South Coast Blog Southampton – by Carla Eslava
Visiting the South West was a fantastic opportunity to catch up with members as last time I visited the area was during the Altro Bus tour back in 2014!
The schedule started in Southampton at Nutland Carpets where Branch Manager James and Rob at the trade counter were very friendly. We had a good conversation about Recofloor and it was lovely to see they are happy with the scheme and with the service.
Not far from Nutland Carpets is Richards. A very useful stop where I met Branch Manager Marcus for the first time. He explained how they bulk the vinyl returns from customers before sending them to their sister branch in Leeds where their Recofloor bins are located. We had an interesting conversation about how they can increase awareness of Recofloor amongst their customers and I promised him further support.
My tour continued with me driving eastwards to stop at Poole where another Nutlands Carpets depot is based. Again, it was nice to see Kevan and have a chat with him. I explained the purpose of the Grand Tour and went over the literature with him. They also bulk their customers’ vinyl returns to send to their Southampton branch. Kevan gave me some useful tips on where to stop for a nice break on my way to Exeter. He would be pleased to know that I followed them!
After a long drive, I managed to find a spot in the car park of the Hotel and have a good rest ahead of my early start the next day.
Friday morning arrived and I was fresh and ready for my visits, two in Plymouth and one in Redruth. Holiday traffic delayed my journey by about 45 min, but I managed to get to Plymouth in reasonably good time! First stop was Baileys Carpets followed by Christal Supplies. Both visits were very interesting as we discussed how to increase the returns and how we can help them achieve this. More support will be given to both sites and trade events were offered, to be scheduled after the Grand Tour. It is always nice to learn more about the distributors and to offer them ways to help their business grow.
After these two visits, I had another long drive to Fitwell Flooring in Redruth, our most south-westerly member! I met with Dennis and I was pleased to hear he is happy with the service and how the scheme is working for him and Fitwell’s customers.
Another leg of the tour complete and even though it was a long journey, everyone made me feel so welcome that I could have stayed for longer!
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