I
recommend locally owned carpet retailers who give free estimates, offer fair
prices, have knowledgeable staff, provide honest measuring and hire qualified
installers.
It has always made me feel good to help others, which is one main reason why I have created
my Carpet Buying website. Even though I don’t sell carpet anymore, my goal is to help
consumers select the
right carpet and pad that will meet their needs and lifestyle, to have it
installed properly, and pay a fair and square price for it. I’m just an average guy
who doesn’t like to see people get ripped-off.
Growing up I often had the chance to make some extra money helping out at my
dad’s carpet showroom. He was a Carpet Mill Rep for Berven Carpets out of
California. I didn’t know it back then,
but my future was going to be in carpet in a big way.
My history.
In 1977, I was offered a job as flooring installer
trainee at age 18. I went through a 2-year apprentice program with a company in
Milwaukie, Oregon called Granum Bros. Seamless Floors Inc. My Father had
developed a business relationship with them and he heard that they were looking
to hire a flooring apprentice. Since I had a new wife and baby I desperately
needed a good job so I applied for the position. After a short interview, I
started the next day at $7.50 per hour. I was in heaven.
The Company was owned by two brothers, they
were twins, but not identical twins. They were both very kind and respectable gentlemen and they treated
me very well. A few years later they closed their business due to the common
financial troubles of the early 1980's as a result I was cast out on my own to
find work installing carpet, vinyl and hardwood floors for a number of smaller retail
carpet shops and for various homeowners through responses from some well placed
newspaper ads. It didn’t take me long to find out that I didn’t appreciate
the way that most retail flooring shops treated their carpet installers. Rarely
did they show much respect or gratitude for a job well done. However, homeowners
treated me very well. I often received a tip for a job well done.
After a few more years of honing my installation skills and learning more
about the flooring business I started working for Mike’s Carpet store in Bend
Oregon. It was
then that I came to realize that some retail carpet storeowners treated their
customers just as poorly as they treated their installers. Mike, the owner of
the carpet store, would often buy
carpet rems from the mills, known as rem-packs. These were carpet leftovers, roll ends, closeouts,
discontinues, off-colors, seconds, defectives, and so forth. Many of these
carpets were pure junk and not of a sufficient quality for most homeowners. By that I mean it was carpet
made so poorly
that was not fit for residential homes. It was defective carpet. Mike would sell these carpets to his
customers as if it was first class goods. It was obvious that he didn’t care about his customers, he only
cared about the huge amount money he could make by fooling his customers..
There were plenty of times where Mike would send me out to install a poor
quality or defective carpet for a customer, and I arrived knowing full well what Mike had sold them, but I could not say a word. Customers would often ask
me what I thought of the carpet but I knew I couldn’t tell them the truth or I
would be out of a job. I hated it.
When I was finished with the job I was instructed to collect the final amount due. Since I had the
original bill of sale I knew how much they had been charged for the materials
and labor. It was outrageous! Had they bought from an honest and reputable
carpet dealer and done their homework they
could have selected a carpet that would have been a very good choice for about the
same amount of money. As it was, the carpet they selected would not last more
than a few years at best. Very sad. A huge waste of money, and the
customer had absolutely no recourse. Buyer Beware!
This really bothered me. In one situation I remember very clearly, this family had finally saved up
Mike's Carpets had taken all their money and sold them a shoddy carpet that
couldn’t last
more than three years. I hated working for Mike's Carpets. It didn’t take me
very long before I decided to look for
another job and I soon found work at a small family-owned carpet retailer about 20 miles
away. What a difference. I seemed that these people really cared about me and
their customers.
After a month or so I started seeing a familiar pattern. Many of the flooring
materials sold didn’t quite meet the needs or lifestyle of the customers.
It’s not difficult to figure out that a low-grade carpet won’t tolerate a
busy household with four young boys running around.
Here I was again in the same predicament that I was in when I worked for
Mike’s. Customers were not buying the right carpet to meet their needs and
goals and I couldn’t tell them
the truth or I figured would be out of a a job. After spending some time in the showroom I
found out exactly why this was happening. It was not due to a problem with the
owners of the business. They were absolutely wonderful. They had every intent to
satisfy the customers that cam into their store. The problem was with the hired
salespeople. They were the problem.
The salespeople were not asking their customers about their needs and
lifestyle in order to help them find a suitable carpet. They were only asking
customers how much money they had to spend and then would lead the customer to a
carpet that fit into their price range, whether it was a suitable product or
not.
It was obvious to me that the salespeople had a fear of losing the sale if
they tried to convince the customer to buy a suitable but more expensive carpet
than they could afford. Instead of educating their customers about the benefits
of a better quality, more durable carpet that could last years longer, they
would just show customers lower grades of carpet and say they were more durable
than they actually were. The customer would buy carpet within their budget but
the carpet selected was not suitable for their application.
In the first 15 years of my carpet career I worked for more than a dozen
carpet retailers. It became obvious to me that the majority of retail carpet
salespeople were only concerned about making the sale and not concerned about
the needs and goals of the customer. It was during this time in my life that I
realized that I wanted to become more involved as a consumer advocate. I believe
that the customer deserves to know the truth, even if they don’t like what
they hear. So I made the decision to start my own company.
In 1998 I wrote my first consumer guide "Carpet Buying Secrets
Revealed" and my desire to be an active consumer advocate became a
reality. Response was good to the release of my book.
In 2000 I started my first website Abccarpets.com. I wrote "The Quick
and Easy Guide to Carpet Shopping" and released both books to
Amazon.com for distribution.
In 2002 I wrote a book for landlords called "Landlord Floors-Carpet
and Vinyl management for rentals." and launched my second website
Landlordfloors.com. I began development of The CFM Solution, a strategic way
for landlords to reduce their flooring replacement costs. The Landlord
Flooring Management Guide was compiled and offered as a resource for rental
property owners and property managers.
In 2003 I launched Howtobuycarpet.com and I began offering a free service
called "Ask the Carpet Expert" where people could e-mail me their
questions about buying carpet. Since then, hundreds of carpets buying
questions & answers have been posted on my web sites for my readers to
access.
In 2005 I retired from the flooring business to work full time as a
consumer carpet-buying advocate. I wrote The Complete carpet Buying Guide
and offer it as an instant download from my website.
In 2007 I continue to update my Carpet books, web sites and answer carpet
questions from my website visitors.
The moral of this story:
I am just a normal guy that doesn't want to see anyone get ripped-off.
I have read all the other "Carpet" info
websites on the web, they all have a a spin on what they are telling you. They
all have an agenda. I don't have any agenda other than telling you the truth
about buying carpet, how to save money, how to avoid scams and get the job done
right the first time. The revenue from selling my eBook helps me pay for my
websites which costs quite a bit to operate. This is a full time job for me, not
to mention answering the questions that readers send me.
If you like what you've read on my
free website...
You'll Love My Incredible Carpet Buying
Guide!
Testimonials
Alan, Your e book has been a great source of
information." - Kelly W
I appreciate all the things I have learned from
your ebook on about buying carpet. - J. Craft
I
never knew there was so much to consider when buying carpet but truly appreciate
all the assistance you have provided us. We definitely want to make the
best decision since this is such a costly purchase. -Rachel
Hi Alan,
You cannot know how much I appreciate your advice. I read everything you sent,
took notes, did some further research (can you tell I'm a librarian?) -Lisa
I would like to say that I appreciate your
e book- I
didn't realize that carpet buying could be so complicated but am glad for the
information since it is such a large financial investment. - Tom P.
Alan,
Thank you. Great e book. Your e book is worth far more than you ask. Thank you so much and have your
best day ever.
-Michael F.
