Which is Your Flooring Supplier?
We are often asked why we don’t sell other floor covering options. Some feel we are limiting ourselves by only selling hardwood flooring. That may be true but we would much prefer to be the best in one area than average in a few. If Wayne Gretzky only spent ¼ of his time playing hockey and the rest of his time was focused on baseball, cricket and ballroom dancing, would he have been able to become “The Great One”. Not that we are comparing ourselves to Wayne Gretzky, but when it comes to hardwood we are the great ones. Hardwood flooring is one of the most important investments you will ever make in your home so why trust it to someone who only considers hardwood to be one of the “products” they sell. You wouldn’t go to your family doctor for a complicated brain surgery so why would you go to a carpet store for hardwood flooring? A family doctor’s job is to have an understanding of all things medical so they can offer a remedy or refer you to a specialist if something requires further attention. The same is true for a carpet store except they won’t refer you to a hardwood flooring specialist. When you are required to know a little bit about everything, it is impossible to be an expert in one thing. The goal of a salesperson at a carpet store is to have slightly more knowledge than the customer. The goal of a hardwood flooring expert is to educate their customer to know more than a carpet store salesperson. I can definitely sympathize with carpet store salespeople, if I had to know a little bit about everything from tile to carpet to window fashions I would be just as clueless. Think of how much more experience someone has who does hardwood flooring all day every day. Experts also take courses and network with other experts to expand their knowledge base as much as they can. This practice would be way too overwhelming if you wanted to become an expert in all types of flooring. You’ve heard the saying “Jack of all trades, master of none,” that holds true 100% in the flooring world. Make sure your hardwood supplier has proper National Wood Flooring Association certifications, and can provide examples of their quality work. True experts will give you an education and will even provide you with industry educational material. Hardwood flooring is always living and adapting to the environment it is in. It is a sensitive product and requires a lot of attention when selling, delivering, installing, and servicing. It takes an expert to truly understand wood flooring and how it works. Hardwood flooring experts deal with this on a daily basis so it is learned and understood. If there is a problem, carpet stores don’t know what that problem is or the cause so are apt to guess and give wrong advice, which could potentially make things worse. When a hardwood floor has a problem down the road, the carpet store will automatically blame it on the manufacturer because they don’t understand the problem. More than likely the manufacturer; who has experience with hardwood flooring every day will identify the root cause and a battle will ensue between the manufacturer and carpet store with you right in the middle of it. An expert would identify the problem and correct it in the best possible way. At Gaylord Hardwood Flooring we handle everything from the rough lumber to the installed flooring, so you never get caught in the middle of a battle between the manufacturer and retailer. We are true experts and are very proud of what we do. Hardwood flooring isn’t just part of our business, it is our business. You will not find anyone anywhere with more hardwood flooring knowledge and experience than us. The best advice we can give is; if you are buying carpet go to a carpet store, if you are buying hardwood, go to a hardwood expert. It’s as simple as that!