We all love to make the sale. We have done our best to impart our knowledge to our customers, guide them through the maze of available products, and help them find their perfect floor. That’s sure fun, isn’t it? Until two years later when you get that dreaded phone call, “I have a problem with my floor.”
Many of the complaints we get could have been avoided with a little more work at the time of the sale. Just like with many other things we buy, and even our own bodies, our floors require preventative care and maintenance. Most people know that when they buy a car, they should have the oil changed and the tires rotated at regular intervals. Most people, however, have no idea how to care for their new floors. That’s where we come in.
By taking an extra five minutes after we have made the sale, we can avoid getting that phone call down the road. Most manufacturers have care and maintenance information posted on their websites. Retailers should take the time to print those off and briefly go over them with their customers on how to care for their investment and avoid future problems.
Here are a few of the most common issues and complaints we hear.
Carpets should be vacuumed regularly and professionally cleaned every 18 months. Hard surface floors should be sold with the manufacturer’s recommended cleaner. (Most manufacturers sell their own brand.) If you sell your customer the cleaner and tell them that’s what they need to use on the floor, you accomplish two things. First, they are using the right product for their floor; the manufacturer has designed maintenance products specifically for their floors so we need to sell those products with the
floor. Second, when we sell the products and tell the customer that is what they need to use, they will keep coming back into the store to buy it, creating more customer loyalty.
Proper protection for furniture and care taken when moving appliances are another problem area. At least 50 percent of the damaged floors I look at are caused because the customer doesn’t have proper protection on their furniture. All chair legs should have two things: 1) They should have a pivoting glide on them so you always have a flat
surface in touch with the floor. 2) On the bottom of those glides there needs to be a felt protector. These protectors need to be cleaned of debris and changed at regular intervals. The other area of concern that I regularly see office spaces with caster chairs. Whether it is carpet or a hard surface, chair mats must be used. Nothing is harder on a floor than eight or more hours a day of rolling office chairs.
Tri-State Flooring carries a full line of care and maintenance products including cleaners, strippers and polishes. Please contact your Territory Manager with any questions in regards to our care and maintenance products or procedures.