Floor Covering News was started in 1986 and I’m proud to say I’ve had a column in the publication from the start. The one question founder Al Whanon asked me when we discussed starting the Claims File Column was “Do you think you’ll have enough material to write the column?” And my response was “Till the day I die.” He said, “Go for it.” Those were the exact words. There’s never been a time I’ve struggled over something to write. That said claims have changed over the last 25 years. In 1986 we had basically broadloom carpet, sheet vinyl and vinyl tile products to be concerned with. Thousands of original wood floors in homes were still being covered with carpet. There were also nearly 400 carpet manufacturers back then. Today we have three, Shaw, Mohawk and Beaulieu, who control in excess of 80% of the residential carpet market and a large share of the commercial market, along with Interface, with a small number of manufacturers who occupy the balance of the commercial carpet market and its varied segments. Laminate flooring didn’t exist back then and wood was sold primarily by wood flooring specialists. The biggest retail dealers then don’t exist today.
But how have claims changed? Well we’ve got products today we didn’t have then, many of the hard surface products are imported, we’ve got a variety of specialty flooring products, new installation technologies, new fibers and backings, virtually no truly technical people and, relative to the larger manufacturers, more corporate attitudes and environments and less a “family” or casual attitude. Claims analysts at the big manufacturers are more clerical staff. In the 80’s most of the claims managers and staff attended claims schools we conducted, they knew a lot more about the technical aspects of the products. Manufacturers are now using their own forms to be filled out by inspectors. And, relative to inspectors, there was not the proliferation of them back then that there is today from many different training schools.
It also used to be you had to go through fiber producers and distributors to file and resolve a claim. Now the manufacturers control that and, though they will certainly honor legitimate claims, it can be harder to get that done. It’s no secret that during challenging economic times, which we’ve gone through several times in the last 25 years and more in the last 40 ( as long as I’ve been in the business), it’s harder to get claims settled when business is constricting.
Nothing is like it used to be. In some respects it’s gotten better with the ability to do things on line, which makes resolving issues faster. In other ways it’s gotten tougher with those handling claims knowing less than they used to.
Dealers are also part of this equation as, truth be told, they have very little technical and necessary knowledge about the products they sell. Installation used to be the biggest claims category years ago, today it’s the wrong product being sold or specified into the wrong place, both residentially and commercially.
We all know that the hard surface category has exploded and claims on those products are even more complex and harder to deal with simply because dealers know less about these products, especially wood, than any of the other products being sold.
The claims business is more complex than it used to be, there are more products by far, there are far fewer people who know what they should about problems, both at manufacturing and supposed problem solvers and customer service is much worse than it used to be. Before the customer was always right, today it’s just the opposite. Things will never be the same but we can say that about most everything in life. If you adapt you’ll survive and thrive, if not you’ll be waving at the train as it leaves the station.
Author: Lewis G. Migliore
LGM and Associates – The Floorcovering Experts