I don’t know what’s going on lately but it seems there are more and more situations where a floor covering dealer is threatening a manufacturer and a manufacturer is threatening a floor covering dealer. These dealers are coming to us and, this may amaze you, but manufacturers will also come to us when they are feuding with a supplier.
Let’s look at a couple of cases. In one case a dealer installed a laminate floor on which the surface lifted on several boards after several months. The material was inspected and the inspector could not determine the cause. The manufacturer told the dealer to replace the affected boards, which they would supply and they would also pay him for doing so. In between the time of the inspection and replacement of individual boards the homeowner noticed other boards exhibiting the same condition. At this time they insisted the floor be replaced and rightfully so. How could they feel comfortable about the floor when this condition continued to proliferate? Another inspector was sent out to look at the floor again and called it a manufacturing defect. This is what it was the first time and this was a waste of the manufacturer’s money and everyone’s time. It was the same condition that had existed and it was occurring in other boards, obviously a defect in the material. The manufacturer credited the dealer for the material but they wanted to see a sample of the affected material before they would credit the labor. The labor was not paid because the manufacturer told the dealer they felt the flooring was installed with these defects.
How ironic this was, that the installers, the home builder and the homeowner never saw this condition and that it was not noticed or reported until months after the installation. There was no way you could not have noticed this condition because it was so obvious and caused such a difference in the materials appearance. The dealer feels as if he is being harassed by the manufacturer who originally agreed to take care of the problem. They have been buying from the manufacturer for years, they said. As a result of this claim they have removed the manufacturer’s entire product line from their store after having done a large volume of business with them for many years. Now they feel as if the manufacturer doesn’t care – a very perplexing feeling.
I spoke with a dealer today who had a claim with a manufacturer for staining on a carpet that was installed for less than a year. They filed the claim, were sent to the stain producer, the fiber producer and then back to the manufacturer. All denied the claim. The dealer had the product tested and it clearly failed the stain resistance test yet they were still getting a run around. This type of situation is absurd. Here’s a legitimate claim, verified by an accredited testing lab in the heart of the carpet industry, turned down by a manufacturer after it was proven the problem was theirs for not applying enough stain resist agent. The utter frustration felt by the dealer trying to resolve a legitimate claim was something you’ve probably experienced yourself.
How is it that a claim, proven to be caused by a manufacturer, could be denied? Why is it that more of you are complaining about this? Is it something you’re doing, their doing or is it the way the stars are aligned? All I know is this. We get two sides of the story, one from the dealer, you, and one from the manufacturer. You say you’re doing everything right. Sometimes you are and sometimes you’re not. They say that they are handling and processing the claims properly. Sometimes they are and sometimes they’re not. We know this because we’re in the middle of many of these situations. Often we find there are weaknesses on both sides and room for improvement.
That being said when a product is irrefutably defective, visibly so and cannot be attributed to anything other than a manufacturing defect, the claim should be honored and taken care of quickly and effectively. One thing you can do is ask the manufacturers you deal with how best to handle claims with them. A simple question most of you probably never thought of asking. If you ask they’ll tell you how and what they need. Now you’ve developed a dialogue and chances are you’ll be able to avoid situations like those mentioned in this column and have a much easier time resolving your claims.
Most situations are relatively easy to work through if we approach them with an open mind and flexible attitude honesty looking for the right way. We’re all guilty of not proceeding this way in our lives and our businesses from time to time, frankly because we may not even think of doing this. If you ask, you get and if you don’t ask you’ll never know if you could.
Author: Lewis G. Migliore
LGM and Associates – The Floorcovering Experts