What do you do if the product you ordered doesn’t look like the sample and how much different can it look? This is a question that comes up more frequently than you might expect. One of the biggest variables in this question is the color of the product. Did the color you ordered from the sample shown the customer arrive as the same color chosen? It may not have for several reasons. Your samples may have been around for awhile and the color could change from exposure to UV light from the sun or the fluorescent lights in your store. It could also have changed from Ozone or Oxides of Nitrogen, both of which are prevalent and present in the air and atmosphere. The difference in samples shade may not be noticed by anyone in the store but there could be a dramatic difference when compared to the product actually received.
The samples, from use, may also look a little different from what is received due to being handled, shown and exposed to whatever you might subject them to. Color will also vary from dye lot to dye lot normally and there is, or should be, a statement to this affect on the samples. You must explain any differences that may occur to the consumer. As in all textile fabric the color shade may vary due to even the slightest variations in the product or simply from differences in the normal dye process itself. In a commercial application the dye lot variation should not very a great deal in a large run because there may be so much of the same product in one place. If it does or will vary someone needs to be aware of this and notify the manufacturer that the carpet has to be a commercial match. This may have to be the sales rep if they are conscientious enough to know they have a space where the color match is going to be critical. Commercial color match is a sequential shade matching of the different dye lots so that when the carpet is laid out the color change will be gradual from roll to roll – the first one to the last. This is determined by the manufacturer before the carpet is shipped. The carpet has to be installed in the color order, not the roll order, to insure the color shade variation is not starkly evident or contrasted dramatically.
Another factor in appearance difference is the texture of the product. With carpet the texture should look close to the sample otherwise it will be interpreted as being different than what was purchased. Texture can vary due to variations in the tufting process, the yarn or the shearing-if it is a sheared product. If the carpet is a tip sheared or sheared finish the appearance can vary if the shearing is more or less than the sample shows.
There can also be variations in other products from the sample. Wood, laminate, vinyl and ceramic can all have variations in color and texture from run to run – this could be slight or extreme. This must be understood by the consumer and it is your responsibility to be aware of this and convey the information. You may not say anything for fear of losing the sale but if you know your products well enough and you know that certain of them always arrive with a slight difference you have to make the consumer aware of it. Don’t worry; if you do this right you won’t blow the sale. You could also include this information on your invoices that product color and texture may vary from samples due to normal manufacturing variations.
All this being said, how much different can the product look before it can be considered not being like the sample. There can be subtle variations. If there is a blatantly obvious difference in the color shade or hue or in the texture so that when compared to the sample you can see that the two don’t look much alike at all, only similar, that should be a clue that the product is too far off from the sample. This point could be argued by a manufacturer but we encounter this type of issue regularly. They may say it is within tolerance, but what is tolerance and how do you quantify it. There is no industry tolerance for this stuff but there is reasonable variation. When we get involved in these situations we closely analyze and evaluate the product and test it if necessary to determine what is making it look so different. Color may be looked at under a variety of lighting, pile height, yarn twist, stitch rate, filament ends in a yarn and a myriad other analytical tests can be performed to find out why the product looks different. It may be obvious that one is sheared more than the other. If there’s a very noticeable difference there is always an explanation for why. And sometimes a manufacturer will give you an answer back that this is just the way this product looks from run to run and we don’t know why. Does that really happen? Yes it does. A dial turned here, a button pushed there, a line slowed, a blend intensified or lightened are only some of the things that can affect the way a floor covering product can look. These issues are much more critical in commercial flooring situations, especially if the selection of a product was made from a sample that the finished product is supposed to look just like.
If you have a question about something like this we can take the sample and what was actually received and determine why they’re different. We may not always get in the right pew but we’ll certainly get you in the right church and have an answer for you. Call us if you need help with anything, on any flooring product, residential or commercial, if we can’t help you no one can.
Author: Lewis G. Migliore
LGM and Associates – The Floorcovering Experts