Recorded in the Cockerill & Co Darlington HQ, this episode of The UK Flooring Podcast sits down with Ben Wain, business consultant, property investor, husband and dad, for a straight conversation about what it takes to run a flooring business when the bar keeps rising.

Ben shares his route from leaving school and working behind bars, into sales, then an 18 year career in retail leadership, before stepping into consultancy. That background gives him a rare mix of frontline reality and big picture thinking, and it shows in how he talks about people, performance, and the gap between “busy” and “well run”.

The thread through the episode is simple: customers now expect a joined up experience, and if your systems, showroom, website and team are not aligned, you will feel it. Ben breaks down what “Amazon level” expectations look like in flooring, why new businesses can leapfrog older ones, and how to approach tech and AI in a way that helps you sell, deliver, and keep standards high, without turning your brand into generic noise.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

Why customer expectations are higher than ever, and how that changes the way flooring businesses need to operate

What “omnichannel” actually means for flooring, and why your website and showroom have to match

How newer businesses can move faster, and what established businesses must fix to avoid falling behind

Why “race to the bottom” pricing is a trap, and how it quietly kills profitability

How to think about speed, service and communication as part of what customers pay for

What Ben sees as the biggest challenge in the industry, finding, keeping and developing fitting teams

How to build structure and accountability without micromanaging everything

Practical ways to use AI tools like ChatGPT for planning, training, systems, and management support

The biggest mistake people make with AI, and how to stay authentic while still moving quickly

Memorable Quote:

“Customer expectation is so high, you can very quickly get left behind.”

Speaker Information

Ben Wain

Business Consultant and Property Investor

https://www.linkedin.com/company/wain-consultancy-coaching/

Where to Find The UK Flooring Podcast:

Website: https://theukflooringpodcast.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theukflooringpodcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theukflooringpodcast/

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