10 QUESTIONS WITH...
Each month we ask a flooring industry professional 10 Questions. This month, we chatted to Leigh Price, Managing Director, Real Stone and Tile.
Q1 Q2
What was your first job? At 15 years old I was employed
as a sales administrator in the brick department at Ashton Vernon Builders Merchants in Macclesfield, Cheshire.
How did you get into the flooring industry?
Staying in the brick industry, I developed a lot of knowledge and was regularly introduced to different building materials that were coming out. When I eventually decided to start up my own business after gaining many useful contacts in the industry, I was introduced to stone after trialling different products. Just by networking and sampling new products I came across stone and then, as you say, the rest is history.
Q3
What do you think are the positives and
negatives of the flooring trade? One of the main positives in this industry is the amount of choice that is available on the market. There is something for everyone; every budget, every project, and every scenario. My customers are amazed at the amount of choice that is available in today’s market, making every project exciting.
On the flip side, perhaps one of the negatives is getting the customer to understand that there is a lot involved financially to their project. For example, if a customer invests heavily in a fantastic style of tile or flooring, you then have to invest in the right amount of money for it to be fitted properly. Fitting is so important and many customers often forget about this. Preparation and fitting is as important as finding that perfect style of tile for your project.
Q4
If you could hire any one person to be part
of your team, who would it be
and why? Definitely Peter Kay! He would bring a smile to everyone’s face in the workplace and instil a jovial atmosphere to the place all day long.
58 | 10 QUESTIONS Q5
What’s the best advice you could give
to someone new coming into
the industry? By far the best advice I can give to anyone is to educate yourself. Learn as much as you can about the products, the environments they are fitted in and the industry in general. Information is easily accessible in this day and age, and so there is no excuse not to be ahead of the game.
Q6
If you could invent any product what would it
be and why? My dream would be to invent a tile that can be fitted by hand to either a floor or wall without any product, such as adhesive or grout, but still remain completely sealed and waterproof.
Q7
If you could have a dinner party with any
three people, dead or alive,
who would they be and why? My three would be; Will Ferrell, as he would be the life and soul of the party,
bringing a fun element to the evening and making everyone laugh. Sting, as I think he is really cool and could sing us all a song and I’m sure he’s got a lot of life stories to tell. Finally I would have Sir Alex Ferguson, there is only one word to describe that man – legend!
Q8
What do you think the future holds for
the flooring industry? The large format tile is becoming a very popular choice within the industry, with the variety of options it brings to any job. We regularly meet customers looking to make small rooms within the home appear bigger, when we suggest large format tiles as an option they often think that it would make the room seem smaller, however, it can have opposite effect. I believe that this trend will become more and more fashionable over the next few years.
Q9
What would you like to see in a future issue of
Tomorrow’s Contract Floors? I would like to understand more about natural stone tiles in commercial use, focusing on the maintenance and fitting of these tiles. It would be great if you could cover this.
Q10
Dan Foskett, Managing Director,
Connection Flooring, asked:
What is the most challenging part of working within the
flooring industry and why? The most challenging part of working within the flooring industry is getting the customer to understand that specialist products take time to be ordered and delivered to the job. Some customers expect their specialist products to be delivered the next day and don’t factor this into their project plans!
Check out next month’s issue to see what Leigh asked our next industry professional…
www.realstoneandtile.co.uk www.tomorrowscontractfloors.com
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