The anatomy of a carpet order at Lewis Floor and Home.
Everyone thinks it is easy to order and install carpet.
Below it a check list of things that need to happen in order for the process to go smoothly.
1: The customer comes into our store knowing he or she wants carpet for their family room but not having any idea what type of carpet they want or need.
2: Our salesperson then spends time with the customer to determine which of the tens of thousands of choices will not only meet the customer’s expectations, but perform under sometimes extremely adverse conditions (four children, two dogs & a cat) and of course stay within their budget.
3: Assuming that the customer finds a couple of possible candidates it is then up to our sales person to get the customer to take the samples home to view in their environment at different times of the day with a special emphasis on the time of the day they are normally using the room. This is important because colors look different depending on the room lighting and the other colors being used in the room.
4: Oftentimes getting the right selection requires more than one trip by the customer back and forth to our showroom in order to find “that perfect color and quality.” Additionally, depending on the selection the sales person needs to couple the carpet selected with the proper cushion and explain to the customer the benefits of using the proper cushion.
5: Now comes the setting up of the measure. Information needs to be collected including but not limited to the customer’s, name, address, telephone numbers and e mail. We need to verify the selection, the color, the area and whether there is old carpet to be removed and/or radiant heat. We need to discuss special furniture like pianos and/or pool tables not to mention the occasional video game. Once this is done assuming the customer doesn’t want any other areas measured for future we can explain to them that we charge a $ 75.00 measure fee to go out to their home to do a professional measure that can be fully applied to their order after we install product. Oh I forgot, we need to make sure the decision maker is home in order to discuss seam placement and any other questions that arise in order to avoid delays and additional costs in the installation. Some of these are sub floor problems, the need to cut doors and the fact that baseboards will in all likelihood need to be touched up after the installation of their new carpet.
6: At the measure, the measure person diagrams the room and notes any special situations. They check for radiant heating, discuss seam placement with the customer and show the customer exactly why they are buying the amount of carpet they are. At this time they figure the cost of the job and present the quote to the customer. Assuming everything is in order the customer signs both the order and the seaming diagram and collect a deposit on the order.
7: The order is returned to the store and checked by either a manager or owner and then along with the deposit is brought to the order entry department. Depending on whether or not the carpet selected is in our stock the carpet is ordered, or reserved in our inventory. The proper cushion is reserved from our inventory and then the order in brought to accounting to process the deposit. Assuming the carpet is in our stock then the order goes to scheduling where the customer is called and a date is scheduled for installation of their carpet.
8: Scheduling once again discusses with the customer what is expected of them. Mainly the removal of all breakables before we arrive, the clearing of any closet floors and gives the customer a time frame for both the installers arriving and an estimate of how long it will take to complete the installation.
9: Alternately, if the carpet if not in stock we notify the sales person of the expected delivery date and if that date is longer than expected a call must be made to the customer to let them know about the delay. If not the order goes into a file until the carpet is received in our warehouse after which the scheduling process begins.
10: Oftentimes the customer is not ready for their carpet which means that their order is put in a hold file until they are ready. This means we must store the carpet in our warehouse until the customer sets a date for installation.
11: On the day before installation the carpet is pulled from the warehouse and is cut to size for the installers to take out to the job. Of course before this happens the order department needs to pull the order, make a copy for the installer and put the order in our measure schedule.
12: The warehouse inspects the carpet when cutting it because as we all know our manufacturers would never ever send out a defective piece of carpet. Assuming that the carpet is fine, after it is cut, the back of the carpet is labeled with the customer’s name.
13: On the morning of the installation the customer is called by the installation department and reminded that we are coming. The installer gets not only the carpet but the pad and loads this into his van together with all the tools necessary to properly install the customer’s carpet. These tools include but are not limited to: seaming tape, tack less
stripping, pad glue, pad staples, seaming iron, roller, pad tape, pliers to help remove old carpet and pad, stair tool, tucking tool, knifes with blades and a power stretcher that weighs about 100 pounds.
14: Once everything has been brought into the customer’s house and the furniture has been moved from the room, the old carpet and pad can be removed and bundled for recycling. Then and only then can the installers install the customer’s carpet.
15: Once the carpet has been installed the installers vacuum (oops I forgot that piece of equipment) and then replace all the furniture. Finally, it is up to the installer to collect the COD balance and have the customer inspect the job and sign off that they are satisfied.
16: Assuming all this happens, the installer will bring in the paperwork along with the COD on the following day. Only then can we job cost the order, set up the payable from our end to get our installer paid and send out the warranty information together with a thank you note preferably by email.
See I told you selling carpet was easy!