Frequently Asked Questions (Company)
After many years in the industry, our staff (particularly the Sales Team) tend to encounter similar general enquiries & queries or frequently asked questions (FAQ’S) on a daily basis.
For the purpose of answering questions about the company, its procedures (such as ordering & deliveries etc.) or any financial related queries, this blog will focus only on this.
We have seperate product category related blogs focussing on technical information here.
Production line builders merchants – or the ‘sheds’ as they’re known – tend to prioritise sales rather than customer enquiries and technical information. Using our knowledge and experience, we strive to provide a useful and slick customer service, with a heavy focus on ‘going the extra mile’ regarding the finer points such as colour matching sealants and product selection advice.
We like to think it’s these unique selling points that give us an advantage when dealing with transactions from enquiries to sales and aftercare.
We can answer most frequently asked questions quickly and easily either:
- one to one in the showroom (google maps)
- over the telephone (020 8524 1931)
- via email info@county.construction
We also decided to generate this sticky blog post with some of the more common frequently asked questions and add to it periodically with any q & a’s that become frequent.
(Please note; we’ve written the frequently asked questions as though customers had put them to us)
As well as this frequently asked questions (FAQ’S) post, we also have an ever-growing list of various blogs available, to assist our customers in their daily jobs & projects.
For even more help, useful information and advice check out our list of blogs here.
UPDATE: 01/01/2021 New VAT rules
Discounts/Price breaks
Q: Do you offer trade price discounts and/or quantity price breaks such as one-off bulk deals?
Α: All of our products are competitively priced for single units as standard to suit the current marketplace, with nearly all items offering better prices for larger quantity purchases.
To bring standardisation to our system, the prices advertised on the E-Shop www.sealantsonline.co.uk are global prices across our business, for all types of customers, wether purchasing in the showroom, over the phone or online.
There is occasional ‘special rates’ applied to certain products for customers on large-scale jobs or call-off bulk orders etc. which can be negotiated with the Sales Manager prior to starting a new project and/or whenever a preferential rate is required.
The first standard quantity break is usually something like 6 or 10 x units depending on the item(s), with various boxed quantities being the next cost saving. Any further savings such as bulk deals (elaborated below) will be appropriate to the individual products, with the odd special offer, limited timescale or introductory price(s) at various times of the year.
As well as the smaller quantity based incentives, there’s also the opportunity for further savings (with some products) when a very large or ‘bulk’ purchase is made. Although it’s somewhat ambiguous as a word, (i.e. bulk purchases can mean anything from 5 x boxes to several pallet quantities) we can offer highly competitive discounts on most products, either at an advertised rate or at the sales manager’s discretion.
Please contact the sales team to get a quote for a bulk purchase, or have any queries about this frequently asked question.
Non-stock items
Q: If a brand you sell has a product that you don’t list on your website or the E-Shop, (i.e. it’s a ‘non-stock item’) can you order that product in?
Α: Through trial & error and supply & demand, we keep a comprehensive range of products from each manufacturer that’s relevant to our business in the marketplace, with certain items, sizes and/or colours coming and going as the demand requires.
Although we don’t advertise it and make any promises, we can, and often do, order products in for our customers specifically.
When the price is confirmed and both parties are happy to proceed with the transaction, the part number will be created and an order should be placed through the usual channels. The lead-times vary greatly from one manufacturer to another and can’t always be confirmed at the time of order processing.
Please contact the sales team to get a quote for a non-stock item(s) or have any queries about this frequently asked question.
Arbo products that aren’t regular stock items
Q: Do you stock all the Arbo sealants, adhesives & tapes from Adshead Ratcliffe?
Α: Although we do stock a small selection of foam tape products as well as Arbokol 682H & Arbokol 1025 (Secure & SP Grade) from the manufacturers Adshead Ratcliffe, (usually branded as Arbo products), please be aware that most of the Arbo sealants & adhesives are ordered in especially when an order is placed, whether purchasing in the showroom, over the phone or online. We’re in close proximity to the Southern distribution warehouse and thus prefer to keep stock rotating this way!
We have a system in place, whereby, we collect any orders with non-stock Arbo items on from Adshead Ratcliffe every Tuesday & Thursday morning.
This means that any orders with an Arbo item on, that were placed previous to those days, will be either; ready for collection from 1pm that Tuesday or Thursday (relevant to the day/time the order was placed) or be despatched on the Tuesday or Thursday evening (relevant to the day/time the order was placed).
The cut-off time for your orders to be made (to ensure that we make the collection) is 10:00am on THAT same Tuesday or Thursday.
As an example, if an order is placed on Thursday @ 11:00am with one or more Arbo items on for collection or delivery, the items will be collected from Adshead Ratcliffe on the following Tuesday morning and be ready for your collection from 1pm or despatched on that same Tuesday. (This fits into our advertised delivery timescale of 1-7 x days).
To save any wasted journeys to collect non-stock items, if an order is placed for collection of a non-stocked Arbo product(s) via click & collect on the E-Shop, you shall be advised (either by phone or email) shortly after we receive the order, of a suitable timescale for us to get the stock in. (As per the information above)
Please contact the sales team to enquire about Arbo products from Adshead Ratcliffe or if have any queries about this frequently asked question.
Part-shipping
Q: Will you part ship orders if the total order cannot be fulfilled, due to waiting for further stock or special items?
Α: We cannot generally part-ship orders for the simple fact that, we strive to be competitive with our product pricing and carriage rates, often utilising very keen quantity break prices which result in low profit margins (especially with small orders such as 2 or 3 x cartridges.)
This means, that the delivery charges, as well as packaging and labour costs will be the main variable in our overheads, so, it would be entirely unprofitable and unsustainable for us to send multiple part-orders, unless, of course, the customer is willing to pay multiple carriage charges.
They following is purely as an example;
- A customer orders 2 x single tubes of 2 x different colours @ £4.20 each, through our E-Shop, earning us approximately £1.06 profit per unit and paying a one-off packaging & delivery fee of £7.80 (which barely covers our costs)
- We have one of the colours in stock, but are waiting for stock of the other colour to come in.
- If we sent the tube that was in stock straight away, the one-off packaging & delivery fee of £7.80 has been paid, but the order is incomplete and still has another unit to send.
- Again, approximately £1.06+vat profit is being made from the 2nd despatch, but we incur an additional packaging & delivery charge of approximately £7.80 from a total profit of 2x £1.06 = £2.12.
- In this case, we would actually SPEND £7.80 – £2.12 = £5.68 fulfilling the order.
Profit margins are usually so low on these items, that we simply cannot justify sending multiple despatches from one order at our delivery cost expense.
To clarify, as a default rule, all orders will be held until they can be completed (*except in certain circumstances)
*That said, we can always look at part-shipping an order if:
- It’s a large order, and the total cost justifies us incurring multiple carriage charges (especially where timescales are an issue).
- The original order is over the threshold limits of £75 (online) or £300 (through the sales office) but the customer agrees to pay a carriage fee surcharge still.
- We cannot fulfil your order within the 7 x day delivery timescale advertised (subject to circumstances).
Each case will be considered individually, either upon the initial quote/enquiry or when the order is placed.
The best way to determine whether an order can be part-shipped, check availability, get an estimated delivery timescale or have any queries about this frequently asked question contact the sales team.
Back orders
Q: Why has my order gone onto a back order?
Α: As explained above, we can’t generally part-ship orders, thus our standard procedure when an order is placed, and, there is a non-stock item(s), or, one or more line items is either totally or partially out of stock, is for that order to automatically raise a stock back order on our system, and be held until such time as the entire order can be fulfilled and despatched (nearly always well within the 7 x days lead time advertised).
In turn, our purchasing team routinely report on stock shortages and place orders with the various manufacturers accordingly, to ensure a smooth turn around. Your products will be ordered in and your order will then be delivered or be ready to collect when they come in to us.
Another, more drastic reason for a back order is an anomaly that affects all distribution and retail businesses at some time or another, known as ‘stalled production’. This is when manufacturers for different reasons, at various times of the year, may, with or without fair warning, delay their production runs of certain products with longer than usual lead-times and occasionally no exact return date!
Stalled production has a knock-on effect for the ‘middle-man’ companies like ourselves and, although we try to safeguard our range from such sudden dropouts, we are, occasionally, caught out by this and our standard lead-time of 1 – 7 x days will not apply.
If a manufacturer advises us of a ‘stalled production’ there’s a few options that customers can decide upon;
- Leave your order on back order with us. (Updates will be made if/when available) Advice will be given of despatch or collection when the goods are eventually in.
- An alternative product may be available and advised for your approval, in which case, any refund or additional cost will be arranged at that time.
- If part of the total stock ordered IS available on the item(s) and you wish to just take what we have, then we’ll call the order complete and refund the difference immediately.
- Cancel the entire order for a full refund immediately. (If you then wish to be advised by phone or email when the stock is replenished, just let the sales team know.)
Nextday delivery
Q: Do you offer a next day delivery service?
Α: Some might say that this is our number 1 frequently asked question! And here’s what we say…. Although we have an excellent hit rate for turning over an order in 24 hours from ordering to delivering, we have realistic expectations, and as stated on our E-Shop website, the usual standard delivery timescale is 1-7 x days from the date of order processing.
Despatching orders promptly firstly depends on the stock level at the exact time the order was placed, and then any other variables that occur such as weekends and bank holidays, then the usual courier problems such as a lack of signature, vehicle breakdowns, missed connections etc.
As for the mystic ‘guaranteed next day delivery service’ which many companies offer and don’t deliver on, we have a strong opinion on this promise…
Next day delivery has proved to be extremely ambitious in the past, with a varied success rate, and so, in the interests of transparency and honesty, we cannot and will not ever GUARANTEE a next day delivery.
Yes, we can and do offer a 24 hour, courier service, as well as a sensible, realistic, ‘same day’ delivery service, within a certain distance of our North-East London base, (which obviously costs a premium rate surcharge) and, again, whilst these services are efficient and handy in most circumstances, never, ever, will our company use the word ‘GUARANTEE’ with regards to a 24 hour or same day delivery, so customers are urged to exercise good time organisation when procurement on a tight deadline is imperative!
You can find detailed information regarding all our delivery services on the dedicated ‘Delivery Information’ page here.
Delivery costs
Q: What are your postage & packaging costs?
Α: Although customers can reference the delivery costs on the website here this is still very much a frequently asked question by phone or email!
After many years of distribution, trialling several different couriers with various methods of carriage, from nationwide courier companies with integrated hub-style networks and our own employed drivers for local deliveries, to Royal Mail’s parcel force, we’ve found varying degrees of success and failure for timely and reliable delivery services.
We’ve tweaked our rules, methods and rates to how you find us setup now, and feel that we’ve finally settled into a system that suits our business ethos with the best ‘bang for buck’ for both ourselves and our customers, without sacrificing quality and/or efficiency!
- If ordering on the E-Shop www.sealantsonline.co.uk then, the large majority of our orders are from mainland UK, carrying a flat rate of £7.80 (inc.) for orders totalling under £75 (inc.) and free of charge for those totalling over £75 (inc.)
- If ordering over the phone or by email/purchase order via the sales office, again, the large majority of our orders are from mainland UK, carrying a flat rate of £21.00 (inc.) for orders totalling under £360 (inc.) and free for those totalling over £360 (inc.)
Please note;
- There are surcharges in costs for delivery to any extended areas of the UK (such as certain parts of Scotland), Ireland, Northern Ireland & the Channel Islands (listed here).
- Some goods that carry ADR numbers are labelled as ‘hazardous’ and cannot be shipped over sea or by air (information explaining ADR can be found here).
- The above rules are applicable to ALL orders whether placed through the E-Shop or through the sales office (the carriage surcharges are exactly the same costs for both).
You can find detailed information regarding all our delivery services on the dedicated ‘Delivery Information’ page here
Ordering through the office or online
Q: Why are your delivery costs different when ordering through the office to ordering through the E-Shop?
Α: We’re sometimes challenged on the fact that our free carriage threshold and indeed carriage rate itself differ when placing an order:
Through the office with a member of staff, which will cost a minimum of £17.50+vat for all orders under £300 net regardless of your account standing,
compared to:
Placing an order yourself online, which will cost a minimum of £6.50+vat for all orders under £62.50 net for PAYG (pay as you go) customers.
To explain this properly on this frequently asked questions page, we have to go into detail about this difference;
Carriage rates when ordering online through the website:
Our online shop was setup 7 years ago, partly to alleviate the labour-intensive, administrative tasks involved in taking cash sales over the telephone but also to increase the public awareness of our business.
Smaller, cash sale orders had outgrown our sales department, who focus on more regular, bulk orders and general credit account transactions (such as purchase orders). We realised quickly that the low-margin, loss-leader nature of online retail is a completely different remit, and, as such the product pricing, and any overheads, such as packaging and carriage would need to be taken into account whilst remaining competitive in the marketplace!
Although we’ll send the occasional, very small product out by Royal Mail, for the majority of our deliveries we use one of 4 trusted and reliable courier services. The standard cost(s) of these deliveries is £6.50+vat for UK Mainland which is 90% of all deliveries we do, with many of these being delivered within 24 hours as standard (above & beyond the timescale specified) this just about covers our costs most of the time (but not always) and we feel is reasonable.
Carriage rates when ordering over the phone or via email through the sales office:
The fact was and remains, that, most customers ordering medium to large volume of materials for trade use were spending over the threshold of £300 net as standard, allowing us to allocate part of the higher profit margin to subsidising the carriage fee ourselves, or, if under the agreed threshold then charging the £17.50+vat to cover our costs. This fee with a free threshold, reflects an incentive to order slightly more materials at any one time, i.e. not just use us a convenience store by ordering small and often, which is a philophosy relevant to trade orientated businesses such as ours. Another difference and huge advantage of having a credit account with us, is that you don’t pay upfront for your goods! You can find detailed information regarding all our delivery services on the dedicated ‘Delivery Information’ page here
Common discrepancies
Now we’ll explain the problems that arise from the above split when customer wish to ‘remix’ the rules;
- A non credit account customer who wishes to place an order totalling over £62.50+vat but under £300+vat and does NOT wish to order online, (for one reason or another), then calls the sales team to place an order over the phone and encounters the rules of £17.50+vat for all orders totalling under £300 net and argues that, they should get free delivery as their order is over £62.50+vat the same as our online rate. This is unavoidable and every effort to order online instead should be made.
- A non credit account customer who wishes to place an order totalling under £62.50+vat and does NOT wish to order online, (for one reason or another), then calls the sales team to place an order over the phone and encounters the rules of £17.50+vat for all orders totalling under £300 net. and argues that, ‘they should get the same rate of delivery as our online rate because it’s going from the same place’ etc. This is unavoidable and every effort to order online instead should be made.
- A credit account customer wishes to place an order online using their credit facility that totals under £300 net, then encounters the rules of £17.50+vat for all orders totalling under £300 net as per their credit agreement. There’s a simple answer and remedy to this, if you only have a small order to place, then you are more than welcome to place an order online (providing you use a different email address to your existing credit account) and benefit from the lower threshold. (Several big companies do this everyday)
Reserving stock
Q: If I definitely want to buy something, but don’t know exactly when I need it for, can I reserve the stock?
Α: In the past, it has been possible to ‘set aside’ or ‘save’ certain items for customers who are not quite sure when or indeed if they will 100% require those products.
Our entire system now operates around a stock allocation basis, which means it’s ‘first come, first serve’ for products regardless of how you order or which type of customer you are. This ensures customers who confirm and pre-order their materials, get priority over those that simply enquire or ‘take a chance’ upon visiting.
Wether you place an order for collection via CLICK & COLLECT through the E-Shop, over the phone with ours sales team, or via emailed purchase order, the stock allocation system or, reserving of stock is exactly the same.
The only slight difference in the procedure is that, when you order for collection through the E-Shop there’s a strong chance that you haven’t ‘checked the stock’ beforehand like you could and would if you’d placed an order via phone or direct email.
In the following will occur:
- Customer’s collection WILL
Collections
Q: If I place an order for collection, when will it be ready to collect?
Α: Wether you place an order via CLICK & COLLECT on the E-Shop, over the phone with ours sales team via emailed purchase order, the procedure is the same. We have a system in place that allocates stock on a ‘first come, first served’ basis
Returns
Q: Do you offer trade price discounts and/or quantity price breaks (such as one-off bulk deals)
Α: All of our products are competitively priced for single units as standard to suit the current marketplace, with most items offering better prices for larger quantity purchases. There’s also the opportunity with some products for further savings when a ‘bulk’ purchase is made. Bulk purchases can range from various amounts (such as 10 x boxes) to full pallets.
Price increases
Q: Do you offer trade price discounts and/or quantity price breaks (such as one-off bulk deals)
Α: All of our products are competitively priced for single units as standard to suit the current marketplace, with most items offering better prices for larger quantity purchases. There’s also the opportunity with some products for further savings when a ‘bulk’ purchase is made. Bulk purchases can range from various amounts (such as 10 x boxes) to full pallets.
Weekends
Q: Do you offer trade price discounts and/or quantity price breaks (such as one-off bulk deals)
Α: All of our products are competitively priced for single units as standard to suit the current marketplace, with most items offering better prices for larger quantity purchases. There’s also the opportunity with some products for further savings when a ‘bulk’ purchase is made. Bulk purchases can range from various amounts (such as 10 x boxes) to full pallets.
Contractor recommendations
Q: Do you offer trade price discounts and/or quantity price breaks (such as one-off bulk deals)
Α: All of our products are competitively priced for single units as standard to suit the current marketplace, with most items offering better prices for larger quantity purchases. There’s also an opportunity with some products to further save with ‘bulk’ purchases. These can range from 5 or 10 x boxes to full pallets.
Colour charts
Q: Can you send out a hard copy mastic sealant colour chart to me?
Α: We do keep a selection of colour charts for some of our most popular silicone sealants here and use them to match customers samples when the visit our showroom. This is a daily practise and one, in which we’ve become aware, through word of mouth and feedback, has made us a popular point of interest with many trades people. We can, on occasion, (if absolutely necessary) send mastic sealant colour charts out to customers by post. Although a hard copy delivered to your office or house, can prove very handy for matching substrates such as kitchen worktops, tiles, frames, specific paints and other fittings in situ, we exercise caution somewhat with our mastic sealant colour chart distribution as it proves costly in production and postage providing very little ROI in most circumstances where small quantities are required! That said, customers planning medium to large projects and contractors that offer their customers bespoke solutions will benefit greatly from keeping hard copies of a selection of colour charts in their portfolio or toolbox. Another point to remember, is that we sell nearly every product in our range in single unit items, thus a ‘sample’ can be purchased and delivered for relatively little cost online.
Matching sealant colours
Q: Can you match a mastic sealant colour exactly?
Α: A popular frequently asked question in our industry this one! The simple answer is yes, in fact it’s one of our fortes and one we take great pride in! The quickest and most cost friendly method of getting the correct colour is to either; offer up an exact RAL number, Dulux or Farrow & Ball colour to us, thus we can use our extensive charts to find a match or better still, with RAL, we may well have it already amongst our stocked RAL Sealants. As well as using popular, official colour systems, there’s always the very simple method of visiting with or posting to us, a small sample of the colour you wish to match, such as a small piece of metal, plastic, fleck of paint, tile or even brick dust! If we cannot match that colour satisfactorily from stock, then the very last line of fire, is the no-nonsense approach of EXACT, computer generated mastic sealant colour matching. We send your sample to our suppliers in Germany and receive back a proof of actual silicone, acrylic or polymer sealant, (depending on what you require) if you agree to the terms, then an order will be processed for the quantity required. There’s a 4-6 x week lead-time on this service and a premium surcharge (which improves with higher quantities) but many customers have benefited from this fairly unique service! More information is available on a separate blog post here. For detailed information on ALL our colour matching methods, please visit this section off the website.
Placing non credit account orders
Q: I’m a new customer, I just want to place a one-off order, what’s the best way to do this?
Α: Although we have a sales team to offer assistance, advice, check stock, deal with queries and answer general enquiries, if you know what you want and have your credit card details handy, the very best way to place an order, wether for collection or delivery, is through our purpose-built E-Shop website, Sealants Online. The checkout procedure is straight-forward, quick and easy, with minimal ‘data entry’ on your part. Our competitive pricing structure is built with a view to less administrative obstacles for both ourselves and our customers, creating less overheads and leaving us more time to focus on the products and efficiency rather than the strenuous extra work taking payments over the telephone.
Placing orders online or through the sales office to non-VAT chargeable locations
Q: If I’m based in Republic of Ireland or the Channel Islands, how do I order without VAT?
Α: Previously we had a system in place whereby any customers based in non-UK mainland locations would need to fill in an application form to send, that, we in turn used to manually setup a non-vat account. The Channel Islands were automatically exempt from VAT and thus did not need to provide any registration details, however businesses or individuals in R.O.I. were required to provide a valid VAT number for confirmation of their status.
Since January 1st 2021, the rules have changed and now, orders from either the Channel Islands or R.O.I. are automatically exempt from VAT at checkout when placed through the website or through the office.
PLEASE NOTE; several of our product range have forced hazardous labelling and will not be eligible to shipping by air or sea. Any customers placing orders containing these items will be notified and an alternative option agreed.
In summary; Frequently asked questions are just that, over time, with experience and trial and error, a frequently asked question can be listed and then referenced at a later date by both new staff and customers alike. There’s many basic questions which are relevant in some way or another, that qualify as frequently asked questions (FAQ’s) for every company that deal with business or direct end customer sales and we strive to be as transparent and honest as possible in our response to the questions, queries or enquiries we receive. If you have any ideas or suggestions, from your own personal experience of dealing with County Construction Chemicals Ltd. or Sealants Online and feel you could add to these frequently asked questions q & a’s, then please either leave a comment below or get in contact with us with your suggestion. Thank you.