Finishing touches can make or break a job

I have been a homeowner for almost 30 years, and had two different houses. During that time I have done a lot of construction and landscape work myself. I’ve also had a lot done by contractors – especially in recent years. I can’t quite do it myself any more. My experiences with these contractors has been a mixed bag; sometimes a good experience and sometimes not. In the cases where it has not been pleasant, it’s rarely been the overall job or quality of the work. It has been more about small details and communication; the overall experience of working with the company. Some cases have made me not want to do business with the contractor again or recommend them to my friends. These situations lend themselves to the floorcovering industry as well — especially for renovation projects, whether they’re commercial or residential.

As far as communication, customers need to know what’s coming, and what’s expected of them. What’s common sense to those of us in the trade may not be so to a layperson who may have never had a floorcovering job done before. If the installer is the first one to deliver the news, that starts off the process on a very negative note. It results in an angry customer saying, “I wasn’t told I’d have to move (or empty) my furniture,” or “I didn’t know I would have to stay off the floor after it was installed,” and so on. Don’t assume your customer knows how the process works.

The same holds true for the question of how long an installation will take. The answer is often given by a salesperson without consideration for extenuating circumstances such as moving furniture, difficult removal of existing floorcovering and so on. It’s a much better policy to under-promise and over-deliver. Be realistic with the customer instead of putting an installation crew in a no-win situation with unrealistic deadlines.

The specifics of the actual installation are important to review as well. There are many examples of how customers don’t always know what’s coming. “I didn’t know I would have a seam,” or “the salesperson said his carpet (or resilient flooring) won’t show a seam.” On the commercial side, the sales rep tells the architect, “Our welding rod is so close to the colour of the floor, you’ll never see the heat-welded seam.” Or, “Our tile is cut so well that the floor will look seamless.” In the real world, these claims put enormous pressure on the installer and on the product to deliver on these promises. Every carpet will show a seam to a certain degree. Even so-called “camouflage” heat-weld rods are noticeable. And even if the joints don’t show much on a brand new tile floor, they almost always will as the floor ages.

The flip-side to these communication failures to communicate is being honest about what the product will do. And be sure the customer knows what’s going to happen when the installers arrive, and after they leave. I’ve known installers and dealers who call a day ahead to confirm the time of arrival and review details. It’s even better if material is delivered a day or two ahead of time. Not only will the product acclimate to site conditions, but the installer also can see what the scope of work is, and review with the customer if necessary.

Finishing touches are another experience that I’ve personally been burned on in home-improvement projects. Floorcovering installers would do well to learn from my experiences. For example, poorly installed trim work such as wall base and door mouldings can ruin an otherwise beautiful job. They are installed at the end of the job, when the installers want to get on to the next job or home at the end of the day. It’s easy to rush so you can get out the door. Believe me, thousands of dollars of flooring can be installed perfectly, but if the outside corner on a one-dollar piece of wall base doesn’t look good, it doesn’t matter. That’s what is most visible. And once a customer is unhappy with it, his or her impression of the entire job will be negative forever. The finishing touches are important.

Finally, cleaning up is part of communication and finishing touches. If old flooring is being torn up, how is it being disposed of? Same for all the scraps of new material. Can it go out to the curb or into the customer’s dumpster? Or is the installer expected to take it away? It is important information for the installer and for the customer — and needs to be decided on before the job starts. A perfect installation of a beautiful floorcovering will still have a long-term bad taste for customers if their memory is the sloppy mess the installers left behind. For jobs that extend over more than one day, cleanup at the end of each day is important as well. The space may be getting used by the owner or other trades may be working overnight. If scraps or debris are in the way, it makes it inconvenient and does not reflect well on the installer and the floorcovering dealer.

Lastly, one of the controversial questions regarding cleanup on carpet installations is, “To vacuum or not to vacuum?” I’ve had installers argue the point on either side of this question. Some think it’s not their job, or they don’t want to risk using the customer’s vacuum. Others travel with their own vacuum. It makes a strong impression when the customer gets a brand-new, perfectly clean carpet. Hey, when you buy a new car, they wash it right before you pick it up, right? The best reason to vacuum is that it’s a way for installers to put their eyes on every part of the job one last time. Along the way they may see a loose edge or some other detail and can fix it on the spot, preventing a call-back.

I’ve talked a lot over the years here in Coverings about specific installation techniques. Installation manuals, seminars and training programs do the same. However, communication and finishing touches are as important as technique. The best dealer or most gifted installer won’t get recommended or asked back again if they fail to pay attention to these details that are so often overlooked. The customer wants to not only like the product and the installation, but also be satisfied with the entire experience.

Christopher Capobianco is a flooring expert currently working with Forest Hill, Md.-based Spartan Surfaces, a distributor of commercial hard-surface flooring. Chris’s family lineage in floorcovering goes back for generations. His career includes time as a retailer, architectural sales rep, technical support manager, consultant, instructor, columnist and active volunteer in several organizations.