This is a question that was asked of me by one of my Rotary associates and it is one that is quite often asked. I thought I’d share what it is that we actually do so you get a better idea and an update on our services and the types of things we get involved in. First, our services fall under four categories: Claims and Troubleshooting; Consulting; Educational Programs and Speaking. The majority of our time is spent troubleshooting and resolving claims and complaints, however more and more of what we do is consulting work with large end users, manufacturers, or anyone involved in using floor covering products. We work with all flooring materials and have experts in each category; our people, we believe are the best of the best with years of experience and our client list confirms this. One industry executive says; “When you don’t know what to do call Lew.” And another client, a large law firm recently said; “All roads lead to LGM.” Our services assist and span small retailers and large end users. We get involved in specifying flooring products, reviewing and testing flooring products being considered for a project, oversee installations and remediation, determine the causes of claims and complaints and who is at fault, analyze and test products, write care, maintenance and installation instructions and work on specialized and unique projects.
Every call we get is different from any other. Let me share with you some recent cases we’ve recently been involved in.
A large end user in the hospitality field, who is a client, had carpet installed that was manufactured incorrectly. We determined what the problem was, how it had to be corrected and oversaw the replacement to insure the carpet and installation were as they should be. A retail dealer sent us some vinyl product to determine why it was different than what he had been receiving in the past. A manufacturer asked us to determine if the product they were considering bringing to market could actually be produced with the look they anticipated – it couldn’t and they dropped it. A project with a failed wood installation needed to know why they had a problem and what could be done about it. In this case the building owner had cut corners and it came back to haunt him. We tested carpet products for a manufacturer relative to their warranties and determined several of the products would not live up to what they were claiming. They subsequently had a large claim on one of the issues after we told them they would potentially have this problem. We regularly test products submitted for fuzzing and buckling and wrinkling; very challenging to get the manufacturer to admit responsibility in these cases. We worked with a client to overturn a six figure case they were blamed for that was not their fault, relative to a maintenance issue. We continually have to explain that the “stains” a complainant is experiencing are actually spots that are not being serviced correctly – this is among the often recurring issues we get. We had to explain to an end user why the colors they chose for their carpet were the reason for it looking terrible – they and the designer and architect had no clue that yellow and light blue should not be used where they had. And, in a ceramic case the edges of the material were being chipped and the dealer was being blamed for defective material. As it turned out they were using an upright vacuum cleaner that was causing the damage.
These have been little snippets from several cases that were more involved but they give you an idea of what we do. Forgive me for plugging our business but it exists to help you and I thought some additional insight would be helpful. So, when you need help call us. Also, we have a Concrete Moisture Seminar scheduled for October 29th, 30th and 31st and a carpet seminar November 5th, 6th and 7th. Try to attend if you can, this stuff affects your business.
Author: Lewis G. Migliore
LGM and Associates – The Floorcovering Experts