“I lived with it because I couldn’t bear going through this again.” These were the words spoken to me by a consumer who had purchased a significant number of yards of high end carpet. She called me to complain and lament about an experience she was having with her new carpet. This consumer lives in an affluent area of the South and purchased a high quality carpet from a reputable dealer thinking it would be the last carpet she would have to purchase for this house. There is very little traffic in the home, being that it is only her and her husband that live there. The problem is as follows. She and a friend, who also bought a houseful of the exact same carpet, experienced buckles in the carpet within a fairly short period of time after installation. Her friend complained to the dealer first and the dealer sent his installers back to re-stretch the carpet, they had to do the same thing again at a later date and the carpet buckled once more; a familiar scenario to be sure. Since this ladies friend had gone through this so many times, to no avail, she was not about to subject herself to this.
What she told me was that the ordeal of having to tear her house apart for the initial installation was tough enough and she could not bear going through the same thing again so the carpet could be stretched only to wrinkle again, as was experienced by what her friend had gone through. She felt that since the same carpet in her friend’s home had wrinkled so many times and it was the exact same product, off the same order and run, she shouldn’t have to go through the trouble of having her carpet serviced to what was proven to be, no resolution. She wants the carpet replaced but she is being told that she must first allow them to try and fix the problem. Again we go back to her concern that re-stretching will not fix the problem as it had not done so in her friend’s carpet which was the exact same as hers.
Her question was did she really have to allow them access to her home to attempt a repair. Since this is an extraordinary situation and extremely unique, she could actually ride on the coattails of the friends carpet complaint, even though this could be legally argued. It is well documented that these two ladies made their purchases at the same time, ordered the exact same carpet and that it was from the same run, in fact the same series of rolls, provided by the carpet manufacturer. Why should she have to endure the pain of the wasted time and energy and imposition to attempt to fix a condition which obviously was not fixable as proven by repeated attempts at the friend’s house? I might add that the cushion was the same, the installers used were the same, and the carpet was power stretched initially (and on the re-stretches) and all things were virtually the same except the homes in which the carpet was installed.
This lady wants her carpet replaced without having to go through the hassle of any repairs. She is disillusioned with the dealer, the manufacturer and the carpet industry in general. She purchased what was represented as high quality carpet, which I can assure you it was, from a manufacturer whose name elicits quality in the industry. She is willing to fight this out if need be and she has the wherewithal to do so. She wants a carpet that will not buckle and wrinkle. We spoke about this and I explained to her why such a thing could happen and what she would have to do to prevent this from happening again, if she decided to get new carpet, which she actually wants and is expecting.
Don’t let this happen to you. We have talked about this subject repeatedly. You have to understand why carpet wrinkles, what to do about it and, most importantly how to keep it from happening. If you have questions, concerns or need help please contact me. By the way, check out our DealerFloors.com website for exceptional deals on carpet.
Author: Lewis G. Migliore
LGM and Associates – The Floorcovering Experts