Check out a new and highly important editorial.  The State of the Industry  It's a MUST READ for anyone in the industry!

     Got a gripe?   Wanna tell us about what's right with the industry and what's wrong with it?    Here's the place to do it.   Okay, so you didn't write "War and Peace".   We don't care.   What we want is your opinion on what is going on in the industry.   Hey!   This goes for you suppliers and educators too!   The only way things get fixed is to air it out.   We'll try to feature a new editorial every week, but you guys gotta send us the goods or it can't get posted.   Here's a few examples....

     Thanks Kneel_eh for telling me about this site!   I want to share my first experience in hiring a trade worker for my first new home.   My husband and I had saved for a few years to buy a home.   We were 22 and 25 years old at the time, and were expecting our second child.   We needed the flooring done in the home we picked, as it was extremely old, dirty and ugly.   I wanted a fresh place for my babies to crawl on!   My husband and I had found the journeyman we chose to hire after seeing some work in a friend's house, and seeing his large photographic portfolio that expanded 30 years.   Next we went to pick the flooring.   Unfortunately, when the possession date rolled around for our home, hubby and I had waited so long to pick our perfect flooring, that our order had been held up at the U.S. border, and we could not move in for possibly weeks until the flooring had arrived.

    Baby was due in 3 weeks.   I asked my journeyman what our options were.   He gave us a couple of choices, one was that he choose the closest thing to it, and install that at no extra charge and if we didn't like it, we would not be charged for installation.   I felt that was a huge limb for a trade worker to go out on, so I gave him the go-ahead, what did we have to lose???   Hubby was away at work, and over the phone I had told him what I did, he was furious with me, but I trusted this man's work.

    When all was said and done 3 days later, the carpet was actually quite a bit lighter and much softer than what we picked out, and the linoleum complemented the carpet perfectly, far better than our original choices of our own.   I was ecstatic.   Hubby came home that afternoon, and was so impressed he is still raving, and we are still sharing this story with family and friends today, and our new baby, is now 7 years old!

We have just moved into another new home again, and had our adopted-for-life journeyman over to do the kid's bedrooms just 2 days ago!

     The customer is what drives this trade that we all love(hate depending on the day).   The old adage, "The customer is always right" is in theory right but realistically can be very far from the truth.    We as an industry have to assume that the customer does not know every facet of the floorcovering industry so there has to be some give for "ignorance".   I've been installing floorcovering for ten years now, and that means ten years of dealing with customers.   I've had great ones and not-so-great ones.   But at the end of the day if they are not happy, nobody's happy.

    These things are not unreasonable to expect of any professional installer.   I do not believe that the installer should have to pay for out of his own pocket supplies such as adhesives, smoothedge, floorleveler, finishing strips or metals, thinset, silicone, hardwood staples and paper, tile grout, sponges, etc.   Anything required to complete the job should be paid for by the customer built into the price of the job.   Razor blades should be purchased by the installer.   It is unreasonable for the store owner to give the installer a foot, yard installation price and expect him to dig into his own pocket to pay to do the job.   The reason I am working is to make money - no other reason.   If I could support my family by staying home doing chores and building home projects that have been long put off, then I would.

    I DO NOT want more than what I have coming.   Just let me do my job as best as I can and if the customer is happy, then I deserve to be compensated!   I think the installer should have his own tools and ride.   Anything after that would be unreasonable to expect the store owner to pay for, so why is it not unreasonable for the installer to pay for it?   If I took my vehicle to a mechanic to fix a leaking oil pan and had to purchase oil, would I expect the mechanic to buy the oil for me?   I wish, but of course not right?   Why on earth would I buy two rolls of carpet seam tape to do a days worth of carpet seams?   But it happens all the time.   Why?   Because we are lacking structure and set rules in our trade.

    Store owners and installers need to stop being on separate sides and team up together and it would not be hard to agree if each had the other's needs in mind.   The customer, the installer and the store owner would benefit.   The trade would prosper, and the wannabe installers would be weeded out because the dollar would not be the first thing on everyone's mind.

I'll post another editorial on good/bad customer stories at a later date.

Superman