What floor covering claims or problem issues are you likely to face in the coming year that you should be aware of and prepare for? This is not to make you think that a whole new series of problems are going to present themselves to you that you may not have already faced, but then again, they may if you are planning on carrying products you haven’t dealt with before or have had little experience with.
One of the most obvious sources for preventing product problems is from the people you think cause many of them; the manufacturer. Most of the larger manufacturers have a multitude of information, available on line, about their products that you should be aware of. Much of it will educate you on what they are saying about their products, how to care for them, what the warranties say and the categories of performance. It’s amazing what you can learn from going to the source that provides you with the product and it can keep you out of a lot of trouble if you understand more about the products you’re selling. Remember, the biggest problem floor covering dealers face, all of you, is ignorance. You don’t know enough about the products you sell. It’s not installation or defective material that causes most complaints, it’s not being aware of the performance characteristics, quality categories and what colors work best and why. Simple carpet complaint issues like soiling for example and the fact that a spot comes back several times after cleaning, have many of you running to file a claim when the problem is maintenance, use and abuse related with a simple fix most of the time.
Two growing product categories you’re like to expand are wood and ceramic. Ceramic type products, as long as they are installed properly and applied over a correctly prepared substrate, will give you few if any performance problems or claims. Chips or cracks may be the worst problems you might face and you can replace one or several tiles. Make sure to sell some overage on every job just in case a repair is necessary, this way you’ll have the same lot to work with and the replaced tile won’t be as obvious as a neon sign. Wood, please understand, is a tree. Trees absorb water, they move, expand and contract, can be dented, gouged and chipped when struck with a sharp, heavy or hard implement and they vary in shade and color – naturally. These are all natural characteristics of the material that have nothing to do with the manufacturer. Certainly a manufacturer can cause problems with the material in the processing of it, but they can’t change the natural and inherent characteristics of it.
With experience, and making yourself aware of different types and species of wood and wood flooring, you’ll get an understanding of what will work for a particular application and be the most problem free. If heavy furniture is dragged across wood or large dogs with long nails walk on it, be prepared to see scratches and gouges. The softer the wood, the more evident indentations and scratches will be. Spiked high heels will also put indentation in wood regardless of how heavy the wearer is.
Aside from the manufacturers, the associations, such as the Tile Council of America and National Oak Flooring Manufacturers Association for example, that set standards and provide general and detailed information for flooring categories, offer you a wealth of information. So much so, that if you are aware of the guidelines and standards for installation of the products and the performance characteristics of them, you may never have a problem. You should use this information in meetings to train your staff, including the installers, and have the information available to consult with your customer at the time of the sale to help you get the correct product in the right place.
More of these products will be sold by you this year and you’ll have to know more about them. We get complaints forwarded to us regularly from dealers who don’t understand the product. If they knew more about them, they could avoid most of their complaints or claims. Being aware of the multitude of information available to you simply by going to the Internet, will benefit you immensely. Having this information will make you better than your competition and as smart as many of your customers who often check on line prior to visiting your stores.
Another key to preventing problems is providing genuine excellent service. This will separate you from most of the rest of your competitors and certainly the big boxes. Did you ever notice that one dealer in town, in every retail product category, stands out? Why do you think that is? Find out and emulate them. I’d bet that its excellent service and customer satisfaction that makes them the best, it almost always is, not price.
You can make more money this year with few if any complaints or claims if you’ll take some of this information to heart and use it to your benefit. It’s free, easy and it works and it applies to all the flooring materials you sell.
Author: Lewis G. Migliore
LGM and Associates – The Floorcovering Experts