Topps...

[Rich]

Last week I was saying how much I dislike topps and that I never use them. Then at the end of last week I was left with no choice as I had missed my local supplier the night before (I was working away from home) and there was a topps at the end of the road. So I thought that It cant be that bad, Its prob not as bad as I make out as I havnt been in there for so long, besides I only needed 4 lengths of stainless steel trim, one bag of rapid, 2 tubes of silicone and 2 silicone guns...

The guy behind the desk forgot to put the bag of rapid on the bill so it was just 2 x white silicone 2 x cheap plastic silicone guns and 4 x trim... £110!!!!! This is with my trade discount or so he said. I took them as I had little choice and went off to work. I broke the 2 guns before I had got through the first tube of silicone.

The next day I took back the 4 trim as I was a bit unhappy at the price and would rather spend my money somewhere else, need one more bag of rapid... £32.48 for a bag of toppfix!!! I laughed soooo hard and told him where to put it. I said "I can get keraquick cheaper than that and thats Mapei!" so he told me that this stuff was made by palace and is far better than Mapei. I was still laughing as I walked out the door.

 

[Stef]

I had a similar experience with topps about two years ago, they wanted £52 for a 20kg of BAL flexi adhesive but as i was in the TRADE they would do it for £40???? I said i would never go back but i had to go back this year as they were the only place i could source dorset red quarrys to finish off a site. The manager in 1 store was good with us & stuck us on the full trade discount even though we dont use them much.

 

[peteablard]

A 20kg bag of Bal SPF cost me £22 on full discount. I try not to use them if possible and certainly don't recommend them to customers after the bad experiences I've had with some of their tiles!

 

[Gall.B]

Walked in off the street to the westend branch in Glasgow when I was caught short bout 3 weeks ago pretty sure I paid £15 or less with vat for topfix grey & the Dural decoupler was a decent price to.

They gave me somebody elses discount, because they couldnt be botherd registering me!

Cant get belive the prices you where quoted Rich, out of order. especially for palace!

 

[Rich]

This was my problem, Im on full discount! I assume that they have taken me off, thats why it was so much but its all very well them saying that they will put you on full discount but they dont give a good price on BAL so you get a good price on a tile adhesive that I dont want to use. Really not worth it as they all seem to know everything there is to know about tiling and you cant go in without getting a master class from the 11 year old behind the counter.

 

[Fred]

I use CTD most of the time. They seem to give good deals, especially on Webber gear. Every time I go to Topps they have put my account back to public prices, they say I don't come in enough. To be honest, I don't see how they keep going. Topps flexi white at 16 notes, and its only packed by Granfix!

 

[Stef]

They probably work on commission & just talk too everyone the same way. its a hit or a miss when you go in thats why i try & keep with ctd & send customers up to them, far better to deal with. saying that though that manager i dealt with at topps was spot on.

 

[One Day]

I use Topps pretty exclusively, mainly historically as they are 5 mins from home, keep BAL stock specifically for me and price match where needed.
I've always had good prices and service. Sure their knowledge isn't as good as independents some times, but that's a failing of the directors in not investing in training the staff.

Prices are recently "scaled" so that the more you spend, the better your discount.
I admit, it is laughable if you aren't established with them. And I cringe when a customer has paid £55 for BAL RSF or £70+ for FastFlex! :yikes:

Peronally though I've no complaints.

Oh, and Palace (read: Toppfix) is cack!

 

[Spud]

I use Topps pretty exclusively, mainly historically as they are 5 mins from home, keep BAL stock specifically for me and price match where needed.
I've always had good prices and service. Sure their knowledge isn't as good as independents some times, but that's a failing of the directors in not investing in training the staff.

Prices are recently "scaled" so that the more you spend, the better your discount.
I admit, it is laughable if you aren't established with them. And I cringe when a customer has paid £55 for BAL RSF or £70+ for FastFlex! :yikes:

Peronally though I've no complaints.

Oh, and Palace (read: Toppfix) is cack!

Is that a technical term "cack" can you explain what you dont like about it and what are you comparing it to ? I found that Palace make some really good products

 

[One Day]

Is that a technical term "cack" can you explain what you dont like about it and what are you comparing it to ? I found that Palace make some really good products

No. Not tonight I'm too tired.
In my opinion - it's cack. Make of that what you will.

 

[Spud]

No offence intended Impish, its seems a shame that you dont want to explain the reasons why you dont like it ,I know we all tend to favour a certain brand and all the manufacturers are weak in certain areas and stronger in others ,whats your favourite brand ?

 

[Stef]

I have only used palace once on a job to fix travertine on walls & floors, the client supplied it & we told him that we werent sure what it would be like, but it was ok, prob just like any other white adhesive we have used, cant complain really.

 

[One Day]

No offence intended Impish, its seems a shame that you dont want to explain the reasons why you dont like it ,I know we all tend to favour a certain brand and all the manufacturers are weak in certain areas and stronger in others ,whats your favourite brand ?

Sorry Gary mate. I'd had a massive blow-out with the wife and put my neck out too! I was in a BAD mood!

I don't like Palace gear as I find it inconsistent. The set times seem to vary too much for my liking.
I had a big problem two years ago with a job I did for Topps using Toppfix. Basically it took nearly a week to set and when it did, the bond on the porcelain was rubbish.
Palace couldn't have cared less. Topps even more so. In my eyes, it's cack. I appreciate that many may like it, but not me. Once bitten - twice shy.
On a positive note though, the two-part S2 they make for Topps is indistinguishable from FastFlex, and it comes in a handy mixing tub.

 

[Rich]

I dont mind there single part, I dont think that it is a patch on others on the market but that reflects in the price. Iv used it a hand full of times and havnt had any problems with it. Iv also used their grout once and found that it took an age to go off but I am used to using Ultracolor (rapid setting). The 2-part that they do for topps on the other hand I really cant stand, I couldnt compare it to BAL as I havnt used it but I didnt like it one bit. Horses for courses, dont they say? :smilewinkgrin: