On a recent complaint on a patterned product, the installation firm said the carpet was bowed so badly it wouldn’t align properly. The general contractor told the mechanics to install it anyway because he had to complete the job.

The facility was a dentist’s office, and 160 yards of carpet was installed. The general contractor hired the retailer to do the installation only. And, naturally, when the complaint was filed, the retailer got the call.

A MAINTENANCE AND INSTALLATION PROBLEM

When the job was inspected, the facts were much different. The carpet was not bowed beyond correction; in fact, it was not bowed at all. It had a slight hook on one end, which means the installer would have had to work the product to align the design. This pattern was an alternating light and dark line, each about an inch wide. It was not hard to work with.

Further, this was a direct glue-down on a wood floor. All the seams were short, like at doorways or narrow corridors. If the installers had worked the design from the center out, they could have bumped the carpet, stay tacked it and easily aligned the pattern using a Roberts doubled headed stretcher, or “crab.” Certainly, this would have taken more time, effort, and patience, but it could have unquestionably been accomplished.

The dealer, to my knowledge, never looked at this job. He only relayed information from the complaints of the installer and end user. But, the consumer wasn’t complaining only of the design mis-match. There were yarns missing at a few seams and some unsightly fraying. No seam sealer was used, so the carpet was being compromised there. But, that wasn’t all. The product contained a mixed yarn in a lighter shade which ran its entire length and, in some larger open areas, the line was blatantly obvious.

The carpet also had a maintenance and use problem. The waiting area was heavily soiled. Outside was a box containing ice control compound. You may recall from some of my previous articles, this agent contains calcium chloride. Aside from melting ice and snow, it attracts moisture from the air.

This type of chemical is sometimes used at construction sites to keep dust down and in closets to prevent clothes from getting musty and damp in humid climates. When it is put outside a doorway, it gets tracked in on people’s feet, deposited on the carpet and attracts soil.

So, we have several factors contributing to a dissatisfied customer. The streak is a visible defect which should have been noticed at the tufter, and the product should not have been shipped as first quality. Although it won’t affect the performance, this is not something one would expect to find in a product for which she paid full price.

The slight hook in the pattern would have been rather easy to disguise had the installers used more time, effort and patience. The maintenance issue was created by the consumer.

Had there been no installation problem, the dealer could have cleaned the carpet and instructed the end user what to do to avoid the problem in the future. He could even have sold her mats to help ease maintenance issues and if he did cleaning, sell her on regularly servicing the broadloom.

He might have negotiated a settlement for the streak because she may rather have kept the carpet than have the entire place ripped up again. But what makes these solutions impossible is, the installation was messed up, when it needn’t have been.

Everyone in this case will luckily be saved by the visible defect, except the mill. But the end user will now be paranoid about the carpet, installers, and general contractor-which is not a good thing for this industry.

This type of catastrophe happens far too often. You are sabotaging yourselves with this type of stuff. When consumers talk to each other about flooring horror stories, they decide to buy a computer or other high-ticket item instead, because they don’t want the same thing happening to them.

Think about that next time you are beating each other up for a dime, forcing product and workmanship to be compromised and giving the entire industry a black eye. Remember what Pogo said, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” Pogo was right.