds]

Send me wrong batches you won't have my business again!. Nor will I send clients to the showroom.

Don't think you deserve my money if you can't be bothered to check that what your sending is correct.

That goes for any company.

 

[Tile Shop]

I'm gonna start by apologising for starting this one. I can see its got alot of peoples backs up. But tell you what, its given me food for thought. And I'm really sorry for offending anyone with my attitude.... It sucked, was completely out of order and I was wrong. Apologies. It won't happen again.

I'm glad there are some people on here who see it from the sellers side. BUT, even working for one, I can't defend a supplier for sending mixed batches so don't even begin to start trying to defend me.

Put yourself in the customers shoes. Tiles aren't cheap, and once they are up, they're up for a while. I'd be pi**ed if I had to look at that every day knowing i'd paid £2k for effectively my walls being smeared in turd!.

The reason I asked is that we DON'T intentionally send out mixed batches. If its the only way we can fulfil the order we inform the customer and give them the option to accept delivery and inspect to see if they are happy to continue. If not, we collect and either refund or offer an alternative.

Then there's the issue of human error. So we have our system in place to stop it happening. But people make mistakes and it can happen. Warehouse, QC staff not paying attention, FLT drivers loading wrong pallets. Not condoning it by any stretch, but that order could potentially cause a whole world of pain for a fitter and end-user.

Agree or Not. My hands are tied over this. But, our policy is, mixed batches or not, that the customer receives delivery, checks it and notifies us within 48 hours (this is very loose as we realise this is not always an acceptable time frame) if there is something they are unhappy with. Then we have a chance to rectify it. But alot of you say "who pays the tiler if somethings wrong?". Our stance is, the customer shouldn't even be booking a tiler unless they have a product that they are happy for a tiler to fix. Rightly or wrongly, we say the customer. Go to a shed and pick them off the shelf, you can see what you're buying and can make a judgement there and then. Order over the phone or online, at some point they must make sure its what they want. And that is not when they are fixed, or a tiler is waiting to carry on.

The factories issue warnings on the box saying "no complaints once fixed". Most companies say tough, jobs done, can't do anything. We on the other hand, can sympathise, throw the policy out the window and say "sorry, they shouldn't have been fitted, but heres another x-amount of tiles to rectify the problem. In terms of who does the job or pays for the remedial work, we say is down to the customer. Because if they had checked on delivery for shading, damages etc, we'd have had the chance to sort it long before a tiler was even in the diary.

Our complaints follow when the customers ignore this and are then surprised when its not what they expected. Seeing you guys issues over this, I can definitely sympathise with the fixer. You should not be called unless the customer has got something they are happy for you to fit, regardless of who the supplier is.

You have all contributed and put forward some good ideas, some that I can take back to the "powers that be". I'd love to promise that we'll implement some of them and the world will be a better place for everyone but I don't know.

Thank you all and apologies once again.

 

[Spare Tool]

Must admit in the passed I haven't religiously checked on every job on every box for matching batch numbers, but after reading through this thread I've changed my religion..

 

[Ajax123]

Sending out mixed batches could actually cause you to fall foul of the provision of goods and service legislation which requires that goods supplied are of the nature ànd substance reasonably expected by the customer. I think it would be reasonabnle, given the nature of a tiled surface that if the tiles are coloured or shaded such that a small difference leads to an obvious change in the colour of the tile face then it would,I think, be considered unreasonable.

Hiding behind unreasonable t and cs is not a suitable defend in law generàlly speaking because taking the t and cs to their logical, albeit ridiculous extreme, you could supply the same tile in been and throw a batch of blue in as well. If the tiler does not notice, say he is colour blind or some such, then you are saying it is his fault as he should have checked them. That is not reasonàble in law. As the supplier it is you that is responsible as you have failed to fufil your obligation to provide goods of the nature reasonably expected by the customer.

 

[Dan]

Massive thanks for the response @Paul C.

Top bloke.

 

[Dave]

@Paul C. passionate breed us tilers you know.... ... But thank you for clearing up what you intended to get across regarding batches ... It's not easy to type what you mean and it can also be read in many ways and taken out of context when it wasn't meant to be offensive in anyway...