opinions..shafted or not?

[Spare Tool]

...bit of a who dunnit but feel I've been shafted royal style on this one.
Working for a joiner (so called) who's customer had asked him if he could get me in to tile a newly fitted kitchen and stripped out bathroom.
Me to supply tiles, adhesive etc.
Didn't want anything fancy, infact didn't have a clue what they wanted so I just said how about bumpy whites throughout, ok yes they'll be fine im informed through the joiner,thinking about it after I decided bumpy whites might not look great as a kitchen splashy so said to joiner think kitchen might look better in CREAM(important) brickbond metros, I've even got a few mosaic in brown and CREAM in my shed I might be able to make a border out of if there's enough... yeah sounds good said the joiner that had apparently rang his customer and she liked the idea, note..I've never met or spoken to the customer, big mistake, anyway so knocked off Splashback weds and yesterday.
Had another little job to do this morning so I'm not on site but gets a phone call from joiner saying customer had just been to site and metros are wrong colour,should have been white :|
Wohho hang on, I said cream all along, anyhow to save face and keep the customer happy went to tile giant n bought 4sqm of white metros n overtiled half of it this aft with setaflex..back to finish. It in the morning
Joiners insisting I said white, but I know for a fact I said cream, I wouldn't just go out and pick cream off my own bat
Well it'll be the last time I EVER deal with a middleman so lesson learnt on this one, oh and no comments on tile over tile either, might just push me over the edge...least I didn't have to set out again

 

[Dave]

Bloody joiners eh

 

[White Room]

I don't supply tiles and want to hear from the horses mouth so to speak....

 

[Spare Tool]

I don't supply tiles and want to hear from the horses mouth so to speak....

Lesson learnt today

 

[Stef]

You live & learn Andy, at least it wasn't a bigger area..

 

[Ian]

I don't supply tiles anymore either, not because of this scenario, just because there's no profit in it like there used to be, customers seem to be able to walk into tile shops off the street and get 'trade' prices, gone are the day where we could make a few quid before we even got out of bed on a Monday morning.

 

[White Room]

I would be pi$$ed off with the joiner....

 

[dave l and l]

i supply customers, i will make money on the tiles if they have only went online or looked in a brochure or let me bring the samples, if they go to shop i will split the difference on my discount, you can sometimes do well out of it.
at least it was just the splash back, think i would be having another word with joiner right enough

 

[Spare Tool]

It actually blew my mind this morning, totaly blindsided by a shitty Splashback, the joiner...pah!! Is the same one that fitted the extractor like that

So I should have sodding well known better, kicking myself

 

[Andy Allen]

I don't supply tiles anymore either, not because of this scenario, just because there's no profit in it like there used to be, customers seem to be able to walk into tile shops off the street and get 'trade' prices, gone are the day where we could make a few quid before we even got out of bed on a Monday morning.

You must be dealing with the wrong tile shops.....I can make a good profit on tiles I supply.....got 20m2 floor in a couple of weeks and will make £180 for just picking them up and I got the money off the customer as a deposit....can't loose really.

 

[Spare Tool]

I don't supply tiles anymore either, not because of this scenario, just because there's no profit in it like there used to be, customers seem to be able to walk into tile shops off the street and get 'trade' prices, gone are the day where we could make a few quid before we even got out of bed on a Monday morning.

...and another good reason not to like splashies either

 

[Spare Tool]

You must be dealing with the wrong tile shops.....I can make a good profit on tiles I supply.....got 20m2 floor in a couple of weeks and will make £180 for just picking them up and I got the money off the customer as a deposit....can't loose really.

Thought I was onto a decent earner on this one, hahaha had £200 profit in materials for kitchen n bathroom but now I'm a day n a half down on labour n £50 in materials...some you win :|

 

[Ian]

...and another good reason not to like splashies either

Lol, yes. Splashies suck, even more so in this instance!

 

[Dan]

You have to be careful you don't hit the VAT threshold buying and selling tiles with vat on and then going over whatever it is turnover (70k?) and 35 of it ends up being tiles and adhesives and now your prices to customers for labour is 20% more expensive than the next man because your price has vat on.

That aside, what a ****.

Email in future or always say can you confirm that via email or text for me so I can stick it in the customers file or something.

 

[Ian]

Think VAT is 81 grand now, I don't supply much at all anymore, no tiles and very little addy/grout, I seem to be working for a small group of bathroom fitters/interior companies that supply the lot, I just turn up with my labour, yes I lose a few quid on materials mark up but, I don't have to go out and quote in the evenings and get a regular income, not going to be a millionaire but, I get to see my kids grow up and am home at half 4 everyday, might change in the future but, right now, it suits me perfectlyly.