I got an email from a dealer regarding a claim he had for a shade variation issue and it lead us to a dialogue regarding overall quality of flooring materials. I asked him if his concerns were for one manufacturer in particular that he deals with or if he felt the quality issues were with everyone. His response follows.
“It’s seams to be from all of them; vinyl as well as carpet. It doesn’t seem to matter if it’s a small mill or a large one. I wonder if the people in charge of quality control don’t have the same standards as I would.”
“I’ve be in the construction industry since 1971 owning my own flooring store since 1987. One thing I’ve noticed in the flooring industry is that when the economy slows down the quality of the products goes down. I would think when business is slow everything a mill turns out would be flawless. In a slow economy the last thing any of us can afford is to pay claims. We have had at least 6 projects in the last 2 weeks where the product was badly flawed. In 3 of those it never should have left the mill. Now my store had the best year it ever had last year and will equal that or pass that this year so it’s not like we’re slow and just notice it more. What would cause the mills to lower there standards just because the economy is slow?”
You would think that with business being slower quality would go up because there should be less rushing to get the product out the door. But as business slows down manufacturers cut back, shift people around and make changes. When this happens it can create a ripple effect that can affect the quality of the product. The less skilled the employees working in the mill the greater the chance defects will occur. This is one reason why, when we are working with a client to oversee their products we do not allow them to be made on the weekend or on third shift. Also, when they go to finishing we request a specific individual to operate the shearing machine. You wouldn’t think this should make a difference as the equipment is all automated but certain employees are better at operating it than others. When these people are moved around or eliminated it can have an effect on quality. Cutting back during business slow down sometimes means doing more with less and in doing so quality can be compromised. Another issue is the mind set. It shouldn’t be this way but sometimes it is that everything that’s made gets shipped and we’ll worry about it later. Once it’s on the job, possession rules 9 out of 10 times. That means if you have it, you’ve got to install it and chances are you’ll keep it even if the manufacturer has to make a concession. It shouldn’t be this way but it’s an inbred philosophy. Not a logical or reasonable one but it’s the way it’s always been done. You’d be amazed at how ridiculous things can get during difficult times and when people try to protect their little fiefdoms at the mill. It may be that upper management doesn’t know what’s going on because they are not micro-managing the business. Lower managers are in charge and they’re protecting their territory by making sure the products ship. Welcome to the carpet industry.
The executive of one of the mills I spoke with a few months ago said that they were cutting hours of their employees to adjust for the business slowdown rather than eliminate people for the simple reason that when business does pick up they won’t have to worry about hiring and training new people. This was for the sake of quality and this manufacturer’s quality has been very good. They made a conscious decision to retain their skilled work force to insure their customers continued to receive flooring material as defect free as possible. You’d hope everyone operated this way but they don’t.
Author: Lewis G. Migliore
LGM and Associates – The Floorcovering Experts