Before contacting any seller of surfacing, or chemical products for surfacing, - here are some bits of information to make the process easier and better for you. The following applies to ALL dealers and distributors, including:
- Aldon dealers
- Dealers who do not carry Aldon products
- Warehouse type mass merchandise stores
Do you want a dealer to tell how to fix a problem ?
Do you want a dealer to provide suggestions ? - it can be risky!
Do you want a dealer (or anyone else) to tell you what surface type you have - it can be risky!
Mass Merchandise Warehouse (MMW) type stores. How they can benefit you and how they can hurt you.
Do you want a dealer to tell how to fix a problem ?
If so, you are asking for a high level of frustration. Even worse is the risk of needing to redo the project at greater expense than if done correctly once. This is not the fault of the dealer as you will see elsewhere on this page. In any case, any dealer that knows Aldon will refer you to the Aldon web site.Back to topTip: do not believe what anybody tells you about the surfacing, what has been put on it in the past, what should be done now. Test and validate. Take it step by step.
Do you want a dealer to provide suggestions ? - it can be risky!
The people working in a store have all they can manage to acquire knowledge about the tile, stone, brick, etc. products they sell. Take any one of those surface types and they will not have the knowledge of cleaning, sealing, ongoing care that you now possess after spending a few minutes on the Aldon web site. It is not their fault. There is just too much knowledge for them to acquire for all the different surface types.Back to topYou should expect nothing more from the store than to supply you with the exact product you specify and the quantity of it you have calculated from our guidelines.
Do you want a dealer (or anyone else) to tell you what surface type you have - it can be risky!
There is tremendous confusion and misinformation throughout the industry about the characteristics of all these surface types. Part of the reason is marketing. A surfacing material may be given a name that sounds wonderful and conjures up the imagery desired by the seller, but can be completely misleading in terms of that materials nature, vulnerabilities, and appropriateness for a certain application. The Aldon web site defines the surface types and tells you how to test to validate your information.Back to topValidate the information before visiting a dealer.
Tip: Within reason - you can have the surface type you want in any application. You will hear many favorable and unfavorable comments about a particular surface type and/or its use in a certain application. All these attitudes come from past problems encountered by the dealer or contractor, or perhaps lack of problems that can be from an element of luck. They can also come from one surface type being more profitable than another. You can decide for yourself with a little research on the Aldon web site and a bit of testing.
Common sense says that a dealer wants to sell what is the most profitable. This may, or may not, coincide with what is in your best interest. Profitability to a dealer can be money and/or it can be good product performance for his customers. Be sure to review the section on mass merchandisers below for the special risks involved.
Confused because what the sales person is telling you conflicts with what you learned on the Aldon web site?
Just ask yourself what information makes the most sense and does not come from a desire to "sell you something". Then, do whatever makes you the most comfortable.If you buy another product and it does not work for you, it is probably not a disaster. Virtually everything is fixable with a little research on the Aldon web site.
If a dealer has chemical products from 2,3, or more suppliers.
Product availability and sales is probably being determined by:None of the above gets you the best product for your unique project.
- Manufacturer's sales reps
- Response to a perceived need to supply something/anything
- Sell what the other guy is selling
- Ability to say - "If you don't like the results from this one, try this other one"
- A SPIF program. This is where a product manufacturer pays a "commission" to a store sales person to encourage the sale of their product over the competition. Even some Aldon dealers participate in these programs. Aldon does not do this. Among other reasons we object to this practice is the obvious fact that the product is not being sold to you because it best meets your needs. It is being sold to you because the salesperson makes a little more money, and because the store has a salesperson that made a little more money that did not come out of their pocket. When a salesperson tries to switch you from one choice to another, this can be a reason.
- In the case of large, mass merchandise stores - it is strictly money. These are the products generally sold with special pricing for volume purchasing. See below for the many dangers here.
If a dealer has almost no chemical products for sale:
This usually means they have heard of, or experienced, the many problems that occur in this industry and they are afraid to sell chemical products. They are not wrong! However, they are also not aware of Aldon and understand that none of those problems have to happen. It is only a matter of a little knowledge and common sense.
If a dealer has a large selection of chemical products from one manufacturer:
This should be an indication of good experience with that brand if they have been selling it for over a year. The performance claims from any manufacturer (even Aldon) should be questioned. All that matters is good performance over time that establishes a record of satisfied users. We have established that record since 1984 without claims of miracles. We simply state that every product does exactly what we say it does, and provide you the information to acquire the correct products.Back to topAldon has quite a few dealers around the country, but sadly, not nearly enough meet that last criteria. If you request a dealer from us, we will only recommend those that do meet that criteria. This is for your protection as well as ours. If you do not get the expected results because a dealer sold you the wrong product, we will be spending considerable time assisting you to get you to your goal.
Mass Merchandise Warehouse (MMW) type stores. How they can benefit you and how they can hurt you. Some of the issues discussed here are only a matter of common sense. Others are "inside the industry" issues. Consider the following and you will understand why Aldon does not sell to the MMW's.
How they can help you:
- Normally, the MMW's pricing on items is the same or even higher than an independents - but the advertising creates a perception of lower prices. Some flooring materials can be significantly cheaper when the MMW wants to use price to acquire market share from the local independents. Even though the quality of the flooring might not be at a very high level (reasons explained elsewhere), see our
section for that surfacing and how to use Aldon products to raise its quality to that of the best ( looks, strength, etc.).
- Why does a MMW have a particular brand? They can buy it cheaper, sell it at a little lower price than an independent, and still have a good profit margin. MMW's buy at a cheaper price because of volume purchasing. Unfortunately for the consumer, some manufacturer's selling these stores actually produce a different formula at lower quality in order to have any profit in the product at all. The MMW may, or may not, be aware of this. Certainly, the consumer is not aware. This is one reason why it can take considerably more product to achieve the results, and why it may not last very long.
- If a MMW takes product back for any reason (one of their selling points) - how do you know that product has not been adulterated. These MMW's send pallets of consumer returned product back to manufacturers. Have you ever heard the stories of the tool manufacturer opening their plastic boxes of power tools returned by an MMW and instead of a power drill it contains a brick?
With chemicals, a manufacturer would have to spend many dollars in testing every pint that came back to them this way. Or spend even more dollars going through the legally mandated disposal requirements. As either choice costs more than the value of the product - is either of those choices being taken or is product simply shipped out again? We don't know! But, it is a concern when that chemical is used on thousands of dollars worth of your flooring. Now you understand our returns policy and how comfortable we are that an Aldon product has never left our control until delivered to you.
You are welcome to use all the information acquired from our web site for your project, even if you choose to not use Aldon products. You will still be better prepared to make better choices.
Dealers in this state:
Ceramic Concepts
4761 Commercial Plaza
Winston Salem, NC 27104
336-768-8445
(Before calling, see Notice)NOTICE regarding the dealers: Call a dealer only for convenient product pick up. A dealer cannot ship our chemical products to you except on their own trucks! They do not have the special supplies or knowledge required to ship this kind of product. Also, a dealer does not supply samples (see below).
If the dealer does not have the requested product, or they are too far away for pickup, you can order from HERE. Then you can either:
- Pick up your order in 2 business hours at the Aldon warehouse closest to you
- Or have the order shipped to you. You are usually in the UPS Next Day zone from one of our warehouses.
- A dealer does not supply samples. However, you are able to order small samples from our web site by clicking HERE. See the "transit time" map on the sample ordering page.